Wano Country

Wano Country is a country in the New World that is not affiliated with the World Government. It is located on the north side of the New World, northwest to Egghead, southwest to Winner Island, and west to Elbaf.

It was previously occupied by the Beasts Pirates as their territory, under Kaidou, one of the Four Emperors. It is currently ruled by the Kozuki Family, however, the family's usurper, Kurozumi Orochi, conspired to overthrow and supersede their shogunate with the aid of the Beasts Pirates 26 years before the beginning of the story. Upon his betrayal of the Kurozumi Family, Kaidou dubbed the island New Onigashima (新鬼ヶ島), as part of his ongoing project to transform Wano into a lawless pirate paradise. Kaidou intended for his son Yamato to take over as its shogun, though Yamato had no desire to do so. However, Wano is liberated after the defeats of both Kaidou and Orochi, and the Kozuki Family was returned to power with Kozuki Momonosuke as the current shogun. Before departing Wano, Monkey D. Luffy, the man who dethroned Kaidou, gave a copy of his Jolly Roger to Momonosuke to hang somewhere in the country and announced that if big trouble came, to point to the flag, implying that Wano is allied with and under the protection of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Hundreds of years ago, Wano was known as the Country of Gold (黄金の国), being once located at sea level. The Ancient Weapon Pluton is currently located under Mt. Fuji, beneath the old Wano Country.

First mentioned by Hogback during the Thriller Bark Arc, Wano is the primary setting of the Wano Country Arc.

Isolationism
The country follows a strict policy of isolationism (鎖国), meaning that contact with outsiders such as pirates and other countries is prohibited. Leaving the country's borders is also considered a crime. Outsiders who enter the country will be immediately attacked. This policy was maintained as a result of the country's geography that makes an invasion extremely difficult, as well as its powerful samurai warriors.

During his visit to Laugh Tale, Kozuki Oden learned that Wano was once connected with the rest of the world, but became isolated for a certain purpose to be fulfilled and to be protected from a great power. After learning about the true history of the world, Oden reached the conclusion that Wano should be opened to the world once more before Joy Boy returns. However, he was unable to accomplish this, as he was overthrown and eventually executed by Kurozumi Orochi and Kaidou.

Wano also has its own newspaper, which only covers national events, and the citizens do not receive international news or newspapers from the News Coo, with the exception of the Beasts Pirates on Onigashima.

Their lack of contact with the outside world has resulted in many legends and superstitions forming within the populace of Wano. Notably, they are unaware of what Devil Fruits are, referring to the powers gained from them as some form of Sorcery (妖術). Although the country is familiar with the concept of Haki, they are unaware of the actual term for it used by the outside world. Instead, they call it Ryuo (流桜), which they focus on the concept of flow. Due to lack of knowledge of the outside world, most people saw the likes of Minks and Fish-Men as monsters to be persecuted, though Oden was the few who noted this bigotry was ignorance worthy of condemnation.

Despite the prohibition of having contact with pirates and other outsiders, Orochi's alliance with Kaidou (who in turn has many connections outside) shows that the top echelon of the country is hypocritically disregarding their own policies, leading to discontent among some of the civilians. Orochi has also been shown meeting with outside groups himself, such as CP0 of the World Government, to broker trade agreements, and is willing to secretly import resources that will strengthen his administration, such as battleships. He even demanded the agents deliver Vegapunk as payment for more weapons, attempting to gain an outsider to work for his country.

During the conversation with Robin, Sukiyaki reveals that the true purpose of the isolationism of Wano is to contain Pluton and the whole of opening the country is mean to unleash the Ancient Weapon to the world. After Oden's son Kozuki Momonosuke took his rightful place as shogun, he plans to eventually make his late father's dream of opening Wano's border's a reality. After the Raid on Onigashima, the plan has been postponed for now.

Likely as a side effect from their isolationism, Wano Country uses it own written language, which is written using ideograms.

Currency
Wano has its own currency: Silver (銀), Gold (金), and Platinum (白金) coinage instead of Belly. 5 Silver is stated to be too little to afford a week's worth of clean water whilst 500 Gold is considered a hefty sum, and a mere one Platinum coin is (or at least was four decades ago) enough to build a house.

Smithing and Metallurgy


The Wano Country is the world's foremost in smithing and metallurgy, having produced both several superior artisans and craftsmen such as the legendary swordsmiths Kotetsu, Shimotsuki Kozaburo, and Kozuki Sukiyaki. The ancestors of the current ruling Kozuki Family invented the indestructible Poneglyphs during the Void Century. Weapons produced in Wano are of high quality, as the World Government have secretly imported the Marines' weapon supply from Wano.

Examples of legendary swords produced in Wano include the O Wazamono Swords Ame no Habakiri, Enma, Wado Ichimonji, Nidai Kitetsu, and Shusui (the country's national treasure).

According to Basil Hawkins, Seastone originated from Wano Country and is also the only place where it can be processed into any type of weapon.

Administration
In the past, Wano was ruled by six major families. The Kozuki Family made up the shogunate, while the leaders of the Shimotsuki Family, Kurozumi Family, Uzuki Family, Amatsuki Family, and Fugetsu Family each served as daimyo over one of Wano's regions. If the shogun had no male heir in the Kozuki Family, the five daimyo were top candidates to succeed him. Several decades ago, however, the Kurozumi Family fell out of power due to their leader poisoning the other daimyo in an unsuccessful bid at becoming shogun. This treachery and the deaths that resulted from it resulted in a shakeup in regional power, as the Shimotsuki Family ended up ruling over two regions.

