Master Roshi, in green-lensed glasses and with his staff in hand, wears a red shirt with a KAME patch and his purple shell on his back.

Master Roshi: The Hermit Who Invented the Kamehameha

CharacterMastersTurtle School

Master Roshi (Kame Sennin) is an elderly hermit, over three hundred years old, who lives at Kame House, a house built on a tiny island. With a turtle shell on his back, sunglasses on his nose and a staff in hand, he trained Grandpa Gohan and the Ox-King, then Goku, Krillin and Yamcha. He's the one who invented the Kamehameha. Here's a look back at his school, his Jackie Chun disguise, his death at the hands of King Piccolo, his muscular form and the voices that brought him to life.

With his frail, worn-out old-man look, Master Roshi hardly seems like a great master. Yet it's under his roof that Goku and Krillin become true fighters, and it's to him that we owe the Kamehameha. Here's the story of the hermit of Kame House, from his first appearance all the way to the Tournament of Power.

Contents

A Hermit Over Three Hundred Years Old on His Island

Master Roshi first appears in chapter 3 of the Dragon Ball manga, in late 1984. Goku and Bulma watch the turtle they brought back to the shore return across the sea, carrying on its back an old man who wears a turtle shell himself. In the anime, the meeting takes place in episode 3 of Dragon Ball, which aired in Japan on March 12, 1986.

His Japanese name, Kame Sennin, means “turtle hermit”; he also goes by the title Muten Rōshi, and in English he's known as Master Roshi, his name in Funimation's dub. In fact, the Japanese version never gives him a real name: Kame Sennin and Muten Rōshi are just titles. His look is modeled on Kami-sama, the god from Akira Toriyama's previous manga, Dr. Slump.

Bald, with a white mustache and beard, he almost always keeps his sunglasses on. He wears beachwear or a martial arts outfit, with a turtle shell on his back, and usually walks with a staff. He's over three hundred years old at the start of the series and offers several explanations for his longevity.

He lives as a hermit at Kame House, a house built on a tiny island in the middle of the sea, with Turtle, a sea turtle who has long been his loyal friend. The younger brother of the fortune-teller Baba, he was trained a few centuries before the story begins by the great master Mutaito. It took him three years to pass Korin's test; much later, he's stunned to learn that Goku did it in three days.

Master Roshi, staff in hand and flashing a V sign, stands on his sea turtle as it swims in front of the pink house marked Kame House.
Master Roshi riding on the back of Turtle, the sea turtle who lives with him, in front of Kame House, his home built on a tiny island in the middle of the sea.

🩳 On his island, Master Roshi likes to dress in beachwear; for your own days in the sun, slip into a pair of our Dragon Ball shorts.

Goku's Master and the Inventor of the Kamehameha

Master Roshi taught Grandpa Gohan and the Ox-King, then Goku, Krillin and Yamcha. To thank Goku for bringing his turtle back to the sea, he gives him the Flying Nimbus, a magic cloud. In both the manga and the Japanese version of the anime, he first wanted to have his phoenix grant the boy immortality, but the turtle reminds him that the bird died after eating a bad seed.

The hermit created the Kamehameha long before the start of Dragon Ball; it supposedly took him fifty years to perfect it. The technique's name evokes the Hawaiian king Kamehameha I and contains “kame,” turtle, a nod to its inventor. To put out the fire on Mount Frypan, Master Roshi fires one so powerful that it also destroys the Ox-King's castle. Goku immediately reproduces the technique: astonished, the old master decides to take him on as a student.

The old man has a well-known weakness: he's obsessed with pretty girls. He spends most of his time watching exercise shows on TV or buried in adult magazines. Early in the story, he gives Bulma his Three-Star Dragon Ball in exchange for a peek under the girl's nightgown, and Krillin later bribes him with naughty magazines to become his student.

His method relies on simple, repetitive exercises, performed with heavy turtle shells on their backs. Goku and Krillin's training starts at 4:30 a.m.: delivering milk, plowing fields with their bare hands, construction work and even studying. Students who graduate from his school often wear the kanji 亀, “kame” (turtle), on their gi.

Master Roshi, shirtless and bulging with muscle, crouches in blue pants and draws his hands back to his side inside a blue glow, under a fiery red sky.
In episode 8 of Dragon Ball, a muscle-bound Master Roshi charges up the Kamehameha that's meant to put out the fire on Mount Frypan.

🏷️ On a gi, the kanji 亀 instantly marks a Turtle School student; to show off the saga's symbols yourself, stick on one of our Dragon Ball stickers.

Jackie Chun, the Evil Containment Wave and Death at King Piccolo's Hands

At the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, Master Roshi enters disguised as “Jackie Chun,” a parody of Jackie Chan, to keep his students from winning. In the final, Goku turns into a Great Ape after looking at the full moon: Jackie Chun destroys the Moon with a Kamehameha to return him to his normal form. He then narrowly wins the final, thanks to having a little more energy and longer legs than Goku.

At the 22nd tournament, still in disguise, he forfeits in the semifinals against Tien Shinhan, whom he considers strong enough to test Goku in the final.

The Evil Containment Wave (Mafuba), a technique that seals a target inside a container, was created by Mutaito, Master Roshi's teacher, to imprison King Piccolo. When the demon returns, Master Roshi attempts the technique in turn, narrowly misses the container he meant to seal him in and dies, drained of his life energy. In the anime, this death is the focus of episode 111 of Dragon Ball, which aired in Japan on May 11, 1988. The hermit is brought back to life by the Dragon Balls after Goku's victory over King Piccolo.

At the start of Dragon Ball Z, when Raditz shows up, it's the hermit who passes on to a shaken Goku something Grandpa Gohan once confided: as a baby, Goku hit his head and lost his violent nature.

