Ghost of Tsushima is set in the year 1274, during the Kamakura period, at the time of the first Mongol invasion of Japan on Tsushima Island.

Main setting and time

  • The story takes place on Tsushima Island off the coast of mainland Japan in 1274, as Mongol forces land and begin their invasion.
  • This falls within the Kamakura period of Japanese history, when the shogunate held military power and the Mongol Empire under Kublai Khan was expanding across Asia.

Historical background

  • The game’s opening is inspired by the real first Mongol invasion, sometimes associated with the Battle of Bunei, when Mongol troops quickly overwhelmed Tsushima’s defenders and used the island as a staging point toward Kyushu.
  • While the date, invasion, and location are historically grounded, most characters (like Jin Sakai, Lord Shimura, and Khotun Khan) and many story events are fictionalized for dramatic effect.

How this fits the series

  • The main game and the Iki Island expansion are both set in 1274, effectively covering different parts of the same campaign and Jin’s backstory in that single year.
  • Later franchise entries move centuries ahead (for example, a sequel set in 1603), so when players ask “when is Ghost of Tsushima set,” they usually mean this original 1274 Tsushima invasion setting.

TL;DR: Ghost of Tsushima is set in 1274 on Tsushima Island during the first Mongol invasion of Japan, in the Kamakura period, blending real history with a fictional samurai story.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.