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"Hmm... You shall make an interesting opponent.

(ほぅ 面白い相手に巡り会うたわ Hou Omoshiroi aite ni meguriouta wa?)
"
—Gouken (Street Fighter IV series)

"Concentrate not on destroying your foe, but on attaining your own victory."

"A true fighter is one who can win, not defeat.
(真の格闘家とは倒すではなく、勝つことができる者よ Shin no kakutō-ka to wa taosude wa naku, katsu koto ga dekiru mono yo?)
"
—Gouken (Street Fighter IV series)

Gouken (ゴウケン (剛拳) Gōken?, "Constitutionality", "Strong Fist") is a character from the Street Fighter series who was originally featured in the 1993 manga Street Fighter II: Ryu before eventually appearing as a playable fighter in Street Fighter IV. He is a master martial artist and mentor to Ryu and Ken, as well as the older brother of Akuma.

Biography[]

Appearance[]

Gouken is most often depicted as an elderly yet very well-built man with a white beard and prayer beads around his neck. In his most recent Street Fighter IV appearance, Gouken wears a single sleeved, gray-colored karate gi and sports a long, white braid of hair adorned with a single prayer bead.

Alternate Costumes[]

Gouken's first alternate costume has his gi top removed; he now sports bandages on his forearms and a rope on his back, extremely similar to the one found on Akuma's first alternate costume.

Gouken's second alternate costume is an altered gi with a conical hat similar to those once worn by ashigaru, foot soldiers employed by the samurai of feudal Japan.

Gouken's third alternate costume is an outfit worn by the Yamabushi, who are Japanese mountain ascetic monks who followed the Shugendō doctrine.

Gouken's fourth alternate costume has him imagined as Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea.

Gouken's fifth alternate costume has him wearing a red leisurely haori with black pants and a drum hanging off the belt, while accessorized with black wrist guards and brown leather body straps similar to those of the aforementioned yamabushi with wings on the back and a tengu mask.

Gouken's Horror themed costume has him imagined as an "evil" counterpart; he wears but a brown loincloth and shorts, with chains bound on his right arm and left leg. On his chest is branded his symbolic kanji of "mu".

Personality[]

Gouken's personality is naturally that of the archetypical "master elder", which is common within general media related to martial arts; the "elder" personality type is evident in the same type of media (as well as Western media characters such as Pai Mei); despite this, he does have many aspects that do have him stand out as a character.

As stern and serious as he can be, Gouken is nonetheless enthusiastic in the nature of competition, being a spirited and modest good sport at heart. His approach is silent and calm, evocative of "zen" principles and he often shares insightful (if not also blunt and critical) advice and wisdoms to that effect. For example, he tells Dan that anger will not help him (fearing it would lead him to a dark place) and he informs Dee Jay that if he is silent, he would be surprised at what he learns. He is on good terms with people like Rose and Dhalsim, who share similar ideals and beliefs. Gouken detests his younger brother Akuma for killing their master, Goutetsu, and embracing the darkness that resides within their arts instead of seeking a more pure form of strength, specifically the Power of Nothingness. He also despises Bison for his use of Psycho Power, believing he endangered the world.

It is implied that he also has knowledge or at least familiar with other known combat forms, as he states the E. Honda's sumo techniques would be considered "sacrilegious" (in the former's own words) against the sumo traditions, making him one of three characters (including his former apprentice Dan and Rufus) to point this out.

Concept[]

While the earliest Street Fighter games made references to Ryu and Ken's master, Gouken made his first illustrated appearance in Street Fighter II: Ryu, Masaomi Kanzaki's manga adaptation of Street Fighter II. Since then, Gouken has appeared in several Street Fighter movies and comics, including UDON's Street Fighter line of comics, Akuma's ending in Street Fighter Alpha and the Street Fighter Alpha: Generations movie, as cameos. Before his illustration in Street Fighter Alpha, Gouken's appearance would differ vastly between media.

Gouken himself was based off Sheng Long, a character that originated from the infamous English mistranslation of Ryu's win quote from the early versions of the Street Fighter II series ("You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance"), which many speculated was referring to Ryu's master; it was intended to say "You must defeat my Shoryuken to stand a chance", while home console western releases of the later versions such as Super Street Fighter II say "You must defeat my Dragon Punch to stand a chance". April Fools jokes created by EGM in 1992 and 1997 actually provided an appearance for Sheng Long, which in turn directly influenced Gouken's current appearance. It should be noted that, prior to Street Fighter IV, Sheng Long was actually used as Gouken's western name in some media, similar to how his more notorious brother is referred to as either Akuma or Gouki depending on the region.

Gouken was finally introduced as a playable character in Street Fighter IV in response to fans demanding Sheng Long for years. One of his obtainable player titles states "AKA Sheng Long", and one of his win quotes even references the original quote ("You must defeat me to stand a chance").

