You will come across a variety of different people asking for help in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, in the form of side quests. One such person is located just west of Katano Temple, in the Izumi Settsu region. Upon speaking to her, she asks you to participate in a children’s game, where she wants you to find some origami butterflies hidden throughout Osaka. Accepting this will start The Butterfly Collector quest, where you have to hunt down a total of 10 origami butterflies hidden on trees in said Osaka.

All Origami Butterflies Locations¶

The majority of the origami butterflies will be found around the Temple of Osaka, which is southwest of where you initially found the questgiver. All of the butterflies will be on trees and if you have the quest active, then you can use Observe (L2/LT) to look for blue dots. This will indicate the location of one of the butterflies, so all you have to do is head over to it and collect the origami. As you collect them, you will start to piece together that kidnappers are using these origami to pass along messages. Remember that these butterflies can be collected in any order.

Butterfly Location 1¶

Find the Osaka Kakurega in the area and start from its eastern exit, putting you right next to one of the bridges. Don’t cross it, but follow the dirt road south and as it bends around the corner, look south to spot a tree with a white butterfly on it.

Butterfly Location 2¶

Go to the actual building for the Temple of Osaka, then head around to the northern side of it. There is a very large tree here and a red butterfly will be on it.

Butterfly Location 3¶

In the same area as the previous one, there is a little shrine you can pray at just southwest of the Temple of Osaka (where you gain a temporary buff). Behind that little shrine is a tree and there’s a blue butterfly on it (it looks more white, to the naked eye).

Butterfly Location 4¶

Fisherman’s District is a restricted area in this area of Osaka, but you won’t be going inside it for this one. Instead, look at the map and go directly east of the end of the name on the map. You will see a lone tree right next to the river, in between two buildings. The orange butterfly will be on that tree.

Butterfly Location 5¶

This is found southwest of the Fisherman’s District, before crossing the bridge to the south. It’s on the tree behind the horse stable there, and if you found the letter about a girl that escaped her kidnappers, it will be right behind where you find the escaped child.

Butterfly Location 6¶

Just west of this area of Osaka is a large island, with the Kojo Ruins found towards the southern end. Find the southern bridge, but don’t cross it. Instead, follow the road to the north, along the coast, and you will find a tree surrounded by some shrubbery. It’s hard to see, but the butterfly will be on that tree.

Butterfly Location 7¶

A little north of the Kakurega here (Osaka Kakurega) is a bridge that crosses over to the east. Go over the bridge and as soon as you do, turn north to see a tree with a butterfly on it.

Butterfly Location 8¶

Continue northeast from the bridge in the previous location, until you get to the second building on the right. You can enter this building, so do that and go out through the sliding doors, to the backyard. You will see a tree back here with a butterfly on it.

Butterfly Location 9¶

Return back across the bridge used in the previous two locations, then follow the road north to the third bridge. Head southwest from the bridge, along the road and pass some scaffolding, until you reach an opening on your south. Go straight to the back of this little open area to find the butterfly on the tree.

Butterfly Location 10¶

Return to the bridge from #9 and cross it to the east. As soon as you do, follow the path along the coastline, to the north. As you reach the end, you will see the butterfly on the tree.`

Upon collecting all ten butterflies, you may think you’re done and can turn them in, but the Gamemaker is nowhere to be seen. You saw the letters about kidnapping on some of the butterflies, so you’re going to have to solve them now. Taking a look at the Objectives tab on your menu, you should see a new set of people, dubbed The Butterfly Collector. One is a complete mystery, but the other three have mini-quests attached to them, so let’s tackle them now.

One That Got Away¶

A child who was kidnapped has escaped and is hiding. The letter on the one butterfly mentions the child being somewhere in the Fishermen’s District, maybe near some horses. You will find the child to the southwest of the Fishermen’s District on the map, not too far from the bridge in the southwestern corner. This is right next to Butterfly #5, so you may have done this already. Simply speak to the child and she will go on her way home. This will also update the information on Shucho, so let’s go assassinate her now.

Assassinate Shucho¶

Looking at the board, you will see she’s southwest of the Temple of Osaka, running around the Fishermen’s District. Since you should be there after rescuing the child, let’s hunt her down. She is found a little east of where the child was, looking around in some bushes. Unfortunately, there’s likely going to be a guard nearby, so attacking/assassinating her will draw his attention. She also has three health segments, so unless you’ve upgraded the damage from your assassinations to include an additional segment.

