By KEI YOSHIDA/ Staff Writer
August 22, 2022 at 07:00 JST
Event attendees mimic Jinbe’s “Samegawara Seiken” straight punch to celebrate the unveiling of a Jinbe statue in Uto, Kumamoto Prefecture, on July 23. (Kei Yoshida)
UTO, Kumamoto Prefecture--A statue of Jinbe joined the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates from the popular “One Piece” manga series to support the prefecture’s recovery from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake.
Jinbe, the 10th statue installed in hard-hit areas of Kumamoto Prefecture, was unveiled at the Sumiyoshi Kaigan Koen seaside park in Uto during a ceremony on July 23.
The prefectural government has been setting up the statues in collaboration with author Eiichiro Oda, who hails from the prefecture, and Shueisha Inc., which publishes his manga.
A statue of protagonist Luffy was installed on the grounds of the prefectural government building in Kumamoto in November 2018, followed by Sanji in Mashiki, Robin in Minami-Aso, and other pirates elsewhere.
During the ceremony, Uto Mayor Shigeki Motomatsu cited a memorable line of Jinbe as he recalled seeing many residents taking shelter and the distorted city hall building almost falling down after the disaster.
“Stop counting what you have lost. Think about what you still have,” he said.
Hiroyuki Nakano, chief editor of the Weekly Shonen Jump comic anthology in which “One Piece” is serialized, also attended the ceremony.
He showed a message board with an illustration of Jinbe hand-drawn by Oda himself.
Elementary school pupils and other attendees at the event mimicked the “Samegawara Seiken” straight punch, Jinbe’s special attack, prompting the curtain to drop to reveal the 1.8-meter-tall statue of the helmsman.
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