Hamato Yoshi

*"Hot Soup!"*

― The repeated catchphrase by him and his sons belonging to **Lou Jitsu**.

**Hamato Yoshi**, once known as **Lou Jitsu**, and currently known as **Splinter**, is a member of the Hamato Clan, a former martial arts movie star, and the biological father and sensei of the Turtles who was mutated into a rat by yōkai alchemist Baron Draxum. He appears as one of the deuteragonists (alongside April) of the *Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* franchise, series and movie.

## Physical appearance

Splinter is a mutant rat with long straight white hair styled half up in a bun, a white beard, white bushy eyebrows, short grey fur, and a short, plump figure. His legs from the elbows down and arms are both light pink (with his hands having five fingers instead of the usual four). He has black eyes with yellow sclerae, a dark pink nose and tail, black whiskers on his cheeks, and a nick in his right ear. He wears a brown yukata with yellow trim and the Hamato Clan emblem placed on its heart. He also wears a black hair tie.

## Personality

Splinter, unlike his previous incarnations, is laid-back and lazy. He is absent-minded and sometimes attempts to stir up mischief and trouble with his sons when bored, including stealing the Turtle Tank. Splinter comes off as an extremely flawed (albeit loved) father figure; he often treats his sons flippantly and is mentioned to not spend much time in family outings. However, he is shown to take action when needed. Splinter deeply cares about his sons and their safety.

How strictly Splinter treats the Turtles can vary. He slowly grows more serious as the first season progresses, especially after learning of the existence of the Shredder. Despite his previous indolence, Splinter becomes quite serious in training the Turtles to perfect their fighting skills, albeit in unorthodox ways (e.g., Lou Jitsu movies). This apparent contradiction is eventually explained, as in the past he developed a distaste for fighting, refusing to put himself (or his sons) in that position again.

As shown in *Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie*, Splinter has become much more open about his feelings towards his sons, breaking down in tears when Leonardo sacrifices himself to get trapped in the Prison Dimension. He is also taking his role as a protector more seriously. He is fighting more and explains how dangerous the Krang are to everyone when Casey mentions them. However, he is still laid back and comedic as he starts eating popcorn while April and the Turtles interrogate Casey.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Hamato Ninpō:** As a member of the Hamato Clan, Splinter is capable of tapping into his clan's energy to unleash his own mystic might.

### Abilities

* **Tail extension:** Due to his mutation, Splinter can make his tail grow longer to reach faraway objects.
* **Prehensile tail:** Due to his mutation, Splinter's tail can grasp and hold objects.
* **Self-combustion:** Splinter can voluntarily set parts of his body on fire.
* **Ninjutsu:** Splinter has been taught ninjutsu from childhood and has since mastered it, creating and patenting his own techniques. Many years devoid of regular practice and an aging body have taken a toll on his skills, but he can definitely get it together when he wants to.
	+ **Stealth:** As a practitioner of ninjutsu, Splinter can slip in and out of areas undetected and blend in with his environment to the point where he can seamlessly pose as objects.
	+ **Slow Motion Jutsu:** By moving exceptionally slow, Splinter's body movements are unable to be perceived by opponents, allowing him to execute very close range contact with opponents unnoticed.
	+ **Lights-Off Jutsu:** By clapping his hands, Splinter can turn off any lights in an area to use the darkness to his advantage.