When Kurozumi Orochi succeeded Kozuki Sukiyaki, via a deceptive act with Kurozumi Higurashi, as shogun and executed Oden, the remaining daimyo refused to serve under him, resulting in Orochi and Kaidou wiping them out with survivors being forced to go into hiding. Under Orochi's rule, the daimyo system no longer exists. Jack and Queen of the Beasts Pirates were considered to be the rulers of Kuri and Udon respectively; it is unknown if any of the other regions have rulers.

The country's administration is corrupted due to Orochi, whose officials are oppressive and harshly control the citizens. Their rule is further enforced by their allegiance to the Emperor Kaidou, who supported them with the military force of the Beasts Pirates, making it almost impossible for the citizens to defy Orochi. Much of the country has been reduced to a wasteland due to Orochi's cruelty, with only his personal territory, the Flower Capital, remaining prosperous.

Orochi utilized manipulative propaganda to brainwash the rich citizens in the Flower Capital in order to further reinforce his rule and policies, idolizing himself as a great hero while villainizing the Kozuki Family, particularly Oden, claiming that they attempted to bring Wano to ruination by breaking the isolation policy and opening the borders of Wano to the outside world. During Orochi's tyranny, the country's administration has created a caste system valuing wealth over all else. Flower Capital residents must have money or else they will face exile. The regions of the country have been shown to contain two types of towns. There are towns that high-ranking officials live in, and these officials control the rest of the population, only allowing essential tradesmen and merchants to remain. The rest of the population is forced to live in poverty in towns known as "leftover towns". In these towns, people only have access to leftover food passed over by those of higher status. Said leftover food is often not enough, and residents often end up starving. Those of higher status look down on people who live in leftovers towns and treat them as subhuman. The poor citizens were forced into slavery by providing the manpower required in the harsh labor in weapon factories to mass produce weapons for the Beasts Pirates in exchange for meager amounts of rations and salary that are insufficient to feed themselves or their families. Kaidou was revered by Orochi and his subordinates, and the rich citizens were influenced by Orochi's corrupt ideology as a wise king and protector.

After Kaidou and Orochi's defeats, Momonosuke declared he will restore Wano Country to its former glory. He announced his citizens to drink as they want, demolish the toxic factories and cease slavery from existence.

Justice and Punishment
In the past, Wano Country had a fair and impartial system of law where even powerful and influential figures can be punished for their crimes such as Orochi's grandfather, the previous head of the Kurozumi Family, and Oden, the heir of the shogunate during his youth. The only exception were the criminals of the then lawless region of Kuri, due to how violent and brutal the outlaws who reigned over the region were.

After Kurozumi Orochi became the shogun, all of Wano's laws were changed to suit the needs of Orochi's misrule for his vengeance. Defying Orochi and even speaking ill of him aloud are considered to be acts of rebellion and a capital crime. Dissidents who openly oppose Orochi were either sentenced to death or condemned to life imprisonment in the Udon region. A man who defied Orochi's policy to work for the Beasts Pirates was executed along with his entire family. Kozuki Oden and his retainers were sentenced to be boiled alive, and any citizens trying to plead for them were ruthlessly killed. The sole exception to this is Kaidou, the pirate who had been the one to support Orochi's authority over Wano to begin with, as when Kaidou killed Orochi, none of Orochi's subordinates dared to retaliate against Kaidou for killing their master.

Due to its corrupt administration, citizens who are rich enough can brazenly commit crimes and get away with it through bribery. Some ranked officials also commit capital crimes for their own reasons and find a scapegoat to cover up their tracks, as a particular magistrate who committed crossroad killings attempted to blame it all on Zorojuro in order to steal Shusui, without so much as giving him a trial to speak for himself. The ritual of seppuku is a known form of punishment used on criminals in the country.

Public executions by crucifixion sometimes occur for those who oppose the shogun and are used as an example.

Organized Crime
In Wano, the yakuza are considered to be well-respected, and people associated with it are treated with admiration and fear.

Armed Forces
Wano Country has its own warriors, the samurai (侍), who are swordsmen so powerful that not even the Marines go near them. Anyone of the samurai class is apparently of high social status. Ever since Orochi took over, samurai became the only ones legally allowed to carry katana. Ryuma's sword, Shusui, is considered a national treasure of Wano Country.

Currently, under the Beasts Pirates' rule, some regions of Wano Country are ruled over by high-ranking members and associates of the crew. As a result, those people's subordinates have jurisdiction over part of the region and have the authority to pass judgement over the residents.

Wano used to have dojos for the teaching of swordsmanship and martial arts, such as kendo, judo, and karate. As a way to prevent any rebellion, Orochi outlawed those institutions from operating ever since he became Wano's shogun.

Custom and Fashion
Women from Wano are expected to be modest and speak gracefully and quietly, though they are allowed to become samurai or ninja. Women are referred with the prefix honorific "O-" (お).

