Heihachi Mishima (三島 平八 Mishima Heihachi?) is one of the main characters in the Tekken series and he debuted in the first game in the series and has returned for all subsequent titles. Though seen as the protagonist of the second Tekken game, he is the anti-hero and one of the main antagonists of the series as he is almost always responsible for the events, though his impact on the story has seemed to decrease since Tekken 5. However after being featured in the debut trailer of Tekken 7, Heihachi may become a pivotal part of the storyline once again.
Heihachi Mishima is the host of the 1st, 3rd, and 4th King of Iron Fist Tournaments. He is the son of Jinpachi Mishima, serving as the final boss of 1 and 4 and the sub-boss of 3. He is the father of Kazuya Mishima andLars Alexandersson, adoptive father ofLee Chaolan, grandfather of Jin Kazama, and the husband of Kazumi. Heihachi's fighting style is Mishima Style Fighting Karate. He is also the "Commander" of the Tekken Force Unit.
Story
Family
Heihachi was born as the heir to the rich, powerful, and well-respected Jinpachi Mishima, owner of the powerful Mishima Zaibatsu and a world-famous martial arts master. During this time, Heihachi married Kazuya's mother and eventually had a son with her named Kazuya. It is believed that his wife died while giving birth to Kazuya or not long afterward. Heihachi raised Kazuya harshly. Much to his chagrin, Kazuya grew up kind and frail, perhaps due to the more loving treatment he received from his grandfather Jinpachi (see Kazuya's Tekken 5 ending). At some point, Heihachi betrayed Jinpachi and stole the Zaibatsu from him. His motives for this act are as-of-yet unknown, but it can be speculated that Heihachi disagreed with his lack of aggression and his "soft" treatment towards Kazuya. After assuming control, Heihachi began to steer the Zaibatsu into the military industry. Jinpachi attempted to launch a coup to retake the Zaibatsu from his son, but failed and was ultimately imprisoned underneath Hon-Maru where he remained for 40-45 years until the events of Tekken 5.
Finally fed up with Kazuya's "weakness", Heihachi tossed his son down a deep ravine, claiming that if he were truly his son, he'd be able to survive the fall and climb back up. Kazuya actually managed to do so, but only because the Devil Gene in his blood. To further motivate Kazuya, Heihachi adopted an orphan named Lee Chaolan and raised him as a rival to his true son. It's assumed that Heihachi didn't care about Lee at all and only used him to irritate Kazuya. Over the years, Kazuya traveled abroad and competed in martial arts championships, becoming an undefeated champion (the only blemish on his record being a draw against Paul Phoenix). Eventually, Heihachi decided to test his son's strength so he announced the King of Iron First Tournament.
Much to Heihachi's surprise, he was beaten by Kazuya who ironically tossed Heihachi off a cliff. However, Heihachi managed to survive and he returns two years later as a competitor in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 hosted by Kazuya. He has a final showdown with Kazuya and defeats him. Afterwards, he tosses Kazuya (who had proven to be too dangerous) into a volcano and believed he killed his son.
Fifteen years after the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2, Heihachi is approached by a young man who claims to be his grandson who is none other than Jin Kazama. Heihachi takes him in and teaches him Mishima Style Karate for his own selfish purposes of using him as bait for Ogre. Heihachi also notices that Jin possesses the same "dangerous power" as his son and resolves to eliminate him after he's served his purpose.
During the King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 (which he secretly entered), he was defeated by Lars, who is later revealed to be his illegitimate son.
Tekken
Heihachi is the host of this tournament. During this tournament, Heihachi was defeated by his son, Kazuya Mishima. Kazuya took over the Mishima Financial Empire, and he ruled it to his heart's content.
Tekken 2
Version 1: Beaten by Kazuya in the previous tournament, in an instant he lost both his fame and family. Having spent his previous time indulging in deviant acts instead of training, he vows to regain what he has lost.
Version 2: Ever since his son, Kazuya Mishima took over the Mishima conglomerate, Heihachi has been training to regain what was once his. After he defeats his son and watches the death of Kazuya, Heihachi will gain back the Mishima Financial Empire.
