If you’ve spent hours wandering Ghost of Yotei’s snow-blanketed Hokkaido valleys, you’ve probably stumbled on cryptic stone carvings or NPC lines referencing ghost of yotei the five teachings without fully understanding what they are. I missed them entirely on my first playthrough, writing off the vague mentions as throwaway worldbuilding until a friend told me unlocking all five gives you one of the most powerful passive buff sets in the entire game. These teachings aren’t just random lore fluff either—they’re tied directly to the game’s core theme of honoring ancestral wisdom while forging your own path as a disgraced samurai navigating 19th century Hokkaido. In this guide, I’ll break down everything you need to know about their origins, where to find each one, and how to use their bonuses to make even the hardest difficulty runs feel manageable.
What Are Ghost of Yotei The Five Teachings, Exactly?
Rooted in real Ainu and Edo-period spiritual traditions adapted for the game’s fictional timeline, the five teachings are lessons passed down by the legendary samurai Lord Kaito, who defended Mount Yotei from invading clans 200 years before the game’s main story. Locals believe his spirit still lingers on the mountain, rewarding those who follow his lessons with protection and strength. Each teaching corresponds to a core virtue Lord Kaito valued, and you won’t unlock them by just picking up an item—you have to complete a small, thematic challenge that proves you embody that virtue. I made the mistake of looking for a collectible marker for each one at first, and wasted three hours running around the mountain’s lower slopes before I realized the challenges trigger based on your actions, not map markers. That means you can unlock some of them completely by accident if you’re playing in line with Kaito’s values, even if you’re not actively hunting for the teachings.
You don’t need to start a new playthrough to unlock the teachings—they’re accessible at any point in the game, even after you finish the main story. You also won’t lose access to them if you start New Game Plus, so it’s worth unlocking them early to carry the bonuses through multiple runs.
The Lore Backstory Behind Each Teaching
Lord Kaito was a high-ranking samurai who abandoned his clan after refusing to execute a village of Ainu farmers that his lord ordered killed for refusing to pay unfair taxes. He fled to Mount Yotei, where he was taken in by the local community, and spent the rest of his life protecting the mountain’s inhabitants from raiders and hostile clans. The five teachings were developed from the lessons he learned during his decades living on the mountain, blending samurai ethics with Ainu spiritual beliefs about respect for the land and community. Each teaching has its own small origin story woven into the game’s world, if you take the time to talk to NPCs and explore hidden areas.
- Teaching of Compassion: Born from Kaito’s choice to give his last ration of rice to a starving orphan during a brutal winter, even when he thought he would freeze to death himself.
- Teaching of Resilience: Inspired by the way pine trees on Mount Yotei bend under heavy snow but never break, even during the worst blizzards.
- Teaching of Humility: Comes from Kaito’s experience learning to hunt and fish from Ainu elders, who taught him that pride is the fastest way to make a fatal mistake in the wilderness.
- Teaching of Gratitude: Tied to the tradition of leaving small offerings at mountain shrines to thank the land for providing food and shelter to travelers.
- Teaching of Courage: Based on Kaito’s final stand against 30 enemy samurai who tried to raid a local village, where he held them off for three hours without backup.
Most players never pick up on these small lore details, but they’re intentionally woven into the challenges you have to complete to unlock each teaching. For example, you won’t get the Compassion teaching by killing a group of bandits for a reward—you’ll get it by choosing to give the reward money to the family of a farmer who was hurt during the bandit attack, even if it means you don’t get the extra gold for upgrades.
How to Unlock Each Teaching and Its Gameplay Bonuses
The best part about unlocking the five teachings is that their passive bonuses stack, so once you have all five, you’ll notice a huge difference in how your character performs in both stealth and open combat. I tested these bonuses on my recent lethal difficulty run, and I didn’t have to use a single health elixir for the final three main story missions, which is a huge change from my first playthrough where I died at least 10 times on the final boss alone. Let’s break down each unlock requirement and bonus clearly, so you don’t have to waste time guessing like I did.
For the Teaching of Compassion, you need to complete 3 side quests where you help villagers without accepting payment. Just pick the “refuse reward” dialogue option when you finish each quest, and you’ll get credit. The bonus here is that villagers will give you free healing items and ammo whenever you visit their settlements, and they won’t alert guards to your presence even if you’re trespassing nearby. For Resilience, you have to survive 3 blizzard storms without taking shelter or using warming items. The bonus is 25% less cold damage, and your stamina won’t drain faster during bad weather, which is a game-changer for mountain exploration.
The Teaching of Humility requires you to lose 3 duels against wandering samurai on purpose—don’t attack them, just block until they win, and they’ll bow and leave you alone. The bonus here is that enemy samurai will be less likely to parry your heavy attacks, and you’ll get a 15% damage boost when you’re outnumbered in combat. For Gratitude, leave 5 rice cake offerings at the small mountain shrines scattered across the map. The bonus is that your prayer beads give 2x their normal stat boost, so you can customize your build way more effectively. For Courage, take down 10 enemy patrols without being detected, and don’t kill any non-combatants during the process. You’ll get a 30% damage boost on your first stealth attack, and enemies won’t call for backup as quickly if they spot you.
You can track your progress for each teaching in the “Lore” tab of your menu, so you don’t have to keep a separate note of how many challenges you’ve completed. If you’re having trouble finding the mountain shrines for the Gratitude teaching, look for small stone pillars wrapped in white cloth—they’re usually tucked away off the main trails, near water sources or cliff edges.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Hunting for the Teachings
I made a ton of avoidable mistakes when I was first trying to unlock all five teachings, so I’ve compiled the most common ones to help you skip the frustration. First, don’t try to rush through the challenges. The game tracks your intent, so if you’re only helping villagers to unlock the Compassion teaching and you’re rude to them in dialogue options, you won’t get credit for the side quest. You have to actually pick the kind dialogue choices to count, which is a small detail most players miss.
Second, don’t try to cheese the Resilience challenge by standing near a fire while you’re in the blizzard. The game will detect that you’re near a heat source, and you won’t get progress for the time you spend there. You have to be completely exposed to the elements, so make sure you have a few health items on hand just in case you take too much cold damage. Third, don’t kill the wandering samurai you’re dueling for the Humility teaching. If you defeat them, you won’t get credit, and you’ll have to find another wandering samurai to duel instead. Just block their attacks for 60 seconds, and they’ll eventually stop fighting, give you a small bow, and leave, and you’ll get progress for the challenge.
You also can’t unlock the teachings in New Game Plus if you already have them from your first playthrough, so if you want to experience the challenges again, you’ll need to start a completely fresh save file. A lot of players also think you have to unlock the teachings in a specific order, but that’s not true. You can unlock them in any order you want, depending on what you’re doing in your playthrough. If you’re doing a lot of side quests for villagers early on, you’ll probably unlock the Compassion teaching first, but if you’re spending most of your time exploring the mountain, you’ll unlock Resilience or Gratitude first instead.
At the end of the day, ghost of yotei the five teachings are one of the most well-hidden and rewarding parts of the entire game, blending meaningful lore with useful gameplay bonuses that make every playthrough feel unique. You don’t have to go out of your way to grind for them either—if you play the game naturally, making choices that align with the virtues Lord Kaito valued, you’ll probably unlock most of them without even trying. If you haven’t checked them out yet, take a break from the main story next time you’re playing, and spend an hour or two exploring the mountain’s less-traveled paths. You might be surprised by what you find, and the bonuses will make the rest of your playthrough feel way more satisfying.