The citizens of Wano are also prone to violently and self-righteously persecuting heinous criminals, extending even to their family members simply for being related to said criminals. As when Orochi's grandfather killed his fellow daimyo, and was already punished by seppuku by the Kozuki family, most of the Wano citizens ruthlessly hunted down the remaining members of the Kurozumi Family who had no involvement in the crime, to the point that even children of the Kurozumi Family are treated as heinous criminals such as Orochi and Kanjuro during their childhood. This eventually led to the Kurozumi Orochi's tyranny, who usurped the shogunate simply for revenge, and forced countless citizens through horrible living conditions and had them die of hunger as retribution.

While the justice system was fair and impartial in the past, Orochi's corrupt social hierarchy dictated that high-class citizens are permitted to dominate over the lower class, from ordering them around to outright killing them without legal repercussions.

The chonmage is a common hairstyle for men. To have the chonmage cut off is a sign of disgrace, and as a form of repentance for disgraceful acts.

When the Kozuki Family were still in power, all the Wano Citizens and Samurais strived to uphold the samurai code of Bushido to live their lives with honor, chivalry, benevolence, loyalty and courage, and prominent followers of the Bushido became famous and legendary respected as idols such as Ryuma, Hyogoro and Oden. However, after, Orochi rose to power, countless samurais dedicated to the bushido code were killed for defiance, while most surviving samurais corrupted by Orochi's influence such as the Mimawarigumi have abandoned the Bushido code in favor of Orochi's depraved ideology of greed and pride, committing crimes for self-interest as well as looking down on the poor citizens and oppressing them relentlessly.

Literacy


In the past, Wano Country had very high literacy, with its citizens having written and produced a massive collection of books which were widely available for sale, enough for self-education. Due to their isolation, the Wano citizens uses traditional Japanese writing tools consisting of an ink brush and inkstone for holding ink to write.

The Kozuki Family were master philologists, having been the one to inscribe the lost ancient language of the Poneglyphs onto the steles themselves during the Void Century, with their ancestors starting a family tradition of passing on those specialized knowledge and skills to their descendants. With the death of Oden, the Kozuki Family's tradition of passing on their ancient philology knowledge and skills to future descendants had been presumed ended, as Momonosuke and Hiyori were unable to learn it from their father who was executed when both were still children. Oden's father, Kozuki Sukiyaki, was thought to have been killed by Orochi, but had actually been imprisoned and later escaped. However, he has kept his survival a secret and lived under a false identity out of shame. After Orochi was overthrown, he revealed himself to Robin and eventually his grandchildren and the Nine Red Scabbards, with the intent of passing down knowledge to the grandchildren, most likely including Poneglyph literacy.

After the Beasts Pirates took over, and Orochi rose to power, the literacy rate of Wano's citizens has badly declined as all other regions were reduced to wastelands with the only remaining school left being located in the Flower Capital. Its education system has also been completely corrupted with propaganda by Orochi and the Beasts Pirates to ensure their dictatorship, by educating the children in their corrupted ideology to ensure the future continuation of the social inequality of Orochi's wealth based caste system, leading most of the wealthy citizens including Orochi's officials to blindly support Orochi and the Beasts Pirates.

Following the reinstatement of the Kozuki Family to power, the education system was re-organized to weed out the previous corruption by having new teachers who would teach the children the true stories of Wano and its heroes such as Kozuki Oden.

Post-Mortem Customs
Wano seems to hold what appears to be traditional Japanese funeral, consisting of a wake, walk to the grave, cremation, and the placement of a monumental stone pillar with the deceased person's name engraved on it is placed to signify the resting place of the deceased. Some families have a personal graveyard, where the family members are buried. Key items of the deceased might be buried with them, and the grave might be the target of theft for those objects, among others.

Due to the extreme cold temperature in the Ringo region, the dead are preserved for eternity under the ice (a practice known as "Eternal Burial"), allowing corpses to remain relatively decay-free for hundreds of years.

According to Kin'emon, there is a "Fire Festival" that is held at Wano Country yearly. Its main purpose is to honor and remember those who have since passed away. Sky Ships (空船) are utilized when the festival near its end, as a way for one to send their wish and gratitude to the heavens and their ancestors.

Layout and Locations


When the Kozuki Family were still in power, Wano was immensely rich in nature with grand flourishing forests where lush vegetation thrives due to clean rivers and seas, brimming with various exotic fauna such as deers and boars. After the Beast Pirates took over Wano Country, most of the forest in all the regions except the capital were cleared in order to set up countless weapon factories to mass produce weapons for export. As a result of industrial pollution, the regions have been reduced to wastelands with wild animals that roamed the regions becoming poisonous due to drinking river water from the mines and factories.

Shogun Orochi and Kaidou have their own personalized farms, such as Kuri's Paradise Farm, to provide clean food and water supplies for the Flower Capital citizens and members of the Beasts Pirates.

Weather
So far, the only surrounding sea shown is near the southeastern shore, where the waters are always suffering from terrible weather, with strong, unusual winds that cause the clouds and ocean's waves to take a swirling shape, resembling their usual depiction in ukiyo-e paintings.

Inland, every region has a different climate. So far, Ringo was shown to have a winter like cold, snowy weather, Hakumai was shown to have an autumn like weather with exfoliation, and the Flower Capital was shown to have springtime sakura blossom.

Wild Life
Gigantic koi and at least one human-sized octopus are known to live in the seas surrounding Wano Country. Those animals are actually necessary for entering the country; the octopus is capable of summoning the giant carp, who will then proceed to swim up the country's waterfall borders with enough strength to pull people and ships attached to them along the way.