His appearance is similar to the Shinto Kunitsukami deity Sarutahiko, who is considered the oldest of the patron gods of the martial arts in Japan, representative of purification, strength, courage, and is the guardian of the bridge that connects the earth to the heavens. His personality may also be reflective of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido and spiritualist who found enlightenment and spiritual harmony in his later years.

On March 2017, 25 years after the EGM article was published, Sheng Long was given a "joke" profile in the Shadaloo Combat Research Institute part of the Capcom Fighters Network website. The profile satirizes the Sheng Long rumor, stating that he became a living legend, he appears after consecutive draw games, his moves are impossible to counterattack and always register as counter hits and that anyone that sees him will die after 24 hours. After 32 years of being known as a rumor since Street Fighter II, Sheng Long finally makes his offical Street Fighter canon debut in Street Fighter 6 by Capcom as an NPC character you can meet in World Tour.

Character Relationships[]

Allies[]

Ryu[]

Ryu is Gouken's first disciple and adopted son. Gouken inspired him to be a martial artist and views him as a son, but soon no longer views him as a student, but as a rival, as he has gone far in his journey and is skilled enough to learn his own techniques. He also helped him overcome the Satsui no Hado in Street Fighter IV.

Ken[]

Ken is Gouken's second disciple and the son of his best friend. Gouken trained Ken when he was young, but no longer trains him currently, as, like Ryu, he is already skilled and views him as a rival due to this.

Dan[]

Gouken has little respect for his former disciple, kicking him out of the dojo once he realized that Dan's motivation was revenge on Sagat, fearing that it would lead him to a dark path. Gouken intended to stop Dan from ever fighting by sealing his fist but he couldn't bring himself to harm him and instead verbally told him to stop fighting.[4] In spite of this, Gouken would leave bits of advice to Dan whenever they encounter one another, as seen in his win quotes.

Retsu[]

Retsu is mentioned to be a friend of his.

Enemies[]

Akuma[]

SFIV-Akuma vs Gouken Trailer-1

Akuma (left) vs. Gouken (right)

Akuma is Gouken's younger brother and archnemesis. Gouken greatly despises him for embracing the Satsui no Hado and murdering their master Goutetsu in a mortal duel. Because of this, he does all he can to protect his former students Ryu and Ken from him, to the point where he willingly fought Akuma in a battle to the death so that he won't come after them.

Oni[]

Oni is the only being that has ever intimidated him, due to the demi-demon wielding fearsome power beyond imagination. It is implied Gouken knows very well this was what Akuma would become. By this time, Gouken considers his younger brother - or what he sees as formerly his brother, dead.

M. Bison[]

Gouken had fought against M. Bison in the past.[5][6] While Gouken may not be as familiar with the evil dictator compared to Ryu, Gouken is well aware of the dangers and influence that M. Bison poses to the world.

Story[]

Background[]

According to Capcom's official account of Akuma's backstory, Gouken and his younger brother Akuma were once students of Goutetsu, a practitioner of an art that was originally developed with the intention of killing an opponent, the origins of which are rooted back to Japan's feudal age. Goutetsu taught his skills to Gouken and Akuma. Eventually, the two men began to completely differ in the methods and usage of their fighting style.

Ryu & Gouken

Gouken takes Ryu under his wing.

Akuma became bent on completely mastering the killing and dark aspect of the art, and embraced it to the point of succumbing to the Satsui no Hado, or the "Surge of Murderous Intent" and wanted to further embrace it to his fullest extent to become more powerful. Gouken, on the other hand, developed his own style of the art and wanted to embrace the peaceful and spiritual aspect of the art, the Power of Nothingness, by removing the Satsui no Hado: turning fatal techniques such as the Hadoken and Shoryuken into tools for self-defense, removing their killing potential. After fully succumbing to the Satsui no Hado, Akuma fought and killed Goutetsu in a duel for not embracing it to his fullest extent and left behind both his master's dojo and his older brother in order to train by himself to grow even more powerful. Sometime before Goutetsu's death, Gouken found an abandoned orphan child, Ryu, and took him under his wing.[7]

Gouken would later take Dan Hibiki as his first pupil.[8] However, Gouken learned that the reason Dan wanted to learn this martial art was for revenge, and Gouken rejected him for his motives, fearing that his anger would lead him down a dark path.[9] Later during the summer, Ken Masters, who was sent from his father, a good friend of Gouken's, in order to learn humility and respect for a bright future.[10]

After Gouken began to train the two boys, Akuma made a sudden appearance at Gouken's dojo. There, Akuma challenged Gouken to a fight.[11] Akuma was soundly defeated by his brother, but Gouken spared his life even after Akuma's insistence that Gouken should kill him. After Akuma's arrival and departure, Gouken continued to train the two boys once more.[12]

Goukenudondeath

Gouken's apparent death by Akuma.

