Onimusha: Way of the Sword Weapon & Katana Upgrade Guide — How to Upgrade at Spirit Mirrors

• Equipment upgrades unlock at the Spirit Mirror during the mission “The Oni’s Apprentice” — select “Enhance Equipment/Abilities.”
• There are three equipment tracks to upgrade independently: Clothing, Sword (katana), and Gauntlet — each uses different materials.
• Each track has 5 Proficiency levels, each containing 10 upgrade levels within it — a total of 50 levels per track to fully max.
• Sword upgrades boost attack power, Issen counter effectiveness, and Oni Armament stats — all from one track.
• Fully maxing all equipment unlocks the Dressed to Kill Silver trophy and requires 25 Fine Silk Cloths and 25 Tamahagane as the key rare materials.
• Equipment upgrades do not carry over to New Game+. Spend all materials before the final mission.
• Buy crafting materials from Yorimasa’s Monument when you run short — the shop stock expands after each major story milestone.

Onimusha Way of the Sword weapon upgrades work differently from most action games. You do not collect new katanas or swap weapons as you progress — Musashi carries a single katana from start to finish, and the entire upgrade system deepens that one blade. The Spirit Mirror is where every equipment enhancement happens, and understanding exactly how the three upgrade tracks work saves you from wasting materials or hitting a wall of missing resources mid-game. This guide covers the full upgrade system, every material you need, where to find them, and the smartest upgrade order.

Since upgrade materials feed directly into the broader resource loop, our soul farming guide is worth reading alongside this one — it covers how Red Souls and Favor connect to the other upgrade track (charms and skills). For a complete picture of everything you can do at the Spirit Mirror, our Spirit Mirrors guide covers every menu option in full detail.

Onimusha Way of the Sword Weapon Katana

How to Unlock Equipment Upgrades

Equipment upgrades are not available from the very beginning of the game. The option unlocks automatically during the main quest “The Oni’s Apprentice.” Once unlocked, you will see the “Enhance Equipment/Abilities” option appear in the Spirit Mirror menu — it is the second option in the menu once active.

From this menu, select Enhance Equipment to access the three upgrade tracks. You can switch between Clothing, Sword, and Gauntlet upgrades freely within the same menu visit. There is no cost to switching between tracks, and you do not have to commit to upgrading one to completion before starting another.

The Three Equipment Upgrade Tracks

Every piece of Musashi’s gear upgrades on its own independent path using its own set of materials. The three tracks are:

• Clothing — enhances Musashi’s haori coat and armour, improving his defensive stats and damage mitigation. Uses cloth and leather-based materials.
• Sword (Katana) — sharpens the katana, boosting raw attack power, Issen counter effectiveness, and Oni Armament stats. Uses iron and stone-based materials.
• Gauntlet — strengthens the Oni Gauntlet, improving its combat strikes, soul absorption potency, and Oni Power capabilities. Uses Genma-dropped materials.

Each track has 5 Proficiency levels. Within each Proficiency, there are 10 upgrade levels. That means 50 upgrade steps per track — and to unlock the next Proficiency level, you pay a one-time Proficiency upgrade cost in addition to the regular level costs.

Sword (Katana) Upgrades — Full Breakdown

The sword upgrade track is where the most impactful combat improvements come from. Every point you put into the sword directly benefits your main damage output, your Issen counter windows, and — importantly — your Oni Armament stats. Because the katana tree improves Armament stats too, investing in the sword is not in competition with the gauntlet. They reinforce each other.

The katana has two stances you switch between in combat: the one-handed stance (fast, mobile, good for pressure and combos) and the two-handed stance (slower but hits significantly harder, better for breaking stamina quickly). Sword upgrades benefit both stances proportionally — there is no split between the two. For more on how stances interact with the combat system, our Issen, parry and deflect guide covers how each stance feeds into the full combat loop.