Land-based animals include giant creatures that are used for riding such as a katana-wielding baboon, a komainu, a bipedal lizard, and crocodile-shark hybrid like creature called Wanizame. Smaller and regular size animals can also be found in Wano like tigers, boars, and raccoon dogs. The country also has a unique mobile form of Den Den Mushi-like communication: snails called "Smart Tanishi."

When Wano was flourishing in nature before the Beast Pirates' takeover, exotic variety of fauna such as deers and boars as well as numerous carps lived swimming in rivers and nearby sea.

Geography
Currently, the island of Wano Country is actually part of a larger geological formation resembling a mountain or volcano. Its center, where Wano is properly located, and edges are actually very elevated plateaus while the in-between space descends close to the sea level and is filled with rain water. This bowl-like composition leads to a unique waterflow where fresh water flows out of the land and into the larger New World sea through waterfalls, and atop those, there are clashing currents that lead to the formation of whirlpools. The sea water is also known to somehow flow inland, similar to Reverse Mountain, with the water itself becoming clear like a mountain river during the process.

Wano Country only has two known methods of entry from the ocean. The Climbing Koi Waterfall (鯉の登る滝), which is the hardest one, involves tying ships to the giant koi that routinely climb up the surrounding waterfalls from the sea, allowing the fish to pull them along. The other method involves entering a hidden tunnel located behind one of the waterfalls, which leads to the Mogura Port, where people and cargo can get transported inland through a gondola. The latter method, however, is restricted to those who are granted permission by either Kaidou or Orochi. Those limited ways of access, as well as the vicious currents located in the inner and outer seas of Wano, mean that the country is naturally near impenetrable, with shipwrecks being a common sight. After Kaidou's takeover, a defense system was installed in the sea stacks in Wano's outer seas, consisting mostly of manually-operated cannons.

Wano Country features a river that splits and divides the land into six areas called regions, and it also includes the nearby island Onigashima. During the Kozuki Family's rule, each region was ruled by a daimyo, although Kuri was lawless until Kozuki Oden was appointed daimyo. When Orochi took power, Oden was executed and the other daimyo all lost their positions after staging a failed rebellion against Orochi. Until the Beasts Pirates' defeat, Jack was considered to be Kuri's ruler while Queen was considered to be the ruler of Udon. It is unknown if any of the other regions have designated rulers.

Ancient Wano


According to Kozuki Sukiyaki, Wano's current bowl-like structure is actually the result of a massive geographical change that occurred in the country years ago, during the Void Century. Originally, Wano was located at sea level, much like a standard island, and featured a much larger Mt. Fuji, which consisted of two uneven summits, the lower one eventually becoming the base for Onigashima. When massive walls were erected around the island's borders through unknown methods, the country became physically enclosed, resulting in severe flooding caused by accumulated rainwater. As a result, the ancient civilization of Wano had no choice but to climb up Mt. Fuji and settle around the mountainside, thus leading to Wano's modern appearance.

The ruins of the ancient country are still found at the bottom of Wano's seas, having been well-preserved due to the water's lack of salt. Somewhere further down those ruins, the ancient weapon Pluton rests. The Kozuki Family has knowledge of a secret underground staircase that descends down to the original base of Mt. Fuji, where a room with Wano's Road Poneglyph can be found. This room, however, can be accessed from the outside sea through an underwater cavern, much like Jack, a fish-man, did.

Geology
Wano Country is a volcanic island located above an underground magma chamber (マグマ溜まり). After the structural integrity of the island suffered from the displacement of Onigashima and two large craters reaching all the way to the chamber, the ground beneath Onigashima's original location cracked and gave way for the magma to rise to the surface. This resulted in a massive underwater volcanic eruption in the fresh water reservoir around Wano Country.

Despite being physically connected to the country's continental crust, the large rock walls that surround Wano are apparently not natural, and were erected mostly to protect the country from an outside force. In order for one to open Wano's borders, as Kozuki Oden once wished, it is necessary for those walls to be literally broken apart somehow, an event that would liberate the ancient weapon Pluton, located somewhere deep down in Wano's underground, in the process.

Minerals
The country is extremely rich in mineral resources, being once called the "Country of Gold" and constantly coveted by outsiders such as pirates and foreign countries. Eventually, its immense resources were targeted by the Emperor Kaidou, who allied with Orochi in helping the latter rise to power in exchange for monopolizing Wano's resources. After the Beasts Pirates seized control of Wano, nearly all of its resources have been focused into manufacturing weapons.

Wano itself is the origin of seastone, having a culture of craftsmanship dedicated to forging various seastone-based items.

Regions
Note: The main map of Wano dictates how it is seen from the east.

Flower Capital


The Flower Capital (花の都) is in the center of the country, and is where the shogun Kurozumi Orochi resides. It is currently the only prosperous place in Wano, due to the shogun's affiliation with the Beasts Pirates. Mt. Fuji and the leftovers Ebisu Town are also included in the region the Flower Capital occupies.

