Exploring Assassin’s Creed: Shadows’ various locales will undoubtedly lead you to finding animals that Naoe can paint. These are called Sumi-e and you will find plenty to paint, but they aren’t going to be marked on the map. You will only notice the activity’s icon appear on your compass at the top of the screen while you’re running around, so you will always need to pay attention to that. The wall scrolls you receive from doing this activity can be hung on the walls of some of your buildings back at your Hideout.

What are Legendary Sumi-e?¶

Similar to the equipment you can wear, the Sumi-e come in varying rarities, but it doesn’t seem like the rank of them really matter. Well, that doesn’t involve the Legendary Sumi-e that are a lot rarer than the others, simply because it’s possible to go the entirety of the game without bumping into them at all, unless you were extremely lucky. The legendary animals only appear in specific seasons, at one spot on the map, and are also affected by the day/night cycle. For example, one of them can only appear in the Spring and at night. There are only five legendary animals in the game and getting them will will unlock the A Rare Occurrence trophy/achievement.

Legendary Macaque Sumi-e Location¶

• No specific season
• Found at night only

The Legendary Macaque is the only one that is not tied to a specific season, so you can get it anytime. However, it will only appear at night, so there is a specific timeframe there. In order to find this one, you’ll have to travel to the Yamashiro region, located north of your starting region, Izumi Settsu. Once you arrive there, head towards the southeastern corner, to the east of Ogura Pond. When you zoom in on your map, you should see a river that cuts through that section of Yamashiro.

This is important, as you’ll want to stay on the northern side of the river. The whole sub-region here is called Little Leaf Glade and that’s where you want to be. Right before the river gets wider again, you should find the Sarumaru Shrine, which is just a normal location. This will be where you find a Legendary Chest, but also where the Legendary Macaque is located. Note that this is an actual location with a question mark on the map, so it’s not too hard to see it.

Upon arriving at the shrine, look for some stairs on the western side, leading up to a higher spot. As you continue climbing, you should see the sumi-e icon appear on your compass, so you simply have to follow it at this point. Make sure you’re crouching, as you don’t want to scare off the animal; you should also be moving very slowly, too. You will see three macaques sitting down next to one another, with one being a bit bigger than the others. Do the usual sumi-e thing of holding down L2/LT to observe and move closer until the outer circle gets smaller. Eventually, you’ll be close enough and a meter will fill around the circle, prompting Naoe to draw and finish the activity.

Legendary Deer Sumi-e Location¶

• Spring season only
• Found at night only

The above one was kind of a freebie, but the rest of the animals from this point on will be restricted to specific seasons. For the Legendary Deer, you need to make sure that you’re in the spring season. Additionally, it only appears at night, so you might have to wait until the time of day changes, too. To start, head on over to the Yamato Region, found to the east of Izumi Settsu. You’ll want to stay to the south of the river that runs through the region, where you’ll find the Yoshino sub-region. Of course, this covers the entirety of that area south of the river, so it’s a big area to search.

Coming from your Hideout, head south/southeast until you reach the Yamato Region. Once you get to the fork in the road along this way, go east and you should happen upon the Dorui Field Camp, which is restricted and has some enemies. Cross the bridge to the south right next to it to arrive in the Yoshino sub-region, then keep heading south/southeast some more. If you reach a little shrine and a Jizo statue, then you’re going in the right direction. A little east of there are some stone stairs by a torii gate, so climb those to reach the Sakura Meadow.

Note that this place isn’t marked on the map, although you discover it like any other location. Follow the trail to the top to find your Legendary Deer. Remember that you need to playing as Naoe to do the sumi-e painting, plus you must try to be as quiet as possible while approaching your target.

Legendary Tanuki Sumi-e Location¶

• Summer season only
• Found only during the day

The Legendary Tanuki is the animal that’s only found during the summer season, and you’ll have to travel to the Omi Region for it. If you’ve been to Kyoto in the Yamashiro Region, then that’s a good place to start, since you can head east from there to get to Omi. Make the trek east from Nijo Palace (northern part of Kyoto) and you should happen upon the Gion Kakurega. From there, continue east, through the Hills of Meeting sub-region, and to the town of Otsu on the other side of the hills. On the southeastern side of this town is the Seta Bridge, which connects to The Shimmering Fields sub-region of Omi and where you want to be.

Now, you want to keep moving to the northeast, following the road here, until you can see a path on your southern side. Not much more south, you should notice a gate that has two tanuki statues on either side. If you don’t see these, then you’re in the wrong spot. This path will eventually lead you to a location called Shigaraki Hamlet; if it’s the correct time of day and season, then you will notice the sumi-e icon pop up on your compass while traversing the path to the hamlet.

Once you get to the hamlet, look for the path that brings you to a clearing, which is where you’ll find the Legendary Tanuki. If it’s not there and you feel it’s the correct time of day and season, then place a pin on the map on that clear and move away like 300 meters, coming back to see if it spawned. As usual with the sumi-e, crouch down and move slowly, while you hold L2/LT to shrink the outer circle.

Legendary Silver Fox Sumi-e Location¶

• Autumn season only
• Found at night only

For the Legendary Silver Fox, you will have to wait until the autumn season, and you’ll be taking a journey to the Kii Region on the southern end of the map. You’re looking for the Nakahechi Route sub-region, located towards the middle, a little more to the south. Looking at the map, Sazae Oni Shores is on the western end and if you follow that east, you’ll see Nakahechi Route. The spot you want is northwest of the “Nakahechi” name on the map, when you’re at zoom x2.

There are two landmarks right at the spot of the Legendary Silver Fox, which are the Kamimisu Heights Viewpoint and the Kamimisu Inari Shrine. If you want to start somewhere, begin at Negoroji, found at the northwestern end of the region (also a Kakurega to buy for a fast travel point). From there, you can exit the town and head straight south, across two smaller bridges, then start traveling east at the crossroads. This will eventually lead you to Jison-in temple, a good landmark for the start. Continue east from the temple, then keep going as the road goes south/southeast.

Keep on this road, ignoring any others, until you eventually reach another crossroads with a Jizo Statue. Head south here for a little bit, until you see a road off to the east. Take that one (it’s a big incline) and you’ll reach the torii gates for the shrine. Follow these gates all the way to the top, to the main building. The Legendary Silver Fox will pretty much be right next to the building.

Legendary Grey Heron Sumi-e Location¶

• Winter season only
• Found only during the day

The Legendary Grey Heron is only found during the winter season and you’ll be going all the way north, to the Wakasa Region for it. North of the Wakasa name on the map (fully zoomed out), you should see the Lake Suigetsu sub-region marked there. That is your destination, but it’s a good idea to stop by the Obama sub-region along the way, just to get the Kakurega there for fast traveling. Starting from Obama, head north and then at the crossroads, venture west along that road.

This will bring you to the western side of the Hitokoto Shrine location, then north of the same place. Continue north and keep heading in that direction until the road bends to the east. Note that if you have Yasuke available, you will pass by a Horseback Archery activity. Ignore the road heading north and just keep moving east to the bridge. Once at the bridge, look at your map to see some small islands to your north. Go to the biggest of the islands due straight north to find the Legendary Grey Heron.