Sword Upgrade Materials by Proficiency Level

Proficiency	Proficiency Unlock Cost	Per-Level Materials (most levels)	Level 5 Materials
Proficiency 1	Default (no cost)	2 Whetstone + 1 Iron (L2–5); 2 Whetstone + 1 Iron + 1 Tempered Iron (L7–10)	2 Whetstone + 1 Iron; Level 6 costs 1 Tamahagane
Proficiency 2	1 Iron + 1 Tempered Iron + 2 Tamahagane	2 Iron + 1 Tempered Iron	2 Iron + 2 Tempered Iron + 2 Tamahagane
Proficiency 3	2 Iron + 2 Tempered Iron + 3 Tamahagane	2 Iron + 2 Tempered Iron	2 Iron + 2 Tempered Iron + 4 Tamahagane
Proficiency 4	2 Iron + 2 Tempered Iron + 4 Tamahagane	2 Whetstone + 2 Iron + 2 Tempered Iron	2 Whetstone + 2 Iron + 2 Tempered Iron + 1 Tamahagane
Proficiency 5	2 Whetstone + 2 Iron + 2 Tempered Iron + 1 Tamahagane	2 Whetstone + 2 Iron + 2 Tempered Iron + 1 Tamahagane	Same as per-level

Key sword materials: Whetstone, Iron, Tempered Iron, and Tamahagane. Tamahagane is the rarest — there are 25 Tamahagane in the game world to find, and it is also the gating material for reaching the highest Proficiency levels.

Clothing Upgrades — Full Breakdown

Clothing upgrades boost Musashi’s defence and damage mitigation. These do not affect your sword damage or Issen windows — they make you physically tougher. On Carnage difficulty, where a single hit can kill, clothing upgrades combined with the Charm of Protection provide meaningful survivability improvements. On Action mode they are still worth maintaining, but are less immediately critical than sword upgrades.

Clothing Upgrade Materials by Proficiency Level

Proficiency	Proficiency Unlock Cost	Per-Level Materials (most levels)	Level 5 / 6 Materials
Proficiency 1	Default (no cost)	2 Hempen Cloth + 1 Cotton Cloth (L2–5); 2 Hempen Cloth + 1 Cotton Cloth + 1 Leather (L7–10)	Level 6 costs 1 Fine Silk Cloth
Proficiency 2	1 Cotton Cloth + 1 Leather + 2 Fine Silk Cloth	2 Cotton Cloth + 1 Leather	2 Cotton Cloth + 2 Leather + 2 Fine Silk Cloth
Proficiency 3	2 Cotton Cloth + 2 Leather + 3 Fine Silk Cloth	2 Cotton Cloth + 2 Leather	2 Cotton Cloth + 2 Leather + 4 Fine Silk Cloth
Proficiency 4	2 Cotton Cloth + 2 Leather + 4 Fine Silk Cloth	2 Hempen Cloth + 2 Cotton Cloth + 2 Leather	2 Hempen Cloth + 2 Cotton Cloth + 2 Leather + 1 Fine Silk Cloth
Proficiency 5	2 Hempen Cloth + 2 Cotton Cloth + 2 Leather + 1 Fine Silk Cloth	2 Hempen Cloth + 2 Cotton Cloth + 2 Leather + 1 Fine Silk Cloth	Same as per-level

Key clothing materials: Hempen Cloth, Cotton Cloth, Leather, and Fine Silk Cloth. Fine Silk Cloth is the rarest — exactly 25 are found across the world, mirroring the 25 Tamahagane available for sword upgrades.

Gauntlet Upgrades — Full Breakdown

The gauntlet upgrade track uses materials that come exclusively from Genma enemies — specifically the stronger mini-boss level enemies that appear in the world. This makes gauntlet upgrades the hardest to fully complete because the materials require actively killing specific types of enemies rather than collecting from chests or buying from a shop.