Eventually, time would pass, and as his students matured, Gouken found his two students graduating from his tutelage, adept enough to leave the dojo and travel the world to continue their studies to become better people. One night during his Zazen meditation session, M. Bison arrives at his dojo in order to find the heir to Ansatsuken.[5][13] Gouken expected that M. Bison would eventually come to him. However, he faced M. Bison with only his fists, not relying on moves such as Hadoken and Shoryuken, which resulted in himself losing to the dictator.[5][14] M. Bison noticed this and curses at Gouken for not showing his true power. He then comments on his two students - Ryu and Ken, being more willing to show Ansatsuken's true power and leaves.[5][15]Afterwards, Akuma reappeared at Gouken's dojo again and challenged his brother to a rematch. This time, Akuma ended up as the victor, supposedly killing him with the Shun Goku Satsu. However, because Gouken used a technique similar to Gen's and luckily emptied his soul of emotions, saving his life, and he was merely left in a deep coma. Due to his bloodied body and because he was unconscious for an extended period of time, Ryu and Ken believed their master to be dead, and put his body in a graveyard.

Super Street Fighter IV[]

SSFIV-Gouken Prologue-4

Gouken eager to test Ryu & Ken's strength.

After awakening two years later and rising out of his grave, Gouken leaves his dojo and tailed his students, pleased that they have come so far. However, he was not satisfied with just watching them and he decided to enter the new S.I.N. tournament in order to test their strength himself. Gouken successfully finds Ryu after Seth's defeat, and managed to seal the Satsui no Hado so he would never have to suffer with this power again.

SFIV-Akuma Ending-3

Gouken's appearance in Akuma's ending.

Akuma appeared afterwards, furious at Gouken for completing this task; Akuma felt that he would no longer have a chance to kill Ryu in battle (or vise versa). Akuma realizes the power Gouken used to seal it was nothing ordinary, but the Power of Nothingness. The two brothers then face off in another rematch, with control of Ryu's fate as the prize, with Gen witnessing the beginning of the fight in awe. The exact outcome of this fight is unknown, though it is known that both brothers survived and that Ryu does not go to Akuma, so it could possibly be implied that Gouken may have ultimately won. Afterwards, Ryu and Ken ask Gouken to stay with them for a while, but Gouken tells them that they are both grown men and no longer need a master.[16]

Street Fighter V[]

RyuStory4

Gouken in Ryu's character story

In Ryu's character story, Gouken fights Ryu in a sparring match, training him to control the Satsui no Hado within him. The two of them are later confronted by Rashid and his servant, Azam, as the former wants to challenge Ryu to test his mettle. Gouken gives Ryu some advice as he silently accepts Rashid's challenge. After Ryu's victory, Gouken tells Ryu to meet Ken, who has been concerned about him.

Street Fighter 6[]

Ryu talks about Gouken in World Tour. He gave Ryu a matching set of prayer beads but Ryu himself doesn't wear them as it affects his mobility.[17]

Gameplay[]

Fighting style[]

As the preceding master of the martial art that Ryu and Ken practice and wield in the series, Gouken is nonetheless the originator and peerless practitioner of the toned-down assassination martial art taught by Goutetsu. As seen in his moveset, Gouken has mastered the martial art to the point that he has grown to create techniques that better suit his own dynamics and philosophies, one that follows the use of both the Hado no Chikara and the Power of Nothingness for an effective and powerful form of self-defense, rather than the violent and destructive form of the martial art that his brother wields with the Satsui no Hado. This is most significant in his repertoire's spelling and dynamics; many of their kanji are those with more benevolent and less wrathful interpretations than ones seen in Akuma's, and they are performed in such ways where they are intended for knockout stopping force than maiming and severe injury.

Moveset[]

Gameplay-wise, Gouken's playstyle is representative of the martial arts concept of katsujinken (lit "fist/sword that gives life"), focusing on reading the opponent, being able to react and counter accordingly to their actions, and to react appropriately to an opponent's openings to unleash powerful attacks to the victory of the battle, and the application of the moral philosophies of mottainai and kaizen, being to "waste not, want not" and to be extremely frugal and efficient with one's movement and energy within battle to not only give one's all, but to make the most out of every advantage and go the distance to unleash big damage when the time and opportunity presents itself.

Compared in metagame to Ryu and Ken, Gouken's playstyle is rather unorthodox when it comes to Shotokan style characters, lacking punishing anti-airs and combo-ability; while a defensive character, many of his moves instead involve around controlling the flow of battle, enacting "mindgames" and goading the opponent to attack, countering incoming attacks, unique normals that can strike into hitboxes intended for specific attacks like Makoto, special attacks that have extremely specific uses for utility but can make for many uses and openings, creating openings for combos and crossups at irregular and uncommon but effective openings and hit confirms, effectively resetting constantly the neutral game to outright halt the opponent mentally, and to use his strength as hard-hitting punishment for these openings to stun and making up for his rigid mobility. In turn, Gouken is extremely reliant on meter to unleash his best attacks and potential.

