By relying solely upon instinct and reflex, you involuntarily reveal your limitations to your enemy. But you must learn to make use of your intellect in the martial arts.
![samurai champloo mugen samurai champloo mugen](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5a/ae/74/5aae7404f5d8a89ef29cf45c3e0a754e.jpg)
You utilize erratic movements that prevent anyone from predicting them. The circumstances of his imprisonment are unclear at first, but it is later revealed that he was to be executed for engaging in piracy. The blue tattoos on his wrists and ankles indicate that he was once in prison. In episode 20 "Elegy of Entrapment, Verse 1," Mugen states that he never knew whom his parents were. Another reason for the similarity may be because the Ainu of the north and the Ryukyu of the south are from the same cultural and genetic stock before being displaced later by the Yamato Japanese. This appears to be further supported later on by Mugen remarking that he grew up on the same music an Ainu fugitive was playing (though the Ainu man came from the far North, and Mugen came from the far south). His style of clothes suggests he may be of Ainu origin. The exact date of his birth and much of his past is shrouded in mystery. His Japanese is quite rough and "Yanki." He is illiterate until later in the show. His name means without limitation, as the components of it are the characters for "without" and "limitation." Incidentally, he writes his name using the infinity symbol (∞), a pun on his name, 'Mugen,' which is a homophone of the Japanese word for 'eternity'. Mugen was born in a penal colony on the Ryukyu Islands (most likely Miyako Island since it was a penal colony in the past), which in the Edo period was a separate kingdom with close ties to the Satsuma domain of Japan. I'm pretty sure that as far as the director's image went, he probably was thinking of someone like a 'rapper who acts like a bad guy.' But the way Mugen acts is relatively based on his core conviction." Background Character designer Kazuto Nakazawa stated in an interview: "When I was doing character design, the most difficult one was Mugen, as I expected. In several episodes it is made clear that Mugen is a womanizer, and his libido often gets the better of him. He is fond of fighting and has a tendency to pick fights for petty reasons. Rude, lewd, vulgar, and nihilistic, Mugen is something of an anti-hero. It has a zig-zag pattern of green and brown.
![samurai champloo mugen samurai champloo mugen](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/7lUAAOSwHnpeHmYW/s-l1600.jpg)
Lastly, he carries his sword on his back with a sash that goes from his left shoulder to his right hip. He has two blue ring tatoos, two on each wrist and two just above the ankles. these geta are fitted with several metal strips on the soles, allowing him to use his sandals as blocking devices. He wears hakama cut off at shorts-length, resembling loose-fitting Bermuda shorts and Japanese Geta (wooden sandals) on his feet. He wears this under a red long-sleeve gi that functions as a jacket. His clothing is anachronistic as well, reminiscent of baggy hip-hop fashions of today.His attire consists of a grey shirt with a stitch pattern running down the middle of the shirt ending at the halfway point of the shirt.
![samurai champloo mugen samurai champloo mugen](https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/447090876_1280x720.jpg)
Mugen has messy brown-black hair in an afro-like style (similar to Spike Spiegel's from Cowboy Bebop) and a faint beard.