Tekken: The Story of the Mishima Family

Do you think your family fighting over land and inheritance is a problem? Then you don't know the Mishima family! One of the most problematic and violent families in gaming, the Mishima are the protagonists of the Tekken series and, as if it weren't enough that father, son and grandson are fighting over who will run the most powerful billion-dollar company on the planet (which no one knows exactly what it produces, probably weapons), there are also nephews, adopted children and other people with strange hair who look like they came out of an episode of Dragon Ball.

But if you don't know their lore (or if you're really bad at playing the old games, like me) and want to find out more about this weird and very edgy family, we'll talk about the family members and their history that spans the eight games of the main Tekken franchise. Spin-offs and non-canonical information will be mentioned for the sake of curiosity, but let's focus on the "main course", alright? Let's go!

Once upon a time, there was a kind-hearted man who loved his wife and son. Strangely enough, Heihachi Michima was this man.

His wife, Kazumi, sensed in him a premonition of a dark future and attacked him. Could this have brought misfortune upon the world, or did Kazumi's attack make her foresight come true? We don't know, but despite Kazumi's warnings that killing her would cause an endless cycle of hatred, Heihachi did it. And that brought an end to Heihachi's world.

Young Kazuya was already angry at Heihachi for killing his mother, but he was too young and weak to do anything about it, and fearing that the young man had inherited the Devil Gene, Heihachi threw Kazuya off a cliff as a sadistic test. If Kazuya survived, he had the gene. And after that, Heihachi realized that he should have killed Kazuya on the spot.

(Heihachi even adopted Lee Chaolan and treated him with more respect than his own son, as a way to slap Kazuya in the face.)

Heihachi created the martial arts tournament, called the King of Iron Fist. In the finals, Kazuya defeated him and took revenge by throwing Heihachi off a cliff, to show him how good he was, but of course, the old man survived. Kazuya, now in charge of the Mishima Zaibatsu, held a second tournament, and this time Heihachi emerged victorious and his son's battered body was buried in a volcano (this family can't see a high place!).

Heihachi’s Worst Enemy

Despite his incredible physical strength and endurance, he could not escape age and mortality, and that was when he met Ogre, a fighting god who had massacred much of his military force. He also discovered that he had a grandson named Jin Kazama, who wanted revenge on Ogre for killing his mother.

Heihachi trained Jin, and for a time, there seemed to be a bond. To lure Ogre out into the open, Heihachi created a third King of Iron Fist. Since Jin was Kazuya's son, Heihachi was secretly afraid that Jin might have inherited the Devil Gene as well. After Jin killed Ogre, Heihachi betrayed him for Jin, who only survived by transforming into his Devil form for the first time. He attacked Heihachi and flew away.

Heihachi discovered that the Mishima Zaibatsu was under attack by a paramilitary faction called G Corporation, led by Kazuya who did not die in the volcano. Willing to steal the Devil Gene's powers for himself, Heihachi set up another tournament and the winner would gain ownership of the Zaibatsu. The idea was to lure his son and grandson into a trap.

Fighting against Demons

The end of this tournament took place with the three Mishimas fighting in a temple and Jin emerging as the victor. Jin chose to spare Heihachi and flew away in his Devil form.

But did he spare him, or did he know what was going to happen? Moments later, the injured Heihachi and Kazuya were attacked by an army of Jack robots and were forced to put their differences aside for a while if they wanted to survive. However, Kazuya abandoned Heihachi and left him to the Jacks who self-destructed. Everyone believed Heihachi was dead (as if they hadn't seen this drama before).

Heihachi survived (surprising a total of zero people) despite his body being thrown long distances, and by the time he regained consciousness, he discovered that Jin had taken over his corporation. Since then, Heihachi chose to remain in hiding, letting everyone believe that he’s dead.

When Jin disappeared, Heihachi returned to take back the Zaibatsu and went to war with Kazuya's G Corporation. Meanwhile, Akuma (yes, the one from Street Fighter) appeared before Heihachi, claiming that he had been waiting for years for Heihachi to grow stronger before killing him. Akuma was once saved by Heihachi's wife Kazumi, and for that, he owes her a debt.

The two fought in an epic encounter, and although Heihachi was able to withstand Shun Goku Satsu's attack (the famous "Akuma’s Black Screen"), he attacked the fighter head-on and lost badly. After the fight, Akuma left, not realizing that Heihachi had survived.