While a character of advanced and rigid disposition who demands investment and dedication to play as; including extensive memorization, study, and training of his entire moveset to fully understand his weaknesses, strengths, and openings, awareness of his rather rigid speed, the use of spacing and tactical positioning, strategic awareness of the opponent and literal street fighting awareness to psychologically read movement and action, some manner of creativity, utilizing at full all game central mechanics to their advanced level, even a good mindset and training of the mind to rightfully engage in "flow" to play him at his optimal performance, even moreso than other characters, and at best requires a lot of experience with Street Fighter to play, he is nevertheless a powerful adversary in the hands of one who knows and can react quickly to the ins and outs of the game and with tools to immediately turn the tide back to their favor. In turn, much like Oro, he can be considered a much more advanced "Ryu" to play as, and it is best to also study and play as his graduate student to understand his more complex aspects.

Gouken is powerful enough to be capable of performing a Gohadoken with only one hand, is able to perform a similar Ashura Senku move, but with an offensive twist, the Senkugoshoha, has perfected an anti-aerial vertical Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, the Tatsumaki Gorasen, and has a powerful counter move, Kongoshin, that is able to counter nearly any attack with lightning-fast oppressive force. Furthermore, he shares the Airborne Tatsumaki Senpukyaku of his students from the Street Fighter II series and the Hyakkishu of his brother with a different variation, and shares his brother's Tenmakujinkyaku. His throw, Ama no Oroshi, is a simple subduing hug before Gouken tosses them into the air, and is useful for starting up aerial juggles.

As the master of the toned-down assassination art, Gouken appears to have specialized in the usage of the Shoryuken, to the point that they are only available as Super Combos and Ultra Combos, in the forms of the Forbidden Shoryuken, while his first Ultra Combo is the Shin Shoryuken, and the Hadoken, as using both hands allows him to perform the Denjin Hadoken with a greater deal of power.

As a Boss[]

His boss counterpart in Super Street Fighter IV, has powered up special moves quite similar to that of playable Gouken's EX moves and sports a light blue-green gi. Gouken's EX Senkugoshoha travels further, faster, and has Super Armor. The Gohadoken projectiles are immediately and fully charged, which means they always land two hits. The Kongoshin can react to both high and low hits, eliminating the need to guess. The Denjin Hadoken is also fully charged upon activation. Finally, while stronger due to being in boss character mode, his Shin Shoryuken has been upped to deal around 2/3rds of damage to a player's health.

Animations[]

Street Fighter TV series[]

Gouken also appeared in the Street Fighter episode "The World's Greatest Warrior", with his character design being similar to that in prior Street Fighter manga.

Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation[]

Gouken makes a cameo appearance in Ryu's flashback.

Street Fighter Alpha: Generations[]

Gouken and Akuma are training together under Goutetsu's teachings, at some point, Akuma had turned to the dark side to grow in power and throwing away his humanity for the Dark Hado after murdering Goutetsu, this event causes the two brothers' relationship to strain.

At some point, he takes in Ryu as a pupil along with Ken, and teaches them the art of Ansatsuken, he is eventually murdered by Akuma in front of Ryu who tried to help Gouken.

Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind[]

Gouken is seen in Ryu's flashbacks.

Live-action series[]

Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist[]

Gouken appears along with Ryu and Ken in Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist portrayed by Akira Koieyama, and Shogen as young Gouken.

Comics[]

Street Fighter II manga[]


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UDON comics[]

Although not exactly canon the comics have been influenced by the games and vice versa. Gouken's role in the UDON series is much the same as his in-game story as he teaches Ryu and Ken in the ways of Ansatsuken. During his younger days, Gouken committed himself to training after seeing his father murdered. The assailants were people who had a hatred for his father, who used the Dark Hado to murder his fellow former students of Goutestsu which included the leader of the bandit gang's father.

Gouken came to Goutetsu's dojo some years after seeing his mother's life fade away from an unknown sickness, Goutetsu agreed to teach him after hearing his reasons for learning Ansatsuken. After passing many trials and tests from Goutetsu's teachings, his final trial was to stay in the mountains with no food or water for days as a mental endurance test. Retsu reveals himself to Gouken and mentions another student of Goutetsu that had stayed in the mountains for the same ammount of time and tells Gouken that he has been in the mountains for ten days and thus, has reached enlightenment.

He takes Gouken outside of his cave and shows him the village of the bandits that murdered his father. Gouken, having no desire for revenge, did not go after them. He asked Retsu about the other student who was in the mountains with that lasted as long as he did. Retsu told him that it was his brother, Gouki, and tha he had come to an awakening of his own.

