Wano Country

New World (Grand Line) · first appeared: Ch. 909 (first mentioned Ch. 450)

Key chapters

• Ch. 450 — first mention: Hogback’s exposition names “the Wano Country of the New World” as the homeland of the legendary samurai Ryuma (p. 4). Named only; not shown.
• Ch. 467 — re-named on-page: as Zoro defeats the zombie Ryuma and wins his black blade Shusui, the samurai and the blade are identified as belonging to the Wano Country (”…Samurai of the Wano Country!!!”, p. 20) — tying a Straw Hat’s signature weapon to the still-unseen land of samurai and famous swords. Named only; not shown.
• Ch. 555 — mentioned again (still unshown): Ace “learned how to make [a straw hat] from the Wano people” (p. 14), weaving an amigasa for Little Oars Jr. at Marineford. First tie between a named character and Wano’s living culture, distinct from the Ryuma/Shusui relics — reinforces Wano as a populated, craft-rich nation. Named only; not shown. Seeds Ace Learned Straw-Hat Weaving From The Wano People.
• Ch. 655 — Wano’s samurai attached to a present-day threat for the first time: a distress caller on Punk Hazard is “being killed by a samurai,” and the crew recaps Wano’s closed borders and that “even the Navy does not dare to breach” its territory (pp. 5-7). Named only; still not shown.
• Ch. 657 — the dismembered, still-living samurai recovered on Punk Hazard is identified by Sanji as “a samurai from the Land of Wano” by his topknot, “the traditional hairstyle of Wano” (pp. 15-16) — the first present-day Wano native attached to the crew, though the country itself is still not entered. Named only; still not shown.
• Ch. 663 — the Wano samurai’s purpose is given: he came to Punk Hazard to rescue his missing son Momonosuke, whom he believes is still locked in the laboratory with the kidnapped children (p. 16). First Wano native (and his son) shown operating far from the closed country. Named only; still not shown.
• Ch. 817 — at Zou, Kuri is named as a domain of Wano; Kozuki Oden is named its “great daimyo” and Momonosuke revealed as the Kozuki heir. First on-page naming of the Kozuki Clan and Oden, tying the Zou arc to Wano. Named only; Wano itself still not entered. See Kozuki.
• Ch. 818 — at Zou it is revealed that Kaido and his Animal Kingdom Pirates are in Wano, that Kozuki Oden was executed by the Shogun of Wano and Kaido, and that the Kozuki Clan are Wano’s master stonemasons who created the poneglyphs. Named only; Wano itself still not entered.
• Ch. 819 — Wano is in a lockdown state through the combined strength of the Shogun and Kaido (p. 5). Oden’s dying wish was to open the closed borders; “the seeds of rebellion are slowly being fomented” back home (pp. 4–5). A flashback shows the Kozuki under attack (“Light the fires! We are surrounded!”) (pp. 10–11). Named only; Wano itself still not entered.
• Ch. 901 — Luffy names Wano as the place the crew will wait for Jinbe during the WCI escape: “We’ll be waiting in Wano!!!” (p. 14). Named as the next reunion destination; Wano itself still not entered.
• Ch. 913 — Wano’s underclass detailed: Okobore Town in Kuri (the scrap-town poor, the “protection tax,” the poisoned river’s first human casualty), countered by Otsuru’s “evil-purging” herbs; a self-styled yokozuna lords it over the poor.
• Ch. 954 — Wano port geography revealed: each port is named for an animal — Neko, Kaeru, Itachi, Tokage, Habu, and Mogura Ports ring the central Flower Capital (p. 9). Entry methods: (1) hauled up by koi fish, then a gondola lifts crew/cargo up the shaft to Mogura Port; (2) split a waterfall and pass through caves — neither passable without Kaido/Orochi’s permission (p. 12).

Cross-links

• Characters from here: Ryuma (the samurai of legend; his corpse is a Thriller Bark Zombie General)
• Region: New World (Wano named @0450 as a New-World country)
• Mysteries set here: Wano Country Of The New World First Named On Page, Zombie General Ryuma Legendary Wano Samurai Who Slew A Dragon

Notes