Nioh 3: Key Locations & Interactive Tracking Guide

Staring at a "Locked from the other side" prompt in Nioh 3 is one of the game's most reliable signs that something valuable is nearby — and somewhere on the map, a specific enemy, corpse, NPC, or strange NPC trade is holding the answer.

Our team at MapMaster has documented all 14 Key locations across Warring States, Heian, Bakumatsu, and the Eternal Rift maps, each pinned with its exact source and the door it unlocks — all available on our Nioh 3 interactive guide hub.

What Keys Are in Nioh 3?

The Key guide tracks 14 items: traditional metal keys that open locked gates and doors, plus three Six Jizo Statue Heads that repair specific shrine sites across the open world.

The Statue Heads work differently from regular keys — you carry them to the damaged Six Jizo statue and use them to restore it, triggering a Mujina spawn in the process.

Both categories are tracked here because they each unlock or activate otherwise inaccessible content.

Four Ways Keys Are Acquired

Unlike the more predictable collectibles, Nioh 3's keys come from four completely different acquisition routes:

• Enemy and boss drops — the Dirty Key drops from the Yamainu in Hamamatsu village, the Bloody Iron Key from the bandit leader at the Tenryu River Enemy Base, and the Tarnished Iron Key from Onryoki on Horinji Temple Bridge.

• Objective auto-rewards — the Grubby Iron Key is automatically rewarded for clearing the Funaokayama Enemy Base, no loot prompt required.

• NPC and Myth gifts — the Mountain Temple Key is handed directly to you by Ii Naotora when you trigger Ii's Memento Myth in Hamamatsu Castle. The Mibu Temple Key comes from Takasugi Shinsaku as a reward for helping him defeat Nagakura Shinpachi during the Peerless Katana Myth.

• NPC exchange in the Eternal Rift — the Blackened Key requires a multi-step chain described below.

The Blackened Key: Nioh 3's Most Searched Key

The locked door on the upper floor of the Blacksmith's building in the Eternal Rift is visible from the moment you arrive, and it stays locked for a long time.

Getting the Blackened Key requires completing the Putrid Paradise Myth in Heian, then returning to the Eternal Rift and giving dung balls to Tatsumaro the Dung Lover in the cavern beneath the Blacksmith's shop.

Specifically: 5 Noble Dung Balls traded to Tatsumaro unlock the key. He rewards Smithing Texts with each offering, and the Blackened Key arrives once the full five are delivered.

The most reliable Dung Ball source is killing Wasps and Gaki Chiefs — the swamp area in Hachijo, where you first meet Tatsumaro during the Myth, is a natural farming spot.

Six Jizo Statue Heads: Tracked Here, But Not Traditional Keys

Three entries in our guide are Six Jizo Statue Heads — the Maisaka, Sagano, and Mibu versions used to repair damaged Six Jizo shrine sites.

Each head triggers a Mujina Yokai spawn the moment you interact with it — defeat the Mujina, collect the smaller head it drops, then carry the head to the Six Jizo statue to complete the repair.

The Kiyomizu Statue Head requires a Spirit Vein to reach the ledge where it sits; both the Sagano and Mibu heads also spawn Mujina on pickup.

All 14 Key Item Locations

• Warring States (7 Key Items): Dirty Key (Yamainu drop, Hamamatsu village), Bloody Iron Key (bandit leader, Tenryu River Enemy Base), Horie Castle Cell Keys (corpse, Horie Castle inner courtyard), Maisaka Six Jizo Statue Head (rock, upper Maisaka village), Pagoda Key (corpse, Iinoya temple porch after Lesser Crucible), Mountain Temple Key (Ii Naotora, Ii's Memento Myth), Abandoned Shrine Key (farmer's corpse, Futamata tea farm).

• Heian (3 Key Items): Grubby Iron Key (auto-reward, Funaokayama Enemy Base), Tarnished Iron Key (Onryoki drop, Horinji Temple Bridge), Sagano Six Jizo Statue Head (base of hill, eastern Sagano — Mujina spawns).

• Eternal Rift (1 Key Items): Blackened Key (5 Noble Dung Balls to Tatsumaro — see above).

• Bakumatsu (3 Key Items): Mibu Temple Key (Takasugi Shinsaku reward, Peerless Katana Myth), Mibu Six Jizo Statue Head (outside Mibu Temple tunnel — Mujina spawns), Kiyomizu Six Jizo Statue Head (ledge above Six Jizo, Spirit Vein required).

All 14 Key Items are carefully documented on the Warring States area map, Heian interactive map, Eternal Rift map guide, and Bakumatsu area map, with exact sources and door targets.