Zoro’s Family Tree in One Piece, Explained

While the backstories of most Straw Hat Pirate members were revealed in the past, Zoro’s family identity has been kept under wraps for the longest time. Nevertheless, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has finally disclosed Zoro’s family tree and all the information on his ancestors in an SBS. The main manga and anime detailed the backstories of all the Straw Hats, but poor Zoro had to read an SBS to learn about his past. Whether or not this is the proper approach to depict Zoro’s family tree is still up for debate.

Yet as things stand, we’ve compiled all the information on Zoro’s past to offer you a better understanding of the Shimotsuki family. Read on to discover everything you need to know about Zoro’s mother, father, grandparents, ancestors, etc., and the unanswered questions surrounding their lives.

Spoilers Warning:  This article contains spoilers about Roronoa Zoro and his family tree. So we suggest you watch the anime (Wano Country arc) or read the manga to avoid ruining your experience.

Before we begin, here is a quick recap about Roronoa Zoro: he is from a village in East Blue and began his career as a bounty hunter. Later, he accepted Luffy’s request to join the Straw Hat Pirates and became his right-hand man. Zoro also serves as the Vice Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, along with being the swordsman of the group. He has mastered the three-sword style (Santoryu), and you can read about the list of swords Zoro has used right here.

Now, Zoro is officially confirmed to be hailing from the Shimotsuki family, and we have explained his family tree right below.

All this latest information was revealed in an SBS with author Eiichiro Oda, where he finally talked about Zoro’s lineage. It is in One Piece SBS Volume 105: Chapter 1063. We have summarized all that information in a much more detailed way for you.

History of the Shimotsuki Family

Do you remember the legendary samurai Shimotsuki Ryuma, who fought as a zombie swordsman against Zoro in the Thriller Bark? (one of the best pirate ships in One Piece) Many fans pointed out the striking resemblance between him and Zoro. It turns out that it wasn’t just a mere resemblance, as they are confirmed to be related by blood.

Ryuma was a famed swordsman who was respected by everyone in the lands of Wano Country. He can be considered the origin point of the Shimotsuki family, and they are still one of the highly respectable families in One Piece. A lot of popular characters in the One Piece world are the descendants of this illustrious family.

The Shimotsuki family continued to rise as a wealthy family among the samurai. As a result, two of Wano’s regions were entrusted to them. While most of the Shimotsuki family members ended up staying in Wano, a group of people decided to leave the country in a mysterious turn of fate.

After several generations (exactly 55 years ago), Shimotsuki Kozaburo (a renowned swordsmith of Wano) and 25 other people left the Wano country, and they luckily ended up in a village in East Blue. They saved the village from bandits who threatened them and finally settled down in this newfound place. Thus, the Shimotsuki family started to branch out of Wano, and the village was also known as Shimotsuki Village.

Who Are Roronoa Zoro’s Parents in One Piece?

Note: The dotted lines in the picture below represent the many generations of the Shimotsuki Family between Ryuma and Ushimaru’s generations. We don’t know much about Ushimaru as of now, but let’s learn about Zoro’s family, the names of his mother and father.

A fellow One Piece fan created an accurate representation of Zoro’s family tree based on the information revealed by Oda on SBS. As you can see here, Shimotsuki Ryuma started the Shimotsuki family. The dotted lines here indicate the many generations in between Ryuma and the birth of the siblings — Shimotsuki Ushimaru and Shimotsuki Furiko.

Furiko is the elder sister of Ushimaru, who made his debut in the story recently. While Ushimaru stayed in his homeland, Furiko departed the Wano Country and was one of the members who sailed to a village in East Blue, as we mentioned above.

Furiko then married Roronoa Pinzoro (a guy from the village they settled in) and gave birth to Roronoa Arashi (Father of Zoro). Later on, Arashi went on to marry a girl named Terra, the daughter of a criminal (who became the mother of Zoro), and thus, our beloved Roronoa Zoro was born into this world.

A glimpse at the life of Zoro’s parents was shown in the SBS. It stated that Zoro’s father, Roronoa Arashi, was unfortunately killed in a battle with the pirates. After some time, Zoro’s mother died due to an unknown illness. Therefore, that was the unfortunate past of Zoro.

Is Zoro a Descendant of Ryuma?

Now you must have understood how Shimotsuki Furiko is Zoro’s grandmother, making Shimotsuki Ushimaru his great-uncle. Since Ryuma lived many centuries ago, it is difficult to determine how many generations separate him from Zoro. Nevertheless, Zoro is indeed a direct descendant of Ryuma, the Sword God.

That’s everything we know about Zoro’s family, aka the renowned Shimotsuki family. It was slightly disappointing to see the important past of Zoro being revealed in an SBS instead of in the manga. There is still a major part of the fanbase unaware of Zoro’s origins, just like our swordsman is in the story right now. That said, let us know your thoughts about Zoro’s lineage in the comments below.