Zoro's swords: the 3 current katanas, the former ones, and their rank

Roronoa Zoro has never changed his goal: to become the world's greatest swordsman. But Zoro's swords, however, have changed several times. Two unnamed blades broken at Baratie, two katanas obtained in Loguetown, a black blade snatched from a zombie, a legendary sword traded in Wano Country—in just over a thousand chapters, five named swords have hung at his belt, and only three remain there today.

This guide takes stock, blade by blade: what each sword is, where it comes from, what grade it holds in the Meito hierarchy, at which chapter Zoro obtains it, and what he did with it. Then, a ranking from weakest to strongest, the cursed Kitetsu line, the question of black blades, and how to identify each katana when you are holding a replica.

Quick answer: what are Zoro's 3 swords today?

At this stage of the published story, Zoro fights with Wadō Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Enma. The first comes from Kuina, his childhood friend; the second is the cursed sword from Loguetown; the third is the former katana of Kozuki Oden, received in Wano Country in exchange for Shusui. Two other named swords were part of his collection before leaving it: Yubashiri, destroyed at Enies Lobby, and Shusui, returned to Wano Country.

The essentials in brief

• Zoro currently possesses three swords: Wadō Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Enma. This is the basis of his Santoryu, the three-sword style.
• Two of them are Ō Wazamono, the second category out of four of the famous swords. The third, Sandai Kitetsu, is a simple Wazamono—the lowest rank, which paradoxically makes it the most interesting sword on his belt.
• Wadō Ichimonji and Enma both came from the forge of Shimotsuki Kozaburo. Zoro therefore holds two masterpieces by the same blacksmith.
• Yubashiri was rusted to the bone by a Marine officer at Enies Lobby. Shusui, a black blade and national treasure of Wano Country, was returned in exchange for Enma.
• The most powerful sword in the series remains Yoru, Mihawk's Saijō Ō Wazamono—the target Zoro has been chasing since the first chapter.

Summary

• Zoro's 5 swords in a table
• Understanding the grades: 12, 21, 50, and others
• Wadō Ichimonji, Kuina's sword
• Sandai Kitetsu, the cursed sword
• Enma, the blade of Kozuki Oden
• Yubashiri, the lost sword
• Shusui, Ryuma's black blade
• Before Loguetown: the two swords broken by Mihawk
• The timeline of Zoro's swords, arc by arc
• Ranking from weakest to strongest
• The three Kitetsu: Shodai, Nidai, Sandai
• Black blades: why Enma could change rank
• Mihawk's Yoru, the sword to surpass
• The Santoryu: why three swords?
• Identifying each sword on a replica
• Zoro's swords in figures and katanas
• Frequently asked questions
• To learn more

Zoro's 5 swords in a table: grade, blacksmith, chapter, status

Five named katanas have passed through Zoro's hands. Here is the file for each, according to the One Piece encyclopedia.

One detail stands out: out of five swords, three are Ō Wazamono, the second category out of four. Zoro has wielded more great blades than most swordsmen in the series will see in their entire lives—and he has lost two of them.

Understanding the grades: 12 Saijō Ō Wazamono, 21 Ō Wazamono, 50 Ryō Wazamono

In One Piece, the famous swords—the Meito—are classified into four grades. This hierarchy is the one used by the encyclopedia, and it clarifies the rest of this article.

The count of Ryō Wazamono has dropped from 50 to 48: two blades of this category were destroyed during the story, including Zoro's Yubashiri. These grades don't just decorate a profile: they set the market value of a sword, explain why Tashigi is outraged to see Zoro carrying Wadō Ichimonji, and give weight to trades—Shusui for Enma is an Ō Wazamono for an Ō Wazamono.

Wadō Ichimonji: Kuina's sword, the one Zoro holds between his teeth

The Wadō Ichimonji—literally "the path leading to harmony"—is Zoro's oldest companion and the only one that has never left his belt. It appears as early as Chapter 5 of the manga and Episode 2 of the anime. Its blade is white, as are its scabbard and handle: it is the pristine katana of the trio, the one Zoro clenches between his teeth when he switches to Santoryu.

The sword belonged to Kuina, the daughter of the master of the Shimotsuki dojo, the only person to have beaten Zoro as a child—2,001 times, according to their own tally. After her accidental death, Zoro asks her father for the sword and vows to become the world's greatest swordsman for the both of them. Every one of Zoro's fights is, in a way, one of Kuina's fights.