Tekken 2 Heihachi Ending - A Son's Fall
Tekken 2 Heihachi Ending
Ending Description, "A Son's Fall": Heihachi is seen walking while holding an unconscious Kazuya in his arms. This takes place after Heihachi has defeated Kazuya and won The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2. Heihachi drops Kazuya's body in a volcano. Heihachi is shown leaving by helicopter while holding onto a ladder. The volcano erupts, and then a closeup of Heihachi smiling is shown.
Tekken 3
Family matters... Heihachi retrieved the Mishima Financial Empire by defeating his son.
Scheming to further develop the MFE, Heihachi organized "Tekken Force", the MFE's private corps, and dispatched them to settle disputes and bring wasteland under cultivation to feed the poor countries of the world, in order to gain the support of leaders worldwide.
Fifteen years later, a secret excavation of Central American ruins by the Tekken Forces unearths an unusual find. They were annihilated by a mysterious being. Heihachi realized that the mysterious being could be the legendary Ogre, and took action to realize his life's goal: to capture Ogre and therefore rule the world.
One day, Heihachi was visited by a 15-year-old boy named Jin Kazama. Being informed that Jin was his grandson and hearing what had happened to his mother, Jun, Heihachi reasoned that Ogre thrives on the "strong souls" of others. Heihachi trained Jin to use him as a decoy to lure Ogre.
In Jin's 19th year, Heihachi declared to the world that the third "King of the Iron Fist Tournament" was forthcoming. At the same time he noticed that Jin, the youngest of Mishima bloodline, began to show the same dangerous power Kazuya had. Heihachi decided to dispose of Jin after he lures Ogre, in order to end the doomed destiny of the MFE.
Tekken 3 Heihachi Ending - A Grandson's Fall
Tekken 3 Heihachi Ending
Ending Description, "A Grandson's Fall": Heihachi defeats True Ogre, and True Ogre dissolves into nothing. Heihachi takes a moment to rest. He notices Jin laying on the ground, unconscious. Next, some helicopters are shown flying in the sky. Heihachi and Jin, who is still unconscious, are aboard one of them. Jin is laying down on what appears to be a stretcher, and Heihachi is sitting next to him. A short while later, Heihachi notices that devil markings are appearing on Jin's forehead. After, Heihachi picks Jin's body up and throws it out of the helicopter then watches Jin's body fall.
Tekken 4
Prologue Text
Two years ago, Heihachi failed to capture Ogre. He made his researchers collect blood and tissue left behind by Ogre and attempted to create a new life form by combining its genetic material with his own. The experiment failed, however, and Heihachi learned that he lacked the Devil Gene necessary to integrate Ogre's genome into his.
In order to obtain the Devil Gene, Heihachi searched for Jin, who transformed into a devil during the last Tournament. During the search, Heihachi learned that the body of his son, Kazuya - whom he killed 20 years ago - was stored at a cutting-edge biotech firm called G Corporation.
Heihachi ordered his Tekken Force to raid G Corporation in an attempt to obtain Kazuya's remains. They obliterated G Corporation's laboratory, and the mission appeared to be successful. .That was until Kazuya, revived by G Corporation, retaliated and caused the mission to fail.
Heihachi needed Kazuya or Jin's body to create the new life form. After much deliberation, an evil smile crept onto Heihachi's lips.
The next day, an announcement was made for The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, with the Mishima Zaibatsu as the prize.
Ending Text: Heihachi did not kill Kazuya outright. "Come with me if you want to see your son," Heihachi said, and led Kazuya out of the arena. A few hours later, the two were deep within the Mishima Zaibatsu compound. A massive temple stood in the midst of a forest enshrouded in fog.
The two entered the building...
Ending Description: Heihachi and Kazuya enter Hon-Maru. They notice Jin Kazama chained up and Kazuya gasps. Two chains wrap around Kazuya's arms, and then he is suspended in mid-air like Jin. A short while after Kazuya is suspened, two more chains wrap around his legs while he struggles to get free. Kazuya says, "You think this'll stop me?" while trying to get free. Heihachi says, "Did you think I'd be dumb enough--to let you in here without--a leash to tie you down? That chain has the ability to neutralize your powers. An individual saturated with the Devil Gene, such as yourself--will lose consciousness in a matter of minutes!" Heihachi laughs. Then, he says, "Now, all the pieces are in position! Be thankful that the two of you will die--helping me achieve my objective!" Heihachi laughs again, and then he starts to walk out of the building. White text on a black screen says, "Thereafter, the world came to know an age of darkness..."
