Kinemon of Foxfire (Eng. anime) or Will-o’-the-Wisp(Eng. manga) (jap. Kitsunoh no Nishiki-emon, Kitsune-bi no Kin’emon) is a samurai from the village of Kuri on the island of Wano Country. On Punk Hazard, he introduced himself as the father of Momonosuke. In truth, however, he is the leader of the Nine Akazaya, Kozuki Oden’s loyal subordinates. He merely pretended this to conceal Momonosuke’s true origins, who is part of the Kozuki family, from enemies. In addition, he has a wife named Tsuru.
Contents
Appearance
Kinemon is a middle-aged human about the same height as Brook. He has his long black hair tied up in a knot on top of his head, typical of the samurai from Wano Country, and he wears a beard on his chin. He wears the clothing typical of a samurai: a two-tone kimono with red stripes on the right side and black and white stripes on the left. Around his belly he has tied a purple ribbon with which he fastens his two swords. On his feet he wears Japanese wooden sandals, which are called Geta (footwear). On his back, Kinemon wears the Kozuki family crest.
On Dress Rosa, he also disguises himself with a full beard and mustache to avoid being recognized. When he infiltrated the royal palace to find Kanjuro, he adopted a different disguise. In order to search the palace unmolested, Kinemon disguised himself as Doflamingo. Earlier, he had even lighter hair, which he wore open.
Personality
In his youth, Kinemon was a notorious thug who also stole from others. In doing so, he didn’t even stop at friendly people. However, all of that changed when he entered the service of Kozuki Oden. His personality changed completely and today he is a proud samurai to whom his honor is very important. Thus, he does not admit it when he is hungry, cold or in pain. His pride goes so far that he would rather perform the ritual suicide. Seppuku than admit defeat.
For example, he wants to slash his stomach because Trafalgar Law defeated him but did not kill him. He also wanted to kill himself after the shame of being beaten by Nami, a woman. Still, he can be very grateful. He tearfully thanked Sanji after the latter got him his body back, or thanks the Straw Hat Pirates for freeing him and Momonosuke. His attitude towards women is somewhat old-fashioned: for example, he thinks women should walk at least three steps behind their husbands and speak calmly and meekly. At the same time, he disagrees with Nami’s “chest band” (her bikini), but only used his ability to create clothing after the general public was cold because he didn’t want to cover Nami.
Also, Kinemon is somewhat gullible because he believed Shinokuni would melt clothes or Nami could use ninjutsu. Because the Yonkou Kaidou killed the former daimyo Kozuki Oden, he holds a grudge against pirates and dragons. Curiously, his supposed son becomes a dragon due to a devil fruit from Vegapunk. Kinemon is also shown to be slightly lecherous, taking a liking to Nami’s looks, claiming the women on Dress Rosa don’t wear clothes, or being very envious of Momonosuke, who was allowed to bathe with Robin and also sleep with the ladies.
Skills and Strength
Kinemon has eaten of the Clothes Fruit and now has the ability to make clothes: If a person puts an object on their head, Kinemon can turn it into clothing. However, if the clothing is taken off or severely damaged, it will disappear again. Other abilities of his Devil Fruit are not yet known, but he mainly fights with his two swords named Kaku-san (角参) and Suki-san (助参), which he uses both or separately depending on the situation. He can use them to cut iron, to create fire with a sword stroke, and to cut the same. His technique is even so powerful that he can cut an explosion with it. Kinemon’s strength is also characterized by the fact that he can still be a dangerous opponent even in his dismembered state. His torso alone was capable of standing up to Brook’s swordsmanship.
Thanks to Kenbunshoku, he is also able to sense the presence of people. Furthermore he can use Busoushoku. Besides that he can communicate with his flatulence.
Past
The entourage of Kozuki Oden
In his youth, Kinemon was known as a thieving yakuza thug, but while trying to steal money from his childhood friend Tsuru again, he was caught by her, reprimanded, and robbed of his clothes. However, while doing so, he overheard three men talking about a particular boar, overpowered them, and took it. He then went to the capital with it, but this caused the Mountain God, the parent of the boar to become enraged and threaten to destroy the city. The Mountain God had then swallowed many buildings and people, including Tsuru, but Kozuki Oden took the boar and defeated the Mountain God that Kinemon had previously failed, averting the disaster later known as the Mountain God Incident. Oden took the blame and Kinemon as well as Denjiro admired and followed him as a result.