What the manga revealed much later: Wadō Ichimonji was forged by Shimotsuki Kozaburo, a blacksmith from Wano Country who left to settle in the East Blue. The katana is classified as an Ō Wazamono, one of the 21 great blades, and the encyclopedia assigns it a value of 20,000,000 berrys—the figure a Loguetown merchant blurts out upon seeing it, before Tashigi is outraged that a pirate would carry such a famous blade.

Sandai Kitetsu: the cursed sword offered in Loguetown

The Sandai Kitetsu—"third generation of the demon"—enters the story in Chapter 97, Episode 49, in Ippon Matsu's armory in Loguetown. Zoro is looking for two swords to replace those Mihawk broke, and he only has 100,000 berrys in his pocket. He stumbles upon this katana in a barrel for 50,000, and the merchant begs him not to take it: all of its previous owners have died.

Zoro's response is one of the foundational scenes for the character: he throws the sword into the air, holds his arm underneath it, and bets his luck against the curse. The blade falls while missing his arm. Ippon Matsu, shaken, offers him the sword—along with a second katana, the Yubashiri.

The Sandai Kitetsu is a Wazamono, meaning the lowest grade of Meito, valued at 1,000,000 berrys. It was forged by Tenguyama Hitetsu, a craftsman from Wano Country and a descendant of the Kitetsu line. It is Zoro's weakest sword on paper—and yet, the one he has kept since Loguetown, the one whose edge "wants to cut" on its own, the one that best embodies his relationship with danger.

Enma: the blade of Kozuki Oden that scarred Kaido

Enma is the newest arrival and, in many ways, the most meaningful. It appears in Chapter 954, Episode 955, in Wano Country. The katana belonged to Kozuki Oden, the legendary samurai who used it with Ame no Habakiri in his two-sword style. Oden bequeathed it to his daughter Hiyori, who gave it to Zoro in exchange for Shusui, a national treasure that had to be returned to the country.

Enma has a unique characteristic in the entire series: it is the only sword to have ever wounded Kaido. The Emperor's scar comes from Oden, and then Zoro reopened the wound in the same spot with the same blade. Its clover-shaped guard is identical to that of Ame no Habakiri, only the color differs; its scabbard is mauve, adorned with golden flowers.

The sword is an Ō Wazamono forged by Shimotsuki Kozaburo over fifty years ago, before he left Wano Country—the same blacksmith as Wadō Ichimonji. But Enma is, above all, an indomitable sword: it sucks the Haki from its wielder in excessive amounts and cuts much harder than expected, to the point that before Zoro, only Oden had succeeded in mastering it. The first time Zoro tries it, his arm withers and a cliff disappears.

Yubashiri: the sword lost at Enies Lobby

The Yubashiri—"the snow chaser"—is Ippon Matsu's second gift in Loguetown, Chapter 97. It is a Ryō Wazamono, one of the 50 superior quality blades, black with a yellow dot on the handle, light and sturdy. Zoro immediately judges it as a good katana.

It accompanies him from Loguetown to Enies Lobby, where the story abruptly ends. Facing the Marine commanders, Zoro crosses paths with Shū, a captain who ate the Sabi Sabi no Mi, the rust-rust fruit. With one touch, the blade is corroded. The Yubashiri will never be usable again.

Zoro will carry the rusted blade until Thriller Bark, where he replaces it with Shusui. What remained of the Yubashiri, he buried himself on the island. The count of the Ryō Wazamono fell from 50 to 48 because of this loss and another blade destroyed elsewhere in the series.

Shusui: the black blade of Ryuma, returned to Wano Country

Shusui—"autumn water"—appears in Chapter 448, Episode 342, in the hands of a zombie. The sword was that of the legendary samurai Ryuma, buried with him in Wano Country until Gecko Moria looted his grave and made him fight at Thriller Bark, animated by Brook's shadow. Defeated by Zoro, Ryuma bequeaths his sword to him, telling him that he will be satisfied with his new master.

Shusui accumulates two distinctions: it is an Ō Wazamono and a black blade, one of only two known in the series along with Yoru. Its blade is black, adorned with a hamon featuring red flame patterns. It is also the national treasure of Wano Country—which makes Zoro, in the eyes of the samurai, a grave robber.

