Summary

One Piece draws from Japanese mythology for characters like Kaido and Onimaru, reflecting yokai and Oni influences.
Chinese mythology influences Devil Fruits like Kitsune from the Blackbeard Pirates and Momonosuke’s dragon SMILE.
Greek mythology appears in One Piece through character names like Zeus, as well as Speed and Doc Q's steed.

One Piece has a lot of influences that help to color and create aspects of the world displayed in the series. In addition to the recorded history of piracy across the world, another notable historical influence is the mythologies of various cultures.

With varying degrees of implementation, one can look into various aspects of the etymology, design, or other similarities between the established world of One Piece and the myths of various real-world cultures.

1 Japanese Mythology

What Better Choice for A Manga?

Kaido Red-eyed from One Piece staring at Gear 5th Luffy

Considering the source, Japanese culture seems an obvious choice for the One Piece series to embrace. This can be seen, largely in some Mythical Zoan fruits, which have a Japanese influence. One example of such is Onimaru, a fox who can transform into an Onyudo by the name of Gyukimaru. Historically, Onyudo are giant yokai who are said to resemble Buddhist monks. There are accounts of them being able to shapeshift into animals, which is likely why one was written to have eaten this Devil Fruit.

An example outside of Devil Fruits is Kaido. His base design clearly takes after depictions of Oni, a yokai resembling an ogre or demon in Japanese folklore. More specifically, Kaido is thought to invoke Shuten-Doji, a well-known Oni with a similarly unquenchable thirst for sake. Shuten-Doji is also the inspiration behind Ashura Doji, who went by the alias of Shutenmaru as a mountain bandit. Shuten-Doji himself was notably a bandit. Ancient Giants are also thought to be inspired by Oni due to shared design elements.

2 Chinese Mythology

An Adjacent Inspiration

Kaido In His Dragon Form In One Piece — Kaido In His Dragon Form

Chinese Mythology makes appearances throughout One Piece, sometimes overlapping with mythologies invoked from other regions, due to various counterparts existing. One example is the Devil Fruit possessed by Catarina Devon of the Blackbeard Pirates, which allows its user to transform into a Kitsune. The Kitsune is derived, to some extent, from the fox spirits of Chinese Mythology whose tales spread into other East Asian regions, such as Japan. In Chinese culture, an example of such a fox spirit is a Da Ji, a fictionalized version of a consort of the Shang Dynasty's last king, credited with bringing the dynasty to its end. This spirit, by some accounts, killed and seamlessly replaced the real Da Ji. Although it is unclear how long her disguises can be maintained, it is shown Devon's Devil Fruit at least has the potential to imitate the deceased.

Kaido's Devil Fruit (and Momonosuke's SMILE) are based on the Azure Dragon, or Qinglong, a Chinese Dragon God representative of the East, and one of the fabled Four Guardians in the Chinese Constellations. While Kaido's Devil Fruit matches accounts of the fabled Azure Dragon, Momonosuke's differs in color scheme, which is why it was classified as a failure. It is also notable that other dragons, particularly ones with more of a Western flair, have also made appearances in the series.

3 Greek Mythology

A Consistent Influence On Works Of Fiction

The widespread cultural diffusion of Greek Mythology makes it seem even an incidental source material for many works of fiction. That said, One Piece deliberately invokes Greek Mythology through various means, commonly by naming beings after figures from Greek myth. A frontrunner in such a regard would be Nami's companion, Zeus, a thundercloud referencing the Greek God of Thunder. Other Homies (namely a few made from the souls of the Soru Soru no Mi's respective users), such as Hera, Prometheus, and Pandora, also take their names from Greek Mythology.

Two non-homie examples are Ikaros Much, a giant squid fish-man, and his late friend Daidalos, an actual giant squid. Icarus is a boy who was given wings by his father, Daedalus, but flew too close to the sun, and drowned. Daidalos met a similar but inverted fate to Icarus, swimming too close to the sun and drying to death. The experience was traumatic enough for Ikaros to suffer breakdowns whenever he witnesses a fire.

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By Kenneth Rasmussen

A non-name example of Greek Mythology being invoked is Speed, a Horse SMILE user from the Beasts Pirates, whose design more than resembles a Centaur, a human who has a horse's body below their waist. Additionally, Doc Q's steed, Stronger, has a Devil Fruit that can turn him into a Pegasus, which originated from Greek Mythology. Since Stronger is already a horse, this seems to only give him wings.

4 Egyptian Mythology

Notably In Alabasta

Although perhaps not as common as Greek Mythology, Egyptian Mythology enjoys enough popularity for its cultural touchstones to be widely present throughout pop culture.

Stussy, Topman Warcury, Marcus Mars, and Jaygarcia, four Zoan users with Devil Fruits unnamed thus far in One Piece

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By Kenneth Rasmussen

A frequently invoked figure in this regard is Anubis, a god representing the afterlife, with the head of a canine, as well as a body that is variably canine or human, depending on the account. This design convention is thought to be reflected in Chaka, a royal guard whose Devil Fruit transforms him into a jackal. Chaka's name is also thought by some to derive from fiction, specifically a more modern Japanese story that takes place in Egypt, known as Stardust Crusaders. With his hybrid form indeed giving him a canine head, he can likely also fully embody the animal, as Zoan users tend to do.

A similar example is Chaka's fellow guard, Pell, who represents Horus, an Egyptian Sky God with a falcon head. Pell's Devil Fruit allows him to transform into a falcon. Like Chaka, the nature of Zoan Devil Fruits can allow Pell to appear in two ways as their godly counterpart did - as an animal or a humanoid hybrid.

5 Norse Mythology

Especially In Elbaf

The most well-known bits of Norse Mythology are iterated in popular culture, largely tied to Thor, the thunder god, who has become a staple of Marvel Comics. Nonetheless, this isn't the only context in which Norse Mythology has been popularly reiterated. One Piece displays a level of connection to Norse Mythology, with the previously teased, recently introduced Loki.

Loki is brothers with Hajrudin, a captain of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. This giant is said to have killed their father, Harald, over a Devil Fruit inherited within the family (this Devil Fruit is speculated to be a mythical Zoan, which some think may allow its user to shapeshift). His power was such that he needed to be bound by practically every giant warrior in Elbaf. Although not as dramatically powerful, the Loki of myth is nonetheless said to have been responsible for the death of the god named Baldr, which also led to him being bound.

The Loki of One Piece seems to desire world destruction. This is reflective of the mythological Loki being prophesized to break free during the apocalyptic event of Ragnarok, where he will participate in the war, and die in battle against Hemidallr. His brother Hajrudin also reinforces the theme of Norse Mythology, with his powerful Gungnir attack being named after the legendary spear of Odin. The "Gods" Road contained in his realm also reflects this convention, such as the Raven, Muginn, named after Odin's two pet ravens. It is likely as the arc continues, even more instances of Norse Mythology being invoked will make themselves known.

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