Tekken 5
Head of the Mishima Zaibatsu and sponsor of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, Heihachi Mishima.
After losing to Jin Kazama, Heihachi was cornered by a group of Jack robots in Honmaru. Heihachi and Kazuya began to fight off the Jacks together but Kazuya fled and Heihachi was caught in the explosion when the Jacks detonated.
The tremendous explosion would have killed a normal man but Heihachi, no ordinary man, managed to survive.
A month later, Heihachi learned that someone had taken control of the Mishima Zaibatsu and planned to hold the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. Heihachi, having fully recovered, was determined to enter the tournament.
"I don't know who's behind this but the Mishima Zaibatsu is mine!"
Ending Description: A rocket is shown while a female voice does a countdown, starting with thirty. The rocket is preparing to launch. It is revealed that Jinpachi, Kazuya, and Jin are strapped onto the rocket with chains. They all try to get free themselves, but fail. After the countdown is over, a female voice says, "Ignition!" The rocket is launched and all of them scream. Heihachi looks at their faces with binoculars and laughs until the ending video ends.
Tekken 6
After being assaulted by the Jack force, Heihachi wakes up only to find out that the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5 has already ended. He goes back to Zaibatsu headquarters only to find the Tekken Force blocking his way. After the next Iron Fist Tournament is announced and Heihachi finds out that Jin Kazama is the new head of the Mishima Zaibatsu, he is enraged and declares that he will get everything back.
Ending Description: Located at a space station, Heihachi is seen, preparing to kick both Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima into space (all three wearing space suits, with Heihachi's additions of geta sandals on his own).
He proceeds to kick Jin into space....but Kazuya proved to be a REAL problem, as he begins to kick Heihachi twice (despite being bound), causing the latter to drift into space as well.
All three Mishima were left burning as shooting stars upon re-entry.
Tekken 7
To be add
Intro and Win Quotes
| Intro Quotes | Win Quotes |
|---|---|
| I won't die that easily, fools. | Come back when you're ready to fight. (生まれ変わって出直して来い umarekawatte denaoshi koi!) |
|
Who are you fools? (貴様ら、誰じゃ？ kisama-ra, dare ja） |
That felt good. Next! （これですっきりしたわい、次！koredesukkiri shitawai, tsugi!) |
| I'll squash you like a bug! （捻り潰してくれるわ hineri tsubushite kureru wa) | No one can defeat me! (ワシは無敵じゃ washi wa muteki ja) |
| I'll be quick with your death! (悔やむ間もなく死ね!kuyamu mamonaku shine!) |
Note: Namco's translation is not the literal translation.
Character Relationships
Kazuya Mishima
The only person Heihachi hates the most of all is his own son. Heihachi treated him like dirt since he was a child due to his training method. Kazuya was kind and frail, perhaps due to the more loving treatment he received from his grandfather, Jinpachi, and Heihachi believed that kindness was for the weak.
Due to Heihachi's unwillingness to hand over the Zaibatsu, he tossed his son down a deep ravine, claiming that if he were truly his son, he'd be able to survive the fall and climb back up not realizing what he had done. Kazuya had awakened the Devil Gene inside of him, which enabled him to climb back up. After this, Heihachi saw the error of his way and realized what kind of monster he had created. Despite this, as Heihachi grew old, he wanted the power of the Devil Gene to gain eternal life.
Lee Chaolan
Being the adoptive father of Lee, Heihachi never actually felt any emotion towards Lee and only used him to irritate Kazuya. However, Heihachi was impressed by Lee's street-fighting skill and decided to adopt him so he could rival with Kazuya and educated him back in Japan. There were times that Heihachi would put Lee in important roles from the Mishima Zaibatsu like sending him to the U.S to handle the operations and to continue his business education before the events of the original Tekken. Throughout the years, Heihachi still doesn't care about Lee.