This is the whole conflict of the Wano Country arc: Kinemon wants to face him as early as Punk Hazard to recover the treasure, and Zoro is accused of desecration there. The resolution comes from Hiyori, who offers him Enma in exchange. Shusui is returned. Zoro loses a black blade and gains Oden's sword.

Before Loguetown: the two swords broken by Mihawk at Baratie

It is often forgotten: Zoro did not always have named swords. At the beginning of the series, he fights with Wadō Ichimonji and two ordinary katanas, with no name or grade. These are the two blades that Dracule Mihawk breaks at Baratie, in Zoro's first real confrontation against the world's greatest swordsman.

The defeat is total, and it is what sends Zoro to Loguetown with two empty scabbards. Without Mihawk, there would be no Sandai Kitetsu, no Yubashiri, and no barrel scene. Zoro's entire collection of swords descends, in a direct line, from a scar received at Baratie. We tell the story of this fight in our guide to the One Piece arcs in order, in the East Blue saga.

The timeline of Zoro's swords, arc by arc

To keep track, here is the exact order in which the swords enter and leave Zoro's belt.

• Shimotsuki Village, before the series—Zoro receives Wadō Ichimonji after Kuina's death.
• Baratie—Mihawk breaks his two unnamed katanas. Only Wadō Ichimonji remains.
• Loguetown (Chapter 97)—Ippon Matsu gives him Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri. The trio is complete.
• Enies Lobby (Chapter 426)—Shū rusts the Yubashiri. Zoro fights for a time with a dead blade.
• Thriller Bark (Chapter 448)—Ryuma bequeaths Shusui to him. The Yubashiri is buried on the island.
• Wano Country (Chapter 954)—Hiyori gives him Enma in return for the restitution of Shusui.
• Since Onigashima—Wadō Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, Enma. This is the current belt, that of the Egghead and Elbaf arcs.

In other words, the trio has only been stable twice in the entire history: from Loguetown to Enies Lobby, then from Wano until today.

The ranking of Zoro's swords, from weakest to strongest

The ranking follows official grades first, then breaks ties based on the sword's actual performance in the manga.

1. Sandai Kitetsu — Wazamono, the lowest grade. Dead last on paper. But it is the sword Zoro controls the least, the one whose edge seeks flesh, and he has kept it when he could have replaced it ten times over.
2. Yubashiri — Ryō Wazamono. A fine, light, and reliable blade that never had the chance to shine before being rusted.
3. Wadō Ichimonji — Ō Wazamono, one of the 21 Great Grade blades, forged by Kozaburo. Zoro's oldest sword and the one most charged with meaning.
4. Shusui — Ō Wazamono and a black blade. Its blackness makes it a harder and heavier blade than others of the same grade. Zoro wielded it for four arcs before returning it.
5. Enma — Ō Wazamono, forged by Kozaburo, the only sword to have wounded Kaido. It demands more from its wielder than any of Zoro's other blades, and that is precisely what makes it the most powerful.

Two nuances. Shusui and Enma share the same grade; what sets them apart is the black blade of one and the potential of the other. And while grades matter, they aren't everything: Mihawk states that any blade has the potential to become black, which brings every ranking into question. Our One Piece strongest characters tier list applies the same caution to combatants.

The three Kitetsu: Shodai, Nidai, Sandai, a single lineage across three ranks

The Sandai Kitetsu is not an isolated sword: it is the third in a lineage of cursed swords, the Kitetsu, all forged by artisans of the same name in the Land of Wano. The curious thing is that the lineage goes down in grades as it moves forward in time.

• Shodai Kitetsu, the first generation — a Saijō Ō Wazamono, one of the 12 Supreme Grade blades. It has never been seen on screen yet.
• Nidai Kitetsu, the second — an Ō Wazamono, forged by Kotetsu, kept by Tenguyama Hitetsu in the Land of Wano. Luffy borrowed it for one fight in chapter 912.
• Sandai Kitetsu, the third — a Wazamono, Zoro's sword.

All three carry the same reputation: they kill their owners. Zoro is the only one to have defied the curse by looking it in the face, and has lived with it since Loguetown.

Black blades: why Enma could change rank

Black blades — Kokutō — are swords whose blade has turned black over the course of many battles. The exact process remains unknown in the series, but its effects are described: a black blade is harder than others, rumored not to bend "even if a dinosaur stepped on it." The encyclopedia lists only two: Yoru, Mihawk's sword, and Shusui, Zoro's former sword.

