With Tekken: Bloodline coming out on Netflix, new fans are curious about Jin Kazama’s origins and his estranged family. Mishima family is cursed from its beginnings and even though this family had humble beginnings, greed, and cruelty overpowered once normal family. One of the catalysts of the Mishima family’s downfall was Heihachi Mishima. His hunger for power and despicability against his family made him the main antagonist of the Tekken gaming franchise. In this article, we will talk about Heihachi Mishima, Jin Kazama’s grandfather.
Heihachi Mishima is Kazuya Mishima’s father and Jin Kazama’s grandfather, whose cruel deeds and greed destroyed his family. Heihachi is power hungry and even took over Mishima Zaibatsu from his father Jinpachi, who only had good intentions, and locked him up under the Mishima Temple until he starved to death. During Iron Fist Tournament in Tekken 3/Bloodline, he betrayed Jin and shot him in the head, and decided to take over the Ogre powers to rule the world.
We will analyze Heihachi’s character further and talk about his relations with his family and Jin Kazama. We will not include other tournaments or Tekken stories because they do not have anything to do with the show’s current storyline. Moreover, we will discuss Heihachi’s origins and his deeds that affected the Tekken world greatly. If you are interested in this topic, stay with us until the end of the article. Warning for the spoilers of Tekken: Bloodline and Tekken games.
Who is Heihachi Mishima?
Heihachi Mishima is Mishima’s family patriarch – the father of Kazuya Mishima and Lee Chaolan. His origins are vastly different from what would one expect – he was a privileged child whose father was the founder and leader of Mishima Zaibatsu, the biggest financial company in the world. His father Jinpachi, was a well-mannered father who led the company ethically and fairly. However, his son got jealous, overturned his authority, and imprisoned him under the Mishima Temple until he starved to death.
To be fair to Heihachi, he was not always a monster – he genuinely loved his wife, and his son, until Kazumi was overtaken by Devil’s Gene.
Heihachi’s wife Kazumi was part of the Hachijo Clan, her family, who wanted to assassinate Heihachi Mishima – their prophecy warned them of Heihachi’s ill ambition that will ruin the whole globe. He eventually killed Kazumi and threw his son Kazuya off the volcano, vowing to kill everyone with Devil’s Gene and anyone who gets in his way.
He needed to kill her, however, little Kazuya resented him for that. Heihachi, fearing for his son Devil’s Gene and will for revenge fueled by his rage for his father, decided to end his son’s life.
His insatiable hunger for power destroyed literal lives and he even decided to genetically modify his body to prolong his life and enhance his abilities. His fighting style is his family’s heritage, Mishima Style Fighting Karate, and he is one of the most powerful characters in the Tekken games.
Heihachi was always manipulative, however, he did have soft spot for his pet bear Kuma and his student Ling Xiaoyu, who will probably appear in future Bloodline seasons. She is also Jin’s former classmate and friend.
His son Kazuya vowed to kill him and father and son became mortal enemies. All in all, Kazumi’s prophecy was right – in the end, both Heihachi and Kazuya became a danger to themselves and the whole world.
Heihachi and Jin Kazama’s Relationship
Heihachi Mishima, according to the story we learn from Tekken 3 and Bloodline, knew of Jin Kazama. He also knew that Kazuya was involved with Jun Kazama, Jin’s mother, who applied in the second King of Iron Fist Tournament where they got together. From the game and the show’s plot, we learn that Jun sent Jin to Heihachi, for the grandfather to teach his grandson how to fight and defeat the Ogre.
When Jin came to Heihachi for training, introduced himself as his grandson, and told him what happened to his mother, Heihachi realized that the Ogre only feeds on the “strong souls” and that he will use young Jin to rule the Devil out. Why? Well, Heihachi, before the Iron Fist Tournament, became power hungry once again, when he realized that he can use Ogre’s powers to rule the whole world. Jin did not know that until he had beaten Ogre, and ultimately got betrayed by his own grandfather who shot him in the head.
However, Heihachi did not know that Jin got possessed by his father’s part of the Devil Gene, which, unbeknownst to him attached itself to his body, and branded itself in the form of a tattoo. In true Tekken fashion, there are multiple different endings in the game. If you beat the Tekken 3 game story mode with Heihachi, and kill the Ogre, Heihachi will take his grandson by the helicopter to mountains (yes, a lot of “mountain hiking” with Mishima’s in Tekken). When Heihachi sees that the Devil Gene took over his grandson’s body, he will throw him from the helicopter and sadly watch him fall into the abyss.
This ending shows that Heihachi learned to at least like his grandson during his mentorship. However, in Jin’s ending (the Bloodline ending), we see that Jin has defeated the Ogre and avenged his mother’s death. What he did not expect is Heihachi’s betrayal, with letting his Tekken Force mortally wound Jin and his grandfather dealing the final blow – shooting him in the head. Jin’s Devil Gene awakens, and attacks Heihachi, telling him he hates him and wants him to die. Heihachi cannot believe what he saw and the screen goes black.
The Bloodline did it a bit differently but not much – Bloodline shows Heihachi fighting True Ogre after he shoots Jin, and after the devilish creature destroys all of Heihachi’s soldiers, Devil Jin awakens and kills the Ogre. After that, Devil Jin just leaves. Tekken: Bloodline is telling the story through Jin’s point of view, and that is why we got that season one ending. Heihachi’s and Jin’s story is not over yet, and the show will definitely retell the story of an estranged grandfather and his grandson who hates his guts.
When the times come, and Kazuya comes into the story with these two, Tekken: Bloodline will be even more interesting. Kazuya, Heihachi, and Jin are staples of Tekken games, and their story is the most interesting thing about it. We truly cannot wait!