Subsequently, Oden read up even more young people and after he was officially appointed Daimyo of Kuri, Kinemon and the others became Kozuki Oden’s samurai. However, since Oden kept lending money to Orochi, his entourage went on a mission to steal money from Shimotsuki Yasuie, but they were caught by him. However, instead of punishing them for it, he gave it to them and even put some on top. They should use it to become decent supports for the later Shogun Wano Countrys, Lord Oden. They then formed a respectable retinue 30 years ago and were admired by the populace, but shortly thereafter the Whitebeard pirate gang appeared in Wano Country. While Oden wanted to join them, Kinemon and Whitebeard agreed to deny him this wish. However, this did not stop Oden, so he clung to the Moby Dick with a rope and followed the pirates out to sea. Kinemon and company then searched Wano Country for their leader, the two Minks, and Izou.
While Oden was with the pirates, Kinemon and the others left behind protected Kuri, but when Oden, by now with the Roger pirates, reached Wano Country again, he did not listen to the pleas of his subordinates even because of Toki’s words, and set off on his journey again. He left his family and the two Minks behind. However, the situation in Wano Country changed dramatically during Oden’s absence and Orochi was appointed the new Shogun. With the help of the pirate Kaidou, he was able to suppress the population. Six months before Oden finally returned, the samurai under Kinemon’s leadership attacked Orochi, but meanwhile Oden’s family was attacked and Toki was injured. When Oden finally returned home and learned of this, he charged towards Orochi, but made a monkey out of himself for the next five years. Kinemon and company had no knowledge of the reasons over the years.
The Hour of Legends
It wasn’t until Orochi came to Kuri five years later, some 20 years ago, and Oden learned that he had reneged on the deal, that he called to arms, much to the delight of his subordinates. His entourage then became known within the populace as “The Nine Men with the Red Sword Scabbards”. On the way, however, they were confronted by Kaidou, who already knew about them through an informer. A fight broke out, with Shinobu eventually joining the samurai, but although they seemed to have the upper hand, they were eventually defeated by a trick, imprisoned and sentenced to death. They were to be boiled alive and when the day of execution came, Oden was able to broker a deal: Anyone who survived an hour in the cooking pot would have their life spared.
Oden then got into the pot first and when his subordinates wanted to follow him, Oden took a plate and ordered them to stand on it. He planned to keep them over the pot for the hour. While the heat alone was getting to them, Oden was aware that he would not be left alive, so he ordered his subordinates to open the borders of Wano Country for him. When the hour was finally up, it became apparent that Orochi had no intention of keeping his bargain. Oden then threw away the plate with his subordinates and was shot. His entourage then ran to Kuri, while Oden was shot by Kaidou himself. They fought their way out, but Oden Castle was already in flames. There they met Toki and her two children. Thereupon Toki sent the samurai Kanjuro, Kikunojo, Kinemon, Raizo and her son Momonosuke with her devil powers 20 years into the future.
20 years in the future
Coming to the same place, they quickly realized that this was no longer their Wano Country of old and saw a strange world until they finally found allies. They left Wano Country hoping to find more allies, but the rough seas separated one after the other. Kinemon, Kanjuro, and Momonosuke drifted to Dress Rosa, where they were also pursued by Donquixote Doflamingo’s men. Kanjuro allowed himself to be captured to allow Kinemon to pursue Momonosuke, who was hiding on a ship when it suddenly left for Punk Hazard. Kinemon eventually managed to get to Punk Hazard.
Present
Punk Hazard
On Punk Hazard, Kinemon immediately went in search of Momonosuke, while also facing Brownbeard’s subordinates, who were outnumbered by him. They called for help via a Den-den Mushi, which also reached the Straw Hat Pirates. When Kinemon finally encountered Trafalgar Law, he split him in two with his devil power. His dismembered head was imprisoned, his torso wandered the icy side of the island until it met Brook, and his legs were stuck to a dragon created by Vegapunk. After parts of the Straw Hats were captured, they managed to put his head back together and escaped with him. Meanwhile, Luffy freed his legs and took them with him, while Brook fled from his torso.
