Look, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is brutal. We all know it. You’re fighting a giant ape that farts on you, or an old man with a glock, and suddenly you realize you’re out of heals. It sucks. Finding sekiro gourd seed locations isn't just a side quest for completionists; it is the literal difference between life and death in Ashina. You start with one measly sip of the Healing Gourd. By the end, you should have ten. If you don't, you're basically playing on "Extra Hard" mode without meaning to.
Most people miss at least two seeds on their first run. It's usually the one behind the curtain or the one tucked away in a shop they didn't think to revisit. Honestly, the game doesn't hold your hand. It slaps your hand away and tells you to git gud. But having nine seeds (plus the one you start with) makes the late-game bosses like Isshin or Demon of Hatred actually manageable. Let's get into where these things are hidden.
The Early Game Scramble: Ashina Outskirts
You’ve barely learned how to parry and already the game throws a literal ogre at you. The first few seeds are relatively easy to find, but you have to be paying attention.
The first seed is dropped by General Naomori Kawarada. He’s that guy standing in the courtyard right after the Outskirts Wall – Gate Path Idol. You can actually sneak around the left side and get a backstab on him to take away his first life bar. Do it. Don't be a hero. Once he’s dead, he drops your first seed. Take it back to Emma immediately.
Shortly after that, you’ll fight the Chained Ogre. After you've burnt him to a crisp or just poked him to death, you’ll grapple up into the building he was guarding. There’s a fog gate that dissipates. Turn left immediately after entering the hole in the wall. There’s a small room with an item on the floor. That’s seed number two. Most players grab this one because it’s basically in the middle of the main path, but in the heat of the moment, it's easy to sprint right past it toward the next idol.
The third one in the Outskirts is tied to the Gyoubu Oniwa boss fight. You know, the "MY NAME IS GYOUBU MASATAKA ONIWA" guy. Once he’s down, don’t just run toward the castle. Look across the battlefield from the gate where you enter the castle. There’s a set of stairs leading to a building. Inside is a guy who wants you to kill "rats," but more importantly, there's a merchant outside that building sitting in a little tent. He sells a Gourd Seed for 1,000 Sen. If you’ve been dying a lot, you might be broke. Go farm some soldiers or sell some light coin purses. It's worth the investment.
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Navigating the Labyrinth of Ashina Castle
Ashina Castle is where the game world really opens up. It’s also where a lot of players get lost among the rooftops while those "woooo" guys fly at them like heat-seeking missiles.
Once you get onto the roofs, you're looking for an open window to enter the Upper Tower – Antechamber. Inside, there’s a chest. It's right near the idol. You literally can't miss it if you're exploring the room, but the blue-robed samurai in there are fast, so kill them first. This brings your total count up significantly.
Then there's the merchant Fujioka the Information Broker. This guy is a lifesaver. You find him hiding in a little nook on the side of the castle. If you talk to him, he’ll ask you to kill the guards nearby. Do it, come back, and he’ll move to the Dilapidated Temple. Once he’s at the temple, he sells a Gourd Seed for 2,000 Sen. It’s pricey, but by this point in the game, you should have enough scrap metal and coin purses to make it happen.
Interestingly, if you miss him at the castle, he eventually shows up anyway, but it's better to get him early. Having that extra sip before fighting Genichiro is a game-changer.
The Deep Dives: Senpou Temple and Sunken Valley
Once you head toward the Senpou Temple, Mt. Kongo area, the scenery gets beautiful and the enemies get weirder. To find the seed here, start from the first idol and just follow the path where the monks are praying. You'll enter a large building with a bunch of monks sitting in front of a "mummified" priest. The Gourd Seed is sitting right in front of that priest. It’s almost a trap because of the enemies in the room, but you can just run in, grab it, and run out if you're feeling cowardly. No judgment here.
The Sunken Valley seed is a bit more annoying. From the Under-Shrine Valley idol, you head toward the Gun Fort. But before you get deep into the valley, there’s a spot where you have to grapple across a few points and deal with some riflemen. There’s a small ledge with a wooden hut. The seed is inside a small crawlspace/ledge area near there. It’s one of the most "hidden" seeds because the Sunken Valley is so vertical and confusing.
Mibu Village and the Fountainhead Palace
Late game. You're probably feeling confident, or at least numb to the pain.
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In Mibu Village (Hidden Forest area), there’s a massive tree in the center of the village. It’s glowing with items. All the villagers will try to grab your ankles and pull you underground, which is terrifying, but ignore them. Run to the base of the tree. The seed is sitting there among the roots. This is arguably the easiest one to find if you don't mind being swamped by ghosts.
Finally, the Fountainhead Palace. This is the last seed.
- Reach the Palace Grounds idol.
- Enter the building with the strange flute-playing enemies.
- Look for a chest.
It’s inside a large building you have to pass through to get to the final boss of the area. If you’ve reached the Divine Dragon, you’ve passed it.
Why You Only Have 9 Seeds Instead of 10
A common point of confusion is the "max" number. You can have a total of 10 sips. Since you start with one, you need to find 9 seeds.
If you're stuck at 9 sips and can't find the last one, check the merchants. People often forget the merchant at the Ashina Castle gate or Fujioka. Also, double-check the Sunken Valley. That ledge is incredibly easy to overlook when you're being shot at by giant snipers.
Maximizing Your Healing Efficiency
Finding the seeds is only half the battle. You also need to invest in the Shinobi Medicine skills in the prosthetic tree. These passive skills increase the amount of HP you recover from every sip. Without these, even ten seeds won't save you in the late game because your health bar will be so long that one sip only heals about 30% of it.
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
- Prioritize the Merchants: If you have 1,000 or 2,000 Sen, don't buy Spirit Emblems. Buy the seeds first. Emblems are cheap; life is expensive.
- Backtrack after Genichiro: The world state changes throughout the game. If a merchant wasn't there before, check again.
- Don't skip the "Optional" mini-bosses: Some, like Kawarada, hold the keys to your survival.
- Visit Emma constantly: Seeds do nothing in your inventory. You have to travel back to the Dilapidated Temple (or her later locations) to actually upgrade the gourd.
Once you have all ten charges, the game doesn't necessarily get "easy," but it gives you the room to make mistakes. And in Sekiro, mistakes are how you learn. Go get those seeds and stop dying to the same sweep attack over and over again.