Kuri


Kuri (九里) is located in the south, and was formerly ruled by Kozuki Oden. Under the Beasts Pirates rule, Kuri had become a wasteland, polluted by the weapons factory that poisoned the fresh water rivers. The Amigasa Village (編笠村) was located there before it was destroyed by the Beasts Pirates headliner, X Drake. Okobore Town (おこぼれ町) is also located in Kuri. It is located on the other side of a large Torii, opposite to Bakura Town. It is a poor town as everything there is made from leftovers from the capital. Bakura Town (博羅町) is where the Beasts Pirates reside. It is located at the foot of the mountain where Oden's castle used to be, and it has a large Torii at its entrance.

Kibi


Kibi (希美) is a region on the west side of Wano Country. It was ruled by the daimyo Fugetsu Omusubi and Yakuza boss Yatappe until Orochi's takeover. Like several other places seen, much of it is a wasteland with factories located on top of rock formations. It contains no known landmarks except for Neko Port (港). The port's name contains the kanji for "root" (根子). Neko (猫, ネコ) is also the Japanese word for "cat".

Udon


Udon (兎丼) is located at the southeast. It was ruled by the daimyo Uzuki Tempura and Yakuza boss Omasa until Orochi's takeover. It is an industrialized region of weapon factories where the lower-class are forced to work to exhaustion and death. There is the Prisoner Mine (囚人採掘場) where rebels are tortured until their wills break and they pledge allegiance to Kaidou. However, the Prisoner Mine was destroyed by Admiral Ryokugyu and the region became lush with vegetation as a side-effect of his Devil Fruit powers.

Hakumai


Hakumai (白舞) is located in the northeast. It was ruled by the daimyo Shimotsuki Yasuie and Yakuza boss Tsunagoro until Orochi's takeover. Currently, it is filled with run down structures, with the exceptions being Mogura Port and Habu Port, two of the major ports of Wano Country. Habu Port is where the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance initially planned to meet their allies before engaging in the battle to take down Kaidou.

Ringo


Ringo (鈴後) is located in the north. It was ruled by the daimyo Shimotsuki Ushimaru and Yakuza boss Cho until Orochi's takeover. It has a wintry climate. It contains the Northern Cemetery, which is said to be haunted. At the cemetery entrance is the Oihagi Bridge.

Onigashima


Onigashima (鬼ヶ島) is an island south of Wano and is considered part of it. It is where Kaidou resides, and where his underlings go to report to him. Once a year, during the Fire Festival, Orochi and his men travel there to celebrate with their allies the take over of Wano Country, under the ruse of paying their respects to the country's protector.

Yo
Yo (ヨウ) is a non-canon region of Wano that appeared in the One Piece x Kyoto event. It was formerly ruled by the Hitaki Family, is now under the rule of Toratsugu and Princess Kikuhime.

Ancient Times


In the distant past, the Wano Country was much bigger and its ports were open to the rest of the world. Then about 800 years ago, by some unknown method and for unknown reasons, great walls were formed around the entire island. However, they did not allow for rainwater to drain out, so the island's original settlements were flooded, forcing the citizens to resettle higher on Mt. Fuji.

At some point, Wano became known as the "Country of Gold", and faced constant threat from both pirates and nobles who wanted to exploit its riches. However, the legendary samurai Ryuma led the country's samurai in defending against every assailant. Ryuma also became legendary for slaying a dragon in the sky above the capital. After his death, Ryuma was buried in his birthplace of Ringo and his legacy made him a national hero.

Oden's Time
Within a century of the present day, Wano was ruled by a shogunate comprising of the Kozuki Family. 59 years ago, the shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki fathered a son named Oden. Oden's entire youth would be surrounded in large-scale chaos. 44 years ago, a 15-year-old Oden kidnapped several women and brought them into the mountains to form a harem, resulting in a massive battle called the Harem Revolt as their loved ones and hired samurai came to free them. 41 years ago, a Mountain God attacked the Flower Capital after the gangsters Kin'emon and Denjiro brought its offspring there, and an 18-year-old Oden came to defeat it. This incident would be called the Mountain God Incident, and shortly afterwards, Sukiyaki disowned and exiled Oden for his uncontrollable behavior.



Kozuki Oden would travel around Wano, attracting a band of powerful followers that would go on to be called the Nine Red Scabbards. Two years after being exiled, he went into the lawless region of Kuri and confronted its most dangerous criminal Ashura Doji. Oden defeated Ashura and rounded up the criminals to institute order, and after Sukiyaki had heard of what happened, he reinstated Oden as his son and granted him the title of daimyo of Kuri.

28 years ago, Sukiyaki fell ill. With Oden having gone abroad, Kurozumi Higurashi used her Devil Fruit powers to impersonate the shogun and declare that Kurozumi Orochi would temporarily succeed him. The next three years, Orochi started building factories and oppressing their workers, and his ally Kaidou protected him from rebellion. When Oden returned, Orochi refused to give up the shogunate.

23 years ago, Gecko Moria managed to infiltrate the Wano Country and robbed Ryuma's grave, making off with Ryuma's corpse as well as his sword Shusui without being spotted. This incident was considered a disaster that brought the country to its knees.