* **Agility:** Splinter's agility allows him to successfully dodge attacks and perform sharp twists and flips.
* **Speed:** Splinter possesses a great amount of speed, capable of moving in bursts faster than the eye can follow.
* **Strength:** Despite his small size, Splinter is remarkably strong, able to lift heavy objects with relative ease. However, his upper body strength has waned to the point where he finds it hard to climb ladders at times.
* **Macho Gazpacho Fury Kick:** A foot technique where Splinter moves incredibly fast and kicks his opponent with his ignited foot. It is effective in handling a large group of opponents.
* **Pompadour Punch:** An arm technique where Splinter punches the underside of his opponent's jaw in an upwards motion.
* **Flaming Gorilla Arm Bar:** A grappling technique where Splinter traps his opponent's bent arm between his own crossed arms.
* **Seven Deadly Vipers:** Labeled as a "secret secret" by Splinter, the Seven Deadly Vipers move immediately makes opponents yield upon merely hearing its name. April O'Neil is the only one Splinter has taught it to.
* **Lazy Llama:** A blocking technique where Splinter moves his arms loosely and wildly to defend a wide area of his body against attacks.
* **Tiger Claw:** A technique where Splinter tackles his opponent in a manner reminiscent of a pouncing tiger.
* **Weapon proficiency:** Splinter is versed in wielding a variety of melee and flexible weapons such as tonfā, morning stars, the kusari-fundō, nunchaku, dual axes, sai, even mystic weapons like Leo's portal-generating ōdachi. Alongside his use of formal ninja weaponry and techniques, Splinter is a skilled improvisational fighter, known for weaponizing fish and ladders in *Little Jacob's Ladder* and clam shells in *Punch Chowder*.
	+ **Shurikenjutsu:** Splinter is proficient in throwing shuriken with keen precision and wields them multiple times throughout the series.
	+ **Bōjutsu:** As Donnie's teacher, Splinter is proficient in wielding a bō.
	+ **Kenjutsu:** As Leo's teacher, Splinter is proficient in wielding a variety of Japanese swords such as katana and the ōdachi.

* **Survival training:** Splinter has wilderness survival training with knowledge of safe alternative food and water sources.

## Relationships

### Family

* Hamato Atsuko - Mother
* Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo - Sons
* April O'Neil - Close friend and Daughter-figure
* Casey Jones - Close friend and Grandson-figure
* Piebald - Pet Fish
* Hamato Sho - Grandfather
* Mystic Aura - Ancestor
* Hamato Karai - Ancestor

### Allies

* Mayhem
* Bullhop
* Todd Capybara - Friend
* Sunita
* Franken-Foot
* Baron Draxum and Cassandra Jones - Former Enemies, Friends

### Enemies

* Kristoff Van Bradford - Rival
* Big Mama - Former Lover, Situational Enemies
* Gus
* Huginn & Muninn
* Meat Sweats - Attempted Killer
* Mrs. Cuddles
* The Foot Clan
	+ The Shredder - Ancestor, Attempted Victim
	+ Foot Lieutenant
	+ Foot Brute

* The Krang
	+ Krang One
	+ Krang Two - Attempted Killer
	+ Krang Three
	+ Krang Zombies

* The Evil Six
* The Brownie Club
	+ Julia

## Quotes

* "My sons." - The catchphrase by him while calling the Turtles his sons
* "Hot Soup!" - The catchphrase used by him and his sons
* "My sons, our destiny begins tomorrow. And we're way behind." - Shadow of Evil
* "Gram-Gram needs quiet! Sorry." - Shreddy or Not
* "My family, I'm proud of each and every one of you. You're no longer children, you're true heroes! I wouldn't surprise me if someday someone made a movie about you. Oh! And blue, *you're* the leader now." - Rise
* "None taken. We're delicious." - Splinter as he eats popcorn
* "The Krang?! I've heard that name. Powerful and barbaric creatures worshiped by the Foot Clan. The legend says they came from the stars. Ruthless, unmerciful with one desire, to enslave the world like so many before us. All seemed lost, until great mystic warriors forged a mighty weapon, a key that was used to lock them in a prison dimension beyond this realm. Over the centuries, the mystic key remains hidden to protect humankind and prevent the return of the Krang." - Splinter's story of the Krang
* "That's payback!" - Splinter to Krang Two

