Jin (仁, Benevolence) is one of the main male protagonists of Samurai Champloo and one of Fuu's two bodyguards, along with Mugen. He is a former student of kenjutsu who, after killing his own master in self-defense, fled and eventually became involved with Fuu and Mugen.
His totem during the title cards is a koi fish
Appearance
Jin is a spectacle young man with long black hair that is tied in a loose ponytail with two strands that frame his face and dark eyes. His attire is a simple indigo blue haori that is adorned with multiple symbols that are four squares in a diamond formation on the right pec, sleeves, and back of his haori and a white keikogi and hakama. He wears a teal beaded bracelet on his right wrist. His pair of glasses is purely ornamental as Mugen later found out after getting a chance to peer through them.
Personality
Unlike Fuu and Mugen, Jin is a calm and collected guy under the most dire of circumstances as he leads both Fuu and Mugen to confide in him. However, his stoic demeanor can irritate his companions since he responds to their thoughts with sighs or grunts. By his own admission, Jin has spent most of his time focusing on improving his skills and almost no time at all on cultivating friends. This lack of companionship means that he values the friendship of Fuu and Mugen as he seems genuinely saddened when the three part ways. Although the two annoy him on occasion, he is often willing to take on an extremely deadly opponent alone in order to allow them to escape.
Jin also seems annoyed by those who use their martial arts skills to oppress people, especially those who proclaim that they are doing it in service of their lord. Jin will often remark that there is no honor in serving a cruel tyrant. When Jin was 18, Mariya Enshirou (Jin's sensei) told him that he was going to change his dojo into a school for assassins. When Jin opposed the change, Kariya Kagetoki, who was pulling Enshirou's strings, ordered him to kill his star pupil and intended successor. However, Jin instead killed Enshirou and fled the dojo. Throughout the series he is hunted by his former classmates at the dojo as well as several other ronin who wish to kill him and make a name for themselves.
Fighting Style
Jin uses orthodox Kenjutsu moves. Unlike Mugen, who uses improvisation and adaptation to win, Jin seems to rely on technical skill, on which he is extremely proficient. Jin is arguably one of the most accomplished swordsmen in the Samurai Champloo world as he has survived crossing swords with Sara, Kariya Kagetoki and Mugen. Although many of these battles have ended on an inconclusive note, his ability to survive the encounters with these individuals is a testament to his abilities. Although he seems incapable of picking up skills with the same ease as Mugen, he often learns about an opponent's philosophy in order to determine their strengths and weaknesses. Alternatively, Jin's reluctance to accept taking on new fighting styles may be related to the purist attitude Jin goes about with his own fighting style, as indicated during the title cards. It also sets him apart from Mugen, who readily copies his opponent's fighting styles and moves into his repertoire. Therefore, it could be argued that his clinical approach leaves very little margin for errors in observation and anticipation, making his fighting style a very notable foil against Mugen's.
The Mujushin kenjutsu (Jin's style of sword fighting) has been characterized as the "purest and most ethereal art of the sword (here). While the Mujushin Ryu itself was short lived, it's philosophy was revered by disciples of the way of the sword.
Trivia
- The name Jin has many meanings depending on the different languages:
- In Japanese, it means "benevolence" (仁), "search, seek" (尋), "sword, blade" (刃), "utmost" (尽), "battle formation, camp" (陣), "quiet" (静), "deep, profound, clear, tranquil, placid" (湛), "deity, god" (神), "person" (人), "swift, fast" (迅), "strong and pliable, resilient" (靭), "gold, metal" (金), "army, force, military" (軍), "ripe grain, harvest, to know, be familiar with" (稔) or "duty, responsibility, obligation" (任).
- The kanji "壬" refers to the ninth of the ten Heavenly Stems.
- The kanji "辰" refers to the Dragon, the fifth of the twelve Earthly Branches.
- In Chinese, it means "gold, metal, money" (金), "tapestry, brocade, embroidered" (锦) or "ferry" (津).
- In Sanskrit, it means "victorious, buddha, victor, Vishnu, metrically for Jaina, arhat (sage)" (जिन).
- In Japanese, it means "benevolence" (仁), "search, seek" (尋), "sword, blade" (刃), "utmost" (尽), "battle formation, camp" (陣), "quiet" (静), "deep, profound, clear, tranquil, placid" (湛), "deity, god" (神), "person" (人), "swift, fast" (迅), "strong and pliable, resilient" (靭), "gold, metal" (金), "army, force, military" (軍), "ripe grain, harvest, to know, be familiar with" (稔) or "duty, responsibility, obligation" (任).
- Jin is the oldest of the trio.
- In the manga, young girls and women find Jin attractive and handsome.
- In the anime, Fuu also admits this in her dairy.
- According to the episode "War of Words", Jin unsuspectingly remembers Tatsu and Kazu from the dojo 2 years ago.