Orochi had Oden executed for trying to open Wano's borders, and worked with Kaidou and the Beasts Pirates to hunt down Oden's family and retainers, burning Kuri Castle where they lived. Oden's wife Kozuki Toki sent her son Momonosuke and retainers Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, and Kikunojo 20 years forward in time, and had her daughter Hiyori escape with retainer Kawamatsu to keep their bloodline going should anything go wrong. Toki stayed and met her doom, and graves were erected near the ruins of the castle. Afterwards, Orochi met with the remaining four daimyo to have them pledge allegiance to him, but they all refused and staged a rebellion, which was quashed by Kaidou. Under the rule of Orochi and Kaidou, the majority of Wano turned into a desolate wasteland, with the water and food supply poisoned by the weapons factory. Only the Flower Capital remained prosperous. Although no one dared go against Orochi and Kaidou, many people remained loyal to the Kozuki Family.

10 years later, many Kozuki loyalists grew tired of waiting and attacked Onigashima. They were all killed, and were memorialized in a mass gravesite in Kuri.

Gecko Moria would later return to Wano at some point and fight Kaidou, resulting in Kaidou killing his entire crew. Four years ago, Portgas D. Ace went to Wano Country and learned how to make a kasa, later making one for Little Oars Jr.

A few months before the present day, Momonosuke's group arrived from the past. After meeting with samurai who were still loyal to the Kozuki Family, all of them save for Kikunojo left the country to recruit allies for their rebellion, though the Beasts Pirates spotted them departing.

Zou Arc
The Kozuki Family formed an alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates and the Heart Pirates in order to battle Kaidou's forces and liberate Wano.

Wano Country Arc


After parting ways with the Sanji Retrieval Team, the remaining Straw Hats went with Kin'emon and his allies and infiltrated Wano. To ensure that they would not be detected by the current shogun's forces, Kin'emon suggested that everyone go undercover and assume civilian identities until he and his comrades could assemble an army to combat the shogun and his forces. However, Zoro was falsely implicated for crimes after being seen with Shusui, and he cut down the magistrate who sentenced him to death, causing him to become a nationally wanted criminal.



Eventually, Luffy's group made it to Wano, and Luffy washed up on Kuri Beach. He met a girl named Tama after freeing her from some Beasts Pirates who attacked him, and after Tama got poisoned, Luffy took her to Okobore Town to be healed. On the way, he met Zoro and the two of them encountered and fought Basil Hawkins. At Okobore Town, Tama was kidnapped by the Gifter Gazelleman and taken to Bakura Town for the Shinuchi Holed'em to exploit her Devil Fruit ability.

Luffy and Zoro went to Bakura Town with the samurai Kikunojo as the yokozuna Urashima was sumo wrestling, and Kikunojo cut off Urashima's topknot when he proposed marriage to her. Luffy then defeated Urashima in the ring, drawing the ire of Holed'em, who confronted him and Zoro. Meanwhile, Hawkins came to Bakura Town, but was confronted by Law. Luffy defeated Holed'em and freed Tama as his group laid waste to the Beasts Pirates in the town, and Law joined them as they escaped with a cart full of clean food and water. They returned to Okobore Town, where they gave the provisions cart to the starving citizens.



Law took Luffy and Zoro to the alliance's hideout in the ruins of Oden Castle, and some time later, Shutenmaru and the Mt. Atama Thieves invaded Okobore Town to steal their food. Jack came looking for Luffy's group and found Shutenmaru, and the two dueled briefly before Kaidou himself came to look for Luffy and Law. Hawkins came and told Kaidou that they were in Oden Castle, causing Kaidou to destroy it with a ball of flame and be promptly attacked by Luffy. Kaidou swiftly defeated Luffy and decided to imprison him in Udon's Prisoner Mine to make him into a subordinate.



A few days later, the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance was at work infiltrating the Flower Capital, and released a secret message in the newspapers notifying their allies of their return and plan to attack Onigashima in two weeks. Sanji set up a soba stand, and defeated some thugs from the Kyoshiro Family who tried to intimidate him. The thugs had their boss Kyoshiro contact the Beasts Pirates, and Page One of the Flying Six went on a rampage looking for Sanji. However, Sanji managed to quickly dispatch Page One and escape.



Meanwhile, Orochi met with CP0 to discuss underground trade between Wano and the World Government, and Orochi said they would have to bring him Vegapunk to get any further. Orochi then went to his banquet, where he courted Wano's top-ranking oiran Komurasaki. Robin attempted to infiltrate the castle to gather information, but was caught by the Orochi Oniwabanshu, and the banquet quickly turned chaotic when Orochi attacked Komurasaki's kamuro Toko for laughing at his paranoia over the Kozuki Family's return. Komurasaki stood up to Orochi and enraged him further with her defiance, prompting Kyoshiro to cut her down to give her mercy, and Nami, who was also infiltrating the castle, unleashed a massive lightning attack on the banquet hall to help Robin escape.



The next day, Orochi discovered the secret message spreading among the Kozuki Family loyalists and ordered the arrest of anyone with the crescent moon on their ankle. His and Kaidou's forces rounded up dozens of samurai and publicly imprisoned them in Rasetsu Town. That night, Shimotsuki Yasuie allowed himself to be caught by the authorities, claiming to be the legendary thief Ushimitsu Kozo. The next morning, Yasuie was crucified for his crimes at the same time as Komurasaki's funeral procession, which Orochi had broadcasted. Yasuie claimed that the secret message was a joke he made up, and made fun of Orochi, causing the shogun and his forces to shoot him to death. Seeing Toko, Yasuie's daughter, at the scene, Orochi attempted to kill her, but the Straw Hats intervened. They then fought against Orochi's forces, with Zoro nearly killing Orochi.



