“ The light of dawn drives away the darkness once again. „ ~ Joe Hayabusa to his son Ryu, The Vampire War
Jô Hayabusa (ジョウ・ハヤブサ?)[1] is the legendary Master Ninja leader of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan, descendant of the Dragon Lineage, and Ryu Hayabusa's father. He serves as the head of his clan until his death at the hands of the evil sorcerer Jaquio. He appears in Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden X, Ninja Gaiden II, Ninja Gaiden 3, and as a playable character in Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound.
Story
Eons ago, in an age of Pandemonium, Thirteen Dragons banished the Evil Deity Vigoor to the very end of the world, but were betrayed by their youngest, weakest brother, that joined the ancestral Archfiend and his monstruous spawns. During this conflict, the first spark of human life appeared as the Ancient Tribes, and among them were the warriors of the Dragon Lineage who fought the Fiends for ten of thousands of generations together with the Twelve Dragons[2]. With their strength waning, the Dragons placed their last hope in one of their own fangs and thus the Dragon Sword was born, imbued with their powerful essence. Wielding this legendary sword, the Dragon Lineage defeated the evil Dark Dragon[3] and sealed away the Fiends[2].
In present times, Jo Hayabusa, A descendant of the Dragon Lineage, is a deadly legendary ninja renowned for countless feats of valor, showing no sign of decline even past the age of fifty[4]. Cool-headed even in the face of formidable adversity, he would sacrifice his life for the greater good[5]. From the Castle of the Dragon that overshadows the Hayabusa Ninja Village, Joe protects one of the two Demon Statues he found alongside the archeologist Walter Smith in some sacred Amazonian ruins. This talisman is the key to resurrecting the Archfiend. Distant relatives of the ancient race of Fiends is the Black Spider Ninja Clan, sworn centuries-old rivals of the Hayabusa Ninja.
Ninja Gaiden
Jô had gone off to train in the sacred wilderness during the Dark Dragon Blade Incident, leaving the Dragon Sword, an ancient relic passed down through the generations of Dragon Lineage warriors, to his son Ryu Hayabusa.
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
Having not returned from the sacred wilderness yet, Jô is briefly mentioned by Genjiro a Hayabusa Ninja veteran who had fought alongside him[6], and by Omitsu who writes a letter to Jô, commenting on how his son Ryu has grown up[7].
Eventually Jô returns to a massacred Hayabusa village, although horrified at what took place in his absence, he is also proud to witness his son's high skill and proficiency with the Dragon Sword. Jô is then ready to part with the sword, passing it down to his son, from one Dragon Ninja to the next Dragon Ninja, as in the tradition of the Dragon Lineage. [citation needed]
The Vampire War
Jô Hayabusa in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Prologue: The Vampire War
At the conclusion of a millennia-old conflict between the Vampire fiends and Dragon Ninja, Jô squares off against the Vampire Lord, Crimson at night in an urban city. At first it looks like Jô has the upper hand as he dodges an attack, then does the flying bird flip up two buildings and Izuna Drops the Vampire Lord, smashing him into a car. But the Vampire Lord gets up and catches Jô off guard, injuring him with a vampire bite. As Jô is about to fall, Ryu enters the battle just in time to assist his father and together they battle the Vampire Lord, where Jô is further injured when he takes a sonic blast to protect his son. The battle concludes when Jô uses the light from the Eye of the Dragon to weaken the Vampire Lord while his son slays the fiend, ending the age old conflict that would come to be known as the Vampire War. However Jô leaves the battle injured, which worries the Hayabusa village as he is bedridden, while outside Momiji asked about his condition in full anticipation with the other villagers. Ryu assures everyone that his father will be fine.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
While Ryu fights the Black spider clan in Tokyo, Genshin and a large number of Spider Ninja attack the Hayabusa Village and set the Castle of the Dragon on fire, as Jô is still recovering from his last encounter. Jô waits in the top tower of the castle, protecting the Demon Statue. Genshin breaks in and engages Jô in a duel to the death. After a long battle, Jô is knocked over a ledge with debris falling over him as his son enters the room too late, Genshin then attempts to finish off the Dragon Lineage as he fights Ryu. However Jô survives, and after freeing himself he gets back to the floor above and rejoins the battle. Jô tells Ryu to go after Elizébet who has the Demon Statue, as he held off Genshin on his own. In the end Jô manages to survive the battle with Genshin, but he is more injured than before. Bedridden, Jô sent Ayane, a kunoichi from the Hajin Mon sect of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja clan, to retrieve the Eye of the Dragon and deliver it to Ryu.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
After Ryu has been afflicted with the Grip of Murder, Jô, blinded from his last battle with the Spider Ninja Genshin, tells his son about the bad karma behind the Dragon Clan. He reveals that the Ryuken was a gift to kill the Evil Deities, but was tainted by the souls of the countless victims it accumulated through history, and that the curse is the malice it absorbed festering and corroding his body, just like a Dragon Ninja from the past. He tells his son that the curse on his arm caused by the Dragon Sword is the karmic retribution for all the sins the Dragon Ninja of the past had committed, but tells Ryu to brave the darkness in order to fulfil his duty, less the consequences become dire.
Later, when Canna goes on a rampage on Tokyo in her Goddess form, Jô arrives with Momiji to save Ryu from being overwhelmed by multiple enemies. He lets his son run off to deal with Canna while he and Momiji stay behind to fight of the enemies.
Ninja Gaiden X
Ryu arrives at a tower, and Jô, from atop the pagoda, challenges him to a final trial to finish his training. After climbing to the top, Ryu faces him in a fierce battle, from which Ryu emerges victorious. Ryu questions the need for his training but Jô assures him that his skills will be needed someday.