When the Straw Hats reunited a little later, Kinemon was able to be reunited with his legs and set off on his own to find his torso. His torso, however, fell into the water, immobilizing Kinemon and nearly freezing him to death. Sanji (in Nami’s body), Zoro and Brook luckily found him and Sanji set about recovering his torso. While Sanji was searching, Shinokuni’s poison spread through the water and a shark tried to eat Kinemon, but Sanji was able to escape at the last moment. On land, the completed Kinemon was able to retaliate directly when the group were encircled by Shinokuni as he first tried to cut Shinokuni with his flaming sword and then cut the blast, to the amazement of the others. The group watched as the gas was released and fled into the research facility, where Kinemon and Zoro had to cut the front door to get inside. Inside, Kinemon fought with the Straw Hats in search of his supposed son when the group was attacked by another dragon, which he was able to defeat along with Brook. When he learned a short time later from one of the children that his charge had turned into a dragon, he rushed back to save Momonosuke, who he thought was the previously defeated dragon. Brook tried to prevent this, as the area had already been filled by the gas, but Kinemon was petrified by the gas, after which Brook carried him back to the others. After Caesar Clown was defeated, the Straw Hats loaded Kinemon onto their ship, but Brook dropped the dead man. To the surprise of the general public, however, Kinemon came back to life and was able to be reunited with Momonosuke.
Dress Pink
Kinemon traveled to Dress Rosa along with the Straw Hats and Trafalgar Law. There, he planned to free the samurai Kanjuro and then travel on to Zou. Along the way, he was also part of the team that was to find and destroy the Smile production factory. After the team was separated in a bar, Kinemon was left on his own and was unceremoniously confronted by some of Donquixote’s henchmen, who knew him from the broadcast from Punk Hazard and could identify him as the Samurai of Foxfire by his hairstyle. They forced the samurai to come with them if he held the life of his friend Kanjuro dear. A short time later, the samurai was able to escape his captors and encountered Sanji, who promptly defeated the thugs. In a conversation with the Cook, Kinemon told him that he couldn’t attack the men because they had taken his friend Kanjuro hostage and that he was in the so-called “toy house”. However, this house was also the Smile factory, as Sanji had learned moments before, and thanks to Viola’s map, he also knew where the building was. He parted ways with Sanji shortly after, and puzzled with the added Zoro as to how they were going to get into the heavily guarded Corrida Colosseum to inform Luffy of what was happening. Bartolomeo assisted them and brought Luffy to the windows of the coliseum. Kinemon now established a connection with Sanji and Franky via a Den-den Mushi. During their conversation, Luffy, Zoro and Kinemon witnessed Law’s defeat by Donquixote Doflamingo. The latter planned to take Law to his palace, forcing Zoro and Kinemon to intervene. Before Kinemon could save Law, however, he was attacked by Doflamingo. Through Admiral Fujitora’s assistance, Doflamingo was able to capture Law and carry him off. Luffy therefore decided to end his participation in the coliseum and free Law from Doflamingo’s clutches. He managed to escape from the Colosseum and made his way to the Royal Palace with Zoro and Kinemon.
Thanks to Viola, the trio was able to infiltrate the palace. Kinemon then separated from the group and received help from Wicca in his search for Kanjuro. Kinemon made it to the underground port when Doflamingo suddenly stretched his birdcage across the island. The Samurai of the Seas then put Kinemon on his personal wanted list with a bounty of 100 million berry. He forced the population to slaughter each other, which also put Kinemon in danger from some pursuers. However, he escaped them by using one of the trash chutes that led into the underground dump. It was with great joy that he actually found Kanjuro there. Together, they made it back to the surface to the new royal plateau to Usopp and King Riku. After Zoro defeated Pica, they followed the swordsman back to the lower city of Dress Rosa to stop the shrinking birdcage. They, along with the rest of the population, managed to hold back the birdcage long enough for Luffy to defeat Doflamingo. Three days later, the samurai fled the island with the Straw Hat Pirates, as the navy had begun to move. Kinemon and Kanjuro consequently boarded Bartolomeo’s pirate ship to sail on to their original destination of Zou.
Zou
With the help of the Barto Club, the Straw Hat Pirates and the samurai finally reached the elephant on whose back was the land of Zou. Kanjuro used his devil power to draw a flightless dragon, which the troupe used to climb the elephant. On the way up, however, they were met by Bariete, who knocked Kinemon and Kanjuro off the dragon and back into the depths. The samurai shouted to the others that they would follow later on their own. After failing the climb a second time, Kinemon and Kanjuro finally reached Zou the next morning. In doing so, however, they overlooked Robin, Franky, and Brook, who were trying to stop the samurai from entering the land. Bariete hurriedly made his way inland to tell the Minks of the samurai’s arrival. Astonished at the monkey mink’s panicked behavior, the samurai headed toward the capital. In doing so, they encountered Momonosuke, with whom they reached Claugh shortly thereafter. Believing the Minks to be hostile to the samurai, the Straw Hat Pirates attempted to hide the samurai. However, Kinemon revealed himself when he observed the argument between Nekomamushi and Inuarashi. Contrary to the Straw Hat Pirates’s expectations, however, the Minks welcomed the samurai and explained that their friend Raizo was fine. Nekomamushi enlightened the pirates that the Minks and the Kozuki family had a deep and long friendship. For this reason, the Minks insisted on not entrusting Raizo to the Beasts Pirates.
