One Piece mistranslations may be behind the stories of Mihawk's and Luffy's mothers

For more than two decades, One Piece has thrived on mysteries. Eiichiro Oda is a master of withholding information, planting small details that blossom into fan theories years later. But what if a major factor behind these theories isn’t just Oda’s clever storytelling, but something much more mundane, mistranslations?

The way certain Japanese lines from One Piece have been rendered into English (and other languages) may have fueled entire strands of speculation, especially regarding Amazon Lily, gender rules, and the origins of central characters.

Amazon Lily, home of the Kuja tribe, has long been one of the most unusual islands in One Piece. Populated only by women, ruled by Boa Hancock, and feared across the seas, the island is infamous not only for its warriors but also for its strict biological rule:

“For some mysterious reason, only female children are born here.”

This is the line most English readers encountered through early translations. It suggests a biological impossibility: men cannot be born on Amazon Lily. That interpretation alone spurred countless theories. If no male children exist, then:

1. Mihawk cannot be from Amazon Lily, killing off the theory that he is the son of Rayleigh and Shakky.
2. Luffy’s mother cannot be a Kuja, since he is male, unless Oda breaks his own established lore.

Yet recent discussions have revealed that this line may have been mistranslated or at least translated in a way that exaggerated its absoluteness.

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How the “All Girls Rule” sparked theories about Luffy’s mother

One of the longest-standing mysteries in One Piece is the identity of Luffy’s mother. Oda has been asked about her several times in SBS columns, but always dodges with playful answers like, “She’s alive, but not important to the story.” Still, fans continue to speculate.

Because of the Amazon Lily mistranslation, a popular theory developed: Luffy’s mother could not be a Kuja because he was born male. If only girls are born on Amazon Lily, then his mother had to be from elsewhere, or else Oda would be breaking canon.

This mistranslation effectively shut down an entire set of possibilities for Luffy’s backstory, and now that it’s being revisited, old theories are coming back to life.

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Mihawk’s parentage and the Rayleigh-Shakky speculation in One Piece

Dracule Mihawk is another character surrounded by mystery. Unlike Luffy, Mihawk has no known family ties, no origin island, and no revealed backstory. Fans have filled that vacuum with speculation, one of the most popular being that Mihawk is the son of Silvers Rayleigh and Shakuyaku.

This theory gained momentum because:

• Shakky is a former Kuja, implying ties to Amazon Lily.
• Mihawk’s sharp features, dark hair, and calm personality echo traits from both Rayleigh and Shakky.
• His status as a powerful “outsider” fits the narrative of a child born under unusual circumstances.

But again, the Amazon Lily mistranslation crushed this idea. If no male children could ever be born on Amazon Lily, Mihawk couldn’t possibly be Shakky’s son. Thus, fans dismissed the theory as fun but impossible.

With the corrected nuance, however, the theory regains plausibility. If the Kuja “usually” or “fascinatingly” only give birth to girls, then Mihawk’s existence as a rare exception is no longer outside the bounds of the story.

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Final thoughts

If the Kuja rule is less of an absolute and more of a trend, then Oda has left himself the narrative flexibility to surprise us later. Maybe Mihawk really is Shakky’s son. Maybe Luffy’s mother was a Kuja who died of love sickness. Or maybe Oda will subvert all expectations with an even wilder reveal. Given how much One Piece thrives on mystery, even the smallest mistranslation can shift how fans connect the dots.