The year is 1592. The Island of Tsushima which under the dominion of the Shõgun of Japan, faces an Invasion from Kublai Khan, the general of the Korean invading force. The invasion is overwhelming in scale and speed. Villages are burned to deny shelter, farmland is destroyed to prevent resistance from sustaining itself, and civilians who cannot flee are often used to force defenders into disadvantageous confrontations. Fortified positions fall quickly under siege tactics and bombardment rather than battlefield engagement.
Jin Sakai is the head of the powerful Shimura clan, which is fiercely loyal to him, and ready to follow him into battle without thought of consequence. The house of Shimura also has close ties to the Shõgunate.
Jin is bound by a strict code of Samurai honour (Bushidō) that values open combat and personal integrity along with fair and upfront engagement with the enemy. Upon invasion, Jin considers adopting stealth and assassination tactics alongside his Samurai training. While these tactics are more efficacious, they arey considered dishonourable by Samurai tradition.