Kinemon then bared his back, which had the Kozuki family crest tattooed on it. He also revealed that he was in fact not Momonosuke’s father at all, but his bodyguard. He kept up this lie during their journey so as not to draw attention to himself. As a result, the Minks took the pirates and samurai to the secret interior of the Whale Tree, where Raizo was hidden. There, Kinemon opened up to the others the reason why the four samurai left Wano Country: Yonkou Kaidou had allied himself with the country’s shogun and was pursuing Kinemon and his friends. Through them, Kaidou believed he could obtain information about deciphering the Poneglyph. The samurai traveled to Zou to gain allies in the fight against Kaidou. They wanted to fulfill Oden’s last wish and finally open the borders of Wano Country. To do this, Momonosuke asked Luffy for his help, who pledged his support. They formed the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance and initially decided to split into four groups. Kinemon and the other samurai were going to sail to Wano Country with Zoro and Law’s group to make preparations for the upcoming battle against Kaidou.
Wano Country
Later, Kinemon and his group infiltrated Wano Country and they began preparations. When Luffy and co. were led by Trafalgar Law to the ruins of Oden Castle, Kinemon, who was suffering from diarrhea, met them. After the rest of the Straw Hats arrived, with the exception of Zoro, he told them the truth about their time travel and Wano Country’s past. Furthermore, he told them about the Fire Festival and the plan to attack Onigashima Island, where Emperor Kaidou resided, in two weeks, as well as three other strong allies to look out for. However, Law alerted the group that Kaidou himself had appeared in Kuri.
After the latter’s attack on Oden Castle, Kinemon went to Okobore to check on his wife Tsuru. However, he did not show himself to her and recognized his former ally Ashura Doji. He followed him and eventually interrupted a fight between him and Inuarashi at Mount Atamayama. They failed to win their former companion to their cause. However, they didn’t give up their efforts and tinkered with a plan to still convince Ashura and stole supplies from the Beasts Pirates, pinning the thefts on the very same. Meanwhile, he was told by Franky that he hadn’t gotten the blueprints to Kaidou’s estate. However, their secret message to recruit allies was decrypted, leaving many of their supporters imprisoned in the Rasetsu District. Their plan regarding Ashura seemed to work, however, and so Holdem and his minions set fire to Mount Atamayama, causing their former companion to make his way to Bakura, where Kinemon and Inuarashi also rushed.
There, however, they saw Shimotsuki Yasuie’s execution and all the Akazaya mourned him. Due to the strange reactions of Ebisu’s villagers, Ashura then told them about the Smile fruit and its tragic side effects. Together with Ashura Doji left the town and revealed to him that they were responsible for the fire, but Ashura was able to catch himself and told them to follow him. He led them to a cemetery and told them about the years of their absence as well as the failed attack on Onigashima. Afterwards, he and his men joined the alliance after all, and he showed them that he hadn’t been sitting idly by for the past few years. He hid broken ships at an abandoned port and also came into possession of the blueprints to Kaidou’s estate. The tide seemed to be turning and Kinemon heard from Raizo that the number of their followers had greatly increased due to the takeover of Udon and a little later he also learned through Kawamatsu that he had found enough weapons to equip them all. Later, he met with other members of the rebellion in Kuri for a strategy session. There, he was moved to tears to hear that Kozuki Hiyori was still alive. Then, one day before the planned battle, he and the seven Akazaya, Momonosuke, and Shinobu who were present set out for the agreed meeting place.
