

_Monkey: Journey to the West_ by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century is regarded
as one of the 4 great classical novels of China (at least according to
Wikipedia). I have read that Son Goku ( _Dragon Ball_ ) is directly inspired
by Sun Wukong as _Dragon Ball_ was originally supposed to mirror _Journey to
the West_ (and of course deviated from this). While I don't know if that is
true, I know Oda lists the _Dragon Ball_ series as a major inspiration.

Is Monkey D. Luffy the man aiming to become the King of the Pirates named
after Sun Wukong: the Monkey King?

Update: I apparently overlooked that Sun Wukong (Chinese) is referred to as
Son Goku (Japanese).


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one-piece
Is Monkey D. Luffy named after Sun Wukong?


I don't think so. The novel is called _Journey to the West_ , and _Monkey_ is
the name of a translation into English that became popular that shifted more
of the focus onto the Monkey King, Sun Wukong.

It is possible, but Goku was literally given the Japanese name of the Monkey
King and had the ability to change into a Giant Ape and the magical staff of
the Monkey King, whereas for Luffy it is just his family name, that he shares
with Garp and Dragon.

I don't think he is named after this story, there are many stories in the Far
East about a handful of animals such as monkeys, dragons and tigers, often the
monkeys in the stories will have similar traits, like being playful and
strong.

Many characters in _One Piece_ have animal themes, notably the original
Shichibukai and Admirals, and they all act/appear in a way that suits their
animal to some extent, Mihawk hunting Krieg in his first appearance,
Doflamingo being flamboyant.

I think Luffy was just given the name Monkey to highlight his monkeyish
characteristics.


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I believe so. Luffy's primary attack involves manipulating the size of his
arms, similar to the staff of Sun Wukong. They're both useless in water. Also,
the Pirate King thing is very much like Sun Wukong's "Equal to the heavens"
schtick.


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There is one Monkey King in _One Piece_ , not Luffy. He is the leader of
[Coffee Monkeys](https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Coffee_Monkeys) and he
appears in episode 395.

![Screenshot of Monkey King in One
Piece](https://i.stack.imgur.com/AlwRk.jpg)]


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