Mugen

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. His name means without limitation, as the components of it are the characters for "without" and "limitation." His Japanese is quite rough and "Yanki"; and he is illiterate until later in the show. The exact date of his birth is unknown, and much of his past is shrouded in mystery. It also appears that he may be of Ainu origin, from the style of his clothes, and Mugen himself commenting 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. As for his parents, Mugen states that he never knew who they were in episode 20, "Elegy of Entrapment, Verse 1." The blue tattoos on his wrists and ankles indicate that he was once in prison.The circumstances of his imprisonment are unclear at first, but it is later verified that he was to be executed for engaging in piracy.