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  • This article details Kunimitsu (TK - TK2).
    For her daughter (TK7), see Kunimitsu II.

Kunimitsu (州光?) is a title given to two kunoichi characters in the Tekken fighting game series.

The first Kunimitsu is a thief and ex-member of the Manji Clan. She made her first appearance in the original Tekken as an unlockable character who acted as the sub-boss for Michelle Chang. She returned in Tekken 2, and in the non-canonical Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken Tag Tournament 2. She was succeeded by her daughter in Tekken 7.

Both Kunimitsu I and Kunimitsu II are kunoichis who wear Fox masks, and utilize respective close-ranged weapons.

Biography

Kunimitsu started out as a petty thief but later joined the Manji Clan in order to hone her skills. Renouncing her Japanese nationality in order to remain anonymous, she trained hard to learn the art of Manji Ninjutsu and improve her thieving abilities. While initially abiding by the rules of the clan, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, she later began to steal from the clan's funds for her own benefit. When Yoshimitsu, the head of the Manji Clan, discovered her thefts, the outraged leader banished her from the clan.

With few options remaining, Kunimitsu resorted to mending air conditioners to make a living. It was during this time that she heard of a valuable treasure, held by a young Native American woman, sought by Heihachi Mishima, the wealthy head of the Mishima Zaibatsu. Kunimitsu vowed to steal the treasure for herself, and entering the first King of Iron Fist Tournament provided the perfect opportunity to do so. However, upon confronting Michelle Chang, the pendant's owner, Kunimitsu was defeated in battle.

Humiliated, she retreated to her former home to stay with her grandfather. During this time, she learned from her grandfather that the sword held by Yoshimitsu (also called Yoshimitsu) was a priceless artifact, handed down through generations of Manji, and that, despite a lifetime of effort, he had been unsuccessful in forging a replica. Determined to steal the sword on behalf of her grandfather, Kunimitsu enters the second King of Iron Fist Tournament to face her former leader. When she confronts Yoshimitsu, Kunimitsu is once again defeated in battle.

Kunimitsu eventually turned her back on the tournament for her two-time failure at earning the Iron Fist title, retiring from her thieving lifestyle. She later married a shinobi and gave birth to a daughter, whom she eventually trained to become a successor to the title of Kunimitsu. Sadly, the original Kunimitsu grew ill, and when her state worsened, her daughter finally learned her past history decided to carry out her mother's dream: retrieving Yoshimitsu’s sword.

Personality

Kunimitsu is a very enigmatic character, speaking few words and revealing little of her personality. However, it can be deduced from her actions when she part of the Manji Clan that she is a cold, selfish person with a greed for riches and valuables. Despite this, Kunimitsu does not seem to be completely heartless, as she seems to have a fondness for her grandfather who, in turn, was welcoming to her after she returned from her time spent with the Manji Clan. It is strongly implied that her daughter looks up to her, as her daughter goes after Yoshimitsu after learning of Kunimitsu's pursuit of his sword long ago.

Appearance

Kunimitsu is tall, at 173 cm (5′8″) she is the second tallest female fighter in the series, and has an athletic physique. She has red hair which she keeps tied into ponytails, and always keeps her face hidden behind her trademark masks. It is, however, still possible to see her face, which reveals her to have long red burn or claw marks across her eyes. Kunimitsu always carries her signature kunai blade, although in the original Tekken she carried dual kunai or sickles, dependent upon which outfit she wore. She was also revealed to be blind, unlike her daughter.

Outfits

Main article: Kunimitsu/Outfits

In the majority of appearances, Kunimitsu wears full-body ninja suits with boots and gloves. This outfit was embellished upon in later games in the series with a tunic and obi. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 saw Kunimitsu receive a new outfit, which consists of a purple side-tie dress with floral decorations, white boots with black knee pads and matching gloves and vambraces. The flower patterns on her outfit are those of Japanese wisteria, which have a wide range of symbolism including immortality, loneliness, and love. 

Story

Tekken

Version 1
Kunimitsu is a former member of the Manji Party thieves guild. Kunimitsu was denounced from the group by its leader, Yoshimitsu, when [she] stole for her own personal interests, going against the Manji Party's principles. Even after her expulsion from the Manji Party, she perused working as a thief, indulging her fancies; she's an ill redeemable rogue.

It would appear that she has her sights set on the Native American treasure Heihachi has pillaged.[3]

Note: She is referred to as a male in her Japanese bio.

Version 2
Kunimitsu was a member of the Manji crime syndicate. But when she stole for her own self-interest, she was expelled by the leader, Yoshimitsu. Even after that, she continued to steal without reforming. Her reason for entering the tournament is to plunder the treasure that Heihachi Mishima stole from the Native Americans.[citation needed]

Tekken 2

Tekken_2_Kunimitsu_Ending

Tekken 2 Kunimitsu Ending

Official Website Profile (Japanese)
The sword in Yoshimitsu's keep, the katana Enchanted Yoshimitsu, severs the life force of its enemies; it seems that a commandment among the Manji Party dictates that the current leader of the group must kill the former leader with the sword when a change of leadership is at hand.