Gouken quickly made his way to the village, only to find that Gouki had killed almost everybody on it and set it in flames, Gouken found a woman with an infant in the burning bar. He saved the baby from the place before it burned to the ground. Gouken then raised the boy as his son and named him Ryu.

He teaches Ryu positive aspects of the art, sparing him from the darkness that would come from teaching him it's full arsenal of killing techniques (the side that embraces the Satsui no Hadō, or "Dark Hado"). He would also train the son of an American businessman, Ken Masters, much in the same way. At some point, he was visited by Retsu who told him the stories of what became of his brother. He told him that Gouki had casted away his humanity and became Akuma. Many villagers and fighters feared Akuma and thought of him as a demon that was cast down from the heavens to destroy everything.

After hearing about the place Akuma now lived, Gouken sets out on a personal journey to find him on the mountains near the waterfall, only to find that his brother had truly become a demon after all. Gouken offered Akuma some food, clothes and blankets, he implored his brother to come home with him, Akuma laughed it off instead, joking that their mother would still be alive had her being with Akuma instead, Gouken is enraged by Akuma and engages him in combat. After an attack with a Shin Shoryuken, Akuma falls near a waterfall, but holds off in the ledge, Gouken rushed to try pull him up, but Akuma denies his help, recites his father's old saying and lets go of the edge. He survives fall and climbs out of the river, promising to someday become something new.

Gouken maintains a different philosophy then that of his brother, his brother believing that the only true path to mastery and perfection can only be gained by throwing away humanity, love, loyality, and compassion. Gouken believes that true mastery can be achive through goodness, peace, and honor, and this eventually leads the brothers to argue over the future of Ryu's destiny.

Sometime after that event, Gouken was visited in the middle of the night at his dojo by another unwelcome visitor, whose aura was akin to that of a pure, threatening, empty shadow. Though he did not introduce himself, that entity was that of a younger M. Bison, and he demanded Gouken to show to him the techniques of Ansatsuken, having heard of its reputation through rumors and word of mouth. Forced to duel with the threatening figure, Gouken ultimately lost the fight, but won the battle, having held back and refusing to show Bison any of his techniques. However, Bison made word that he would one day encounter his two students, and ultimately reveal to him the secrets of Ansatsuken and its principles of Hadou; though beaten badly and fallen unconscious shortly afterwards, as if the events were nothing but a bad dream, Gouken knew irrevocably that his students would not be able to resist that fate of encountering Bison, and was driven to teach them to the best of his abilities in turn

During Ryu's absence from the dojo to attend the first Street Fighter tournament, Akuma murders Gouken by using the Raging Demon, unaware that Gouken used the Power of Nothingness to protect his soul. As Akuma seeks to have Ryu embrace the Dark Hado for the remainder of the comic series, Gouken remained absent. Ryu forces himself to not show the hatred that wells up within him, adhering to his master's precepts of humanity and respect for one's opponent. However, Ryu also yearns to avenge Gouken's death and honor, and will seek out Akuma at any cost.

This all comes to a head at the end of the Shadaloo tournment that Ryu is attending. Akuma intervenes before the final battle of the tournament between Ryu and Bison and destroys Bison's body so he may fight Ryu. The two clash but Akuma still overpowers Ryu. Before he can land the final blow, Gouken (using the Power of Nothingness) returns in time to save Ryu, expressing his pride, and engages a shocked Akuma. The two warriors battle to an unseen conclusion.

Gouken told Akuma to give up his pursuit on Ryu as he has shown that he is above the Dark Hado's evil. Akuma responds, stating that Ryu is not as pure as Gouken thinks. Akuma teleports next to Sakura to "prove" his point. Shocked that Akuma would go this far to get to Ryu, Gouken told him to keep her out of this. Akuma then teleports away, leaving Gouken in the snow.

Street Fighter: The Novel Where Strength Lies[]

SF Novel-Evil Ryu vs Gouken-2

Gouken using Shin Shoryuken on Evil Ryu.

After surviving Akuma’s Shun Goku Satsu, Gouken heard about Ryu attacking other fighters and waits at the Old Temple. Since this was where Gouken trained Ryu and Ken, he knew Ryu would return to this spot one day, even if his mind is clouded by the Satsui no Hado. Evil Ryu shows up and was at first stunned to see his master alive, but the Satsui no Hado prevented any more emotion to surface as that’s secondary to defeating Gouken.

During the fight, Evil Ryu lands a Shun Goku Satsu, but Gouken survives and continues to fight with the injuries. The damage limited Gouken’s attack options, so he resorted to Shin Shoryuken instead which K.O’s Evil Ryu. Even though Evil Ryu was down, the Satsui no Hado forced the body to continue to fight, and was about to land the finishing blow on Gouken until Ryu overcomes the Satsui no Hado and reverts back to his normal self. The scene ends with a teary-eyed reunion with his master.

