Arts are a gameplay mechanic in Total War: Shogun 2 and Rise of the Samurai.
Arts are analogous to technologies from previous games such as Empire: Total War or Napoleon: Total War: They take time to unlock, and once unlocked they provide military or economic bonuses for their faction. Unlike Empire and Napoleon, one art may be researched at a time. Prioritization is therefore key as researching all arts would take an inordinate amount of time. The rate at which arts are mastered are boosted both by buildings as well as character skills.
In Fall of the Samurai, arts are renamed technologies, but the process of mastering and unlocking technologies is identical to that of arts.
Total War: Shogun 2[]
Arts are split into two trees: the military-oriented Bushido tree and the economy-oriented Way of Chi tree.
For a list of arts, click here.
Rise of the Samurai[]
Arts are split into two trees: the military-oriented Budo tree and the economy-oriented Bunka tree.
Playable factions have bonuses or penalties for art research. The Kubota Fujiwara have a +30% research rate for Bunka arts. The Kamakura Minamoto have a +20% research rate for Budo arts, while the Kiso Minamoto have a -20% research rate for Bunka arts. While the Fukuhara Taira have no innate bonuses to research rate, they begin the campaign holding Kyoto, home to the State Academy, which gives a +20% research rate for all arts.