Silent Hill f Sacred Sword puzzle solution
How to solve the Sacred Sword puzzle in Silent Hill f.
The Sacred Sword puzzle in Silent Hill f is a lengthy one, and happens to only be available in New Game Plus. As a result, this side quest – and whether or not you complete it – can impact which ending you achieve.
Consisting of a hunt for five different jizo statues using clues left behind for us via Research Journals, you’re going to have to do a lot of exploring of Ebisugaoka to complete this puzzle. To help you out with that, here’s our Silent Hill f Sacred Sword puzzle solution guide.
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Silent Hill f Sacred Sword puzzle solution
First things first, the Sacred Sword puzzle is only available in Silent Hill f’s New Game Plus mode.
On top of that, the Sacred Sword puzzle must be completed before reaching the Shimizu Residence in the latter half of the game. For what it’s worth, all ending-influencing actions are to be done (or not done) before this point. Things are pretty much set in stone for you after reaching the Residence.
The Sacred Sword puzzle is essentially a treasure hunt quest that concludes by giving you a very powerful weapon, which is then tied to specific alternate endings for Silent Hill f. To get the weapon, you’ll need to track down five Research Journals around Ebisugaoka. Each of the journals gives you a hint as to where to find one of five jizo statues. You can then interact with these statues upon finding for a strange flashback of sorts that reveals an item you need to find and gift to the statue.
To summarise, you must use all five Research Journals to track down five jizo statues, who’ll then send you to collect an item to gift to them. Once you find all five jizo statues and gift them the items they request, you’ll finally be able to head to the Divine Tree in Sugisato to receive the Sacred Sword. It's location is in the below screenshot; remember this area for later, once the puzzle is complete.
Now, let’s go about finding those journals, statues, and requested items.
This guide features a lot of map screenshots to help you track things down. If you are lost, look carefully at where my current location is in each screenshot; these show exactly where you need to go and which spooky alleys or back gardens you need to be exploring.
Research Journal and Jizo Statue 1
When you first start a New Game Plus playthrough of Silent Hill f, the first difference you may notice is that the house southeast of where you start the game – atop the mountain and just past your first hokora – is open this time around. It's pictured below.
Head inside and collect the Research Journal Photo 1 from the living room table. Then, go upstairs and retrieve the Balcony Key from the children's bedroom too.
This allows you to access the balcony via the locked door in this bedroom, which then lets us gain entry to the other bedroom on this floor. Here, you'll find the Packing Tips item – which increases your inventory space – and the Treasure Hunting Game Key alongside a Boy's Diary.
The Treasure Hunting Game Key lets you unlock four chests found around the house, all of which contain a page of the Treasure Hunt Game Note, excluding one – in the kitchen storeroom – which contains the Faded Bride Doll. This will come in use later.
Look at the Research Journal Photo, which shows a postbox. Then, make your way down the mountain while keeping your eyes peeled for said postbox; it'll be on your left and rather helpfully, is also illustrated on your map.
Directly across from the postbox is the jizu statue. Interact with the statue to place the Faded Bride Doll by it.
This completes the first stage of the Sacred Sword puzzle. We've four more Research Journals and their associated jizu statues to go!
Research Journal and Jizo Statue 2
The second Research Journal photo is found while your objective is 'head to Rinko's house', after having completed the Shrine Altar puzzle and Shrine Vault puzzle. More specifically, after waking up in Ebisugaoka following your first experience of the Shrine World, head down the high street – west of the General Store – until you come to a hokora on your right.
Face away from the hokora and look at your map. Next, you want to head north as far as you can go, then go right along another street to reach a second hokora. There'll be an enemy or two along the way.
From this second hokora, turn to face away from it, then head left just a little to come to the porch of a house (see the map below). The Research Journal Photo 2 is found on the west side of these two houses, and this time, it depicts a construction site.
This construction site is right beside where you meet Shu and Rinko shortly, but if you want to beeline for it, return to the previous hokora and head north. You'll want to take the third path to the right, as shown on the map below.
Along this path, keep left to come to a small construction site with the jizu statue sitting at the very back of it.
The item you need to retrieve – to give to the statue – is found north of the site in Sakuko's family shrine. You see that winding mountain path to the left of the construction site on the above map? Yup, it's up there!
Go to Sakuko's Shrine and retrieve the Rusted Flask from the small shrine in the north of the area, then give it to the jizu statue.
That's stage two of the Sacred Sword puzzle completed. Three more to go!