If you have Smoke Bombs unlocked, you can try to toss one in between Shucho and the guard, then quickly kill her and run away afterwards. Should you have to fight her head-on, she uses dual daggers to battle, where she either does a melee strike or attempts to toss one of them at you. Upon killing her, that crosses off one of the targets for this Objective Board.

Find the Child¶

Another of the letters you found on one of the butterflies mentions a child about to be kidnapped on an island to the west of Osaka. This is the same island with Kojo Ruins, with the location being right across the southern bridge. As soon as you cross it, you’ll identify the woman harassing the kid as Mucho, one of the targets. As soon as you approach the pair, the woman will run off, so give chase. You should be able to easily assassinate her whenever, but it might be easier to wait, as she will stop not too far from where you started. When she stops, that’s your opportunity to put an end to her.

Fighting her head-on reveals the same moveset as Shucho, but there’s a chance that guards might show up to make things more complicated. Upon killing her, return to the child and speak to him to make him start his return home. You will actually have to escort him back, but you’ll be finished after you reach his father. Upon showing him the letter, the father mentions a paper merchant in town, so that’s one of your clues for the head honcho, Kacho. For now, though, let’s take care of the third member.

All Will Be Well¶

The third letter mentions something about a burnt well being a drop-off for a ransom. This will be located near the northern tip of the current area, so head in that direction. As you get near, you hear the one gardener mention something about a woman going to and fro the bamboo grove. If you’re confused on where this is, go into your Objectives and you should see a new entry under the leader, called Forest Fugitive. It says to go north of Osaka Castle, near Noda Village.

Basically, cross any of the nearby bridges to the east, then travel all the way north, following the road there until you reach Noda Village, north of Osaka Castle. The bamboo grove is just north of the village, but head more northeast until Naoe mentions a cabin in the grove. This is where Richo will be found, so you can use Eagle Eye and Observe to identify her. Thankfully, if you’re quiet enough, you should be able to get the jump on her without alerting her of your position.

Sneak up behind her and assassinate her, then go to the shack to find the child inside it. As with the second one, you have to escort her back to her mother, so just follow behind her. Upon reaching her mother, you’ll receive a Trinket of Childlike Bravery and be one step closer to finishing this quest.

Finding Kacho¶

It’s time to bring down the leader, but you still don’t know where she is located. You should have two leads, though, so let’s start with those. Just northwest of the Fishermen’s District is a spot you can go to, with the blue orb. It’s inside a building there and called Chrysalis, and it’s actually a note that talks about the kidnapper’s hideout being marked by butterflies. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help too much in pinpointing a location, so it’s time to check out the other lead.

The Paper Trail option will have you track down a paper merchant, who is found just north of the Temple of Osaka. If you remember the big tree with the butterfly on it, the house with the paper merchant is right there. Look for the one with umbrellas out front, so once you find it, go inside and speak to him. You’ll learn that he delivered the high-quality paper to the lady’s house in Nishinomaru Garden, which is just west of Osaka Castle. This is a restricted zone, so you’ll need to be careful not to be seen by anyone while traversing it.

Follow the outer wall until you reach just northwest of the Nishinomaru name on the map, where you should see some scaffolding and a hole in the wall. Squeeze through it and Kacho’s house will be a little north of your position. You’ll not only know because of the blue dot, but that there are a lot of butterflies flying around it. As soon as you get close enough, a cutscene will trigger, leading to a fight with Kacho. She fights just like the others do, so just be aware of the dagger throw and parry the attacks, then retaliate while she’s vulnerable.

Kill or Spare the Gamemaker¶

That pretty much wraps up the quest, but there is one loose end left, which is the Gamemaker. Return to her by Katano Castle and speak with her, revealing that you know she was in on the kidnappings, too. There will be a few choices here, including giving her a name, but the most important one occurs at the end, where you decide to kill her or spare her. It’s unclear if sparing her will allow her to come back later for some other side quests or not. There are also no immediate repercussions for killing her, either.

In addition to the rewards you get for completing the quest, you will also receive 5,000 XP for completing The Butterfly Collector Objective Board. So, doing this quest should help you gain a few levels for your character, as well as a number of Mastery Points to learn some skills.