One Piece Kumamoto Revival Project

Located on Kyushu Island, Kumamoto prefecture is famous for its green mountainous landscapes, its onsen hot springs, the active volcano Mount Aso and for Kumamon, one of the most famous and cutest local mascots in Japan. Kumamoto has also recently become a must-visit pilgrimage for One Piece fans. Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the famous manga, also adapted into along-lasting anime, was indeed directly involved in the One Piece Kumamoto Revival Project. The project started in 2018, opening a new One Piece-related narrative arc called Hinokuni Reconstruction Arc that took place from 2019 to 2022 all over the prefecture.

The manga artist, who was born and raised in Kumamoto, worked hand in hand with the local government to create the 10 bronze statues of Luffy and his crew mates, that were placed in 9 of the area’s cities. These artworks achieved their main goals, that is to say:

• Celebrating Eiichiro Oda’s talent, who was made honorary citizen of the prefecture, and expressing gratitude for his generosity in the financing of the reconstruction program; and notably,
• Boosting regional tourism after April 2016 earthquakes, that caused several hundred deaths and damaged many buildings, including Kumamoto Castle.

And the idea was undeniably successful: Kumamoto’s foreign tourism figures’ increase was the most important of all Japanese prefectures, even exceeding Fukuoka and Yamagata’s. During fiscal year 2023, the number of international visitors in Kumamoto rose by 2,14 compared to 2019, according to the analysis of the GPS data provided by route planner Japan Travel by NAVITIME. These areas, that usually are off the beaten track and consequently not pressured by over-tourism, all the more welcome the rising interest of visitors.

Where to see the Straw Hat Pirates?

The members of the Straw Hat Crew (the Mugiwara Pirates) are scattered in 9 different cities to encourage visitors in the exploration of the prefecture. We recommend having your driving license translated in Japanese beforehand and renting a car to move more easily around Kumamoto’s area. Some of the statues are accessible by tramway, by train or by Sanko bus, but these transportation means have inconvenient schedules and operating hours.

The whole tour of the 10 statues requires 1 to 2 days:

• Luffy and Chopper are in Kumamoto’s city-center, and can be found after a tram or a bicycle ride;
• The statues of Sanji, Brook, Zoro and Nami are placed in the surroundings of the prefecture’s capital, and mainly accessible by car;
• Robin, Usopp and Franky can be found near Mount Aso, with 2 of them set in front a train station; and,
• On the seaside, along Kumamoto’s south coast, you’ll find Jinbe after traveling by train or driving.

Large promotional poster for One Piece are also on display in Kumamoto JR station and we recommend a shopping session at the official One Piece Mugiwara Store located at the 6F floor of Amu Plaza shopping mall. Whenever a statue is located near a place receiving a regular public, you’ll probably also find a souvenir shop nearby.

The cities to display the statues were carefully selected based on how bad they were impacted by the 2016 earthquakes and the damages on their infrastructures were. Furthermore, the hosted characters have a power type or skill that matches the cities’ characteristics, in a nicely thought-out wink both to the local situation and to the One Piece manga.

Monkey D. Luffy

Luffy, One Piece’s main character and captain of the pirate crew, is shown his fist raised and wearing his famous straw hat. The statue was installed in November 2018 at the center of the promenade leading to Kumamoto prefectural office. At his feet, a cast of Eiichiro Oda’s hand and his signature is also on display.

While this statue is the easiest to find, with an access by public transport, it is not located in the touristic center of the city and requires a specific travel to see it. We recommend going in autumn when the leaves of the ginkgo biloba trees surrounding Luffy’s statues turn into a beautiful gold, then continuing to the Suizen-ji Joju-en garden that is located about 10 minutes’ walk away.

Tony Tony Chopper

Inaugurated in November 2020, Chopper’s statue is the 2nd and only other One Piece statue in the prefecture’s capital, standing between the entrance and the parking lot of Kumamoto City Zoological and Botanical Garden, free to access any time.

This setting near an animal park for children makes sense, as Chopper is initially a small cute reindeer that gained the ability to transform into a human after eating the Human-Human Fruit (Hito Hito no Mi), and is also a medical doctor.

Nami

The statue of the Straw Hats’ navigator and treasurer, Nami, is located in Nishihara since July 2021, more precisely near the (upper part) of the parking lot of the local products market Moe no Sato, on prefectural road 28 connecting Kumamoto City to Mount Aso by the south. This rest area also offers the possibility to eat and enjoy seasonal flower fields, like sunflowers in summer.

This location in the heart of nature is a reminder of Nami’s ability to control weather elements. Orange trees were planted near her statue, as a reference to her childhood. Wind farms are also located in Nishihara village and were damaged by 2016’s earthquakes. Nami is therefore here to create a symbolic breeze to support these infrastructures.

Roronoa Zoro

Ozu City, located towards Mount Aso and near Kumamoto Airport, is home to the beautiful statue of Roronoa Zoro placed here in January 2022. The Straw Hats’ swordsman is shown performing his signature Santoryu 3-swords technique, holding his 3rd katana in the mouth.

The city of Ozu was chosen for its youth’s passion for kendo, a modern version of the kenjutsu, a type of swordplay that feudal times samurai practiced with katana swords. As many kendo dojo were damaged by 2016 earthquakes, Zoro becomes the symbol of the martial art revival in the city.

Thanks to its location in the municipal park, a few minutes’ walk away from Higo-Ozu station on the JR Hohi main line, that connects Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, this sculpture is one of the easiest to reach by public transport in the One Piece Kumamoto Revival Project. A children’s playground and tables for picnic are also available in the park.

