Johnny

Johnny (マタギのジョニー,  lit. Johnny the Matagi) is a minor supporting character in Samurai Champloo. An whimsical elderly hermit, Johnny is a friendly man who finds and takes care of Jin downstream while he recovers. He is voiced by Bon Ishihara in the original Japanese version and voiced by Joe Ochman in the English dub.

History
Johnny, then unknown, is the first person Jin sees upon coming to conscience, after having fallen injured off of the demolished rope bridge during his battle with Sara. Awakening in Johnny's hut, Jin explains that he cannot move due to his injuries, before Johnny puts a bowl of food for him on the other side of the hut. Later, as Jin recovers, he walks to the stream where Johnny fishes, who then sees Johnny seamlessly grasp a fish out of the river with both hands. Intrigued by his technique, Johnny tells him that the secret is to "see like a fish"- in other words, to sense and go with the flow of the current, not against it. Johnny, this time however, fails to catch another one, humorously stating that sometimes the fish can get away as well.

Having recovered well enough to walk back to town, Jin thanks Johnny, for both teaching him deeper insights that will allow him to grasp what is needed in his battle ahead, and for nursing him back to health. With a gift of a basket of fish for the journey ahead, and with humility, Johnny accepts Jin's gratitude, and Jin then wishes to know his name. With a frank and solid tone, he responds, "Miyamoto Musashi". With Jin taken aback, Johnny laughs in good fun, and tells him his real name, and departing, offers him to come back anytime.

Appearance
Johnny is a somewhat short to mid sized elderly man, with a somewhat rugged and wonky but friendly appearance. He has red wild poofy standing hair, his eyes are bugged out somewhat, and he has a front set of three teeth that poke out of his mouth, indicating that his teeth have fallen out due to age. His complexion is firm and healthy, in contrast. His clothes are hinted to be like those of the hunter matagi people of rural Japan, in where he wears a fur pelt sleeveless jacket kept together with a pelt obi, accompanied by a sunny yellow hanten coat and a pair of knee length dark navy shorts, while his red hair is tied back with a small sized hachimaki with the knot at the front.

Personality
Johnny is a friendly and easy going, if jovial and somewhat of a goofball of an outdoorsman, who lives life peacefully in the country. Though he can appear to be unkempt and somewhat haggard, as seen with the state of his hut filled with leftover bones of the fish he's caught and with his frazzled appearance, he is sociable and likes to make light humor in his conversations. As seen with Jin, he is also welcome to help those who get lost or are in need of help in his neck of the woods. There is speculation however, as believed if observed, a side to him he may be hiding, with his humble and bumbling nature, and thoughtful grasp in his methods.

Etymology
Johnny is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, which in turn is an English name derived from the Greek and Latin version of the name, Iōánnēs (Ἰωάννης), which is the Hellenistic Greek transcribed version of the name found in the Bible and the Christian faith, being Yohanan (יוֹחָנָן‎), which means "Blessed by God". John is a significant name to a few characters within the Bible, being John the Baptist, the semi ascetic preacher who baptized Jesus, and John the Apostle, who was one of Jesus's Twelve Disciples and whose Gospel told of events foreshadowing the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Matagi (マタギ, or less often 又鬼) are a group of people endemic to the Akita region of Japan, being northwest-most near the tip of Honshu. The descendants of the Ainu who migrated south from Hokkaido into Northern Honshu, they carry many similar traditions and customs like them, respecting and revering nature and the gods of the land, while living as hunters and fisherman as a way of life.

Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵) is the name of Japan's most famous swordsman, who upon the turn of the 17th Century upon the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate became celebrated for his near mythical prestige for being undefeated in deathdefying duels and his independent and inspiring, if almost romantic and adventurous, way of life, acting as if removed from the idea of adherence to the long established han hierarchy system. Of some note, Musashi was also documented to have taken part in the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion, but was ousted early by a thrown rock before its major battles would commence.