Nioh 3: Nurikabe Locations & Interactive Tracking Guide

Before you attempt to guess a Nurikabe's mood, check whether you can go around it. Three of the 15 Nurikabes in Nioh 3 can be bypassed entirely by approaching from behind — removing the talisman from the wall's back dissipates the barrier instantly, no combat or gesture required.

Every Nurikabe location is documented and included with its exact approach on our Nioh 3 interactive maps.

What Are Nurikabe in Nioh 3?

Nurikabe are sentient wall Yokai that block doorways, passages, and shortcuts throughout the game's open-world eras. They appear as sections of wall with a faintly glowing face — easy to walk past if you're not actively watching for subtle eye-glints on apparently solid surfaces.

Behind them lie shortcuts, Hot Springs, rare chests, and Kodama. Unlike most obstacles, Nurikabe can be removed without fighting — but only if you know the method.

Not Required for Trophies

Nurikabe are not required for any trophy or achievement. You can earn the Platinum without interacting with a single one.

That said, many of the areas they block contain Hot Springs, Smithing Texts, and Soul Cores — so skipping them entirely means leaving meaningful resources behind.

Two Ways Through: Talisman or Gesture

Talisman method (fastest): Three Nurikabes in the checklist have an accessible back. The Funaokayama Nurikabe (inside the house at the end of the bamboo forest path) can be dissolved by removing the talisman from the wall after approaching from behind.

Remove the talisman on the wall, and the Nurikabe will be removed, thus unlocking a new shortcut.

The Sagano Nurikabe (in the stalactite tunnel cave past the Mermaid) also has an accessible back and yields to talisman removal.

The Palace Grounds Crucible Nurikabe (Heian) can be bypassed by climbing the nearby wall and dropping through a hole in the roof — our guide flags this explicitly.

For all others, the path forward is either the gesture system or combat.

How the Gesture System Works

Stand in front of a Nurikabe, and the gesture prompt appears. The wall has a hidden mood corresponding to a gesture category — the three categories match coloured emotion types (broadly: calm/formal, joyful/playful, or aggressive/martial).

You have two attempts before the Nurikabe loses patience. A correct guess causes the wall to bow and vanish, sometimes leaving a Soul Core or small item reward.

A wrong guess on the second attempt — or attacking the wall directly — triggers a combat encounter. Nurikabe have high physical defense and powerful slam attacks, making combat a slower and riskier option than a correct guess.

If you don't want to guess, the talisman method eliminates the risk entirely for the three eligible walls.

All 15 Nurikabe Locations

• Warring States (4 Walls): Futamata Castle upper courtyard building, Iinoya Ryotan Temple back garden, Mikatagahara Saigagake Castle upper courtyard, Mikatagahara Crucible past the burned bridge.

• Heian (5 Walls): Mount Kurama house western wall, Funaokayama bamboo path house (talisman method available), Hachijo building wall, Sagano stalactite tunnel cave (talisman method available), Palace Grounds Crucible demolished courtyard (talisman bypass via roof hole).

• Antiquity (1 Walls): upper floor of the Spirit Stone Box #4 room, beside the flaming statues.

• Bakumatsu (4 Walls): Shimabara pleasure house upper floor, Shichijo southern mountain passage, Sanjo/Honnoji Temple Crucible tunnel, Kyoto Imperial Palace Spirit Vein room.

• Final Battle of Edo (1 Wall): large hall on the ground floor of Edo Castle.

All 15 Nioh 3 Nurikabe locations are included on the Warring States area map, Heian interactive map, Antiquity map guide, Bakumatsu area map, and Final Battle of Edo interactive map, with talisman-bypass flags and approach routes.