Sanji

The Straw Hats’ chef, Sanji, has his own statue since 2019 in Mashiki City, in the eastern suburb of Kumamoto. Sanji is standing in front of a brand new athletic field, carrying a plate of food, in a location near the city’s central kitchen that supplies its 7 schools and was severely damaged in 2016.

However, Sanji’s face is showing a tense smile, that gives off more of a disturbing strangeness than the normal warm friendliness of the character.

Robin

Inaugurated in October 2021 in Minamiaso, Robin’s statue is one of the 3 sculptures placed in the area of Mount Aso, along with Usopp and Franky’s. It is located in the grounds of the Kumamoto Earthquake Memorial Museum (KIOKU), that was itself built on the former campus of the private Tokai University. The place was indeed severely damaged by the natural disaster, and the cracks and crevices its causes on the infrastructures can still be observed on the now decommissioned buildings.

The site is a nod to Robin’s vocation, as she is an archaeologist and a history passionate. In the manga, she is looking for the Poneglyphs, mysterious stones that are keys to discovering the true history of the world. Robin’s statue is the only of the One Piece Kumamoto Revival Project to have limited access hours: from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays to Sundays.

Usopp

Usopp, the sniper in Luffy’s crew, is standing in front of Aso JR station where he has been welcoming visitors since December 8, 2019; this statue was installed one day after Sanji’s.

Aso City is famous for its green plains, and has been impacted by April 2016 earthquakes. Usopp is supposed to help nature thrive again on the territory. In the manga, he learns to grow the Pop Green seeds during his stay on Boin Archipelago and cultivates them afterward on the ship, he is therefore a confirmed green-thumbed gardener.

Franky

Cyborg Franky’s statue is near the small Takamori station, in the south of Mount Aso and operated by the local Minami-Aso Railways. Set up in November 2020, the mighty sculpture of the marine carpenter symbolizes the reconstruction efforts of the Takamori railway line, partially destroyed by the earthquakes and that was fully reopened only 7 years after the disaster, in 2023. A One Piece-themed train carriage is also on display at the station.

In the surroundings, a short drive allows to reach several natural springs with pristine and drinkable waters, such as Shirakawa Suigen (白川水源), the most popular which is equipped with an ashiyu foot-bath. We also recommend the discovery of Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu-jinja (上色見熊野座神社), a secluded shrine amid an altitude cedar forest.

Brook

Unveiled in November 2020, Brook’s statue is installed in the south-west of Kumamoto in Mifune, in the park associated to the city’s Dinosaur Museum. As the character is a musician, he is thereby located near Mifune’s Heisei College of Music, also impacted by 2016 earthquakes.

Brook is shown sliding on his knees playing a furious solo on his guitar while singing with the students to celebrate the reconstruction of the facility.

Jinbe

The newest mate to join Luffy’s crew in One Piece, Jinbe is also the latest character to have his own statue, on July 23, 2022, and finalizes the Hinokuni reconstruction arc supported by Eiichiro Oda. Along with Franky’s, it is one of the most impressive statues of the reconstruction project due to the size of the character who is an anthropomorphic whale-shark.

The Mugiwara’s helmsman is placed in Uto, in Sumiyoshi Kaigan park and near the sea, his element. He is also at the entry to the scenic road called Nagabeta Sea Road, that continues in the sea at low tide and that offers a view on Mount Unzen. Jinbe’s statue is located a 20 minutes’ walk away from Sumiyoshi station on the local Misumi line operated by JR Kyushu.

Among the 9 cities part of the One Piece Kumamoto Revival Project and according to the statistics previously mentioned, Uto is the place that saw the highest visitor increase in fiscal year 2023.

Statues based on Oda’s drawings and shaped by hand

Each of the One Piece Kumamoto Revival Project’ statues was hand-made by Japanese sculptor Tappei Maruyama, who is based in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, a city well-known for its bronze craftsmanship and home to a green Great Buddha.

In a September 2022 video interview released on the One Piece Kumamoto Revival Project’s official YouTube channel ONE PIECE 熊本復興プロジェクト the artist talks about the making of the 10 characters.

Maruyama explains that he first made small scale clay statues, followed by another life-size clay statue, with each detail skillfully shaped, following the feedback and instructions of mangaka Eiichiro Oda. Once they were approved, the finalized clay statues were covered in sand, then in molten bronze to produce the final versions displayed in Kumamoto prefecture.

A high-level artistic challenge

Tappei Maruyama found the experience enriching, but also very challenging as the statue making process was made manually, without any computer assistance. A precise sourcing work had to be made beforehand to observe the characters in various postures so as to recreate them as accurately as possible, in an arduous task to give 3D forms to 2D characters. Nami and Robin were designed referring to live models, who paused for the sculptures, as they were more difficult to create due to their more intricate eyes design and their voluptuous silhouettes.

As for the rest of the crew, the sculptor designed each character based on original drawings. He found Brook the most difficult to shape, as he is a thin skeleton, with a heavy crown of hair and fur on his jacket, which added a difficulty level in the rendition of textures and contrasts. Furthermore, he said he added a symbolic detail:

"Brook’s fingers are placed to play a specific chord on his guitar, that is the 1rst chord of the Opening of the One Piece anime".

Such anecdote illustrates the attention to detail and precision poured into the making of these artworks, that have become a place of pilgrimage for the fans of the manga, the anime and the Netflix live show.