Onigashima
To their horror, however, they found that there were no allies and no ships at sea. The weather also seemed to have turned against them. Per Smart Tanishi, no one could be reached and the harbor looked as if a battle had taken place. Nevertheless, they set sail, leaving Momonosuke as well as Shinobu behind. Out at sea, they confronted the idea that the traitor must be in their ranks, and though Kinemon refused to believe it, Kanjuro revealed himself to be the traitor. Enraged, he attacked him in response, but he turned out to be a mere doppelganger drawing, while the real Kanjuro captured Momonosuke on the beach. To make matters worse, ships from the Beasts Pirates appeared, but they were taken out by the suddenly appearing allies, Luffy, Kid and Law along with their gangs. Afterwards, Wano Country’s Yakuza appeared, led by Kyoshiro, who was actually Denjiro and thus also an ally. It turned out that all of the allies arrived after all, as Kinemon was the only one who had misinterpreted Yasuie’s hidden message, fortunately for them, which meant that the traitor was also unaware of it. The meeting place was in fact different from the beginning. A subsequent rescue attempt by Momonosuke failed, but he reaffirmed them to continue with their plan and promised to survive.
The attack on Onigashima continued according to plan, and they were joined by another strong comrade-in-arms in Jinbe. Once on Onigashima, Kinemon and Denjiro joined the front squad, with Kinemon giving the Straw Hat and Kid Pirates, as well as the other allies present, a disguise as Beast Pirates using his devil powers. There, the group split up again and Kinemon took the lead of the eastern squad, but they came across an open area at Black Maria’s brothel. Though Big Mom suddenly appeared, Chopper and Usopp were able to distract her, allowing the rest of the squad to advance. Later, he met up with Denjiro, the rest of his comrades, and Izou at the back entrance of Onigashima, and found an already defeated Kanjuro. United, they made their way to the main stage and started the war by attacking Kaidou, injuring him in the process. Kaidou then shifted into his dragon form and, with the Akazaya clinging to him, flew to the top of the Skull Dome. More Minks were already waiting there as support, and Jack was also on the scene with a few men. After Jack was able to be taken out, Kaidou rejoined the fight and Kinemon & Co. were determined to take Kaidou down with them. They were able to hold their own against Kaidou’s dragon form, and along with Ashura, Denjiro, and Inuarashi, Kinemon was able to land another hit on that spot with the same attack of Oden’s that inflicted the scar on Kaidou’s chest. Kaidou then went on the counteroffensive and he ripped off Kikunojo’s left arm, but it was cauterized by Kinemon.
Back in Kaidou’s human form the samurai finally had to admit defeat to the emperor. Big Mom also made it to the roof, but Luffy, Zoro, Law, Kid and Killer took over the fight and Law teleported the samurai off the battlefield. While they were unconscious, they were helped by a mysterious person. They quickly recovered, but the person was no longer to be seen, instead Oden stood before them. However, he turned out to be merely Kanjuro’s drawing, which Ashura took care of, sacrificing himself in the process. Inuarashi, in turn, took over Jack. Orochi, in his Yamato no Orochi form, was then decapitated by the rest, before Raizo then faced Fukurokuju alone. Kinemon and Kikunojo then separated from the rest. While Kiku went to finish off Kanjuro, Kinemon took it upon himself to find and protect Momonosuke. They soon found Momonosuke and Shinobu, however Kanjuro also appeared, disguised as Oden. Kikunojo saw through this immediately and wanted to finish him off, but she hesitated and was eventually pierced in the stomach area by Kanjuro. Kinemon caught Kikunojo and then tearfully finished Kanjuro off. However, Kaidou appeared at them immediately afterwards and Kinemon ordered Shinobu to grab Momonosuke and run. Kinemon faced Kaidou, but was immediately attacked by him. He was outmatched without a chance and was eventually impaled by Kaidou. Kinemon remained lying there, covered in blood and motionless…
Various
- Kinemon has three first appearances, so to speak: his legs were first seen in Chapter 656, his head in Chapter 657, and his torso in Chapter 659.
- In the SBS for volume 69, Kinemon’s real-life template is revealed: Actor Nakamura Kinnosuke (note: needs link), who also serves as the model for Momonosuke.
- Luffy named Kinemon’s severed legs on Punk Hazard Ashimaro(jap. Ashimaro). Ashimeans leg, while -maro is a typical ending of boys’ names.
- Kinemon refers to his devil powers as “magic power”.
- His devil fruit should actually be called Kise Kise no Mi (キセキセの実). Kiseis derived from kiseru (着せる), which means “to dress”.
- If Kinemon were an animal, he would be a fox.
- His hobby is visiting tea houses with O-Tsuru.
- His favorite dish is winter radish, fittingly an important ingredient in Oden stew. In his Vivre Card, Tsuru’s complementary dish is Oshiruko.
- His hate dishes are Common raccoon dog and wine.