Gauntlet Upgrade Materials by Proficiency Level

Proficiency	Proficiency Unlock Cost	Per-Level Materials
Proficiency 1	Default (no cost)	L1: 1 Malicite / L2: 1 Malicite / L3–4: 2 Malicite + 1 Byakue’s Talisman / L5: 2 Malicite + 1 Byakue’s Talisman
Proficiency 2	2 Malicite Mass	3–4 Malicite + 1–2 Byakue’s Talisman + 0–1 Dohatsu-ten’s Horn (increases each level)
Proficiency 3	4 Malicite Mass	4 Malicite + 2 Byakue’s Talisman + 1 Dohatsu-ten’s Horn
Proficiency 4	6 Malicite Mass	5 Malicite + 2 Byakue’s Talisman + 2 Dohatsu-ten’s Horn + 3 Malicite Mass
Proficiency 5	5 Malicite + 2 Byakue’s Talisman + 2 Dohatsu-ten’s Horn + 3 Malicite Mass	5 Malicite + 2 Byakue’s Talisman + 2 Dohatsu-ten’s Horn + 3 Malicite Mass

Key gauntlet materials: Malicite, Malicite Mass, Byakue’s Talisman (dropped by Byakue enemies), and Dohatsu-ten’s Horn (dropped by Dohatsu-ten enemies). If you need to farm these after completing the final mission, two specific rifts spawn in Kyoto post-game — one spawns Byakue (for Byakue’s Talisman) and one spawns Dohatsu-ten (for Dohatsu-ten’s Horn) — making post-game gauntlet material farming very reliable.

All Upgrade Materials — Where to Find Them

Sword Materials

Whetstone — found in chests scattered across Kyoto, as enemy drops, and purchasable from Yorimasa’s Monument. Common enough that it is rarely a bottleneck.

Iron — found in chests and as a respawning loose material across Kyoto. Also purchasable from Yorimasa’s Monument. Like Whetstone, this is common and should not cause issues if you explore thoroughly.

Tempered Iron — less common than regular Iron. Found in chests at higher-level areas and purchasable from Yorimasa’s Monument once its stock expands later in the game. This is the first material where players may feel a short-term squeeze.

Tamahagane — the critical rare material for sword upgrades. There are exactly 25 Tamahagane to find in the world. Sources include story-tied chests, hidden chests revealed by Oni Vision, and Yorimasa’s Monument (which stocks some in its later expanded inventory). Use Oni Vision: Treasures and Oni Vision: Search Range constantly while exploring to spot every Tamahagane chest.

Clothing Materials

Hempen Cloth — common early material found in chests throughout Kyoto. Rarely a bottleneck.

Cotton Cloth — common mid-game material. Found in chests, as a respawning loose world drop, and available from Yorimasa’s Monument.

Leather — found in chests and as a world drop across many areas. Also purchasable from Yorimasa’s Monument once his stock expands. One reviewer who spent 35 hours in the game noted they never quite maxed gear without buying some materials — Leather is usually where the gap appears first.

Fine Silk Cloth — the critical rare material for clothing upgrades. There are exactly 25 Fine Silk Cloths in the game world, mirroring the Tamahagane count. These are found in hidden chests (Oni Vision is essential for spotting them), as story quest rewards, and occasionally at Yorimasa’s Monument. Treat every Fine Silk Cloth you find with the same care as Tamahagane.

Gauntlet Materials

Malicite — dropped by mid-tier Genma enemies. Found throughout the game as combat progresses into areas with stronger enemies.

Malicite Mass — a rarer, higher-grade Malicite drop from stronger Genma. Needed for Proficiency unlock costs from Proficiency 2 onward.

Byakue’s Talisman — dropped by Byakue enemies. These are the white, axe-wielding mini-boss type Genma that appear in several locations and after some Malice Plant destructions. Each kill can drop the Talisman. After completing the final mission, a dedicated Byakue Rift spawns in Kyoto for reliable farming.

Dohatsu-ten’s Horn — dropped by Dohatsu-ten enemies. These are another elite Genma type that appears in specific areas from the mid-game onward. After the final mission, a dedicated Dohatsu-ten Rift also spawns in Kyoto for farming.

