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The Emperor

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This article is about the character. For other uses, see Emperor (disambiguation).
The Emperor

The Emperor KHII.png

Rōmaji Kōtei
Voice actors (Ja:) Osamu Kobayashi (voice actor)
(En:) Pat Morita
Homeworld The Land of Dragons
Origin Mulan (1998)
Game Kingdom Hearts II
The Emperor

Kingdom Hearts II
Mulan (1998)

The Emperor rules China with wisdom that's said to be as vast as the ocean, and with a resolve that's as unshakable as a mountain.

He is deeply grateful to Mulan and Captain Shang for saving China from the Huns.
"You're a young woman. And in the end... you have saved us all."
—The Emperor praising Mulan

The Emperor is the ruler of The Land of Dragons in Kingdom Hearts II. Though not powerful by skills, he is wise beyond imagination, and his role to maintain order and peace is very important. Li Shang serves him as his royal protector.


Kingdom Hearts II[edit]

Shan-Yu formed an army and tried to overthrow the Emperor using Heartless, but the Emperor was saved by Li Shang, Mulan, and Sora in the first visit.

In the second visit, he was encountered by Riku, in his Organization attire, while his country was under attack by the Storm Rider and an Organization member, Xigbar. However, after Sora and Mulan defeated the Heartless, his world was safe again, and he requested that Mulan serve beside him as Shang's partner.


The Emperor is an old, thin man with a long white beard and mustache. His eyes are black and his eyebrows are white and bushy. His hair is also white, though most of it is tucked into the hat or crown that he wears. His hat is rectangular with a red base with a sky blue oval in its center, a yellow upper half, and a thin, rectangular, black strip of stiff cloth on the top. His earlobes are slightly elongated.

The Emperor dresses in elegant robes with black cuffs and Furisode-esque sleeves and a wide, black obi-like sash. His upper robes are mostly yellow on both the inside and the outside, though the outside of his high collar is black. There is also a black and red criss-crossing pattern going over each of his shoulders. His lower robes are mostly brown, though they are tan at the base. A magenta "outline" of rectangular cloth is present over the front of the lower robes.


The prominent aspect of the Emperor is his vast amounts of knowledge and justice; the Emperor is one of the most judicious characters in the series. Contrary to his exterior the Emperor is frank about certain topics, as seen in telling Shang's tactics of winning Mulan over are wrong.


The Emperor first appeared in Disney's 1998 animated film Mulan. In the film, the Emperor is attending a meeting with his generals, where General Li reports that the Huns have invaded China. Though his advisor Chi-Fu displays doubt of the feat, the Emperor takes this information seriously once he learned that the Huns' leader is the warlord Shan-Yu. General Li prepares additional guards to protect the Emperor, but the Emperor instead orders that his people must be protected first. In preparations for war, the Emperor then sends Chi-Fu to distribute conscription notices to every family in China, which would require one man from each family to serve in the army.

Near the end of the movie, the Emperor is kidnapped by Shan-Yu and is held at sword point. Shan-Yu attempts to force the Emperor to bow to him, but the Emperor refuses to submit to the his threats. With the combined efforts of Mulan and her friends, they were able to rescue the Emperor, and have Chien Po escort him to safety. Once Shan-Yu was defeated, the Emperor confronts Mulan on her various crimes, but nonetheless thanks her for saving him and all of China with a bow. In addition, he offers her a position on his council, but she politely declines. Understanding, he decides to reward her with his royal crest and Shan-Yu's sword instead. After she leaves, the Emperor subtly encourages Li Shang to pursue a romantic relationship with Mulan.