Every Master Sawamura Yasusuke Nioh 3 player runs into eventually turns out to be one of the more forgiving optional duels in the game, once you know his tells and bring the right ninja loadout. He goes down without ever landing a hit on you if you play it patiently. I found him, fought him with a full ninja tool and magic rotation, and beat him clean using nothing but spacing and a well-timed ultimate. Here’s the exact location and the approach that worked.

Bookmark this guide if you’re still hunting down the rest of Nioh 3’s optional Masters, since a lot of the spacing habits here carry straight over to the other dojo duels scattered across the map.

Master Sawamura Yasusuke Nioh 3 Location: Where to Find Him

Master Sawamura Yasusuke is tucked away in Shijo, northwest of the Shijo Depression Shrine. From that shrine, head north and drop down into the lower area, then continue west until you reach a dojo building. That’s where you’ll find him waiting for a duel. Like the rest of Nioh 3’s Masters, this is an optional encounter rather than something blocking your main story progress, but the rewards make the detour worth taking, especially if you’re chasing the “A God Among Men” trophy that tracks how many of these dojo duels you’ve cleared.

If you’ve already cleared a few of these dojo fights, our guide on Master Nasu no Yoichi’s location and boss fight covers another one worth tracking down in the same playthrough, and it’s a good idea to knock out several Masters back to back once you’re already in the mood for these shorter, more technical duels instead of the longer story bosses.

Master Sawamura Yasusuke Nioh 3 Boss Fight Attack Patterns

Sawamura fights with a pair of tonfa and leans entirely on dash-ins and repositioning, so most of the fight comes down to reading his footwork before he commits. His Tonfa Cyclone Swing starts with a dash to one side before he jumps into a spinning strike, and dodging sideways as he leaves the ground gets you clear of it and into range to punish his landing. His Tonfa Swing and Push is a two-hit combo, a horizontal swing followed immediately by a shove, and you can block the first hit and dodge diagonally through the push for a clean counter window. His Jumping Swing telegraphs with a straight-line charge before the leap, so a side step or a block the moment he jumps handles it safely.

None of these hit especially hard on their own, but he strings them together quickly, so staying at range and only closing distance in short bursts keeps you from getting caught mid-combo. What makes the Master Sawamura Yasusuke Nioh 3 fight easier than it first looks is that every single one of his attacks needs him to dash toward you first, which means there’s no real ranged pressure to worry about and no reason to ever stand still and trade blows with him.

Best Ninja Tools Loadout for the Master Sawamura Yasusuke Fight

I went in with Thundering Calamity, fire shurikens, and regular kunai, and burned through all three as fast as I could the moment the fight opened. Thundering Calamity only connects at medium range, so it’s not something you want to fire off while he’s right on top of you, but it hits hard enough to matter and locks onto targets reliably since its patch 1.04.03 tuning pass improved its target acquisition. Fire shurikens and kunai are cheaper to throw and don’t require you to line up the same medium-range window, so they’re useful for keeping damage flowing in between Thundering Calamity casts rather than waiting on cooldowns.

Once my throwing weapons ran dry, I switched straight into magic instead of waiting around, which kept the pressure on him without ever putting me in melee range where his tonfa combos actually threaten you. The order matters less than the habit itself: burn your fastest, cheapest options first, and treat your bigger cooldowns as the backup plan rather than the opener.

Using Demon of Envy and Elemental Magic Against Master Sawamura Yasusuke

After the Ninja Tools ran out, I opened with the Demon of Envy ability before following up with basic wind and water attacks. Demon of Envy slots into the Yang Position of your Onmyo Box and hits well above its cost in matchups like this one, and if you haven’t unlocked or built around it yet, our full Demon of Envy breakdown covers how to get the most out of it against tougher targets than Sawamura. The wind and water follow-ups won’t one-shot anything, but they keep chipping away at his Ki and health while you’re staying mobile, which is really the entire point of a ninja-style approach to this fight.

How to Beat Master Sawamura Yasusuke Without Taking a Hit

The core of a no-hit clear here is distance management above everything else. I kept moving constantly and stayed out of his reach for the entire fight, since Sawamura has almost no ranged pressure of his own and everything he does requires him to close the gap first. Once my Ninja Tools were spent and I needed more, I didn’t wait around to farm them back manually. I used my ultimate ability immediately to refill my supply instead, which let me keep the same tool-heavy rotation going without ever being forced into a prolonged melee trade.

For the actual finishing blows, I stuck to a simple jump followed by a heavy attack. That combo deals serious damage against most enemies in Nioh 3, not just Sawamura, so it’s worth keeping in your back pocket for other Master fights too. Between the tool damage, the magic chip damage, and that jump heavy combo landing clean a few times, the fight ended before he ever got a real combo off on me.

This whole approach works especially well against Masters in general, since most of them, Sawamura included, are built around single-target melee pressure with almost nothing to answer a ranged, tool-heavy playstyle. If you’re already running a ninja build for the story campaign, you don’t need to respec or grab anything new specifically for this fight. The same kit that carries you through regular missions is more than enough here.

Master Sawamura Yasusuke Rewards and Recommended Level

Beating him drops gear around level 130, so treat that as a rough benchmark for how prepared you should be before challenging him. If your current loadout is well below that level, expect his combos to hit noticeably harder than the tells above suggest, so it’s worth farming a level or two elsewhere first rather than forcing the fight underleveled. Loot includes pieces from the Shogunate Set, Last Ninja Set, Heir Shinobi Set, and Upper Vassal Set, plus the Handbook: Fleetfoot skill unlock, and there’s a chance at the Raikiri as a random drop on top of that. If you’re working through the rest of Nioh 3’s Master roster after this one, our Master Shinran boss fight guide is a good next stop, since it uses a similar unlock structure and rewards the same kind of patient, spacing-first approach.

Frequently Asked Questions About Master Sawamura Yasusuke in Nioh 3

Where is Master Sawamura Yasusuke in Nioh 3?
He’s in Shijo, northwest of the Shijo Depression Shrine. Head north from the shrine, drop down, then go west into the dojo building.

Is Master Sawamura Yasusuke a mandatory boss?
No, he’s an optional Master duel like the rest of Nioh 3’s dojo encounters, though the gear and Handbook: Fleetfoot he drops are worth the detour.

What is the best build for the Master Sawamura Yasusuke boss fight?
A ninja-focused build works well here. Lean on Thundering Calamity, fire shurikens, and kunai first, then switch to Onmyo magic like Demon of Envy once your tools run out, and keep your distance throughout.

What does Master Sawamura Yasusuke drop in Nioh 3?
Pieces from the Shogunate Set, Last Ninja Set, Heir Shinobi Set, and Upper Vassal Set, along with Handbook: Fleetfoot and a random chance at Raikiri.

How do I avoid taking damage from Master Sawamura Yasusuke?
Keep moving and stay out of his reach, since all of his attacks require him to dash in first. Punish his landing recovery after dodging rather than trading hits directly.

That’s everything you need to find and beat Master Sawamura Yasusuke in Nioh 3 without eating a single hit. Check out our other guides on ingametor.com for the rest of Nioh 3’s Masters and boss fights.