  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page Jin Sakai contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature articles are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | Honor died on the beach. | „ |
| ~ Jin Sakai. |
| “ | I am not your son... I am the Ghost. | „ |
| ~ Jin Sakai to Lord Shimura. |
Lord Jin Sakai (境井 仁; Sakai Jin), also known as the Ghost, is the titular main protagonist of the 2020 action-adventure drama video game, Ghost of Tsushima.
He is a samurai under the service of his uncle, Lord Shimura. Barely surviving a disastrous battle to repel Mongol invaders, he wanders the island of Tsushima to protect his homeland and repel the invaders. At first, an honorable samurai, he forsakes the samurai code and becomes a ruthless samurai-shinobi to defeat the invaders in more extreme measures.
He is voiced by and modeled from Daisuke Tsuji in English (who also provided the voice of Kuai Liang), and Kazuya Nakai (who also voiced the likes of Xiahou Dun, Ultraman Max, Masamune Date, Roronoa Zoro, Bruno Madrigal, and Jonathan Joestar) in Japanese.
Biography[]
Jin Sakai grew up in Omi Village, Tsushima Island. Growing up in the ruling class of samurai, he was raised in a strict, disciplined environment, trained by his father and uncle to become a samurai. During his youth, he was friends with Ryuzo, and taken care of by his maid, Yuriko. Jin's life was idyllic, going on hunting trips with his father Kazumasa Sakai and his uncle, Lord Shimura, jito (a land steward appointed by the shogunate) of Tsushima Island, and living a life of luxury and comfort in both Omi village and the family estate on Iki island. That all came to an end, however, when Jin's mother Chiyoko died of an unknown illness. The event deeply scarred both Jin and his father, who became a cold and distant man who was unable to give his son a proper childhood and instead raised Jin the only way he knew how to - putting him through an unforgiving regimen to turn him into the perfect samurai. This caused Jin to fear his father more than he loved him, although he still looked up to his exploits and victories.
When Jin was a teenager, his father was tasked by the Shogun of Japan to return to Iki island and lead a campaign that would quell the beginnings of a rebellion led by a small army of local raiders. Although at first reluctant, Kazumasa chose to bring Jin along with him in order for the young boy to both fight at his side and gain a firsthand look into the life of a samurai. This campaign was where Jin truly witnessed his father's cruelty, with Chiyoko's death revealing Kazumasa's true nature as an unforgiving and brutal warlord who was willing to massacre entire villages and slaughter innocents in order to achieve his goal. This cruelty ended up putting Clan Sakai at odds with not just the rebels but the entire population of Iki Island, which later organized an ambush in Senjo gorge that decimated the Sakai army and left Kazumasa and Jin alone and trapped. Fleeing to a nearby beach, Jin hid inside an abandoned fishing shack while his father fought against the rebels before collapsing due to the severe injuries that he sustained in the process. As Kazumasa begged for his son's help, Jin witnessed his father's death at the hands of the raider Tenzo, an event that traumatized him and stuck with him well into adulthood. He was later found in the morning by Lord Adachi and the other survivors of the attack and returned to Tsushima along with them and his father's corpse.
In the wake of his father's death, Jin was taken in by Lord Shimura as his ward and continued to train in the way of the samurai. Jin also fought against Ryuzo in a tournament while becoming a samurai, defeating him in a friendly duel. This would prevent Ryuzo from becoming a samurai, instead becoming a ronin mercenary and later joining the Straw Hat Ronin, which he would eventually become the leader of.
The Mongols under Khotun Khan invaded Tsushima in 1274, taking over most of the island, and killed or enslaving anyone who resisted their rule. Jin is one of eighty samurai who were sent in a desperate suicide attack against the Mongols at Komoda Beach. During the battle, Jin was knocked unconscious, while his uncle Lord Shimura was captured. Jin was narrowly saved by the thief Yuna, who nursed him back to health and saved him from the Mongols.
Jin attempts to attack Castle Kaneda, where Shimura was imprisoned, in order to save his uncle. However, he is easily defeated by Khotun Khan, who throws Jin off a bridge. Jin once again narrowly survives the fight, escaping with the help of Yuna. He then decides to recruit help in order to retake Castle Kaneda from the Mongols.
Jin enlists the help of Sensei Ishikawa, Lady Masako, and his old friend Ryuzo and his Straw Hat Ronin. He also saves Yuna's brother Taka from Azamo Bay with the help of sake merchant Kenji. Taka helps Jin forge a grappling hook to help retake the castle.
They manage to successful assault the castle. However, Ryuzo betrays Jin and sides with the Mongols, challenging Jin to a duel. Jin defeats and wounds Ryuzo, but he manages to escape. Jin presses further into Castle Kaneda, finding his uncle Shimura. Despite their victory in capturing Castle Kaneda, Khotun Khan had already left to capture Lord Shimura's castle.
In Toyotama, Jin recruits Norio and the warrior monks and the people of Yarikawa. While defending Yarikawa from the Mongols' siege, Jin develops the legendary persona of the "Ghost of Tsushima". With the help of Lord Shimura, they hire the help of pirate Goro, who successfully gets a message to the shogun in the Japanese mainland for military assistance. Jin returns to Omi Village to reclaim his family armor. Learning that Ryuzo is in Fort Koyasan, he leaves to confront Ryuzo. Taka follows Jin, and Jin reluctantly allows Taka to help him.