Where to Buy Materials — Yorimasa’s Monument

Yorimasa’s Monument, the shop at Yasui Konpiragu shrine, sells crafting materials for Red Souls. This is one of the most underused resources in the game because players check it once early on, find limited stock, and never return. That is a mistake.

The shop inventory expands after every major story milestone. By the mid-game it stocks Iron, Tempered Iron, Cotton Cloth, Leather, and some Tamahagane and Fine Silk Cloth. Check it after every main quest completion, not just at the start of the game. If you are short on any material, Yorimasa almost certainly sells it by the time you need it at higher upgrade levels.

The easiest way to reach Yorimasa’s Monument is via fast travel to the nearest Spirit Mirror and walking to the shrine. For the full breakdown of how Spirit Mirrors and fast travel work, including which mirrors are in East Kyoto where the shrine is located, see our Spirit Mirrors guide.

Hover Over Quests to Preview Material Rewards

One of the most useful and underused features in the game is the quest preview system. When you hover over any quest marker on the map, the rewards for that quest are shown — including any upgrade materials it drops. For main quests, the materials on offer appear in the bottom-left corner of the screen as soon as you open the map and highlight the quest.

This means you can plan which quests to tackle next based on what materials you currently need. Short on Tempered Iron for your sword? Check which quests reward it before choosing your next objective. This system turns material farming from a chore into a natural part of story progression. Completing the Stout Pillars quest “Careful What You Wish For,” for example, rewards Power Stone #4 — which feeds into the skill upgrade track at the Spirit Mirror alongside the equipment upgrades. For a full walkthrough of that quest, our Stout Pillars quest guide covers every step.

Chests vs. Respawning Loose Materials

There is an important distinction between how different material sources work:

• Chests — one-time pickups only. Once you open a chest and collect the material inside, it is gone permanently for that playthrough. This is why Oni Vision: Treasures is so valuable — it prevents you from walking past a hidden chest you never knew existed.
• Loose world materials — respawn over time. Materials that appear as glowing spots on the ground rather than inside a chest will reappear after you rest at a Spirit Mirror or fast travel. These can be farmed repeatedly if you are short on a specific common material like Cotton Cloth or Iron.

The practical upshot: explore every area fully on your first pass through it with Oni Vision active. Collect every chest. Then, if you still need common materials later, fast travel farming loops will restock the loose world items. Rare materials like Tamahagane and Fine Silk Cloth only appear in one-time chests — there is no farming loop for them except through Yorimasa’s stock.

Upgrade Priority — What to Enhance First

With three separate tracks requiring different scarce materials, upgrade order matters. Here is the recommended approach:

1. Start upgrading your sword as soon as materials appear. The sword track delivers the most combat impact per upgrade. Better attack power means faster fights, less damage taken, and more Red Souls earned per loop. Every sword level pays compound dividends for the rest of the run.
2. Upgrade clothing steadily alongside the sword. Clothing provides the defensive layer that keeps you alive long enough to land those sword attacks. Do not neglect it in favour of pure sword investment, especially moving into the mid-game where enemies hit harder.
3. Upgrade the gauntlet when Malicite and Byakue’s Talisman accumulate naturally. Gauntlet materials are tied to specific enemy kills and cannot be purchased in significant quantities early. Upgrade it as you earn the materials organically rather than grinding specifically for them. The gauntlet upgrades make a noticeable difference, but they are the hardest track to rush.
4. Do not wait to upgrade. Some players hoard materials waiting for a “best time” to spend. There is no best time. Every level of upgrade you delay is a level you could be benefiting from right now. Upgrade whenever you have the materials.
5. Watch for Proficiency level costs. The jump from one Proficiency tier to the next requires a one-time payment of the Proficiency unlock cost before you can continue upgrading within that tier. These costs are always shown in the Spirit Mirror menu. Keep enough materials to pay the next Proficiency unlock rather than spending everything on per-level upgrades and getting stuck.