No matter how many times Kunimitsu's grandfather, a swordsmith, tried to forge a sword as precious as the katana the Enchanted Yoshimitsu, he was unsuccessful. Believing her frail grandfather desires to make a high-quality katana before his death, Kunimitsu decides to join the tournament in order to seize Yoshimitsu's blade.[1]

Version 2 (Manual)
Kunimitsu is known as the Devil Cat. She was a former member of the Manji Clan, ninja bandits led by Yoshimitsu. She lost her Japanese identity when she joined the group to maintain her anonymity. Upon joining, she was taught the skills of the stealth knife at the Manji Clan schools of "Jujutau". She stayed with the group for a few months until a series of petty thefts from the band's funds led to her dismissal. At a loose end, she decided to train as a mechanic mending air conditioners.

Kunimitsu entered the first King of Iron Fist Tournament with the intention of stealing a Native American treasure from the young brave, Michelle Chang. Kunimitsu was easily defeated. Feeling humiliated, she sought solace with her grandfather, a swordsmith with a reputation. He informed Kunimitsu that the sword used by Yoshimitsu (also called Yoshimitsu) was a relic of unimaginable value. She learned that it was handed down through the Manji Clan, and it had the power to sever an enemy both spiritually and mentally. The sword exchanges hands when a new leader is elected. The old leader is ritually sacrificed, and the sword's power is transferred to its new owner. Her grandfather has spent his entire existence trying to forge a copy of the sword. Kunimitsu enters The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 to face and defeat Yoshimitsu, thus claiming his sword so that her grandfather could make a copy before his death.[citation needed]

Version 3
The sword of good fortune and light is the sword which, generation after generation, is succeeded in the Manji party when it is assumed the air of the partner is shut off (there is a rule that the leader of the next generation cuts the leader of the previous generation with this sword). Kunimitsu participates in the tournament in order to take the sword.[citation needed]

Ending Description, "The Sword"
Kunimitsu is in a forest, standing before a large stone, holding Yoshimitsu's sword. Kunimitsu looks at her face's reflection on the sword. She decides to test the sword by slicing the stone in two with it. Kunimitsu successfully does this and is shown as the sliced stone falls to the ground.

Tekken 7

Before the events of Tekken 7, at some point, Kunimitsu had married a shinobi and gave birth to a daughter. Her daughter, Kunimitsu II succeeds her place in the tournament, after Kunimitsu herself had fallen ill. In hopes of raising her mother's spirits, Kunimitsu II sets out to retrieve the sword that her grandfather had once coveted many years ago and which her mother had sought out.[4]

Other Appearances

Tekken Tag Tournament

Tekken_Tag_Tournament_-_Kunimitsu_Ending

Tekken Tag Tournament - Kunimitsu Ending

Kunimitsu appeared as a playable character in Tekken Tag Tournament.

Ending Description: Kunimitsu and Yoshimitsu are about to fight each other in a snow-covered forest amidst heavy snowfall. They lunge at each other and clash weapons, and, a few seconds after the impact, Yoshimitsu falls to the ground. Kunimitsu twirls her knife through the air triumphantly and then disappears. This ending takes place in Yoshimitsu's second Tekken Tag Tournament stage, which is called "Yoshimitsu-B".

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Kunimitsu returned in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, playable for the first time in over a decade since the original Tekken Tag Tournament. She is a downloadable character in the console versions of the game. In the console version's intro, she is seen teaming up with Raven in order to fight Nina and Anna.

Profile:
A female ninja who was once a member of the Manji Clan of chivalrous thieves. After acting on her own selfish desires, she was excommunicated by the Manji Clan leader Yoshimitsu. No one knows her true identity hidden behind that fox mask.[5]

Tekken_Tag_Tournament_2_Kunimitsu_Arcade_Ending

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Kunimitsu Arcade Ending

Ending Description
Yoshimitsu is riding a horse through a forest, unaware that Kunimitsu is stealthily following him. Kunimitsu then shoots darts at the horse. Alerted to her presence, Yoshimitsu quickly jumps off his horse and the two engage in battle. Yoshimitsu manages to knock Kunimitsu to the ground and points his sword at her. After deciding to spare her, he proceeds to sheathe his sword. After doing this, he realizes that Kunimitsu has stolen his sword and replaced it with a stick. As she runs away with it, Yoshimitsu remarks "You've greatly improved."

Special Alliance Partners:

Tekken Revolution

Kunimitsu appears as an unlockable playable character in Tekken Revolution. She was included along with Devil Jin as part of the Summer Campaign event.

Character Relationships

  • Kunimitsu II - Her daughter and successor.
  • Yoshimitsu - He expelled Kunimitsu from the Manji Clan after she was found stealing from the clan's funds. Later, in Tekken 2, she targets his sword for the sake of her grandfather, to allow him to make a duplicate before his death.
  • Michelle Chang - She pursued the pendant that Michelle possessed in Tekken.
  • Raven - Her partner in the Tekken Tag Tournament 2 home version opening (non-canon).
  • Mokujin - Mokujin fears that her knife can cut it into pieces (non-canon).

