Sado is a province in Total War: Shogun 2, Rise of the Samurai, and Fall of the Samurai.
Description[]
Sado Island lies off the north-western coast of Japan. While not very productive in terms of farming, it boasts some of Japan's richest deposits of gold and silver. Its isolated location makes it easily defensible and a good strategic location. Due to its remoteness from Kyoto and Edo, it was a frequent place of exile for politically inconvenient public figures, among them the Emperor Juntoku and the founder of Nichiren Buddhism, Daishonin.
Total War: Shogun 2[]
- Clan: Honma Clan
- Port: Trading Port
- Fertility: Barren
- Specialty/Resource: Gold
Sado is a small island to the north-east of the map. With a trading port already present at the start of the campaign and the valuable gold resource, Sado is the second wealthiest province in Shogun 2 despite its barren soil, behind only Iwami. This makes it an excellent target for expansion, particularly as not neutralizing Sado risks allowing the Honma to land attacking armies at will. However, such a move is also risky: Sado is home to the Honma Clan, which is allied to the powerful Hatakeyama Clan; invading Sado early usually invites Hatakeyama to declare war. Invading Sado also requires a navy, which may be countered by the Honma's own navy.
Sado is closest to the province of Echigo.
Rise of the Samurai[]
- Clan: Inoue (Taira)
- Port: Coastal Village
- Fertility: Barren
- Specialty/Resource: Gold
Sado remains a valuable province. It is a potential early target for the Kubota Fujiwara and the Hiraizumi Fujiwara: the initial owners of Sado, the Inoue, are inevitably hostile towards these factions due to its Taira allegiance, and refraining from invading the island inevitably causes the Fujiwara problems in the long run.
Fall of the Samurai[]
- Clan: Sado (Shogunate)
- Port: Harbour
- Fertility: Meagre
- Specialty/Resource: Gold
Sado has improved soil compared to its previous iterations, partially offsetting the fact that gold is a much worse resource in Fall of the Samurai than in Rise of the Samurai or Shogun 2. Sado is initially owned by its eponymous faction, which is pro-Shogunate. It can remain a steadfast ally to most Shogunate factions throughout the game, but has a tendency to attack any faction that is close to it, Shogunate-aligned or not. This is a particular problem for the nearby Nagaoka domain.
Trivia[]
- Gold was discovered on Sado in 1601, hundreds of years after the Gempei war, so the presence of a gold mine on Sado in Rise of the Samurai is anachronistic.