Heihachi knew that Akuma would go after Kazuya and used this battle as a way to publicly expose Kazuya, showing the world his Devil form. Kazuya attacked a Mishima Zaibatsu satellite in space, which fell to Earth and tarnished Heihachi's public image, and Heihachi decided it was time to end this rivalry for good.

Heihachi and Kazuya fought on a volcanic island. Heihachi was able to defeat and suppress Kazuya's Devil form, but the weakened Kazuya still won. Kazuya picked up his father's body and dropped it into the lava below, repeating his teachings: "A fight is about who's left standing. Nothing more."

As a child, Kazuya was thrown off a cliff by his father. The boy was horribly injured until a devil offered to give him power and revenge. His Devil Gene had protected him from death.

Kazuya trained for years, only finding a challenge and rival in fellow martial artist Paul Phoenix. When Heihachi created the first King of Iron Fist, Kazuya went all out and defeated his father in the finals. Despite having a sad backstory that should have made him the true hero, Kazuya revealed himself to be a monster when he threw his father off a cliff himself and took over his corrupt business.

The Devil Gene within Kazuya began to manifest itself more during this time, but he seemed to have it under control. He organized a second King of Iron Fist, where he crossed paths with a pure-hearted fighter named Jun Kazama, who had been tasked with bringing him to justice. While the details are unknown, the two conceived a child during the events of the tournament.

Kazuya faced his father, Heihachi, again, and was defeated and thrown into a volcano. However, Kazuya's body was found by an organization called G Corporation, who were able to resurrect him and help him understand the origins and composition of his Devil powers. Kazuya remained in hiding for years, but a raid on the Mishima Zaibatsu laboratories revealed that he was alive.

Meeting his Son

Heihachi held the fourth King of Iron Fist tournament in hopes of luring Kazuya and his unknown son, Jin, out. Heihachi trapped Jin and then faced Kazuya in the finals, but was defeated and Kazuya was taken to the temple where Jin was staying. Meeting his son for the first time, Kazuya showed no mercy and instead tried to convince him to embrace his Devil powers. Jin did so and defeated Kazuya and Heihachi before disappearing. Immediately afterward, G Corporation sent a series of Jack robots to assassinate Kazuya and Heihachi. Kazuya left his father for dead, returned to G Corporation headquarters, killed those responsible for the ambush, and completely took control of G Corp.

After Jin won the fifth tournament and became the new CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu, Jin became more bold in his attempt to control the world. G Corporation was the only thing standing in his way, and the public saw Kazuya as a hero. In reality, Kazuya only opposed Jin because he planned to take control of the world once Jin was defeated. Instead, Kazuya was defeated by his half-brother, Lars Alexanderrson.

Jin disappeared and Heihachi returned to take over the Mishima Zaibatsu. The war continued with G Corporation seemingly gaining the upper hand. Akuma confronted Kazuya and the two fought on the roof of G Corporation headquarters. Kazuya transformed into his Devil form, but before the fight could end, a Zaibatsu satellite fired an energy beam that engulfed the building.

Kazuya survived, but now the world knew his true nature. Enraged, he used his powers to fire a laser into space and bring the satellite down to Earth. He then met up with his father for the final battle, where he finally overcame and killed Heihachi.

After throwing Heihachi into the lava, Kazuya sensed Akuma nearby and transformed into his Devil form and the two fought once more. Although the outcome is unknown, Kazuya definitely survived and refuses to give up on world domination.

As mentioned, Jin is the son of Kazuya and Jun. He was raised by his mother, but that life fell apart when Ogre appeared. With his mother seemingly dead, Jin sought out his grandfather Heihachi and offered his loyalty in exchange for revenge against the creature. Heihachi trained the boy and enrolled him in a school, where Jin met Lin Xiaoyu, the granddaughter of Wang Jinrei, one of Heihachi's greatest enemies.

Heihachi created a King of Iron Fist tournament knowing that Ogre would appear. At the tournament, Jin met a teenage fighter, Hwoarang, who soon became obsessed with beating him and constantly challenged Jin. In the end, Ogre was initially defeated by Paul Phoenix, but after Paul left, Ogre recovered and transformed into his true form. Jin was able to avenge his mother by destroying Ogre once and for all.