Equipment Upgrades and New Game+

This is critical: sword and gauntlet enhancements do not carry over to New Game+. When you start a Carnage run, your equipment resets to base level. Skills, charms, Hozuki Pouches, and Oni Abilities do carry over — but all the materials you spent on sword and gauntlet upgrades are gone.

This has two practical implications:

• Spend all materials before the final mission. Any Red Souls and upgrade materials you hold at the time of starting the final mission are either consumed there or lost at the NG+ transition. Do not save materials “for next time.”
• Equipment upgrades are still worth doing fully on the first run. Even though they reset, maxing equipment on the first playthrough unlocks the Dressed to Kill Silver trophy — and fully upgraded gear makes the final mission and the endgame significantly easier to complete, which in turn makes the Carnage run setup smoother.

The good news for Carnage runs is that your enhanced skills carry over, so combat from the first fight of NG+ plays at near-endgame level even with a base sword. Your parry windows, Issen power, Soul Absorption upgrades, and Oni Awakening duration all transfer. What you lose is raw damage numbers — which the game compensates for by letting you rebuild faster since you know exactly where every material chest is. For the complete NG+ carry-over list, see our trophy and achievements platinum roadmap.

The Dressed to Kill Trophy

Fully upgrading all three equipment tracks to maximum level across all Proficiency tiers unlocks the Dressed to Kill Silver trophy. This requires all 50 levels of Clothing at max, all 50 levels of Sword at max, and all 50 levels of Gauntlet at max — across all five Proficiency tiers each.

The two bottleneck materials for this trophy are:

• 25 Fine Silk Cloths — needed for Clothing upgrades
• 25 Tamahagane — needed for Sword upgrades

Both have exactly 25 available in the world, and you need all of them. Use Oni Vision: Treasures, Oni Vision: Treasures 2, and Oni Vision: Search Range at every opportunity to spot hidden chests containing these materials. If you still fall short after exploring everything, Yorimasa’s Monument stocks some of both in its expanded late-game inventory.

Gauntlet upgrades are gated by Byakue’s Talisman and Dohatsu-ten’s Horn availability. If you need to farm these, two dedicated rifts spawn post-game for reliable farming of both. The Dressed to Kill trophy does not require upgrading Hozuki Pouches — those are a separate track covered in their own menu section and contribute to the Medical Marvel trophy instead. For the full trophy guide covering all 52 trophies and exactly when to pursue each, see our platinum roadmap.

How Sword Upgrades Interact with Oni Armaments

One thing many players miss: sword upgrades also improve your Oni Armament stats. This means investing in the katana upgrade track is not just improving your standard sword attacks — it is simultaneously making your Flashing Void, Wind-Whipper, Firebird Flute, and other Armament activations more powerful.

This is why the sword track is the highest-priority equipment upgrade. It delivers both direct sword improvements and indirect Armament improvements from a single track. The gauntlet track also contributes to Armament effectiveness through different stat pathways, creating a reinforcing loop where upgrading both matters more than upgrading either in isolation. For a full breakdown of how each Oni Armament works and which is best for each situation, see our Oni Armaments and Oni Power abilities guide.

Quick Material Reference Table

Track	Common Materials	Rare / Gating Material	Drops / Source
Sword	Whetstone, Iron, Tempered Iron	Tamahagane (25 total)	Chests, world drops, Yorimasa’s Monument
Clothing	Hempen Cloth, Cotton Cloth, Leather	Fine Silk Cloth (25 total)	Chests, world drops, Yorimasa’s Monument
Gauntlet	Malicite, Malicite Mass	Byakue’s Talisman, Dohatsu-ten’s Horn	Enemy drops from Byakue and Dohatsu-ten; post-game rifts

Related Guides

• Charms Guide — All 15 Charms & Best Builds
• Tips and Tricks for Beginners
• Story Mode vs. Action Mode Difficulty Guide
• Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is available on Steam (PC), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Visit the official Capcom Onimusha site for full game details. If you are on PC, our PC requirements guide covers all system specs.

Frequently Asked Questions