The Big Mom Pirates attempted to enter Wano to kill Luffy but were stopped at the top of the waterfall by King. Big Mom fell into the ocean and washed up on Kuri Beach, where Chopper, Momonosuke, Tama, and Kikunojo found her completely amnesiac. They decided to take her to the Prisoner Mine, and after a long journey, Big Mom broke in looking for oshiruko. Not finding any, she took out her rage on Luffy and the All-Star Queen, but regained her memories and fell asleep after Queen dove on her head. Queen immediately departed to take Big Mom to Onigashima, and Luffy staged a revolt with the country's former yakuza boss Hyogoro. Raizo, who had infiltrated the prison to rescue Luffy, discovered that Kawamatsu was imprisoned there and freed him while the prisoner Caribou cut off communications to the rest of Wano. After convening, Luffy and his allies tried to recruit the thousands of prisoners that were there for rebelling, and after facing some opposition eventually managed to get them on their side. The remaining Beasts Pirates stood no chance against Luffy's group, which quickly conquered Udon.

Big Mom was brought to Onigashima, and shortly after reuniting with Kaidou, the two of them began fighting for an entire night. After their fight, however, they decided to form an alliance to take over the world.

Thanks to a revision of the secret message that Yasuie created, the rebellion continued their preparations. With thousands of rebels on their side, including the four regional yakuza bosses, the Kozuki Family alliance worked tirelessly to gather weapons and a fleet of ships in the days leading up to the Fire Festival. The time for the final battle finally came, but Orochi received a report that divulged the alliance's movements in great detail. Orochi had all the pathways between Wano's regions cut off and destroyed the alliance's fleet, resulting in the Nine Red Scabbards being completely alone at Tokage Port.

The Red Scabbards still set sail on a small rowboat, where at this point, Kanjuro revealed himself to be the true spy and that he has revealed all their plans to Orochi, before kidnapping Momonosuke and leaving the Scabbards to be dealt with by the waiting Beasts Pirate ships. However, thanks to a misinterpretation of the revised message on Kin'emon's part, which inadvertently fooled the enemy, the alliance was still able to assemble, with further additions from Denjiro and his yakuza group, as well as those imprisoned in Rasetsu town. Though the Red Scabbards were saved, the enemy ships sunk, and the Kid Pirates chose to accompany the alliance, Momonosuke was still kidnapped. After the Straw Hats destroyed a fortified outpost, they continued on to Onigashima.

While the Beasts Pirates partied on Onigashima, the disguised alliance members quietly infiltrated the party. During the party, Orochi, who was planning on executing Momonosuke, was killed by Kaidou, after the Emperor revealed the New Onigashima Project. Orochi's subordinates quickly agreed to join the Beasts Pirates, however just as Kaidou planned to execute Momonosuke himself, the Scabbards appeared and attempted to assassinate Kaidou. The alliance then revealed themselves, with Luffy announcing an all-out war between themselves and the Beast-Big Mom pirate alliance. Yamato, Kaidou's son, and X Drake, who was exposed as a spy, joined the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance during the raid. Kaidou took his battle with the Red Scabbards outside, and managed to defeat them, before levitating Onigashima with the intent of dropping it atop the castle in the Flower capital.



However, thanks to the efforts Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance the project ended in utter failure as the member defeated Kaidou's forces one by one and even his ally and fellow Emperor Big Mom until at long last Luffy defeated Kaidou which caused an underwater volcanic eruption where Onigashima used to be and the rightful heir of Wano, Kozuki Momonosuke used his artificial dragon powers to safely land Onigashima near the Flower Capital. Momonosuke arrives at the festival and tells the people of Wano that Kaidou, Orochi, and the Beasts Pirates were all defeated thanks to his “powerful and passionate friend” and all of his other allies and they all cheer at the announcement. Momonosuke then officially declares himself as the new Shogun of Wano and asks the citizens to help him return Wano to the beautiful kingdom it once was. Because of Luffy's humility he asked Momonosuke not to give his name to the subjects, so the people came to know him as Joy Boy and praise his heroism for defeating Kadio and freeing the country.



After revealing himself to still be alive, the former shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki confirmed to Nico Robin that the ancient weapon Pluton was indeed in hidden Wano as she learned in Arabasta 2 years ago, he took her and Law several hundred feet below the capital to show them the sunken ruins of old Wano and explained that as soon as Wano opened its borders, the power of Pluton would be unleashed. With this new knowledge Law asked why Oden wanted to open the country to begin with Sukiyaki simply saying he did not know as he had no idea what Oden learned during his journey in the outside world. They continued down until they were in front of the 3rd Road Poneglyph and with it finally in their possession The alliance only needed one more to reach Laugh Tale. Marine Admiral Ryokugyu came to Wano to capture Luffy who was still recovering from his extraordinary fight with Kaidou, so Momonosuke, the Scabbards, Shinobu and Yamato intercepted him. Just as Ryokugyu was about to win, he decided to retreat for now because he sensed the powerful Haoshoku Haki emitted from "Red-Haired" Shanks who was just outside Wano's borders who then also left after the crises was averted.



