If Byakue is the sledgehammer that tests your patience in Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Dohatsu-ten is the scalpel introduced to shred it. Flaunting blackened wings, dual demonic blades, and ridiculous aerial mobility, this swordsman guards a few of the game’s highest-tier Genma Rifts. Cracking open his drop pool for Dohatsu-ten’s Horn is mandatory if you want to take your gear to its max level, but the game treats these drops like contraband. This guide explains where to find Dohatsu-ten and how to take him down for Horns to fully upgrade your Oni Gauntlet.
How Many Dohatsu-ten’s Horns You Need for Upgrades
Every horn you carve off Dohatsu-ten will be spent on late-game equipment enhancements at the Spirit Mirror:
- Oni Gauntlet (Proficiency Level 5/5): Upgrading the Gauntlet to its final tier (Level 5) requires 22 Dohatsu-ten’s Horns alongside 34 Byakue’s Talismans, 30 Malicite Masses, and 55 Malicites. Max proficiency will grant you +850 Oni Power and unlock a second consecutive use for your equipped Oni weapon skills.
- Hozuki Pouch: Awakening (Level 3): Taking your Hozuki Pouch from Level 2 to Level 3 requires 2 Dohatsu-ten’s Horns.
Keep in mind that the Dohatsu-ten version you’ll rematch in the Practice Ground will reward zero materials. You can only earn Horns by slaying the boss in the campaign world or through open-world Genma Rifts.
How to Defeat Dohatsu-ten – Heaven’s Bane
Dohatsu-ten looks like he stepped out of a dark fantasy nightmare, and he fights like it. He’ll dash across the arena, launch into the air, and mix sweeping blade flurries with unblockable kicks. The part of the plan is to let his speed work against him.
Stay light on your feet and watch his blade hand. His normal dual-sword combos can be parried with clean timing, setting him up for quick counters, and when he winds up for a powerful roundhouse kick, never block it. Side dodge at the last split second just before his boots touch the dirt, as slipping this strike will leave the boss stuck in recovery period that will give you enough damage window to dismantle his health and posture.
Dohatsu-ten’s nastiest ranged maneuver will send three vacuum waves screeching across the ground. Rather than dodging away, use your Deflect skill to bat the projectiles right back into his chest, as reflected waves will deal heavy stagger damage and instantly knock him out of his aerial stance, and once his stamina bar crumbles, execute an Issen counter. If you back off, he will retreat, channel his red aura, and quickly regenerate his stamina, which will drag the battle far longer than necessary.
Dohatsu-ten Locations in Story & Side Missions
You can bank a solid collection of Dohatsu-ten Horns just by dueling the boss across main and side quests throughout the course of the game:
- The Roots of All Evil: Your introduction to Dohatsu-ten, where after clearing the outer rifts around the temple outskirts, he’ll emerge from the final rift as the mission’s climax.
- Bloodbath on the Bridge: Journeying through the rooftops and back courtyards in the Gojo district will lead to a sealed courtyard where Dohatsu-ten drops in from the rift.
- Okuni’s Kabuki Dance: Accepting Okuni’s riverbed request will unlock two separate rifts on the central sandbars. The northern rift summons Dohatsu-ten into an arena littered with explosive barrels you can detonate for free stagger damage.
- The Faceless: A Kyoto side story where a rift near the urban estate yards rolls a full-scale battle against the boss and an escort of Genma retainers.
- The Demon on the Mount: Mt. Oe has multiple encounters with Dohatsu-ten, including a high-stakes clash inside the mountain cavern network.
- A Haunted Distraction: Found in the temple outskirts near Yasaka Shrine, this side quest will put you against an open-field rift harboring Dohatsu-ten.
- In the Light of an Icy Moon: After you venture into the Arashiyama swamp, you will face a powered-up, red water version of the creature who commands heavy Malice shockwaves.
- The Way of the Sword: Inside Shanoah Castle’s Fourth Layer (Suspended Hallway), you must kill an endgame Dohatsu-ten on the path before the final confrontations.
If you have a stockpile of Red Souls, you can skip farming eight of the horns by purchasing from Yorimasa’s Monument shop:
- Post-Okuni’s Kabuki Dance: Adds 4 Dohatsu-ten’s Horns to the shop inventory for 8,000 Red Souls each.
- Post-In the Light of an Icy Moon: Brings another 4 Dohatsu-ten’s Horns to the stock at the same price.
How to Farm and Respawn Dohatsu-ten in the Endgame
Even after you finish every mission and buy from Yorimasa’s inventory, you’ll probably still find yourself about 4 to 8 horns short of upgrading your Oni Gauntlet before New Game+. Eastern Kyoto has nine possible Genma Rift spawns, but the game limits the map to only two active rifts at any given time.
For the best farming that we also tried, as we were short of a few horns, fast travel to the Gojo Street – West Spirit Mirror and travel west toward the bridge where you fought the main story boss.
Check the horizon above the bridge. If you see a plume of reddish-black smoke, head to that smoke’s location where the rift will spew Dohatsu-ten. Take him down, collect the Dohatsu-ten’s Horns, and absorb the rift for bonus Malicite Masses.
If there’s no red smoke above the bridge, fast travel out of Eastern Kyoto (warp to Arashiyama or Mt. Oe), then immediately teleport back to Gojo Street – West shrine. If the plume shows up somewhere else in the region, like the northern sandbar or the Higashioji alleys, go seal it as well. Closing active rifts will reset the map pool and allow the Gojo bridge node to roll on your next pass.
