The Heartwarming Way Ghost Of Tsushima Fans Helped The Real World Island

Thanks to the popularity of critically acclaimed action adventure title Ghost of Tsushima, a crowd-funded restoration project for an island in Japan is finally gained traction. The fundraiser was created to help restore the Torii gate at the Watatsumi Shrine on the Japanese island of Tsushima. A majority of the contributions to the project have reportedly been coming from fans of Ghost of Tsushima.

The restoration effort first started on Nov. 28, 2020, after the Torii gate took a massive hit during a typhoon in Sept. 2020. The goal for the project was 5 million yen, which backers easily hit by Dec. 2020. Before the new year, the project had received over 20 million yen in contributions, completely surpassing the original goal. Yuichi Hirayama, a resident shrine priest in charge of the effort, commented on the generous donations. "We have received a great deal of support from the players of the Ghost of Tsushima game set in Tsushima, andI feel that it is God's guidance," he wrote in an update note.

In Japanese culture, Torii gates indicate the entrance to a Shinto temple. The Watatsumi Shrine in Tsushima is located in the Toyotama region. In Ghost of Tsushima, the shrine and Torii gate that would best fit this general location would be the Scarlet Rock Shrine located in the center of the Field of the Equinox Flower in the Umugi Prefecture. In the game, the Scarlet Rock Shrine was built for Tsukuyomi, a Japanese moon god, while the real-world Watatsumi Shrine was created in honor of the Japanese deities Hikohohodemino Mikoto and Toyotamabime.

Recently, Ghost of Tsushima was trending on Twitter after plans to remove an emoji of the game's protagonist, Jin, on the social platform were announced. Whenever users would use #GhostOfTsushima, Jin's face would get tacked on at the end of the hashtag. In one last effort to celebrate the game and this adorable emoji, fans of the game tweeted with the hashtag. Having won the Player's Voice category at The Game Awards 2020, it's no secret this game's dedicated fan base is not only happy to get Ghost of Tsushima trending on social media, but also willing to help out on real-life restoration projects connected to the game's inspirations.

Now that the Torii gate restoration project reached its goal, a plan to finalize the budget by Mar. 2021 is currently underway. Restoration for the Torii gate is set to begin in Apr. 2021, and conclude in Aug. 2021. In addition to the gate reconstruction, there are plans to build a stone monument that lists the names of donors who contributed at least 10,000 yen to the project.