Sekiro Leader Shigenori Yamauchi fight - how to beat and kill Yamauchi
How to beat the first mini-boss of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Yamauchi.
Leader Shigenori Yamauchi is the first mini boss in Sekiro, found in the game's prologue area, Ashina Reservoir, following on from your first introduction to basic combat.
You'll find Yamauchi shortly after you first meet Lord Kuro, the small boy you've set out to save, in the Moonlit Tower in the Ashina Reservoir area.
Below, we'll cover how to beat and kill Sekiro's Leader Shigenori Yamauchi, including any particularly strong methods or weaknesses he might have and any handy things to bear in mind.
For more guides and pages like this, meanwhile, cycle back to our main Sekiro walkthrough and boss guide hub.
Sekiro Leader Shigenori Yamauchi fight - how to beat and kill Yamauchi
Leader Shigenori Yamauchi - Yamauchi for short - is the first 'boss' encounter of any type that you'll have found in Sekiro so far. He appears shortly after you do your first bit of killing, having visited Lord Kuro in the Moonlit Tower and got your sword.
He's also the simplest, using big, powerful, but basic swipes and little else to attack you.
This is where you get your first taste of the most fundamental elements of Sekiro's combat though: Deflecting and Counter-slashing.
To beat Yamauchi you're going to need to not only break down his Posture with standard attacks; you're going to need to deflect his, and counter with some follow-up hits shortly after each time you do.
This is simple enough - at least in theory. Wait for him to strike, tap L1 / LB (don't hold it like you would to fully block), and you'll hear a nice, ringing sound of blade's clashing, and he'll step back, staggered a little. You can then land at least two hits on him as well.
Deflecting attacks is the most fundamental way that you're going to deal larger amounts of Posture damage - not only here but throughout the game - so try to actually use it and not rely on the crutch of just hammering away at his defenses mindlessly.
Looking for more Sekiro pages like this? First up, the first main Sekiro patch notes for update 1.03 are live. Otherwise, our Sekiro boss guide, boss list and walkthrough hub has everything in one place, including pages on Lady Butterfly, Genichiro Ashina Way of Tomoe, Folding Screen Monkeys, Corrupted Monk, Guardian Ape, Great Shinobi Owl, Emma and Isshin Ashina, True Corrupted Monk, and Divine Dragon. We also have in-depth pages like Sekiro tips and tricks to get you started, Sekiro Skills, skill tree and Esoteric Text locations explained, our deep dive on the Sekiro combat system, Posture, and Perilous Attacks, or details on all Sekiro Prosthetic Tool locations, how to cure Dragonrot and Rot Essence in Sekiro, Gourd Seed locations, a Divine Confetti farm route method, all Treasure Carp Scale locations, all, Prayer Beads locations and all Snap Seed locations, too. And when you're ready - the how to beat Isshin Sword Saint and an Isshin Sword Saint cheese, plus the many Sekiro endings.
He has two Deathblow markers - as you'll see from the two red dots above his health bar in the top left of the screen - as most bosses and mini bosses will throughout Sekiro. That means you're going to have to break down his Posture and land a Deathblow on him twice to actually kill him. Remember to tap R1/RB for the Deathblow of course, when your indicater turns a big glowing red.
With that, you're hopfully done! Remember not to overcommit, keep your health topped up, and focus on properly Defelcting and doing a couple of attacks before resetting, and you should be fine.
That's all you'll hopefully need for tackling this encounter. Next up in our guide is General Naomori Kawarada, or you can cycle back to our main Sekiro walkthrough and boss guide hub for much more bosses, explainers and advice.