Lee shows no respect for Heihachi as seen in his endings each showing he is trying to either beat up, kill or even humiliate Heihachi.
Jin Kazama
Heihachi took Jin under his wing and trained him to fight Ogre. He announced the King Of Iron Fist Tournament 3 in hopes of bringing together the most powerful fighters from across the globe to lure and capture Ogre. Unlike his relationship to his son Kazuya, Heihachi had a more friendly relationship with Jin in Tekken 3 and served as a father figure to the young fighter. Jin looked up to his grandfather and trusted him with his life. When Heihachi realized he had the Devil gene in his blood, he betrayed Jin to extract the Devil gene. After Heihachi's betrayal, Jin lost all respect for his grandfather and started to despise everything about his bloodline.
Kuma
One of the only people Heihachi ever cared about other than himself was Kuma I. Heihachi trained Kuma in the arts of Kuma Shinken.
Kuma Jr.
After the death of Kuma, Heihachi took care of the cub and named him Kuma Jr. Though he loves Kuma Jr, there are times Heihachi would trick Kuma Jr. As seen in Kuma's Tekken 4 ending, Kuma is signing some documents (by placing his paw print on it) that will officially hand the Zaibatsu over to him; but the last document reads Heihachi will get the Zaibatsu back from Kuma, thus causing Kuma to place his paw mark on Heihachi's face rather than on the document, thus outsmarting Heihachi. He can be frustrated as seen in Kuma's Tekken 5 ending with Heihachi saying, "Damn Kuma and his worthless hide... As long as there's a breath left in my body, I won't let you do as you please!"
In Soul Calibur 2 (PS2), Heihachi even mentioned Kuma at the end of his fight with Inferno saying "Even Kuma is stronger than you."
Lars Alexandersson
After hearing about this young Rebel Leader from his men, Heihachi gave orders to find Lars so that he could join forces with him. At this moment, Heihachi was staying at his estate and plotting to get the Mishima Zaibatsu back. Lars, at this moment, was suffering from amnesia. After he was told by his friend Tougou about Heihachi, he searched for him and eventually found him at his estate. Afterwards, Lars faced him in combat and defeated him. After the fight, Lars's memory was recovered. Heihachi suddenly discovered that Lars was his illegitimate son after Lars reminded him about an operation he commanded in Scandanavia.
Other
- Doctor Abel - He works for Heihachi and the Mishima Zaibatsu as a scientific adviser.
- Michelle Chang - He stole her amulet and used it to resurrect Ogre. It is unknown why he did this. He also held Michelle Chang's family hostage and later murdered them. He later kidnapped her prior to Tekken 3.
- Ogre - Heihachi witnessed the power of Ogre, and seeked to capture it in hope of creating the ultimate life form during the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3. Later in the fourth tournament, Heihachi's scientists capture samples of Ogre's blood and tissue in order to splice Ogre's DNA with Heihachi and make him immortal, but the experiment fails since Heihachi lacks the necessary Devil Gene in his blood.
- Nina Williams - He was her assassination target during the first tournament.
- Ling Xiaoyu - Promised her that he would build her an amusement park if she won The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3.
- Mr. Rochefort - Seems to be his business partner.
- Raven - Fought him after the fifth tournament. However, Raven received orders to return to headquarters, which forced Raven to withdraw from the fight before a victor could be decided.
- Yoshimitsu - Heihachi was robbed by him in Tekken 4.
- Prototype Jack - Entered him in the first King of Iron Fist Tournament to defeat his rival upgrade Jack.
Other appearances
Tekken: The Motion Picture
Heihachi Mishima is featured in Tekken: The Motion Picture. In it, Heihachi is first shown throwing his son, Kazuya Mishima, off of a cliff at the age of five, stating that lions push their young off of cliffs and only raise the ones that manage to climb back up. Twenty-one years later, Heihachi hosts a martial arts tournament, dubbed The King of Iron Fist Tournament, on an island. Kazuya attends the tournament, having survived his fall and climbed back up by selling his soul to the Devil. Heihachi and Kazuya face off near the movie's end. The battle is brutal for both of them, but, in the end, Kazuya emerges as the victor. Kazuya plans to kill Heihachi, but Jun Kazama manages to convince him not to. After Lee Chaolan sets the island to self-destruct, it is revealed that Heihachi has regained consciousness, and escapes from the island via airplane.
