Yoshimitsu (Tekken)

Yoshimitsu
Tekken and Soulcalibur character
Yoshimitsu in Tekken 7
First game	Tekken (1994)
Created by	Seiichi Ishii
Designed by	Aya Takemura (Tekken 3, Tekken 4, Tekken Tag Tournament, Soulcalibur II, Soulcalibur III)
Voiced by (English)	Phil Sheridan (Soulcalibur II)
Voiced by (Japanese)	Katsuhiro Harada (Tekken - Tekken Tag Tournament) Toru Okawa (Drama CD) Nobuyuki Hiyama (Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur II, Soulcalibur III) Norio Wakamoto (Soulcalibur IV, Soulcalibur V) Tomokazu Seki (since Tekken 4) Yoshimitsu Shimoyama (Japanese dub of the Tekken film)
Portrayed by	Gary Ray Stearns (film)
Fictional profile
Birthplace	Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Fighting style	Manji-style Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu
Occupation	Pensions Administrator (Tekken)

Yoshimitsu (吉光) is a name used by several player characters in the Tekken and Soul series of fighting games by Namco. He is one of the five characters (the others being Heihachi Mishima, Paul Phoenix, Nina Williams and King) to have appeared in all the main Tekken installments with the exception of Tekken Revolution. Although details of the character's biographies have varied in different games and other media, each Yoshimitsu is consistently portrayed as the leader of the honorable Manji Clan, a practitioner of ninjutsu, and a master swordsman with a mechanical prosthetic arm. The characters have been well received by both fans of the series and critics alike.

Yoshimitsu's first appearance was in 1994's original Tekken. Kunimitsu's story in Tekken 2 reveals that Yoshimitsu's blade is passed down through the Manji Clan's leaders. The clan is dedicated to a mission to help the weak and fight oppression. Upon the inauguration of a new leader, his or her predecessor is ritually sacrificed, and the blade absorbs the person's power and skill. In the game's story, Yoshimitsu enters the first tournament as a decoy so as to allow other Manji to steal the tournament's funds unobserved. During the tournament, Yoshimitsu learns of Ganryu, a sumo wrestler whose disrespectful attitude in the ring cost him his promotion to the rank of yokozuna. His base disrespect for the sumo code infuriates Yoshimitsu, who defeats him. Later, Yoshimitsu leads a raid on Dr. Bosconovitch's lab in order to steal his Eternal Energy device. Though Yoshimitsu loses his arm during the operation, Bosconovitch helps him escape and fits him with a mechanical prosthetic replacement. Grateful for his help, he tells Bosconovitch that he may call on him whenever he needs help. In Tekken 2, Yoshimitsu learns that Bosconovitch has been kidnapped by the Mishima Zaibatsu and enters the second Tekken tournament to rescue him. Also, Kunimitsu, Yoshimitsu's former Manji Clan second-in-command, returns to the tournament in order to steal the clan's itachi. Yoshimitsu defeats her and drops out of the tournament to rescue the doctor after learning his location.