RAIZO THE NINJA ASSASSIN

As we know, in chapter 803 this character was name dropped by Kin’emon and Kanjuro on the final page, he/she is their last comrade to find in their four person party.

I’ve done a little bit of digging around and found some very interesting links to Raizo’s name. Oda has, again, like with Kanjuro and Kin’emon, likely designed Raizo based upon a performer or actor, and their names all have implications and connotations that reside underlying their surfaces as characters. To demonstrate this, I must explain the other Samurai’s first:

Kin’emon and Momonosuke:

-Their names in conjunction with eachother derive from Nakamura Kinnosuke, a Japanese actor that Oda is a massive fan of
-Nakamura Kinnosuke is a flatulist, like Kin’emon
-Nakamura looks like Kin’emon
-His favourite fruit was apparently peaches, Momo means peach, Momonosuke’s Kimono and Dragon form are peach coloured
-Nakamura Kinnosuke played the role of a Samurai in many movies, but he is noted for his role as a dual wielding Samurai
-Kin’emon has a Fox theme
-His epithet is “Foxfire”

Kanjuro:

-Kanjuro’s name means truth, “seen as it is visual”
-Although he isn’t specifically designed based upon an actor, his appearance draws many similarities with a Kabuki poser, a form of Japanese performing arts
-His talents in caligraphy strongly support this as Caligraphy is often used in Kabuki pieces, makeup also uses huge brushes, like the one he has on his back (obviously to a much smaller scale though)
-Kanjuro has a Bird theme
-His epithet is “Evening Shower”

Raizo:

-His/her name is the same as a Ninja character from a movie called Ninja Assassin
-He/she is likely named after Raizo Ichikawa, an actor which Oda is a huge fan of, Raizo Ichikawa has been a ninja in the Shinobi no Mono movies
-In the Ninja Assassin movie, the character Raizo is played by a Korean Popstar called Rain
-Funnily enough, in the Shinobi no Mono movies, Ichikawa’s character, called Goemon, had the epithet, “of the rain”

So, based upon these facts, what do we know?
-Kin’emons epithet implied he could use fire, we now know he can fight using flames in conjunction with his swords, Kanjuro’s epithet in japanese culture (not ours) implies honesty and truth which is represented visually through his caligraphy, Raizo’s epithet implies he/she can use waterin some way shape or form
-Given the roles of named characters associated with Raizo, he specialises as an assassin

The two known epithets mean it’s highly likely the Wano resident friends of ours are based on a Japanese folklore phenomena called Kitsune no Yomeiri. During wedding processions, paper lanterns can be seen floating away into the darkness, known as atmospheric ghost lights, these are nicknamed the “evening sunshower”. Kitsune means firefox and it is said that Kitsune uses trickery on people to hide his own existence, very similar to Kin’emon and Kanjuro. A Kabuki theatre piece known as Kitsune no Yomeiri Gyoretsu is performed widely. The link here is interesting, and there is a third component to the myth: Shintoist rituals relating to the myths to prevent Kitsune’s interference in Shintoist weddings.

The last component, in my opinion implies two things:

1. Raizo is possibly female, due to the wedding themes and the possibility of Kitsune (Kinemon’s) interference (in some cases fooling the bride by replacing the husband)
2. Raizo is Shintoist and designed on Shintoist monks, many of whom were and still are trained in Ninja arts (this is not to be confused with the Ninja clan that is long dead)

So what do we know? If my theory is correct, Raizo:

• Is quite possibly Female but will have an outward appearance of a man
• Is Shintoist and could look like this
  
• Fights with Water
• Has the epithet “of the Rain”

*Theory by L o g i a