Jô then declares that he no longer have more regrets and claims that he will now defeat the Jaquio.
Ninja Gaiden (NES)
Jô Hayabusa from the NES Ninja Gaiden.
In an open tall grass field and under the light of the moon, Jô engages Bloody Malth in a duel and is defeated. As a precaution Jô had left a letter entrusting the family heirloom to his son, Ryu, and telling him to go to America to find Doctor Walter Smith if he fails to return home. Presumed dead, he is later revealed to be alive, under the Jaquio's control as "the masked devil". Jô manages to break free of the spell thanks to Ryu destroying the device controlling his mind. However he sacrifices himself to protect his son, by taking one of the Jaquio's energy bolts aimed at the latter. As the temple collapses from the Demon's defeat, Jô slowly succumbs to his injuries. With his dying breath, Jô tells his son that the time has come to carry on without him, and tells him to be ever brave. Proud of his son, Jô dies in the arms of his distraught son.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
Jô Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
In this modern retelling of the original NES version of events, Jô writes a letter to Ryu, informing him that he is going to a life or death duel. If he doesn't return from it, Ryu should take the Dragon Sword of the Hayabusa family and go to America to see the archeologist, Walter Smith.
Reaching the West Fuji Forest, Jô hopes that Ryu will forgive him as he is putting his life on the line in hopes to keep Ryu from this new evil.
Jô reaches the place the duel takes place, however, he loses and is defeated.
Powers and Abilities
General
- Agility: Incredibly fast, Jôe is able to move at blinding speeds; Expected of a Dragon Ninja.
- Strength: Extremely strong, Jôe strength is unusually strong even for one of the Dragon Linage.
- Acrobatics: As a Master Ninja, Jôe is able to move between platforms and scale walls with ease.
- Hand to Hand: Master level in Hayabusa style ninjutsu for hand to hand combat.
- Swordsmanship: Master level in the katana discipline aspect of the Hayabusa style ninjutsu.
- Endurance: High, even when injured Jôe is able to hold his own against powerful opponents like Genshin.
Techniques
- Flying Bird Flip: A technique where Jôe scales a vertical incline by jumping back and forth between two walls.
- Hayabusa Style Izuna Drop: A throw technique where Jôe grabs his opponent in mid air, stabs and then slams them down onto the ground in a pile driver like move.
Weapons & Equipment
- Katana: Although he had passed the Dragon Sword onto his son, Jôe still wields a variety of katanas from his arsenal.
Etymology
- The name Jô means "height, length, stature, measure, all" (丈).
- Jô's surname Hayabusa means "falcon" (隼).
Appearance
Physically Jô is a middle age man with a large muscular build. His ninja attire of choice is a white shinobi shozoku with some armor. Jô also has a battle scar on his cheek, a sign that he has fought many intense battles in his lifetime. After his fight with Genshin, Jo doesn't tie his hair and wore a fur vest over his white shozoku, he also wears a white headband over his eyes, implying that Genshin blinded him. However, this doesn't seem to affect his fighting performance (as seen in Ninja Gaiden 3).
Personality
Jô Hayabusa is a selfless ninja, he would sacrifice himself for the greater good without a second thought. Highly disciplined and a skilled ninja warrior, Jô constantly trains to attain greater power. He is wise and battle hardened from having fought many battles in his lifetime. Jô is also very knowledgeable in history, the ninja arts and ancient relics, these traits appear in his son as well, who later opens a curio shop.
Trivia
- Norio Wakamoto, who currently voices Jô Hayabusa in the modern Ninja Gaiden series, previously voiced as Robert T. Sturgeon in the Ninja Ryukenden OVA.
- In the Ninja Gaiden intro cutscene, Jô is the red ninja who loses the life or death duel. Because of this, it is suggested that Jô Hayabusa appeared in the Ninja Gaiden arcade game as the 2nd player Red Ninja who assisted 1st player Blue Ninja, believed to be Ryu Hayabusa.
- The katana wielded by Jô bears a striking resemblance to the Dual Katanas.
- Jô as the Masked Devil is the only boss in the NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy who is not defeated by attacking the boss directly.
Gallery
- ↑ Renamed "Ken Hayabusa" in the American release of Ninja Gaiden (NES). Spelled "Joe Hayabusa" in Ninja Gaiden II.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Vigoor Mythology
- ↑ Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
- ↑ NINJA GAIDEN 2 | TECMO website/Characters: 『龍の一族』 の末裔である隼忍び一門の頭首。 主人公リュウ・ハヤブサの父。 数々の武勇伝に彩られた稀代の忍者で、五十歳を過ぎてなお、 その力に衰え を見せていない。 それでも 『吸魔大戦』 と言われる吸血魔神の掃討戦で負っ た傷が癒えておらず、しばらくは万全な状態にあるとは言いがたい。 あるいは、 龍の一族の証である 『龍剣』 を息子のリュウに握らせ、 事実上の継承を行って いるというのも、彼なりに先を見据え、深く思うところあってのことだろう。 現在、龍の城で静養するジョウだが、 城に迫る危機を未だ察知してはいない。
- ↑ Ninja Gaiden II manual.
- ↑ Wood Amulet 42: "Ryu has grown up well, strong and healthy. He reminds me of you as a young Ninja, never willing to compromise his principles. Perhaps it is time for us to set aside our rusty swords. What say you, Joe Hayabusa?"
- ↑ Wood Amulet 43: "Your boy is growing up well. As the guardian of the children of the village, I strive to treat all of them with equal love and care, but he grows to resemble you more with each passing day."