Roronoa Zoro Backstory: The Connection to the Shimotsuki Family From Wano Country

Zoro and Shimotsuki Yasuie

Although short, we got to see Zoro and Yasuie meet each other and spend some time together in Wano. Although Yasuie never made it obvious, he had to notice the similarity to Ushimaru, a fellow daimyo who was leading Ringo at the same time as he was leading Hakumai. Zoro was also aware Yasuie was a good guy, and he seemed to have warmed up to him quickly.

Another trait that seems to be shared is the huge amount of sacrifice they are willing to make. Yasuie had been acting like a cheerful dense jester for years while actually believing in the Akazaya Nine return, and he did everything he could to help. Going as far as sacrificing his life in an attempt to save the revolution. As for Zoro, we’ve seen him show his loyalty before, most famously when he took on Luffy’s pain and offered his life to Kuma.

Zoro’s Swords

Shusui

Shusui is one of the 21 Great Grade swords as well as a Black Sword (Kokutō). It’s the obvious link between Zoro and Ryuma. The sword was a treasure for the entire Wano Country, and was robbed by Geko Moria along with Ryuma’s body. Zoro was entrusted the sword after defeating the skeleton samurai and, as Kawamatsu said, it seems like fate is at play with him returning the sword. An interesting fact and another parallel is that Zoro used this very sword to slay Dragon Number Thirteen back on Punk Hazard, which was a feat previously done by Ryuma, the original owner of the sword.

Wado Ichimonji

Another one of the 21 Great Grade swords, this is the first high quality sword Zoro received. It belonged to Kuina, and he got it after her passing. The man who crafted it was Shimotsuki Kozaburo, Kuina’s grandfather, and he was known as a legendary swordsmith. It was the only sword that wasn’t broken by Mihawk in Zoro’s first fight against him.

Sandai Kitetsu

A Grade sword which Zoro found back in Logue Town in a barrel full of cheap swords. This one was created by Tenguyama Hitetsu, who we met along with Tama. Zoro immediately realized it was cursed, which the owner confirmed as well. Tashigi said it was worth a million berries, and Zoro put his luck against the sword’s curse in one of his earliest badass moments in One Piece. His luck won, and he got the sword for free, as well as the owner’s family heirloom Yubashiri, which would get rusted by Shu later.

Enma

Finally, the latest sword Zoro received is Enma, used by Kozuki Oden to give Kaido his permanent scar together with his other sword Ame no Habakiri. It’s also one of the 21 Great Grade swords, and it’s the 2nd sword Zoro owns which Shimotsuki Kozaburo created. Hiyori inherited it, and she gave it to Zoro as replacement for Shusui, which he was to return to Wano Country.

So all 3 of Zoro’s current swords were created by people from the Wano Country. A Shimotsuki Family member, Kozaburo, created two of them, while Hitetsu created the third, who we still know relatively little about.

Sunacchi

Another connection Zoro has to Wano, which makes sense when we know that Wano samurai founded the village he grew up in, is the word “Sunacchi”. This word is originally an abbreviation for a phrase translating to “Throw Away Your Name and Wits”. VIZ uses the phrase “Surrender Your Name and Be as a Child”. It was a part of the old dialect in Kuri, and Ashura Doji and his comrades used to use it as children. They’d shout it before diving of a cliff, mostly to encourage themselves. 10 years before the present time, they shouted it again ahead of attempting to raid Onigashima, which failed and most of them lost their lives.

Zoro heard it from “an old geezer in his village”, which Oda referred to in the SBS from the start of the article. It was Shimotsuki Kozaburo, and Zoro then taught it to Momonosuke to encourage himself. Knowing about its usage in Kuri, Kikujo told Momonosuke he cannot use it, probably due to his position as Shogun’s son.