What is the meaning behind Ginji's vow to Yukio?


In final arc of the second season of _Black Lagoon_ , in Episode 20 "The
Succession", when Ginji swears his loyalty to Yukio, heir to the Washimine
group, he says, "although I'm unworthy, I am Matsuzaki Ginji, acting boss of
Washimine group. Please allow me to protect you with all seven of my
incarnations."

What does he mean by "all seven of my incarnations?" Is it a religious
reference or something else?

Where does this phrase originate from?

![Seven](https://i.stack.imgur.com/J0kDY.jpg)




There are a few distinct mentions of cases of the _Seven Incarnations_ , which
are each plausible in their own rite.

# Notable mentions of incarnations

**Incarnations of Immortality**  
The [_Incarnations of
Immortality_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnations_of_Immortality) is a
series in which seven books each focus on a single
[_incarnation_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnations_of_Immortality#Characters),
a mortal which becomes the personification of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature,
Evil, or Good. Most people feel the effects caused by one or more of these
incarnations. So, _Black Lagoon_ may be referring to how Ginji is affected or
composed of each of these seven things; he could be more or less saying,
"Please allow me to protect you with my entire being."

**Vishnu's incarnations**  
The second possibility is a reference to [Vishnu
Purana](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu_Purana), a religious Hindu text.
According to legend, Vishnu created incarnations of himself to eradicate evil
and balance the world. Vishnu Purana states that there are seven such
incarnations1:

> Vishnu Purana says that there were seven incarnations of Vishnu including
> Yajna, Ajit, Satya, Hari, Manas, Vaikuntha, and Vamana.
>
> — _Mythology of Vishnu and His Incarnations_ , pp. 44–45

These incarnations allow him to become Supreme God2. Thus, Ginji may be
stating that he will use any power (the incarnations) available to him to
protect Yukio.

**However** , based on how Ginji phrases this in the manga, these two
possibilities seem unlikely.

[!["\[I request\] to protect you for the entirety of \[my\]
life."](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mxOq4l.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mxOq4.jpg)  
_(Black Lagoon, chapter 27, pp. 17)_

# Buddhist incarnations

One of [Buddhism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism)'s more significant
points is their concept of reincarnation, or
[rebirth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebirth_\(Buddhism\)). In Buddhism, as
you are born and reborn, you fulfill a cycle known as the "Cycle of Life".
However, you must be born seven times (in any form) to achieve
[moksha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha), a liberation from this cycle
(which eventually leads to the ultimate peace:
[nirvana](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana)).

> Calm and unmoved the Pilgrim glideth up the stream that to Nirvâna leads. He
> knoweth that the more his feet will bleed, the whiter will himself be
> washed. He knoweth well that after seven short and fleeting births Nirvâna
> will be his....
>
> — _The Voice of the Silence_ , pp. 69

As you can can conclude, this cycle involves going through seven incarnations,
each of the births that you endure, before achieving nirvana. In some forms of
Buddhism, these components are believed to be partial aggregates of your
consciousness, thus could be considered a large portion of your "whole" being.

What makes this the most plausible explanation is that Ginji is a member of
the Yakuza. Many Yakuza are focused around the ways of the samurai and their
teachings. In Japanese history, samurai were largely centered around
[Zen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen), a form of Buddhism3.

Putting this Zen relationship in context with the manga, which states that
Ginji will "protect [her] for the entirety of his life", we can conclude that
Ginji intends to spend all seven of his rebirths protecting Yukio.

# Footnotes

1 Wikipedia has [an extensive
list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar#Avatars_of_Vishnu), but according to
the Vishnu Purana, only seven of these avatars truly exist.  
2 Further reading: [Vishnu,
Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#Vaishnava_canon)  
3 Further reading: [The Religion of the Samurai](http://www.holybooks.com/wp-
content/uploads/The-Religion-of-the-Samurai-free-ebook.pdf)




There are a few distinct mentions of cases of the _Seven Incarnations_ , which
are each plausible in their own rite.

# Notable mentions of incarnations

**Incarnations of Immortality**  
The [_Incarnations of
Immortality_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnations_of_Immortality) is a
series in which seven books each focus on a single
[_incarnation_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnations_of_Immortality#Characters),
a mortal which becomes the personification of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature,
Evil, or Good. Most people feel the effects caused by one or more of these
incarnations. So, _Black Lagoon_ may be referring to how Ginji is affected or
composed of each of these seven things; he could be more or less saying,
"Please allow me to protect you with my entire being."

**Vishnu's incarnations**  
The second possibility is a reference to [Vishnu
Purana](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu_Purana), a religious Hindu text.
According to legend, Vishnu created incarnations of himself to eradicate evil
and balance the world. Vishnu Purana states that there are seven such
incarnations1:

> Vishnu Purana says that there were seven incarnations of Vishnu including
> Yajna, Ajit, Satya, Hari, Manas, Vaikuntha, and Vamana.
>
> — _Mythology of Vishnu and His Incarnations_ , pp. 44–45

These incarnations allow him to become Supreme God2. Thus, Ginji may be
stating that he will use any power (the incarnations) available to him to
protect Yukio.

**However** , based on how Ginji phrases this in the manga, these two
possibilities seem unlikely.

[!["\[I request\] to protect you for the entirety of \[my\]
life."](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mxOq4l.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mxOq4.jpg)  
_(Black Lagoon, chapter 27, pp. 17)_

# Buddhist incarnations

One of [Buddhism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism)'s more significant
points is their concept of reincarnation, or
[rebirth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebirth_\(Buddhism\)). In Buddhism, as
you are born and reborn, you fulfill a cycle known as the "Cycle of Life".
However, you must be born seven times (in any form) to achieve
[moksha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha), a liberation from this cycle
(which eventually leads to the ultimate peace:
[nirvana](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana)).

> Calm and unmoved the Pilgrim glideth up the stream that to Nirvâna leads. He
> knoweth that the more his feet will bleed, the whiter will himself be
> washed. He knoweth well that after seven short and fleeting births Nirvâna
> will be his....
>
> — _The Voice of the Silence_ , pp. 69

As you can can conclude, this cycle involves going through seven incarnations,
each of the births that you endure, before achieving nirvana. In some forms of
Buddhism, these components are believed to be partial aggregates of your
consciousness, thus could be considered a large portion of your "whole" being.

What makes this the most plausible explanation is that Ginji is a member of
the Yakuza. Many Yakuza are focused around the ways of the samurai and their
teachings. In Japanese history, samurai were largely centered around
[Zen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen), a form of Buddhism3.

Putting this Zen relationship in context with the manga, which states that
Ginji will "protect [her] for the entirety of his life", we can conclude that
Ginji intends to spend all seven of his rebirths protecting Yukio.

# Footnotes

1 Wikipedia has [an extensive
list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar#Avatars_of_Vishnu), but according to
the Vishnu Purana, only seven of these avatars truly exist.  
2 Further reading: [Vishnu,
Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu#Vaishnava_canon)  
3 Further reading: [The Religion of the Samurai](http://www.holybooks.com/wp-
content/uploads/The-Religion-of-the-Samurai-free-ebook.pdf)