Suddenly, he was attacked by soldiers of the Zaibatsu. Heihachi appeared and fired a shot straight at Jin's head. By transforming into his Devil form, Jin was able to defeat his traitorous grandfather. Jin flew away and spent the next few years hiding from the organization while learning a new fighting style. Mainly because Kazuya was back and there was no point in fighting in the style that both of them mastered far better than him.

Searching for the Truth about His Mother

Jin entered Heihachi's new tournament and made it far, only to be captured by Heihachi's forces. Kazuya eventually defeated his father, and afterward, he and Heihachi went to the temple where Jin was being held. Jin defeated both his father and grandfather and began another transformation into Devil Jin, but received a vision from his mother and calmed down. He spared Heihachi and flew away.

During a spin-off of Tekken 5, Jin investigated his mother's death and went on an adventure that led him to fight clones of Heihachi and Ogre. He then entered Jinpachi's tournament and killed his great-grandfather. As the victor, Jin gained ownership of the Mishima Zaibatsu, and instead of becoming a hero, Jin followed suit with his bloodline and decided that he would rule the world.

The Zaibatsu, under Jin's command, essentially went to war with the world, but there was more to it than just plans for domination. Jin knew that he would lose control to the devil within him, likely inspired by Jinpachi. Jin wanted someone to kill him before it was too late. His grand plan led him to summon the divine beast, Azazel, knowing that the two would be able to kill each other. The two fought, but in the end, Jin remained alive and the Devil Gene was still with him.

The UN Intelligence Agency captured Jin and took him away in a helicopter, but Jin transformed into his Devil form and escaped. Wandering like a wounded animal, he came across Hwoarang once more. The two fought, but Hwoarang saw some enemy soldiers coming to capture Jin and helped him escape. Jin wandered weakly from village to village and was nearly taken by the soldiers, until his half-uncle(?) Lars showed up and rescued him.

While Heihachi tried to capture Jin, Lars kept him safe. Jin spent almost the entirety of Tekken 7 recovering from his battle with Azazel, and despite the horrors he committed as leader of the Mishima Zaibatsu, Jin is aware that he and his Devil powers are all that stand between Kazuya and world domination.

Although the Mishima family is made up of many people, including nephews, great-grandparents, adopted children and others, for now, we will focus only on the most important ones in this text and talk about the others later. Continue reading if you want to know the rest of the Mishimas and their entire story throughout the releases of the Tekken franchise.

Although the main members of the Mishima clan are those who move the story of the Tekken franchise, Heihachi, Jin and Kazuya are not the only ones who appear in the game, whether as fighters or just mentioned.

However, in addition to the three main fighters in the series, the clan's story needs some supporting characters so that our protagonists can shine on the stage of the King of Iron Fist Tournaments, and that's who we're going to talk about now. Meet the adoptive siblings, great-grandparents, cousins, and other relatives of our "heroes" (with lots of quotation marks) from the Tekken games.

The beginning of all this is with Jinpachi, a character mentioned in the early games as being long dead, only to appear in Tekken 5. Jinpachi was a good man and headed the Mishima Zaibatsu, which was at the time quite an usual gigantic corporation. While Jinpachi had a good relationship with his very young grandson, Kazuya, the same could not be said in terms of his relationship with his son, Heihachi.

With time and training (in other words, getting beaten up a lot by his dad), Heihachi managed to take control of Jinpachi's company and turned his business into a military faction willing for world domination. Feeling he had no choice, Jinpachi challenged his son to battle and lost. Heihachi chained his father under a temple and left him there to die.

It took a while, but despite everything, Jinpachi succumbed to starvation and perished. Some time later, a vengeful and evil spirit took over his body and resurrected him. Jinpachi still couldn't escape his chains, but a large and explosive battle that was taking place above his temple allowed him to free himself.

Working in the shadows, Jinpachi was able to regain control of the Mishima Zaibatsu and used it to announce the fifth King of Iron Fist tournament. The winner would gain ownership of the Zaibatsu itself.

