Yamato, also known as Princess Oni, is the daughter of the former Emperor Kaidou in Oda's One Piece. Trained from a young age to be Kaidou's heir, Yamato instead developed a deep admiration for the samurai Kozuki Oden. After his death, Yamato decided to "become" Oden, impersonating him and adopting his ways. After meeting Monkey D. Luffy, she joins the Alliance in order to defeat the Beast Pirates and escape Onigashima. Yamato is by all accounts one of the most intriguing characters in the series, and in this article, we will explain why she (or he) is called Oden in One Piece.

Yamato, despite being a biological woman, considers herself a man and sees herself as a boy. Based on this, her admiration for the late Kozuki Oden must be taken into account, and as a result, Yamato decided to "become" the next Oden and began referring to herself (or him) as Oden as a sign of respect for the great samurai.

The rest of this article will focus on Yamato and his identity. We'll give you all the known details about this issue, which remains one of the most interesting points in the current One Piece story. However, you should be aware that there will be spoilers in this article, so be careful how you approach it.

Why is Yamato called Oden?

“Oden was a man, wasn’t he? So I chose to be a man too!”

The question of Yamato's identity is one of the most complex issues in One Piece, despite the fact that it isn't a major plot-related mystery and that Yamato has the right to be whoever she wants. However, it is a persistent enigma, and its solution has certain implications for this article, which is why we must also discuss it here. Indeed, it is impossible to answer this question about Yamato without addressing the question of her identity.

As we said in the introduction, Yamato is a biological female. She was born Kaidou's daughter, she looks like a girl, and everything about her is very feminine, as far as her physical appearance goes. But despite this, she currently presents as a man, although the manga inconsistently refers to her as both a female and a male character, depending on the chapter and the situation. But, regardless of the fact that the question of her gender remains a mystery until Oda decides to resolve it (or not resolve it), there is a very important reason why Yamato continues to consider herself a man, and this reason has to do with Kozuki Oden, a legend of Wano Country and a character who left a lasting impression on this part of Oda's world.

In particular, Yamato aspires to resemble the legendary samurai Kozuki Oden and holds him in higher regard. On several occasions, she has called herself Oden and even adopted his gender by calling herself "son of Kaidou" because Oden is male. Oden's son, Momonosuke, was horrified when Yamato announced herself as such, despite her initial reluctance. Yamato has displayed an outspoken attitude towards this identity over time.

In direct opposition to her father's plans for the nation, Yamato also wishes to fulfill Oden's goals, including opening Wano's borders. Yamato has shown remarkable determination in fighting Kaidou's confinement despite him not being entirely free. She may have been more obedient to him at first, but after a fight with her Ace, she rebelled by destroying Kaidou's dragon statue, sparking another outright revolt.

Even though Yamato has fully embraced her role, she still refers to Yamato as "another name of her," maintaining her old persona. Yamato corrected Luffy when he called her by a nickname, showing that she dislikes people calling her by the wrong name. Yamato dreams of leaving Wano Country and setting sail with the Straw Hat Pirates, just as Oden did with the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates decades ago. Yamato considers Oden's logbook her "bible" after reading the amazing deeds recorded in it.

As you can see, this is a pretty complex question. First of all, Kozuki Oden was an enemy of her father, Kaidou, who was the ruthless ruler of Wano until his defeat at the hands of Monkey D. Luffy. Kaidou was a ruthless ruler, but he was also a shitty father, and this was evident on several occasions; even though he wanted Yamato to be a powerful warrior and his successor, he didn't really care for her, and there was no love between them when she was little. As you might assume, Kaidou wasn't the sweetest or kindest father. He's also one of the reasons why she has a very masculine attitude and why she fights like a boy, despite being a girl.

The second thing to note here is that Yamato is actually a girl, but it was only because of Oden that she explicitly decided to refer to herself as a boy. This is because not only does she admire one of her father's greatest rivals, but she also changed her entire identity thanks to him. And this is actually the answer to the question we posed here in this article. Yamato calls herself Oden because she admires the deceased samurai so much. It wasn't enough to fight like Oden, and it wasn't enough to simply admire him; Yamato had to completely become Oden to show how much she respected the samurai.

And that's why she decided to "become" Oden, and as she says in the quoted sentence above, Oden was a man, so to "become" Oden, she also had to become a man. And that's why Yamato continues to be called Oden. In the following section, we've decided to tell you a little about Oden's legacy so that you can better understand the importance of his legacy in the story of One Piece.

Why is Kozuki Oden so important?

Although he's never seen in the main story—only in flashbacks—Kozuki Oden has an incredibly important legacy in One Piece, especially in Wano Country. His name and actions symbolize something, and many characters have ended up being inspired by Oden or have continued to build on his legacy. This legacy began twenty years before the main story begins, when Orochi visited Kuri to demand that Oden let him build factories in the area. Upon hearing this and the Hyogoro family massacre, Oden could not take it anymore and cried. Before that, his vassals and the Oden family decided to finally attack Kaidou for their happiness. Afterward, Oden set out with his nine most important vassals to defeat the invading pirate.

Before leaving, Oden wrote a letter to his wife, asking her to use her powers to help defeat Kaidou in the future in case he died trying. The two factions met in Udon and began to fight. After recognizing Shinobu (who began to help them) and fending off dozens of Kaidou's subordinates, Oden managed to land a major blow on the pirate.

Immediately afterward, Oden heard a fake Momonosuke calling for help, which Kaidou took advantage of to defeat him with a single blow of his kanabo. After appeasing all his enemies, the Beast Pirates imprisoned Oden and his subordinates, sentencing them to death by boiling in three days. During this time, Oden saw Toki for the last time, to whom he entrusted the swords he had entrusted to him.

Three days later, Oden and his retainers were about to be publicly executed, so Oden asked to be released. After discussing the matter with Kaidou, he agreed to be boiled for an hour before being released. After speaking, Oden quickly entered the boiling pot and began holding his subordinates with a board so they wouldn't burn. As everyone saw his determination, Oden began to endure the execution minute by minute.

Soon after, and to the surprise of everyone present, Oden was able to survive the agreed-upon time inside the oil. However, Orochi was not satisfied with this and decided to change the method of execution from boiling alive to firing squad at the last minute. Aware of the threat, Oden threw the Nine Red Scabbards out of the cauldron with the last of his strength, telling them to do everything in their power to finally open Wano Country to the outside world. After exchanging a few words with Kaidou, he shot an exhausted and very emaciated Oden in the head to end his suffering. Finally, Oden's body fell into the oil and the samurai died with a broad smile.