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Hamato Yoshi was the greatest ninja and former master of Hamato Splinter before he was tracked down and murdered by the Utrom Shredder. His death occurred shortly before Splinter was mutated along with the Ninja Turtles. His further origins are shown and described in the season 4 episode "Tale of Master Yoshi".
Physical appearance[]
Hamato Yoshi was a Japanese man with short straight black hair, dark brown eyes, light skin, and a muscular figure. He wore a tan sleeveless haori, a dark brown one-piece garment with lighter brown trim, and dark brown footwear.
Personality[]
Yoshi was kind, ensuring that fellow orphan Yukio Mashimi was also invited to be given a meal before accepting the Ancient One's offer and caring for Hamato Splinter even after moving away from Japan.
History[]
Yoshi was a preteen orphan in the early 1960s who begged for necessities in the streets of Tōkyō with his best friend, Mashimi. When Yoshi returned a 5 yen coin dropped by the Ancient One, they were taken in by him for their honesty, reared as his sons, and taught ninjutsu by him. The two boys grew up together in the same house learning the same arts. Unfortunately, they fell in love with the same girl, Tang Shen, another orphan taken in by the Ancient One and it became apparent that she returned Yoshi's feelings. Shen later spared a rat that had snuck into their house and kept him as a pet.
One night, Yoshi, Shen, and Mashimi observed a lone man being attacked by four ninja. Yoshi urged Mashimi to defend the man against his attackers with him. The man they saved was none other than an Utrom named Mortu while the ninja were members of the Foot Clan. Impressed by their skill and having been partially exposed when his robotic arm was sliced off in the battle, Mortu gave Yoshi and Mashimi the offer to become Guardians, which they both accepted, despite the Ancient One's objections as an exercise of their agency as adults.
As a Guardian, Yoshi was promoted time and again while Mashimi's rank never advanced, straining their relationship. Yoshi left the family home one night to attend his Guardian obligations, but the base was attacked by the Foot Clan. The location had been shared with the Foot by Mashimi in a traitorous act. However, Yoshi and the Utroms managed to escape with their lives. When Yoshi returned home, he found the Ancient One in the yard crouched over a blanket. He saw Shen's corpse upon pulling the blanket away and cradled her in grief. Despite the Ancient One deterring him from doing so, telling him that "vengeance is like a splinter, it gets under your skin and can poison your life", Yoshi stormed the Foot's citadel outraged. He slew Mashimi with his katana in single combat for his betrayal, thus avenging Shen.
Hamato Yoshi being titled a Battle Nexus champion.
With their Tōkyō base compromised, the Utroms established a new base in New York under the name T.C.R.I. while Yoshi went with them, taking the family pet rat with him. He then named the rat Splinter to remind him "what [he] had done and what [he] had failed to do". The Utrom Shredder eventually uncovered Yoshi's new home and broke into it in an attempt to compel him to reveal the location of the Utroms. Yoshi resisted and was tortured and murdered for his defiance.
Splinter, however, escaped and fled to the sewers of New York City, where he mutated along with the Turtles. He then proceeded to teach them ninjutsu, just as he had learned from Yoshi. Splinter was very fond of Yoshi, and after his mutation named himself Hamato Splinter in his honor.
Yoshi was a former Battle Nexus champion as revealed in "The Big Brawl, Part 1" when D'Jinn told the Turtles about the Battle Nexus' history. A statue of him is in the Battle Nexus' Pavilion of Past Champions, and next to it are statues of Splinter and Michelangelo, who won the following two tournaments. Before the Utroms departed from Earth, they gifted Splinter an orb in "Secret Origins, Part 3" that contained a hologram of Yoshi. On some occasions it is possible for Splinter to contact the spirit of his master. The orb was destroyed by the Utrom Shredder's adopted daughter, Karai, when she attacked the Y'Lyntian outpost in "Scion of the Shredder".
Ninja Tribunal[]
It is revealed in The Lost Episodes of the series that Yoshi and the Ancient One had tried, in vain, to get the Ninja Tribunal's help in the fight against the Utrom Shredder, warning them that the alien may channel the evil one. They refused as he was not the "true" Shredder even though the Utrom Shredder was growing in power. Due to their refusal to help, Splinter partially blamed the Ninja Tribunal for Yoshi's death.
In "Fathers and Sons", Splinter had procured Yoshi's ashes after his passing and made great strides to bring himself and the then-young Turtles to Japan. Yoshi's ashes were then laid to rest next to Shen.
In "Enter the Dragons, Part 2", when the Tengu Shredder sought to attack Splinter, Yoshi's spirit manifested from the Turtles' medallions. He stole the Shredder's trident and then cut him with it, causing precious energy to leak from his armor. When the Tengu Shredder was on the verge of defeat, Yoshi manifested himself through the Turtles' medallions again, summoned by the combined power of the Turtles' dragon avatars, which shattered them. Yoshi destroyed him by halving him with his katana. Afterwards, he exchanged a brief and moving greeting with Splinter before disappearing. It was when Ninja Tribunal explained why they chose not to aid Yoshi in the first place; they have foreseen his tragic death to be a crucial trigger of a chain of events that shaped Splinters and his sons into what they are now along with trials and tribulations they must overcome in order to surpass Ninja Tribunals themselves. It's also implied that Ninja Tribunals foresaw Hamato Yoshi's spirit unable to rest in peace without watching his beloved pet rat and the turtles thus would return to help them in their darkest hours with his interference in dueling Tengu Shredder being latest instance.
Abilities[]
- Ninjutsu: Yoshi was one of the greatest ninjutsu practitioners in hundreds of years and his skills allowed him to become Guardian Prime, the highest Guardian rank.
- Kenjutsu: Yoshi is shown expertly wielding a katana.
Relationships[]
Quotes[]
- "The Guardians are an honorable force for good, Sensei. I want to help them." ("Tale of Master Yoshi")
- "This, demon, is your very last breath!" ("Enter the Dragons, Part 2")
- "My Lords, we must form an alliance. The Shredder's threat is beyond imagining!" ("Legend of the 5 Dragons")
Trivia[]
- It was Shen's everlasting kindness, beauty, and love that made Yoshi name their pet rat "Splinter".
- In the 2003 TV series, Hamato Yoshi's background is once again thoroughly revised. He is no longer a former member of the Foot Clan.
- The yellow suit he wore in his origin story is similar to what Bruce Lee wore in the Game of Death.