Giant Straw Hat in Mariejois – What Is It & Why Is It There? One Piece

The straw hat is a significant symbol in One Piece, especially with the unexpected reveal of the treasure of Mariejois.

Sharing almost equal amounts of screentime with our protagonist, the straw hat is central to One Piece’s plot. It is this piece of headwear passed down to Luffy by Shanks that motivated him to finally set sail.

While the straw hat was assumed to be an object with mere symbolic meaning, episode 885 showed us that this might not be the case.

The episode showed Im walking inside an ancient room in Mariejois, looking at a giant straw hat lying inside one of the seven archways present. With this shocking reveal, the fandom has been buzzing with theories about the possible owner of the giant straw hat and the reason behind its appearance at Mariejois.

1. Why is There a Giant Straw Hat in Mariejois?

There is a giant straw hat in Mariejois because it is their national treasure. According to Doflamingo, once revealed, this treasure is capable of shaking the world at its core and ushering in an era of chaos.

According to Doflamingo, a treasure capable of shaking the world at its core rests in Mariejois. In chapter 906, right after he talked about it, a mysterious figure, now identified as Im, was shown gazing at a giant straw hat.

This parallel has led the audience to believe that the secret of Mary Geoise, i.e., the national treasure, is none other than a gigantic straw hat.

While fans knew that the straw hat was important, they assumed it to be in terms of symbolism. What has been shown exceeds all of our expectations and makes us wonder what exactly a piece of headwear is capable of.

Let’s look at some of the most popular theories about the straw hat floating around in the fandom.

2. The Straw Hat Belongs to Joy Boy

Joy Boy was an extremely relevant figure of the Void Century, dating back to at least 800 years ago. It is assumed that he had intricate relations to the Ancient Kingdom and was related to the “D” clan.

However, what makes Joy Boy so important is that it is believed that he’s the one who left One Piece on Raftel.

Many fans theorize that the gigantic straw hat in Mariejois belonged to Joy Boy before his death.

After being killed during the Void Century by the 20 kings and failing to fulfill the promise he made with Poseidon, Joy Boy passed down his will (perhaps the will of “D”) in the form of a straw hat.

This straw hat was then kept on top of his coffin in Mariejois by Im.

This is one of the most popular theories in the fandom; however, a lot of points made here can be debated upon. For example, it seems that the straw hat is just within the archway, not on any coffin, per se.

Also, the idea of a merely symbolic hat to be the supposed national treasure of Mariejois doesn’t sit well. All in all, while it isn’t a sound theory, it is definitely interesting.

3. The Straw Hat Is Actually Uranus – Mr. Morj’s Theory

What if the giant straw hat we saw in Mariejois was not a straw hat at all?

The YouTuber, Mr. Morj, is well known for his theories in the One Piece fandom, and obviously, his recent theory on the gigantic straw hat has gained a lot of attention and support.

According to his theory, the three Ancient Weapons mirror the three forms of Haki. Pluton has the ability to cause mass destruction, similar to Armament Haki, while Poseidon has the ability to command sea kings, similar to King’s Haki.

In that pattern, the third Ancient Weapon, Uranus, must have an ability similar to Observation Haki, i.e., to see and hear everything, basically making its user near-omniscient.

Combining this hypothesis with the fact that Uranus is a Greek God that personifies heavens, i.e., the Holy Land, in this case, it makes sense that the last Ancient Weapon is in possession of the Celestial Dragons.

More specifically, Mr. Morj theorizes that Uranus is actually a weapon that can change its shape to an object that gives insight into the future and the threats that might appear.

With this power, Im is able to determine which light needs to be extinguished. It would also explain why we saw a giant straw hat (symbolizing Luffy’s growing threat as a member of the “D” clan) and the wanted posters carried by Im.

This theory is well thought out and has a lot of supporters; however, whether it actually resembles the truth is something only Oda knows.

4. The Straw Hat is the Family Heirloom of the “D” Clan

While not as popular as the others, this theory is fascinating and open to interpretation. It states that there are two particular straw hats that were owned by the twin rulers of the Ancient Kingdom, probably from the “D” clan.

These hats were a family heirloom passed from generation to generation and carried the will of “D.” Now, it is assumed that both of the straw hats carry different wills, one that wants the world to erupt in chaos, while the other searches for personal freedom.

As we all know, one straw hat is in possession of Luffy and can be considered to carry the “good and positive” will of “D,” while the other hat that carries that “negative” will, lies in Mariejois.

What is even more interesting is that this hat might be what Blackbeard is after since he is a “D,” and both him and Luffy have been portrayed as opposite sides of a spectrum, embodying different wills.

The beauty of the panel that shows us the giant straw hat is that we are given just enough pieces to imagine anything; however, whatever we theorize, is most likely to turn out wrong.

For example, some theories state that the straw hat belonged to the mermaid princess or that it was something Roger left after stealing the original treasure. There are even more outrageous ones stating that the straw hat belongs to the Yeti brothers or some giants in Elbaf.

No matter what, in the end, these are all just mere speculations that make for interesting debates and liven up the fandom. Do you have any theories about the gigantic straw hat that resides in Mariejois? Let us know in the comments below.

5. About One Piece

One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997, and has been collected into 95 tankōbon volumes.

The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, is Gol D. Roger. The final words he said at the execution tower were, “My treasures? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it; I left all of it at that place.”

These words sent many to the seas, chasing their dreams, headed toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece. Thus began a new age!

Seeking to be the greatest pirate in the world, young Monkey D. Luffy also heads toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece.

With his diverse crew joining him along the way, consisting of a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright, this will be one memorable adventure.