Subpages[]

Quotes[]

Gouken/Quotes

Gallery[]

Gouken/Gallery

Sprites[]

Gouken/Sprites

Videos[]

Music[]

Title Game Artist Track
Street Fighter IV
Theme of Gouken Street Fighter IV Hideyuki Fukasawa
Theme of Gouken vs. Ryu Street Fighter IV Hideyuki Fukasawa

Trivia[]

  • In Gouken's win quote against the boss form of Oni, he doesn't give advice but instead says "Goodbye, brother". This implies that (he believes) his brother Akuma is gone or deceased since he finally became a full demon. Conversely, Oni says nothing after defeating Gouken in arcade mode and even explicitly states that he holds no human bonds to him, implying that (like his humanity) Oni estrange his former brother.
  • The kanji 無 (mu, "negative") on the back of Gouken's costume represents the Buddhist concept of emptiness, and is often associated with Gouken himself.
  • Although Gouken did not make an actual appearance in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, he is hinted in Ryu and Ken's flashbacks during their days as his students. He is referred to as "Goutetsu" in the closing credits for the film, probably because the movie was made before the names "Gouken" and "Goutetsu" were incorporated into the games.
  • Before the Alpha series, Gouken's death was portrayed in some materials to have been at the hands of Sagat or M. Bison. This was later changed in Alpha to him being "killed" by Akuma, and in IV, to be merely a duel that nearly killed him, but survived.
    • Gouken's death was never officially shown by Capcom. His death (and grave) was only shown in non-canon material. In SFA3, it's revealed that Ryu visits Gouken's grave once a year, however there's no scene of Ryu visiting the grave instead he's training in the same area he trained when he was young.[18]
  • There's speculations of Gouken having a biological, but unnamed, daughter. Her first appearance was in a short manga page from Gamest 013 (October 1987) where she pleads Ryu to stay with her instead of leaving with Ken to avenge his masters death.[19] This was created by former Gamest writer without the permission of Capcom.[20] Her last appearance was in the 1994 STREET FIGHTER II Memorial Movie Official Fan Book.[21] Capcom never denied nor confirmed any information about Gouken having a biological daughter, although none of these adaptations are considered to be canonical to the Street Fighter universe.
    • One of these speculations came from a old licensed Street Fighter manhwa (Chinese comic) which presents a woman called "Ojou" (which is more likely to be the term "Ojou-San", a polite way to call a young and beautiful girl in Japan), who was revealed to be Gouken's daughter.
    • Another speculation is towards a character called Fuka from Street Fighter Alpha Generations who has a strong resemblance of Gouken at his younger days. Fuuka also reveals that her biological father has died in a violent battle against a unknown opponent (which was possibly Gouken's fight against Akuma and the former's first near-death experience).

