If you’ve spent any time roaming the snow-blown peaks and forested valleys of Ghost of Yotei’s 2026 open world, you know how easy it is to get distracted by side quests, random fox encounters, and bandit camps before you even think about tracking down collectibles. I spent 12 hours last weekend combing every inch of the map specifically to hunt down all sumi e locations ghost of yotei has hidden, and I’m sharing every spot, trick, and missable detail so you don’t waste your time running in circles. Sumi E collectibles don’t just give you bragging rights for 100% completion either – unlock all of them and you get an exclusive in-game art gallery, plus a rare silk kimono skin for your protagonist that you can’t get anywhere else.
How to Prep Before Hunting All Sumi E Locations Ghost of Yotei Offers
Jumping into collectible hunting without prepping first will cost you hours of extra work, and you might even miss rare scrolls entirely if you haven’t unlocked the right tools or story progress first. I learned this the hard way on my first playthrough, when I spent 90 minutes searching for a southern coast scroll that was locked behind an Act 2 story quest. Follow these simple prep steps to make your hunt as smooth as possible:
You will not see Sumi E icons on your map until you finish the Brush of the Old Master quest, so don’t even try hunting for them before you hit Act 2 of the main story. The quest only takes 15 minutes to complete, and it also gives you a free map marking rough zones for all the scrolls, which is a huge help if you don’t want to follow a strict line-by-line guide.
Northern Peaks Sumi E Locations (6 Total)
The Northern Peaks are the highest, coldest part of the map, and most of the Sumi E scrolls here are hidden in shrines or small caves tucked into the mountainside. This is the only region with time-sensitive collectibles, so prioritize this zone before you get too deep into the end of the main story. 3 of these 6 scrolls are missable if you progress past the final main story mission, so make sure you collect them before you start the "Fight for the Mountain" quest line.
The first scroll is at the very top of Mount Yotei, tucked under a stone altar next to the frozen torii gate. You can climb up from the west side, there’s a hidden path with rope handholds that most players miss, so you don’t have to waste stamina climbing the sheer rock face. The second is inside the abandoned mining cave east of the frozen lake – you’ll have to fight 3 ice ghosts to get to it, but they’re low level so you shouldn’t have too much trouble. The third is on the cliff overlooking the northern wolf den, you can glide to it from the nearby fast travel point (I fell off that cliff three times trying to reach it, so make sure you glide from the highest point of the fast travel tower, not the lower ledge). The remaining three scrolls are in a small shrine behind a frozen waterfall, a fisherman’s hut on the edge of the ice lake, and the ledge of the old watchtower. Don’t forget to check inside wooden chests in this region, two of the scrolls are stored in chests instead of sitting out in the open like most other collectibles.
Southern Forest and Coast Sumi E Locations (8 Total)
The southern half of the map is way warmer, with dense cedar forests, small fishing villages, and rocky coastlines. None of the scrolls in this region are missable, so you can collect them at any point after you unlock the southern access path in early Act 2. Most of these scrolls are tied to small side activities, so you might stumble on a few while you’re doing other quests.
For example, the first scroll in this region is given to you as a reward for returning a lost cat to an old woman in Hira Village, you don’t even have to hunt for it if you do the tiny, unmarked side quest. The southern coast has 2 scrolls hidden inside shipwrecks off the shore, so you’ll need to swim out to reach them – just watch out for the sharks that spawn in the deeper water, they can one-shot you if you’re not paying attention. The remaining 5 scrolls are tucked in tree hollows, on the second floor of abandoned farmhouses, and behind the stone altar at the forest shrine. I also found that if you follow the torii gate trails scattered through the forest, they almost always lead you straight to a collectible, so keep an eye out for those red gates peeking through the trees.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Collecting Sumi E Scrolls
Even if you follow a map step by step, it’s easy to miss a few scrolls if you’re not paying attention to small details. I watched three of my Twitch chat members struggle to get the last scroll in their collection last week, all because of simple avoidable mistakes.
First, don’t assume every scroll is marked on your mini map – if you’re in a blizzard zone or inside a cave, the map signal cuts out, so you’ll have to look around manually to find the scroll. If your mini map shows a scroll icon but you can’t find it, it’s almost always on a different elevation level, either above you on a cliff ledge or below you in a cave or basement. Another mistake I see a lot of players make is skipping the small side quests that reward scrolls – there are 3 total scrolls you can only get from NPC quests, so you won’t find them lying around the map even if you search every inch. Don’t sell any of the old scrolls you pick up from chests either, some players accidentally sell them thinking they’re vendor trash, and then they have to reload an old save to get them back. You can check your collection progress any time in the "Art" tab of your menu, so make sure you check it every hour or so to see which regions you’re missing scrolls in. That way you don’t have to go back and re-search entire regions after you finish the game.
At the end of the day, hunting down all sumi e locations ghost of yotei has is one of the most rewarding side activities in the 2026 release, both for the unique rewards and the little bits of regional lore you get with each scroll. You don’t have to collect them all in one sitting either, I spread my hunt out over three days, mixing in side quests and main story missions to keep it from feeling like a chore. If you run into a spot you can’t reach, try coming back later once you have the upgraded glider or climbing gear, almost every hard-to-reach spot becomes accessible once you unlock those late-game items. Enjoy exploring the map, and good luck finishing your collection.