Gameplay

Kunimitsu is considered to be the fastest and most agile playable character in the whole series, as her attacks have the highest amount of frames per second. Though lacking in strength and range, she can perform acrobatics to dodge, confuse, and evade her opponents.

Fighting Style

Kunimitsu fights using ninjutsu.

Moves

Quotes

Etymology

  • The name Kunimitsu means "state, province" (州) (kuni) and "light" (光) (mitsu). 

Trivia

General:

  • It is possible that Kunimitsu and Nina Williams were supposed to be the same character originally. In Kunimitsu's very early concept art, it is stated that she is female assassin and aikido prodigy as well as of British origin. Nina and Kunimitsu still share a returning theme of purple colors in their respective outfits.
  • Kunimitsu's English profile in Tekken mistakenly states that she is male. The fact she used Yoshimitsu's voice effects unaltered, in addition to the masculine-shaped build she had at the time, made the mistake very convincing. This was changed from Tekken 2 onward, where she was given both female voice effects and a feminine build, but it seems likely that, in the first game, she was fully intended to be a male.
  • Kunimitsu is the third tallest (human) female fighter in the series, at 173 cm (5′8″) tall, after Lidia Sobieska at 177 cm (5'10") and Emilie De Rochefort at 180 cm (5'11"). Ironically, her in-game character model makes her the shortest character in Tekken Tag Tournament, as well as one the shortest in Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
  • Part of Kunimitsu's face can be seen for the first time in Tekken Tag Tournament, as the lower portion of Kunimitsu's face is not covered by the mask she wears when using her third costume.
  • The Tekken 6 Limited Edition Artbook states that there are "conflicting rumors of both a beautiful woman and of a monster behind the mask" and, "only the development team knows the truth."[6]
    • This could be a reference to Kunimitsu's connection to the kitsune, as these fox spirits are known to be able to take on human forms, notably the visage of a beautiful woman. Alternatively, kitsune are also known to be able to possess humans, causing those possessed to take on the features of a fox.[7]
  • A similar mask appears as a Create-A-Soul item in Soul Calibur IV.
    • In Soul Calibur III and IV, this mask is called "Fox Mask".
  • In Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Yoshimitsu can be customized with Kunimitsu's mask, knife, and clothes.
  • All of Kunimitsu's endings take place in a forest.
  • Kunimitsu's appearance in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is the first time she has appeared in a Tekken game since Tekken Tag Tournament, which was over 11 years earlier.
  • She is one of only two Tekken characters (the other being True Ogre) to have a flame attack, unless the fire gadget on herself is equipped.
  • Kunimitsu's entire face was accidentally revealed and exposed by a customization glitch in 2012, which has since been corrected. However, pictures of her without her mask are still present online. This face reveal showed that Kunimitsu has a large scar on her face, and Harada eventually confirmed during the TGS 2020 interview that Kunimitsu is blind. [8][9]

Tekken:

  • Michelle Chang is her sub-boss.
    • She is also Michelle Chang's sub-boss.
  • She has the same fighting stance as Yoshimitsu and Paul Phoenix, and shared the same voice as Yoshimitsu.
  • Despite having daggers in her hands, she does not attack with them.
  • Her Player 1 outfit is slightly different in the Arcade version, with the V neck portion over her bare chest while in the console version it is fully covered.

Tekken 2:

  • Yoshimitsu is her sub-boss.
    • She is also Yoshimitsu's sub-boss.
  • Her stage is Cambodian Wetlands, which has the same background music as the Angkor Wat stage in Tekken.

Tekken Tag Tournament:

  • She can be unlocked by beating the game once.
  • Kunimitsu has an extra costume similar to Soul series' Taki.
  • Kunimitsu's sub-boss is Yoshimitsu.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2:

  • In a special win pose with Raven, Kunimitsu and Raven will both flip sideways, land vertically across from each other, put their hands together in front of their chest and slightly nod at one another (probably to solemnly show gratitude towards each other for achieving the victory).
    • In another, they will make ninja hand symbols simultaneously. Raven will also do the same with Yoshimitsu.
  • She has a special victory pose with Yoshimitsu, where he raises his sword and disappears as soon as she tries to slash him. She then looks around for him.
  • Kunimitsu's Item Move has her leap high before flinging explosive kunai. If they aren't immediately detonated, she will wait in place until they are.

Other:

  • Kunimitsu is seen in the intro to Tekken: The Motion Picture, along with the other fighters that do not play a role in the movie.
  • Kunimitsu makes a cameo appearance in Street Fighter X Tekken, where she is seen in the Mishima Estate stage background talking to Street Fighter character Sarai, who is Ibuki's classmate.
  • Kunimitsu is mentioned extensively in her daughter's Tekken 7 profiles, which give details on her later life, including her marriage to a shinobi, and her ailing health.

Gallery

Main article: Kunimitsu/Gallery

References

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