Two pieces of information given in the Land of Wano change the scope of this concept. The first: Shusui was not always black — Gyukimaru explains this to Zoro. The second, from Tenguyama Hitetsu: if Zoro manages to make Enma a permanent black blade, its grade could increase. It is rare, but it is possible. In other words, Zoro's most powerful blade may not have reached its final rank yet.

And Mihawk goes further: according to him, any blade can become black. It is not a property of the sword; it is a property of the swordsman.

Mihawk's Yoru: the sword Zoro must surpass

It is impossible to talk about Zoro's swords without the one he is aiming for. Yoru — "the night" — is one of the 12 Saijō Ō Wazamono, the supreme category, and a black blade. It is the sword of Dracule Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, present since chapter 49.

A massive black blade in the shape of a cross, carried on his back, capable of splitting a galleon in one blow. It is this sword that shattered two of Zoro's katanas at the Baratie, and it is toward it that his entire progression points: owning a black blade, then surpassing the one who wields it. We have put the two face-to-face in our Zoro vs. Mihawk diorama, the Baratie scene frozen in PVC.

The Santoryu: why three swords, and which one goes in the mouth

The Santoryu, the three-sword style, is Zoro's signature: a katana in each hand, the third clenched between his teeth. The sword in his mouth is always Wadō Ichimonji — Kuina's sword, right in the center, as if she were fighting with him.

The style has a strategic logic: it requires roles to be distributed. The two swords in his hands carry out broad strikes and parries; the one in his mouth provides the axis and allows for three-blade attacks like the Oni Giri, Zoro's very first named attack. This is also what makes the Shusui-Enma trade so significant: changing one sword means rebalancing the entire trio.

This trio is what is captured by the 20 cm Zoro Santoryu figurine, the three blades drawn and Wadō Ichimonji between his teeth — the character's most recognizable pose. As for Zoro's collectible statues, they trade for several hundred euros: our guide on the rarest One Piece figures explains why.

Recognizing each of Zoro's swords on a replica or figure

When faced with a replica, three details are enough to identify each katana without hesitation. And if the replica is intended as a gift, our manga gift guide tells you who it is suitable for, and who it is not.

• Wadō Ichimonji — all white. White handle, white sheath, round guard. Impossible to confuse: it's the only light-colored sword in the trio.
• Sandai Kitetsu — red handle and dark red sheath, flower-shaped guard. The blade's hamon is irregular, like flames.
• Enma — purple sheath decorated with golden flowers, clover guard. White blade with golden waves.
• Shusui — black blade, red flame-patterned hamon, red handle and black sheath. Recognizable by the color of the blade itself.
• Yubashiri — black with a yellow dot on the handle, matching sheath, ordinary blade. The most discreet of the five.

On commercial replicas, fidelity is judged primarily by the guard and the color of the sheath: these are the elements most often approximated. Our 72 cm Wadō Ichimonji katana features the round guard and white sheath; our Zoro katana with black and gold saya adapts the trio into a dark version.

Zoro's swords in our figures and katanas

The swords tell the story of Zoro's evolution, and the figures freeze it at a precise moment. Three moments are particularly common in the sculpts. The Wadō, Kitetsu, Shusui period, spanning the Thriller Bark to Dressrosa arcs, with the black blade clearly visible: this is the Zoro Black Blades figure. The Onigashima period, Enma in hand and the King of Hell awakened: this is the 22 cm Zoro King of Hell figure. And the moment of drawing the sword, Sandai Kitetsu emerging from the sheath: the Zoro Cursed Draw figure.

For a smaller format, the chibi Zoro and his Wano swords figure includes the current trio in 12 cm. All of these pieces are gathered in our One Piece figures collection, and life-size blades in the katanas and replicas collection.

Frequently asked questions about Zoro's swords

To learn more

• Our One Piece katanas and replicas, including Zoro's Wadō Ichimonji in 72 cm.
• All our One Piece figures — Zoro, Luffy, Mihawk, and the crew.
• One Piece arcs in order, to place each sword within the journey.
• The strongest characters tier list, where Zoro and Mihawk cross paths.
• The One Piece world map, to locate the Land of Wano, Loguetown, and Enies Lobby.

Sources: Wadô Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, Enma, Shusui, Yubashiri, Black Blades, Yoru, and Swords pages of the One Piece Encyclopedia, consulted September 1, 2026.