One of the most infamous scenes in this movie depicts Heihachi not only catching a tomahawk (thrown by Michelle Chang) with his bare teeth, but also biting it so hard the metal edge shattered.
Soul Calibur II
Heihachi Mishima is a playable character in the PlayStation 2 version of Soul Calibur II.
Tekken (2010)
Heihachi Mishima appears in the live-action film Tekken portrayed by actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. He is initially a villain but becomes a much more sympathetic character than in the games, as he is willing to give his life to save Jin from the Tekken Corp soldiers. He is killed by his son, Kazuya Mishima, in his attempt to overtake Tekken. It looks as if Heihachi is killed near the end of the film. However, a post-credits scene reveals that he actually survived, saying "I am Mishima Heihachi. I am Tekken. You WILL obey!" to one of the Jacks.
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale
Heihachi Mishima is a playable character in the PS3 crossover game "Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale". He can summon Kuma during the battle or chain the opponents in a rocket like in the Tekken 5 ending for his Level 3 Super.
Tekken Card Tournament
Heihachi Mishima is a playable character in Tekken Card Tournament.
Trivia
General:
- Heihachi Mishima is one of the four Tekken characters that has appeared in all of the Tekken games (the others being Nina Williams, Paul Phoenix and Yoshimitsu).
- Despite being one of the series' leading villains alongside Kazuya, Heihachi has been much more comic relief since Tekken 5.
- His given name in Japanese is Heihachi (平八) which is literally "flat eight" in English. All Mishima given names end with the kanji "八" (meaning eight). It can be read as hachi, hatsu, ya, yattsu or yō.
- Heihachi's fighting style is heavily based on Goju-ryu and Shorin-ryu Karate.
- Heihachi's closest friend was Kuma I, his bear bodyguard. After Kuma's death, Heihachi raised Kuma's son, Kuma II, who left Heihachi to train in the wild after he lost to Paul Phoenix in Tekken 3.
- Heihachi has been voiced by Daisuke Gōri prior to his death on January 17, 2010 from Tekken 3 to Tekken 6, but he was voiced by Banjo Ginga in Tekken and Tekken 2.
- He is also one of the bonus characters available to play as or against in Anna Kournikova's Smash Court Tennis for the PlayStation, alongside fellow Namco characters, including Tekken characters Eddy Gordo and Yoshimitsu (in his Tekken 3 incarnation). Heihachi also appears as a playable character in the PlayStation 2 version of Soul Calibur II.
- In the PlayStation 2 version of Soul Calibur II, the player can choose to change the voice languages to either English or Japanese. If Japanese is chosen, he is voiced by Daisuke Gōri. If English is chosen, he will have the English voice actor Victor Stone. His "Destined Battle" is against Raphael.
- Heihachi can be customized to resemble Karin's (a popular Street Fighter character) father, Daikenjuro Kanzuki, from the Sakura Ganbaru! manga. In fact, Daikenjuro and Heihachi share many similarities, both in physical appearance and personality.
- His English version in Tekken: Blood Vengeance and Street Fighter X Tekken, Jamieson Price is known for voicing Iron Tager from the BlazBlue fighting games, along with Algol from the Soul Calibur series, & Noob Saibot from the Mortal Kombat series.
- Kazuya's opponents in Arcade mode are all of the sub-bosses, with Devil Kazuya being the final boss.
- His sub-boss is Lee Chaolan.
- Heihachi bizarrely speaks mostly in third person.
- His reason for throwing Kazuya down a cliff is better explained. However, this is mostly not canon to the storyline.
- Heihachi is unlocked after beating the game seven times.
- When Ogre is defeated, he absorbs Heihachi to transform into True Ogre. However, if Ogre is defeated with Heihachi, Jin Kazama will be absorbed instead.