Before departing Luffy gave a copy of his crew's flag to Momonosuke, telling him that if anyone shows up causing big trouble to show them the flag implying that Wano is now allied with and under the protection of the Straw Hat Pirates. As Luffy, Law, and Kid left with their crews a grand performance in the Flower Capital began. The huge audience listen in awe as they learned about the battle that took place on Onigashima with Kaidou and Big Mom now being called the "Dragon King" and "O-Lin the Great Yōkai" respectfully and how the "three mighty outlaws" recruited by Shogun Momonosuke triumphed over their wickedness.

One Piece x Kyoto
Toratsugu served as a teacher of flower arrangement for the Hitaki Family, the family of the daimyo of the Yo district in Wano Country. Since childhood, he was friends with the princess Kikuhime, and the two gradually came to love each other. They got engaged, but a few days later, Toratsugu witnessed prince Lark murdering the daimyo. Lark pinned the murder on Toratsugu and imprisoned him, with the prince next in line to become daimyo. However, Toratsugu managed to escape his imprisonment the night before his public execution and came to a beach. Starving, he ate a Devil Fruit, which turned out to be a Mythical Zoan that allows him to be transformed into the yokai nue, and he took residence in a mountain temple.

Not too long afterwards, Kikuhime and Lark got engaged, and Toratsugu broke into the mansion where their wedding ceremony was held. He kidnapped Kikuhime, with Lark being unable to take him down, and took his past love to his mountain temple. Lark then approached the Straw Hat Pirates, asking them to go and take down Toratsugu in return for a considerable reward.



Shortly afterward, the Straw Hat Pirates reached the temple at the behest of Lark, and Toratsugu battled their captain Monkey D. Luffy. After a brief battle, Toratsugu fell down a ravine, where he transformed back into a human and sustained injuries. He was healed by Chopper, and revealed his past to the Straw Hats. They sympathized with him and agreed to go take down Lark, and Toratsugu took them to him in his nue form despite his injuries.

As the Straw Hats went off, Lark barricaded himself in an encampment and swore to kill Toratsugu as he revealed to Kikuhime that he killed her father. No longer having a use for Kikuhime, Lark pushed her off a balcony, but she was suddenly saved by Luffy as he flew in on Toratsugu. Luffy then defeated Lark with a punch to the face. A banquet was held afterward, and Toratsugu and Kikuhime bid farewell to the Straw Hats as they resumed their life together.

Translation and Dub Issues
The name is a pun, as "Wa no Kuni (和の国)" is used as the oldest recorded name for Japan. The kanji for "Wa" appears when Brook mentions the country in the Punk Hazard Arc, but the country's name is written in katakana (ワノ国), where "no" is a part of the name rather than being a possessive article.

Trivia

 * Wano Country is inspired by Feudal Japan, as evidenced by people's names, dialect, architecture, culture, and general atmosphere.
 * The fact that the swordsmen in this country are called "samurai" and its closed-door policy are also references to Japan in their Feudal era.
 * The weather condition surrounding Wano is based on the Kamikaze legend in the Japanese folklore as the Kamikaze helped the Japanese to repel the invasion of the Mongol Empire.
 * A particular scene, during the efforts of the second half of the Straw Hat Pirates to reach Wano through the riotous seas surrounding the country, depicted a massive wave taking on a form highly reminiscent of the famous ukiyo-e woodlock print called The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
 * So far, when a character native to Wano Country has been introduced in the present manga, their information has been seen on a Japanese scroll rather than the regular information box. The country itself was introduced in this way.
 * Momonosuke's fake introduction was an exception (perhaps hinting that the introduction was duplicitous), but when his real identity was given, he also had a scroll.
 * Ryuma was introduced in a different manner, as he predated One Piece and originally first appeared in the oneshot Monsters, and upon reappearing in One Piece, it was not really him, but his reanimated corpse that was brought to life by someone else's shadow.
 * When a character is introduced in Wano Country, it has a concave corners rectangle information box.
 * Some Straw Hats were reintroduced in that manner when they appeared as their aliases in Wano.
 * Instead of the usual "do-don" onomatopoeia Oda uses to introduce new locations or characters, when introducing the Wano Country it is replaced with "be-ben", which represents the strum of a shamisen, a traditional Japanese string instrument.
 * Albeit written with different kanji, most of Wano Country's regions are named after a food typically associated with Japan, the exceptions being the Flower Capital, Onigashima and the non-canon Yo.
 * Kuri, written as "nine villages", alludes to Japanese chestnuts (栗).
 * Kibi, written as "rare beauty", alludes to proso millet (黍), a kind of grain used in Japan for making food, such as kibi dango.
 * Udon, written as "rabbit bowl", alludes to udon noodles (饂飩).
 * Hakumai, written as "white dance", alludes to white rice (白米).
 * Ringo, written as "after bell", alludes to apples (林檎), which, despite not begin commonly associated with Japan, are largely produced in the country.
 * Major ports of Wano Country are presumably named after animals.
 * Neko, written as "root child", alludes to cat (猫).
 * Mogura, written as "to dive", alludes to mole (モグラ).
 * Itachi, written as "showy", alludes to weasel (イタチ).
 * Tokage, written as "constant shadow", alludes to lizard (トカゲ).
 * Kaeru, written as "return", alludes to frog (カエル).
 * Habu, written as "blade military", alludes to habu (ハブ), several species of venomous snakes found in Asia.

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