Unlike most villains, Jinpachi's intentions were anything but evil. The old man knew he was losing control to the spirit, and it was only a matter of time before it went completely wild and destroyed the planet. He set up the tournament in a last-ditch hope that someone — anyone — would rise up, kill him, and stop him from destroying everything. In the end, his great-grandson, Jin Kazama, won the tournament and defeated him. With the dark spirit defeated, Jinpachi's body faded to dust.

Jun Kazama is a psychic fighter who worked for a wildlife protection organization called WWWC. Due to Kazuya Mishima's penchant for illegally smuggling animals during his time as leader of the Mishima Zaibatsu, Jun was sent to enter the second King of Iron Fist tournament to stop him. During the event, somehow, Kazuya got Jun pregnant. Although Jun did not win the tournament, Kazuya was removed from the picture and her mission was, in theory, accomplished.

Jun gave birth to Jin and raised him with love and devotion until the battle-hungry god Ogre sought her out. Jun asked Jin to go find his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, and she faced the god in battle alone and was defeated, though her remains were never recovered. In other words, she was probably alive in some form, and reappeared in the tournament later.

While she did not reappear, Jun lived on through the visions Jin received in later games, acting as a guide to his conscience and preventing him from acting out of revenge.

A Chinese orphan, Lee was adopted by Heihachi. Lee became the heir to the Mishima Zaibatsu and helped run parts of the company in other countries, such as the United States, where he studied martial arts. Once Kazuya took over the Zaibatsu, Lee became his second-in-command, although Lee intended to use the second tournament as a way to take over everything. After Heihachi won the tournament and threw Kazuya into the volcano, he banished Lee and warned him that if he ever saw him again, he would kill him.

Lee was filled with hatred, but he overcame it. After all, the best revenge is to live well, and he could survive without the old Heihachi. While Kazuya became a villain instead of a hero, Lee took the opposite path and became one of the coolest and kindest characters in the roster of fighters.

Over the years, Lee started his own robotics company, where he created a fighting android called Combot. He saw the fourth King of Iron Fist tournament as a perfect opportunity to face Heihachi again and even show off his new product, but he remembered Heihachi's threat from years before and so created a new identity, Violet, to enter the tournament, revealing his true identity only later. He was defeated by his adoptive brother, Kazuya.

Lee joined the fifth tournament because he assumed Kazuya was the new leader of the Mishima Zaibatsu. When he discovered it was Jinpachi, Lee decided he had no chance in this contest and withdrew.

In the war between the Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation, Lee aligned himself with Lars Alexanderrson (coincidentally, Lee is one of the few characters who doesn't fight Lars when he meets him in the story mode of Tekken 6 because he's such a nice guy). Lars' robot companion, Alisa, was nearly destroyed at the climax of the tournament and Lee vowed to rebuild her using his company's resources. Lee repaired Alisa, although she initially tried to kill him.

He reunited with Lars, and together they found the unconscious and weakened body of Jin Kazama. While waiting for Jin to recover, Lee and his allies stayed on the sidelines of the tournament events to await the outcome of the match between Heihachi and Kazuya.

When Jin Kazama took over the Mishima Zaibatsu, a section of his military rebelled. Swedish soldier Lars Alexanderrson was the leader and opposed both the Mishima Zaibatsu and the G Corporation. During one mission, Lars was the only survivor and suffered from amnesia. During these events, the android girl, Alisa Bosconovich, was activated, and the two worked together to help Lars discover who he was (which basically meant going toe-to-toe with the rest of the cast).

When Lars found Heihachi training in secret while the world believed him to be dead, he suddenly remembered who he was. As he told the cold, old man, Heihachi had an affair with a Scandinavian agent in the past and Lars was his long-lost son. Heihachi was surprised, but admitted that he had his suspicions that he had another son out there. Heihachi briefly suggested working together, but Lars tried to kill him. Heihachi caught a bullet in his teeth and Lars then decided to settle things another way.

Lars reconnected with his Tekken Force comrades and once again faced off against the Zaibatsu and G Corporation. He soon discovered that Alisa was actually working as a spy for Jin and was forced to attack her. Lars found a new ally in the ninja spy Raven, and the two traveled to Egypt, where Jin was summoning the demigod Azazel.

In the climax, Jin and Azazel appear to have killed each other, and Alisa is severely damaged. Lars hands Alisa over to Lee Chaolan for repair while he continues to lead the revolution and attacks his cursed bloodline (could Lars have also received the curse of his father's baldness?).