- Heihachi Mishima's bosses in the Tekken Force side game are (in order of appearance) Eddy Gordo, Julia Chang, Jin Kazama, and himself.
- Heihachi's rivals in Tekken Card Challenge are Julia Chang, Jin Kazama, and Ling Xiaoyu.
- Heihachi becomes playable after beating the game 8 times.
- He is the final boss in the mini-game "Tekken Force". His stage is ironically "Hon-Maru".
- Heihachi wore hand and foot wraps when Jin defeated him. However, he only wore wrist and ankle bands in the Tekken 5 opening when the Jack-4's attacked him.
- Heihachi makes a cameo appearance where he is shown on a screen talking to Enrique Ortega about the terms of which Enrique can use the Tekken Force.
- In Death by Degrees, Heihachi will become a final boss rather than Anna if Anna Mode is played.
Tekken 5 & Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection:
- Heihachi is unlocked by beating Story mode 9 times with different characters.
- His win animation, "Come back when you're ready to fight!" (when holding square button, he says this while picking up his defeated opponent by the head, and then slamming their face into the ground), works on all characters except Yoshimitsu.
- Fighting Heihachi in "Time Attack" mode triggers a brief cutscene. In it, Heihachi introduces himself as "The true leader of the Mishima Zaibatsu".
- His appearance in Tekken 5 is non-canon since he never participated in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.
- In Kuma and his own ending, he wears his CEO tiger suit from Tekken 4.
- He also appears in Lee's ending as a waiter and intern in a black trunks.
- In Devil Within, it is revealed that Heihachi has been cloned by G Corporation. Apparently, they cloned him four times. They are the final bosses of Level 2. It is unknown if Devil Within is canon.
- Heihachi's sub-bosses are Jack-5, and Kazuya Mishima.
- Heihachi Mishima's new win animation in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection features Heihachi laughing, followed by Heihachi saying, "That felt good. Next!" This is similar to a scene in Heihachi's Tekken 5 / Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Story mode, where, after defeating Jack-5, followed by headbutting it four times, Heihachi laughs. Then, Heihachi will say, "I feel much better now! Next!"
- In Scenario Campaign mode, Heihachi is a boss at the Mishima Estate. After Lars Alexandersson defeats him, Heihachi realizes that Lars is his long lost "illegitimate son".
- Heihachi's first two opponents in the "Arena" mode are Jack-6 and Kazuya Mishima.
- Heihachi can be customized to look like Jiraiya "The Pervy Sage" from the Naruto series, Raiden from the Mortal Kombat series, & Akuma from Capcom's Street Fighter series.
- He appears in Lee's ending in Tekken 6 where he was bound in ropes along with Kazuya and Jin in a fireworks.
- He shares win poses with Kazuya, Jin, Lars, Ogre, Jinpachi, Xiaoyu and Kuma.
- With Kazuya/Jin: He folds his arms and glares at his partner, who does the same to him.
- With Kuma: Kuma tries and fails to congratulate Heihachi.
- With Jinpachi: They approach and headbutt each other.
- He appears in the dinner scene with his family and the Kazama relatives on Lars' ending.
- His official partner is Kuma.
- Their special intro has Heihachi preparing for battle and calling Kuma, before suddenly looking and pointing at Kuma confusedly, wondering if Kuma had been paying attention.
- His swap costume is modeled after Sodom, a character from Capcom's Final Fight series who was also playable in the Street Fighter Alpha series. According to the download blurb, Heihachi taught Sodom how to truly appreciate Japanese culture, and Sodom sent him a samurai suit as a token of thanks.
- Akuma's swap costume has him don Heihachi's infamous fundoshi from Tekken 4 as well as his signature hair style.
- In his rival battle with Guile and Abel, Heihachi mistakes Guile as Paul due to his flat hair.
- His Super Art is the "Raijin's Wrath" involves him punching his opponent along with his Demon's Boar in mid-air as he grabs his opponent while surging himself with blue lightning and throws his opponent with a devastating kick. His Cross Art was one of his combos in Tekken 6, as he punches his opponent with an elbow and slamming his opponent while passes to his tag partner by throwing them on the ground.