Back when the Wano Arc was ongoing, there was a big debate on whether Carrot or Yamato would join the Straw Hats as the next crew member. Oda gave this answer by making none of them join. But while he may have solved that debate, there is another one that often pops up from time to time concerning the same arc of the show. And that question is what is Yamato’s gender in One Piece? Yamato likes to call himself Oden but biologically has the body of a woman. As such fans are always discussing whether Yamato is a guy, a girl, or a trans person. Well, to answer those questions, let us check everything shown in the Manga up until this point.
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What is Yamato’s actual gender in One Piece?
Yamato was born as Kaido’s daughter and as such should biologically be a woman. However, he calls himself a man because of his profound admiration for Kozuki Oden, so much so that Yamato even identifies himself as Oden. Since Oden was a guy, that also makes Yamato a man. Other characters acknowledge this and you can see Luffy, Kaido, Robin (in anime), and several minor characters from Samurais to members of the beast pirates refer to Yamato as a man. As such he goes by the he/him pronouns.
There are several reasons why there is always an argument about Yamato’s gender. Below is a quick chronology of each time they have been referred to as a female and as a male character.
Times when Yamato has been referred to as a Female Character
- At the end of Chapter 984 when Yamato reveals his face, the panel says “Kaido’s daughter (self-styled Kozuki Oden) Yamato”
- The Vivre Card – One Piece Visual Dictionary labeled Yamato as a female. This is an important thing to remember because another character Kikunojo was revealed as Male (Woman at Heart).
- Yamato used to be called “Oni Princess” when he was a child. This was before he started to identify himself as Oden.
- Oda drew Yamato as Wano Country’s top oiran in Volume 16 of the One Piece magazine.
- The cover page of Chapter 1084 shows Yamato alongside other female characters of the series like Nami, Robin, Vivi, Reiju, and others.
Times when Yamato was referred to as a Male Chapter in One Piece
Since Yamato refers to himself as Oden, the characters in the series do refer to him as a male character. One of the best examples of this is in chapter 989 where Luffy tells Shinobu that Yamato is an ally. Here is what he says “Don’t Worry Shinobu He’s an ally” “You can trust him”.
When it comes to minor characters we see them refer to Yamato as a guy when he first shows up in chapter 983 the dialogues are as follows “Master Yamato!!!” “Is that young Master Yamato” “What is He doing here?! Why did He attack Ulti?!!”. In the same chapter’s last page, Yamato refers to himself as Kaido’s son.
In chapter 1052, after the battle with Kaido is over, during one of the scenes where they celebrate their victory, Yamato chooses to go to the Men’s bath and Kiku goes to the Women’s bath.
Is Yamato from OP Transgender?
By going along with the definition of gender transition by Wikipedia which says “Gender transition is the process of changing one’s gender presentation or sex characteristics to accord with one’s internal sense of gender identity – the idea of what it means to be a man or a woman” Yamato could be a transgender character. This is because despite being born a female, he decides to identify himself as Oden (man).
That is all for Yamato’s gender in One Piece. Since you are interested in this series you should also check out which arc comes next after Wano and the names, heights, & races of all characters.