See also[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Street Fighter: World Warrior Encyclopedia Hardcover
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Ultra Street Fighter IV Profile Archived from The original
  3. 3.0 3.1 師弟 (Master and disciple) from Famitsu Super Street Fighter IV - Character Relationship chart & Street Fighter Memorial Archive: Beyond the World page 100 & 101.
  4. In the jet-black darkness, in the dojo where only the light of the candle flickered faintly, there was a figure of the two people sitting together as if they had met for the first time.
    Gouken: “Dan, what are you hiding?”
    Seeing Dan's silence while turning away from the question, Gouken slowly stood up.
    Gouken: “Then I have no choice but to seal your fist.”
    He walked up quietly, with his fist placed on his lap, and launched a punch. When Dan opened his eyes slowly, the thrust stopped in front of Dan's fist. As a teacher, there was no way that Gouken would be able to break the fist of his disciple.
    Gouken: “Dan, get away from me... and throw away your fists.”
    When he told him to turn his back, Gouken left the dojo, leaving Dan in tears. (漆黒の闇の中、ロウソクの明かりだけがほのかに揺らめく道場に、初めて出会った日のように、じっと対座する2人の姿があった。「ダンよ、お前は何を背負っている」 その問いに顔を背けて沈黙するダンを見て、ゴウケンはゆっくり立ち上がった。「ならばお前の拳、封じるしかあるまい」静かに歩み寄り、膝の上に置かれたダンの拳を目掛けて突きを放った。身をこわばらせたダンがゆっくり目を開けると、その突きはダンの拳の直で前止まっていた。 いやしくも師として、 教えを授けた弟子の拳を自らの手で砕くことなど、 ゴウケンいやしくも師として、 教えを授けた弟子の拳を自らの手で砕くことなど、 ゴウケンにできょうはずもなかった。「ダンよ、わしの前から立ち去れ・・・・・・そして、拳は捨てよ」 背を向けよう言い放つと、ゴウケンは涙を流すダンを残したまま、 道場を出ていった。 ) from All About Street Fighter ZERO page 345
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 All About Street Fighter ZERO page 346
  6. "A dark reddish moon illuminates the darkness, and there is a shadow of a man who goes deep into the mountains. As if all the creatures were lurking in the shadow of this man and holding their breath, the area was surrounded by tranquility. The man has been searching for Gouken who has a dojo in this mountain and continues his training." (やけに赤味を帯びた月が闇を照らす中、山の奥へと進む男の影があつた。すベての生き物がこの男の影にえ、じつと息を潜めているかのように、辺りは静けさに包まれていた。この山に道場を構え修 を続けるゴウケンを、 その男は探しめてきはのだ。 )
  7. "My earliest memories are of Master Goutetsu and Master Gouken. I remember Akuma training with them." Ryu's dialogue from Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind
  8. A young man was sitting in front of Gouken with his forehead touching the floor. For some unknown reason, the young man came to train under Gouken, who was trying to hone his skills in the remote mountains. Gouken saw it at first glance, that a rare fighting talent was hidden in this young man.
    Gouken: "Dan, what do you want from your fists?"
    The young man raised his head quietly to the words of Gouken, and answered with dignity.
    Dan: " Only, strength!" (ゴウケンの目の前に、その額を床に接するようにして、1人の若者が座っていた。どこで聞きっけたのか、人里離れた山奥で己の技にさらに磨きをかけんとするゴウケン のもとに、教えをおうと若者はやってきたのだった。一目みてゴウケンは見抜いた。こ の若者の中に、 類稀な闘いの才能が秘められていることを・・・・・・。「ダンとやら、お前はるの拳に何を求める」そのゴウケンの言葉に若者は静かに頭を上げ、凛としてこう答えた。「ただ、強さのみ!」) from All About Street Fighter ZERO page 345
  9. Some time has passed since Gouken became interested in Dan's talent and accepted him as his apprentice. As Gouken said, Dan steadily blossomed his talent, but something was wrong. He always clings to his unleashed fists, a feeling of longing that burns conspicuously, and impatience as if driven by something... Gouken's goal wasn't beyond Dan's fist.
    Gouken: "Maybe I made a mistake..."
    Gouken said with determined eyes. (ゴウケンがダンの才能に興味を持ら、弟子として迎え入れてから、いくばくかの月日が流れていた。ゴウケンのんだ通り、ダンは着実に才能を開花させていったが、なにかが、おかしかった。繰り出される拳に常にっきまとう、ひときわ燃え上がるような憧悪の念と、何かに駆り立てられるかのような焦り・・・・・・。ゴウケンの目指すの心は、ダンの拳の先にはなかった。「わしは誤ったのかもしれん・・・・・・」ゴウケンは何かを決意した目で、そういた。) from All About Street Fighter ZERO page 345
  10. Ken: "It's already summer, why is the water here so cold. My hands are freezing." 「もう夏になるってのに、なんでこんなに冷たいんですか、ここの水。手が凍っちまう」from Gouken's Street Fighter IV Prologue
  11. There were boys who stared at the fight between these two people without blinking. It was Ken. In spite of the unending relationship, there were still ripe boys, and they could only believe in the master's victory.(この2人の闘いを, 份らで瞬きひとつせず見つめる少年たちがいた。 ケンであつた。絶な関いに, まだ熟な少年たちが人りく, 2人はただ師匠の勝利を信じて見るしかなかつた。) from All About Street Fighter ZERO page 350
  12. Suddenly within the starting rain, this fight thought to continue unknowingly over, it was seen that the conclusion was merely Gouken’s surpassing fist which brought the mysterious man face down onto the ground.