Research Journal and Jizo Statue 3
The third Research Journal Photo is hard to miss, as it's along the way to Ebisugaoka Middle School. This is after heading to Rinko's house, the Corridors Shrine World segment, and after being told to head to Shu's house. When your objective is to 'head to the mountain behind Ebisugaoka Middle School', it's almost time to grab Research Journal Photo 3.
You'll speak to Shu and Rinko, then your objective to 'head to the mountain behind Ebisugaoka Middle School' will be active. Cross the bridges over the canals up ahead and afterwards, keep your eyes peeled for a photo on top of a rusted oil drum on your right (pictured below).
Now, it's time to find the jizu statue and its requested offering. Keep progressing ahead until you reach a hokora; it's not too far away, but there are two enemies along the way.
From the hokora, head southeast to a shack (pictured below), where you'll find the jizu statue hidden away behind it. The item we need to retrieve for this statue, however, is a bit of a walk away yet.
Head to the middle school but do not enter the school's yard just yet. After the cutscene with Rinko and Shu, which happens as you approach the school, do not enter the school gates just up ahead.
Instead, keep left around the school yard's exterior until you come to a ruined bridge. Here, you'll find the Broken Japanese Geta Sandals.
Collect them, then go and give them to the jizu statue from earlier to complete stage three of the Sacred Sword puzzle. Two more statues and offerings to go! You can continue to progress through Ebisugaoka Middle School for now.
Research Journal and Jizo Statue 4
After clearing out the Middle School and fleeing from an encounter with the Fog Monster in Sugisato, go upstairs to the hokora, then head left. You'll find yourself at Sakuko's old shrine, where the Research Journal Photo 4 is; it's on an altar to the left of the area.
If – while facing the shrine – you head right, you'll also arrive at the Divine Tree. I recommend paying a quick visit to it now so it's marked on your map, as we'll need to revisit here later.
To then find the final jizu statue, return to the hokora from earlier and go towards Shu's house, which is to the northeast. You'll go past the statue – which is on your right – while along this route.
To find the item needed for this jizu statue, continue to Shu's house but remain outside, where Shu has a small outdoor workshop (where you find Shu's House Keys inside). Go to the right of the workshop's exterior and you'll find the Cracked Hibachi Brazier on the floor, which you can now go and give to the jizu statue.
That's the fourth stage of the Sacred Sword puzzle dealt with. Just one more to go!
You can now enter Shu's house and proceed, but a word of forewarning; do not rush ahead and enter the Shimizu Residence when prompted to do so. This is the point of no return for this puzzle (and the Crimson Water puzzle) so we want to make sure to wrap everything up before entering the building.
Research Journal and Jizo Statue 5
The fifth and final Research Journal Photo is found while your objective is to 'make your way down the mountain and head to the Shimizu Residence' in Silent Hill f, and you must make sure to do this before entering the Shimizu Residence. Whatever you do, do not enter the building before completing the Sacred Sword puzzle (or the Crimson Water puzzle, if you're hoping to do that too).
After leaving Shu's house (and dealing with Sakuko in the Shrine World), keep an eye on the other houses you come across while walking through the mountain again. The second shack you run into – just past the spawner egg which turns into an enemy – will have a small worktable outside with the final Research Journal Photo on it (pictured below).
The jizu statue we're now looking for is on a staircase behind the largest house on this side of the mountain; it's a two-story wooden home with one of the only working streetlamps outside of it (shown below).
To get the item needed for the jizu statue, head downstairs and left, then right to reach the backyard of the house here; Dad's Kitchen Knife is lodged in a tree here.
Give the knife to the jizu statue. Hinako will then say 'come to the Divine Tree' which we'll have visited when acquiring Research Journal Photo 4.
Once you return to the Divine Tree in Sugisato (whose location is featured at the beginning of this guide), you can retrieve the Sacred Sword from the base of the tree. Unfortunately, there will be a spawner along the way, blocking the path, that we'll need to take care of first.
The Sacred Sword is a weapon that is all yours to use and it possesses infinite durability. On subsequent runs, you sadly don't start with the weapon however; you'll need to visit the second jizu statue, found in eastern Ebisugaoka, to get it. This can be done before going to Rinko's house and Ebisugaoka Middle School.
The Sacred Sword also happens to be directly tied to The Fox Wets Its Tail ending (which you can achieve by collecting the Sword and not purifying it) as well as the Ebisugaoka in Silence ending (which is achieved by purifying the Sword via the Crimson Water puzzle).
Good luck with the Sacred Sword puzzle in Silent Hill f.