Lars discovers his nephew Jin in the Middle East and protects him from the Zaibatsu forces. Together with Lee, Alisa, and other rebels, Lars is cooking a plan to destroy G Corp and overthrow Kazuya for good.

The Tekken 7 game retcons Lars' backstory, revealing that Heihachi knowingly conceived Lars just to make sure that the Devil Gene came from his wife and Kazuya's mother, Kazumi.

Very little has been known about Kazuya's mother over the years. She received a few brief mentions in the anime, and appeared in the background of one of the Tekken 2 stages, but the series never gave her the attention she deserved. Kazumi Hachijou was a longtime friend and training partner of Heihachi. The two grew up together and fell in love, they married, and Kazumi gave birth to Kazuya.

Secretly, Kazumi was part of a line of demon-possessed assassins who dedicated themselves to eliminating those who were a danger to the world. Kazumi knew that Heihachi, and later Kazuya, would be threats to humanity, and prepared to kill them both. Should she fail, she sought out Akuma — a mysterious and powerful warrior whose life she had saved — and asked him to eliminate Heihachi and Kazuya for her.

Transforming into her Devil form, Kazumi attacked her husband and announced her intentions to kill him. They fought, and the man was the victor, leaving Kazumi's body dead on the ground, but she attacked again in her Devil form, whereupon Heihachi defended himself and defeated Kazumi once more. She told him that if he killed her, an endless stream of hatred and death would begin, and saying that this was no longer the Kazumi he loved, Heihachi killed her. Although she broke his heart, he snapped her neck in retribution.

In addition to all the Mishimas, whether by blood or adopted, there is also Asuka in the cast, who is quite important to the overall plot of the series, despite being completely oblivious of the Mishima family's business. She was unaware of her connection to everything involving the King of Iron Fist Tournament and, consequently, of her own reasons. She’s Jun Kazama's niece, and while we never had any information about her father, we do know that he’s a martial artist and fighting instructor.

Feng Wei, a silent and ruthless warrior who is searching for special scrolls, destroyed the Kazama dojo in his quest, and despite being a mere teenager at the time, Asuka decided to enter the fifth King of Iron Fist tournament to seek revenge on Feng Wei. She failed to achieve her goals, but she did encounter Jin in his Devil form. Probably due to her bloodline, she had a healing effect on him and unknowingly brought him back to his human form.

Asuka spent her days fighting a gang war in her neighborhood while constantly being pestered by Lili, a wealthy French girl obsessed with fighting her. After discovering that Jin Kazama, the CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu and the world's greatest enemy, was actually her cousin, Asuka decided to do something about his crimes against humanity and entered the next tournament in the hopes of stopping him, but was sidetracked by Lili's unhealthy obsession with her.

The origins of the Devil Gene in the Tekken franchise are shrouded in mystery, and as far as we know, the game has never given a complete or concrete explanation of its earliest roots. The game does not provide specific details about the exact origin of the Devil Gene in the official canon, but the most widely accepted explanation for the origin of the Devil Gene is linked to Azazel, an ancient demonic entity sealed in a temple to prevent its violent destruction of the world.

According to a theory proposed by archaeologist Professor Niklas Kliesen, the ‘Devils’ are exceptional humans who have received a fraction of Azazel’s power. Azazel would have appeared before ancient humanity, creating demons/devils to act as his servants. These are capable of accessing superhuman powers through a certain emotion: desire.

Azazel considers Kazuya and Jin to be his subordinates, and possesses the ability to speak directly into Jin's mind. Jin himself believed that destroying Azazel would also eliminate the demonic versions of himself and Kazuya, though this did not prove to be true (Azazel was not truly defeated, as his spirit continued to exist). Azazel's presence affects Jin's Devil Gene, and the orb on his chest is seen (in a non-canon narrative) granting demonic powers to those who come into contact with it.

Despite this, any further connection between Azazel and the Hachijo bloodline is unknown. In Tekken 7, Zafina expresses concern that unless the demonic parts of Jin and Kazuya are destroyed, their continued existence will somehow strengthen Azazel's lingering spirit, allowing him to take form once again. In Tekken 8, it’s revealed that demons are capable of absorbing Azazel's power, as well as that of other Devil Gene users, thus gaining incredible power.