Onimusha: Way of the Sword — How to Get the Charm of Stamina

The Charm of Stamina is one of the 15 charms Musashi can collect across Kyoto, and it is tied to a single side objective rather than a hidden chest or a boss drop. You will not stumble into it while exploring ruins, so it helps to know exactly which encounter hands it over.

Quick answer: Complete the Chance Encounter “The Growling Ghost.” Speak to the NPC standing under the wooden shelter in the city streets to start it, then follow the objective marker to the Spirit Mirror: Kiyomizu-zaka Slope. Finishing the encounter awards the Charm of Stamina.

Charm of Stamina effect: +10% Stamina Recovery Speed

At base level, the Charm of Stamina increases Stamina Recovery Speed by 10%. That number reads small on the equipment screen, but stamina is the resource behind almost everything Musashi does in a fight. Attacking, dodging, parrying, and guarding all draw from the same bar.

Emptying that bar is the punishing part. With no stamina left, Musashi is easy to stagger and his guard can be broken outright, which usually means eating a full combo from a Genma. Faster recovery shortens the window where you are stuck with no defensive options.

Musashi swinging at a Genma in Kyoto with an active quest objective on screen — Attacks, dodges, parries, and guards all spend the same stamina bar. Image: Capcom

How to start “The Growling Ghost” Chance Encounter

Open the pause menu and check your quest log for “The Growling Ghost.” Chance Encounters only become available after you reach the right point in the story, so if it is missing entirely, push the main campaign forward and check again.

Onimusha pause menu open with the Controls option highlighted — The pause menu, where you check active objectives before heading out. Image: Capcom

Open the map and select the encounter to place a marker on the city district where it begins. Tracking it this way saves you from sweeping the streets by eye.

Kyoto map screen with a selected quest objective and its location marker — Selecting the objective on the map screen pins its location. Image: Capcom

Run through the city streets to the marker. The quest giver is easy to miss because he is standing back under a wooden shelter rather than out in the open.

Musashi running through Kyoto toward a purple objective marker — Follow the on-screen marker through the streets to reach the quest giver. Image: Capcom

Talk to him. He explains that Genma have been offering prayers to a growling spirit, and the conversation formally starts “The Growling Ghost.”

Open the map again once the encounter is active. A new destination appears at the Spirit Mirror: Kiyomizu-zaka Slope. Travel there and finish the encounter to claim the charm.

Note: none of the 15 charms are missable. If you skip this one during the story, you can still return to it during free roam right up to the point of no return before the final mission, “The Clash At Rendaino.”

Confirming you received the charm

Once the encounter wraps up, open the equipment menu. The Charm of Stamina should be listed with its Stamina Recovery Speed +10% line visible on the item description. Charms do nothing while sitting in your inventory, so equip it before heading back out.

It also counts toward the Charmed Life trophy and achievement, which requires collecting and fully upgrading all 15 charms in the game.

Upgrading the Charm of Stamina at Enma’s Hall

Charm enhancement is locked behind story progress. The option only appears after you complete “The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu,” which is also the mission that grants the Charm of the Healer. After that, head to the shrine in the southeast corner of Enma’s Hall, pick the charm you want, and choose Make Offering.

Every charm in the game costs the same to upgrade, and there are two tiers.

Upgrade	Red Souls	Favor
Level 2	3,000	3,500
Level 3	6,000	6,500
All 15 charms to Level 3	135,000	150,000

If Make Offering is greyed out or missing at the shrine, the cause is almost always one of two things. Either “The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu” is still incomplete, or you are short on Red Souls or Favor for the next tier.

Where to get Red Souls and Favor

Red Souls are the simple half of the equation. They drop from Genma as you kill them, so normal exploration and combat build a stockpile on its own.

Favor is the slower resource, since it comes from trading in items at Enma’s Hall rather than from fighting. The items you trade turn up in several places around Kyoto.

Shining objects lying on the ground
Small treasure chests that glow
Rewards from citizens you rescue from Genma attacks, collected by speaking to them afterward
Purchases from merchants and Yorimasa’s Monument

Pickup notification showing Greater Might Talisman x1 during exploration in Kyoto — Items picked up during exploration can be traded in for Favor. Image: Capcom

Tip: the Oni Vision skills make this far less tedious. Oni Vision: Treasures, Oni Vision: Treasures 2, and Oni Vision: Search Range together highlight the pickups and chests you would otherwise walk past. Hold L2/LT and tap R2/RT as you move through an area.

One last thing worth planning around: charms and charm enhancements carry over into New Game+, but Chance Encounter completion does not. If you are chasing full completion across two runs, the upgrade investment you make in the Charm of Stamina now stays with you, while “The Growling Ghost” itself resets and can be replayed.