Both Jin and Taka are captured when Ryuzo lures them into a trap. Khotun demands that Jin surrenders – when he refuses, Khotun forces Taka to kill Jin. Defiant, Taka tries to attack the Khan, only to be brutally executed in front of Jin. Jin escapes and kills most of the Straw Hat Ronin in revenge.
Jin regroups with Shimura to plan an assault on Castle Shimura. They push the Mongols into the inner keep, but Khotun uses horse chariots loaded with explosives to destroy the bridge and hinder their advance. Shimura decides to rebuild the bridge so they could plan for a full-frontal assault. Realizing more lives would be lost, Jin defies his uncle's orders and during the night, he infiltrates into the inner keep poisoning the Mongols' airag. Jin finds Ryuzo in the keep, fighting him in single combat and killing Ryuzo.
Castle Shimura is easily taken, but Khotun once again leaves to invade Kamiagata in the north. Furious, Lord Shimura criticizes Jin for resorting to "dishonorable" tactics such as poison. Aware that the shogun would execute Jin for his disloyalty and for threatening the social hierarchy of the samurai, Shimura pleads Jin to renounce his "Ghost" persona and scapegoat Yuna. Jin refuses and is arrested for his crimes.
With the help of Kenji, Jin escapes Castle Shimura, but his horse is killed in the process. Without his equipment, Jin walks further into the Kin Sanctuary, where he discovers to his horror that Khotun had learned to recreate his poison, experimenting on the people of Kin. Jin himself is poisoned and is barely saved by Yuna for a third time. Meanwhile, Khotun retreats to Port Izumi, where he plans to use the poison against the Japanese mainland.
Jin gathers his allies and prepares for a final assault on Port Izumi. He infiltrates the settlement and confront Khotun Khan on his flagship. In a final battle, Jin kills Khotun Khan, causing the Mongol invasion of Japan to lose momentum and collapse.
With Tsushima restored to shogun rule, Jin is summoned by Lord Shimura. Shimura informs Jin that Clan Sakai has been renounced and that Jin is branded a traitor; under the shogun's orders, Shimura is forced to kill Jin. Jin and Shimura reluctantly duel each other, and Jin defeats Shimura. Jin can either choose to honor Shimura's request and kill him to give him a proper samurai's death or completely abandon his samurai ways and spare Shimura. Either way, Jin is forever branded as a traitor to the shogunate, and lives out the rest of his life as the Ghost of Tsushima.
Abilities/Skills[]
Expert Swordsman: Years of training under Lord Shimura in preparation for his life as a samurai have formed Jin into a fiercely skilled and feared swordsman. Armed with the highly powerful and resilient Sakai katana, Jin can face almost a dozen attackers at once and easily emerge the victor. Jin's extensive knowledge of Japanese swordsmanship also allows him to adopt specific stances, each of which are best suited for any types of opponents he may encounter and provide him with different ways to break through defenses and land a killing blow. Finally, Jin's level of mastery has gotten so high over the years that he is able to memorize and copy extremely advanced sword fighting techniques by simply observing and analyzing a combatant's movements without the need for any prior knowledge or practice. By the time Lord Shimura is freed, Jin is widely regarded as the single best swordsman on the entire island.
Expert Archer: As a former student of the legendary archer Sensei Ishikawa, Jin is unmatched with both the half bow and longbow, both of which allow him to dispatch hard-to reach enemies such as sentries from a distance. Jin also has flaming and explosive arrows at his disposal, which he can use with devastating results.
Expert strategist: Under the tutelage of Lord Shimura and having read such works as Sun Tzu's Art of War, Jin is a master at finding ways to outmaneuver and weaken entire armies using his environment and the help of the people of Tsushima.
Efficient Stealth Tactician: Forsaking the samurai's code of honor which commands them to attack enemies head-on, Jin has adopted a much stealthier and deadlier plan of attack as the Ghost. Thanks to his superior speed and agility, Jin can effortlessly infilitrate heavily-guarded fortresses and quickly and quietly dispose of the guards within using the Sakai tanto and his two bows. Additionally, Jin has an arsenal of weapons which he can use to either disperse and/or dispatch large groups of enemies as well as get out of tight spots. This arsenal is composed of :
- Kunais: Small throwing knives which Jin can use to either kill or seriously injure foes.
- Smoke Bombs: small pellets that explode into a plume of smoke when dropped and allow Jin to either escape pursuers or disorient small groups of enemies, giving him time to dispose of them in the confusion.
- Black Powder Bombs: thrown projectiles that explode on contact with any surface and can decimate large groups of heavily-armored soldiers
- Sticky bombs: timed explosives that can stick onto enemies and explode after three seconds, both injuring and stunning them as well as any nearby attackers.
- Bell Chimes: noisemakers that when thrown, emit a ringing noise that can lure a single enemy into an ideal position for Jin to kill them unseen
- Firecrackers: When thrown on the ground, can attract multiple enemies to their position.
- Blowgun: shoots highly poisonous darts that can either gruesomely kill enemies or inject them with a toxin that sends them into a fit of rage, causing them to attack anyone nearby.
- Grapple Hook: a device fashioned by Yuna's brother Taka which consists of a hook attached to a sturdy rope. This allows Jin to latch onto surfaces and climb roofs, which he can use to pass by enemies unseen.
Gallery[]