## Trivia

* This is the fourth version of *TMNT* to have Hamato Yoshi mutate from a human to a rat, the first version being the 1987 TV series, the second version being the Archie Comics series loosely based on the 1987 series, and the third version being the 2012 TV series.
* Splinter is voiced by Eric Bauza, the same actor who voiced Tiger Claw in the 2012 TV series. There are multiple accounts of comparing his rat form to that of a tiger, as well as tiger wall art, that is believed to be a homage to this.
* Throughout most of Season 1, it is hinted that Splinter was once Lou Jitsu (and Hamato Yoshi).
	+ Throughout Lou Jitsu's appearances until "Shadow of Evil", Eric Bauza is credited as "Additional Voices" instead of "Lou Jitsu".
	+ Like with many celebrities, Splinter keeps copies of most of his merchandise. But the episode "Late Fee" suggests he may not have copies of all his own films, as he had rented one of his films and the episode's plot involved his sons' attempts to return it on time.
* Splinter's catchphrase is "Hot Soup".
* The name "Lou Jitsu" is a pun of the term *jiu jitsu,* an outdated romanization of the word *jūjutsu* (kanji: 柔術), which is the name of a Japanese martial art system. The former variation is still used in derivative arts, such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
	+ Lou Jitsu's name was ideated by *Rise of the TMNT* writer Ron Corcillo.
* According to an interview, the reason that Splinter seemed out of shape is without immediate the threat of the Shredder, Lou Jitsu's growing disgust for fighting, and (based on Draxum's comments) his fear of treating his sons as weapons, he had no exact reason for training the Turtles. However, after they learn about threats such as Draxum and the fact that the Foot Clan is planning to revive the Shredder, he begins training the Turtles more seriously.
* According to Leo in "Mystic Mayhem", Splinter always falls asleep after eating milk and cake.
* Lou Jitsu's eyewear as a human strongly resembles Kamina and Simon's glasses from *Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann*.
* While in Big Mama's Battle Nexus, Lou Jitsu briefly had a rat companion. This is a reference to previous incarnations of Hamato Yoshi having a pet rat that would later become Splinter.
* Lou Jitsu's jumpsuits were/are made from spandex ("Jupiter Jim Ahoy!").
* Out of the Turtles, Splinter refers to Donnie and Leo by their mask color the most.
* Lou Jitsu's difficulty coming up with good names for the Turtles as shown in a flashback ("Goyles, Goyles, Goyles") might be this continuity's explanation of why they wear different colored masks as opposed to the uniform red of the Hamato Clan.
* It is likely Splinter hasn't attempted to teach his sons Japanese, a result of his estrangement from his clan and its culture.
* The running gag of Splinter being unable to tell his sons apart (which is sometimes implied to be intentional teasing) is ironic given each Turtle is a different species in this continuity.
* Although some of Splinter's model sheets portray him wearing a patterned yukata, this design is never depicted in the show. It is, however, depicted in the *Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* comics (*Sound Off!*).
* It was revealed in April 2021 from *Rise of the TMNT* writer Corcillo in a Tweet that the explanation behind the difference in Lou Jitsu's natural voice versus his voice in film is the presence of English dubbing over the films from his Japanese era of work such as *Teriyaki Shakedown*. However, this difference turns into code-switching when Lou Jitsu is seen on a film set in a flashback and can be heard speaking with an Americanized accent ("E-Turtle Sunshine of the Spotless Mind").
	+ Code-switching (colloquially) is the act of marginalized communities, notably BIPOC, performing the mainstream culture in order to prevent ostracization and violence from others.
	+ Even currently, Splinter sometimes changes his voice to an Americanized accent (though not as strongly as in his films) when playing his recurring character, average teenager Randall, as part of his "being perceived as average" gimmick.
	+ These moments allude that, in-universe, Lou Jitsu's image could only be ethnic to a certain extent to be palatable for an American audience as determined by his talent manager, thus encouraging him to speak without his Japanese accent and use a stage name.

## Gallery

* Hamato Yoshi Gallery
* Hamato Yoshi Appearances