Master Roshi in a black outfit, eyes wide and mouth open, holds out his hands amid large swirling green streaks.
In episode 111 of Dragon Ball, Master Roshi attempts the Evil Containment Wave against King Piccolo: he narrowly misses the container meant to hold him and dies, drained of his life energy.
A man wearing a Master Roshi costume: orange shirt with lettering, white shorts, purple shell, white beard, glasses and flip-flops.

Step into the hermit's shoes

Dragon Ball Costume - Master Roshi

Master Roshi hid behind the guise of Jackie Chun; now it's your turn to dress up as the hermit of Kame House.

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Max Power and the Tournament of Power

By focusing, Master Roshi takes on his “Max Power” form: his muscle mass and height increase enormously, and so does his strength. This muscular form already exists in the Dragon Ball manga: he uses it to put out the fire on Mount Frypan, then to destroy the Moon at the 21st tournament.

In Dragon Ball Super, in both the manga and the anime, he's one of the ten fighters defending Earth's universe at the Tournament of Power. Yet the two versions tell the story of his tournament differently.

In the anime, he traps Dercori with the Evil Containment Wave, then pours all his energy into one last Kamehameha, which he announces as the greatest of his life, and knocks Ganos out of the arena: that's episode 105 of Dragon Ball Super, which aired in Japan on August 27, 2017. Exhausted after his fight with Frost, a warrior from Universe 6, he leaves the rest to Vegeta and lets himself drop out of the arena.

In the manga, he reads the moves of Kahseral, a fighter from Universe 11, and eliminates him. He then reminds Goku, who's struggling against Jiren, that you don't practice martial arts to win fights but to overcome yourself. Jiren eliminates him with a knife-hand strike to the neck, but the old master's lesson helps Goku unlock a new form.

In Dragon Ball Super, the hermit also teaches Goku the Evil Containment Wave so he can take on Future Zamasu; in the anime, Goku practices on the turtle all night long. And in Dragon Ball Daima, Master Roshi, like others, is turned back into a child by Gomah's wish to Shenron.

Master Roshi, in green-framed glasses and with a long white beard, frowns as Frost stands in the shadows right behind him.
In the anime, at the Tournament of Power, Frost appears behind Master Roshi; exhausted after their fight, the hermit will leave the rest to Vegeta and let himself drop out of the arena.

Kōhei Miyauchi, Mike McFarland and the Other Voices

In Japanese, Master Roshi is first voiced by Kōhei Miyauchi, who had already voiced Kami-sama in the Dr. Slump anime. He voices the character up to episode 260 of Dragon Ball Z, reportedly his last recording session before his death. Hiroshi Masuoka takes over starting with episode 288, then in Dragon Ball GT.

In July 1995, even before Masuoka took over, Masaharu Satō voiced him in the 13th Dragon Ball Z movie; he later returned to the role in Dragon Ball Kai (Dragon Ball Z Kai in English) and Dragon Ball Super. In Dragon Ball Daima, the hermit, turned back into a child, has a different voice: that of Nobuaki Kanemitsu.

In English, Mike McFarland voices him in Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, GT, Kai and Super, as well as in the movies, including Wrath of the Dragon and Battle of Gods. Jordan Dash Cruz voices his mini version in Crunchyroll's dub of Dragon Ball Daima. In other English dubs, Ian James Corlett voiced him in the first season of Ocean's Dragon Ball Z dub, and Dean Galloway in the Blue Water dub of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT.

Master Roshi at a Glance

Key fact Master Roshi
Japanese name 亀仙人 Kame Sennin, “turtle hermit”; title: Muten Rōshi
First appearance Chapter 3 of the manga, late 1984; episode 3 of Dragon Ball
Age Over three hundred years old at the start of the series
Students Grandpa Gohan, the Ox-King, Goku, Krillin, Yamcha
Techniques Kamehameha, Evil Containment Wave (Mafuba), Max Power form
Voices Kōhei Miyauchi, Masaharu Satō, Hiroshi Masuoka (Japanese); Mike McFarland, Jordan Dash Cruz (English)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Who invented the Kamehameha?
    Master Roshi, long before the start of Dragon Ball; it supposedly took him fifty years to perfect it. Goku reproduces the technique right away after seeing him put out the fire on Mount Frypan, which convinces the hermit to take him on as a student.
  • Are Master Roshi and Jackie Chun the same person?
    Yes. At the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, Master Roshi enters in this disguise to keep his students from winning, then brings it back at the 22nd to test them once again. He wins the first one against Goku; at the second, he forfeits in the semifinals against Tien Shinhan.
  • How old is Master Roshi?
    Over three hundred years old at the start of the series. According to the saga's data, he was born in the year 430.
  • Does Master Roshi die?
    Yes, most notably against King Piccolo: he attempts the Evil Containment Wave (Mafuba), narrowly misses the container he meant to seal him in and dies, drained of his life energy. He's brought back to life by the Dragon Balls after Goku's victory.
  • Does Master Roshi take part in the Tournament of Power?
    Yes, he's one of the ten fighters from Earth's universe. In the anime, he knocks Ganos out of the arena with one last Kamehameha; in the manga, he eliminates Kahseral before being eliminated by Jiren.
  • Who voices Master Roshi in English?
    Mike McFarland in Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Z Kai, Dragon Ball Super and the movies, and Jordan Dash Cruz for his mini version in Dragon Ball Daima. In Japanese, Kōhei Miyauchi was the first to voice him.

🏠 Kame House displays its name in big letters on its pink facade; to bring a touch of the saga to your own home, check out our Dragon Ball home decor.

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