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The dragon knelt upon the ground. For the first time he was able to clearly see the world around him and he became human. The stranger revealed himself as his fallen brother. Reunited, the two set out to rebuild what they had once destroyed.
~ Sojiro Shimada
Sojiro Shimada


Sojiro shimada close-up


Real Name
Sojiro Shimada (島田 宗次郎)[1]
Status
Deceased
Nationality
Japan Japanese
Occupation
Oyabun of the Shimada Clan
Base
Hanamura, Japan
Affiliation
Shimada Clan
Relations
Hanzo Shimada (oldest son)
Genji Shimada (youngest son)
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.[2] [3] (English)

Emmanuel Jacomy (French)
Eugenio Barona (European Spanish)
Héctor Miranda (American Spanish)

Sojiro Shimada was the leader of the Shimada clan, and the father of Hanzo and Genji.

Story[ | ]

Sojiro was the family head and crime boss of the Shimada clan, a powerful underworld organization dealing in arms, illegal substances, and assassination.[4] He was once approached by Talon, hoping to recruit him, but he refused, finding that their aims did not coincide with his own.[5]

SojiroGenjiHanzoAsaKiriko

Sojiro meets with Asa

While his eldest son, Hanzo, was groomed to take over as leader of the clan, Sojiro spoiled his youngest son, Genji, who ignored the family business and engaged in frivolous pursuits.[4] He employed Asa Yamagami to instruct his sons in the Way of the Sword.[6] One night, after the End of Summer Festival, Sojiro told his sons and Kiriko (Asa's daughter) a story from the history of the Shimada clan. How centuries ago, a rival clan attempted to end the Shimada's rule by setting their orchards aflame, as well as the city's Fox Shrine. The rival clan anticipated that the Shimada would move to protect their fields rather than the people of Kanezaka, but instead, the opposite happened. The Shimada aided their people first, and united with the clan, the Kanezakans made short work of the rival clan lying in wait at the orchards. The lesson, as Sojiro imparted to the three children, was that a leader's relationship must be mutually beneficial with their people, or else, they were nothing more than a parasite.[7]

Sojiro was assassinated[8] by the Hashimoto clan.[9] His death led to a tragedy between his sons, as the clan elders provoked a near-fatal confrontation between the two brothers. Ultimately, Hanzo deserted the clan, while Genji destroyed it.[4] In the ensuing power vacuum, the Hashimoto took over Kanezaka.[9]

Trivia[ | ]

  • Sojiro gave Genji the nickname "Sparrow" in his youth.[4]
  • Dragons is narrated by Sojiro.

References[ | ]

  1. Square Enix uses katakana "ソージロー・シマダ".
  2. 2016-05-23, Overwatch Launch Event Lore Panel (21:29) Ben Dai: "The grandfather— the voice narrative behind all the scroll works are Cary Tagawa." . YouTube. Accessed on 2017-12-07.
  3. 2018-10-29, Who narrates the Dragons short?, Overwatch Forums. Accessed on 2018-10-29
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Overwatch, Genji Cosmetics
  5. Overwatch Retribution
  6. Kiriko Origin Story
  7. Yōkai
  8. 2022-09-21, Overwatch 2: Kiriko | Developer Update. YouTube, accessed on 2022-09-27
  9. 9.0 9.1 2022-09-21, Kiriko Origin Story. YouTube, accessed on 2022-09-27
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