    Akuma: "Your life, surely, surely I will take and receive!"
    A moaning voice immediately rose to a call, after the man’s form disappeared in an instant, the mountain was regaining its original stillness. Gouken came running up brushing down his students’ heads, looking up to the sky as he spoke.
    Gouken: "That man’s power will someday exceed mine, a great disaster will befall the two of you… unless before my power weakens you are taught… all that is of my fist, the power of hadou!" from All About Street Fighter ZERO page 350
  13. The shadow of the man was caught in front of Gouken, who was in the stage of Zen meditation, in the light of a candle that broke the way.(いつの間につてきたのか、道をらすロウソクの明かりの中、1座禅を組むゴウケンの前にその男の影はあつた。)
  14. Gouken expected that this wicked man would eventually come to him. However, while facing the man, he realized his incomparable power, and fought with his fists without dare to use the invincible rising dragon and the strongest wave power. Don't let the man catch the secret of your fist...(この邪悪な気をまとつた男が、いずれ自分のもとにやつてくることをゴウケンは予期していた。が、その男と向き合つた間、その比類なき力を悟り、無敵の昇り竜・最強の波動の力を敢えて使うことなく、拳をえ交たのだつた。己 の拳の極意をその男にさとられぬ様に・・・・・・ 。 )
  15. "You bastard, are you not going to show your true power...... well then......let's have your disciples show me that technique." the man said, with a fearless smile(「貴様、あくまでその真の力を見せぬつもりか・・・・・・まあよい・・・・・・ならばその技、貴様の弟子たちに見せてもらうとしよう」不敵な笑みを浮かベて、その男は言つた。)
  16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLE9CV8JuCk
  17. Ryu: "It was a long time ago at this point, but I trained under a master once."
    Ryu: "I learned a lot about living, about the etiquette of fighting, but never have I experienced more intense training."
    Ryu: "To this day, I get a bit nervous whenever I meet with my master."
    Ryu: "He gave me a matching set of prayer beads, but they don't do my mobility any favors. I'm not sure how he manages."
    Ryu's dialogue from World Tour Mode.
  18. All About Street Fighter ZERO3 page 024 "A natural-born street fighter who seeks the true warrior path. Unemployed and without a residence. Once a year, he returns to castle Suzaku to visit the grave of his master Gouken." (真の格闘家を目指す生粋のストリートファイター。住所不定、無職。一年に一度は師匠ゴウヘケンの墓参りのため、幼いころからの修行の場だった朱雀城に帰ってくる。)
  19. Street Fighter manga published in Gamest 013 (October 1987) drawn by Kiyoshi Utata. page 22, 23 & 24.
  20. Game Dream Area 51, "Transition Art Dot Works [Interview]" 2011, p. 216.
  21. STREET FIGHTER II Memorial Movie Official Fan Book
Street Fighter series Playable Characters
Main Series
SF Logo Ken · Ryu
Street-fighter-ii-logo The World Warrior Blanka · Chun-Li · Dhalsim · E. Honda · Guile · Zangief
Champion Edition Balrog · M. Bison · Sagat · Vega
Super Cammy · Dee Jay · Fei Long · T. Hawk
Super Turbo Akuma
Ultra Violent Ken
SFAlogo Alpha Adon · Birdie · Charlie Nash · Dan · Guy · Rose · Sodom
Alpha 2 Evil Ryu · Gen · Rolento · Sakura · Shin Akuma
Alpha 3 Cody · Juli · Juni · Karin · R. Mika
Alpha 3 Upper Eagle · Maki
Alpha 3 MAX Ingrid
Street fighter iii logo New Generation Alex · Dudley · Elena · Ibuki
Necro · Oro · Sean · Yang · Yun
2nd Impact Gill · Hugo · Urien
3rd Strike Makoto · Q · Remy · Twelve
Street fighter iv logo IV Abel · C. Viper · El Fuerte · Gouken · Rufus · Seth
Super Hakan · Juri
Arcade Edition Oni
Ultra Decapre · Poison
SFV-Logo-R-3 V F.A.N.G · Laura · Necalli · Rashid
Season 2 Abigail · Ed · Kolin · Menat · Zeku
Season 3 Falke · G
Season 4 Kage · Lucia
Season 5 Akira · Eleven · Luke
Street fighter 6 logo 6 Jamie · JP · Kimberly · Lily · Manon · Marisa
Year 1 A.K.I.
Year 2 Mai (Guest) · Terry (Guest)
Spin-offs
Street Fighter The Movie Logo Arkane · Blade · F7 · Khyber · Sawada
Street-fighter-ii--the-animated-movie Cyborg
Sfexlogo EX Allen · Blair · C. Jack · Darun · D. Dark
Hokuto · Kairi · Pullum · Skullomania
EX Plus Bloody Hokuto · Cycloid-β · Cycloid-γ · Garuda
EX2 Hayate · Nanase · Shadowgeist · Sharon
EX2 Plus Area · V. Rosso
EX3 Ace · Bison II
Marvel vs. Capcom Logo MSHvSF Cyber-Akuma · Dark Sakura · Mech-Zangief · Shadow
MvC Shadow Lady
SFO Shin
Street Fighter IV Characters
Original Abel · Akuma · Balrog · Blanka · Chun-Li · C. Viper · Dhalsim · E. Honda
El Fuerte · Guile · Ken · M. Bison · Rufus · Ryu · Sagat · Vega · Zangief
Console Cammy · Dan · Fei Long · Gen · Gouken · Rose · Seth · Sakura
Super Adon · Cody · Dee Jay · Dudley · Guy · Hakan · Ibuki · Juri · Makoto · T. Hawk
Arcade Edition Evil Ryu · Oni · Yang · Yun
Ultra Decapre · Elena · Hugo · Poison · Rolento
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