Samurai Champloo Character Names
I’ve found that many websites, particularly those edited by fans, don’t use the correct definitions for the main characters’ names in Samurai Champloo. I enjoy translating Japanese kanji, so I thought I’d do a little analysis and try to clear up a few misconceptions. I’ll do some character analysis along the way.
I’ll start with Jin, because he’s easy. His name is usually translated correctly. Mugen and Fuu are much more complicated.
Benevolence, compassion, humanity, charity.
Benevolence is one of the virtues of Confucianism, as well as a virtue of Bushido.
Martial arts schools that are influenced by Bushido translate the word in a variety of ways - you might see it defined as any of the words above.
I have this head canon theory that the characters grow into their names over the course of the series. When we first meet Jin, he’s not very compassionate, and he’s not really in touch with his own humanity. I’d say he’s almost as ill-tempered as Mugen, although he’s not nearly as vocal about it as Mugen is. He manages to be polite even when he’s irritated, but he usually comes off as cold and uncaring.
However, as the series progresses, he comes to embody the qualities defined in his name, particularly in his rescue of Shino, and when he starts to become more concerned with Fuu’s well-being. He commits the ultimate act of compassion and humanity when he sacrifices himself to save Fuu. I like to think that Fuu brings out his benevolence, and by the end of the series, his character traits are more aligned with his name.
Incidentally, the four diamonds on Jin’s kimono make up the kamon, or family crest, of the Takeda clan. Because of this, it’s often assumed that Jin’s full name is Takeda Jin. (In Japanese, the family name comes first, and the individual’s name comes second.) I’ve written about the Takeda kamon in my glossary of Japanese terms used in my fanfiction. If you’re curious, go here and look for the word “mon,” and you can learn a little bit about Takeda Shingen and fuu-rin-ka-zan.
No illusions, or not an illusion (i.e., the real thing).
無幻 does not mean infinite, however it is a homophone for a different word spelled 無限, meaning limitless, boundless, or infinite. (Infinite and infinity are not the same word - infinity is 無限大.)
The word mugen is also a homophone for these other words:
Mugen (夢幻): dreams; fantasy; visions
Mugen (無間): incessant; uninterrupted (referring to Mugen Jigoku, the eighth and most severe level of Buddhist hell)
I’ll talk more about the infinite definition in a minute. First, let’s look at the kanji.
Gen (幻) means illusion, and mu (無) is a negator meaning none, nothing, nothingness, not, un- (as a prefix), or non- (as a prefix). (If you’re a Death Note fan, you may recall Ryuk explaining to Light that users of the death note can’t go to heaven or hell when they die. They can only go to mu, nothingness. It’s the same word.)
Just like Mugen’s sword, his fighting style, his clothing, and pretty much everything else about him, 無幻 is a unique name. I’m aware that Mugen is the name of a video game character, an auto manufacturer, and a piece of software(?), however, none of these use the spelling 無幻 or its associated definition. It’s not a common word. I’ve actually never seen 無幻 written in a sentence. Try looking it up - you’ll have a hard time finding it. At best, you’ll find the two kanji separately, but even then, it’ll be hard to find 幻. That’s because the word 幻 is not usually pronounced gen.
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