The four words are based on chapter seven of Sun Tzu's Art of War, which dictates how one should conduct battle.

The same four kanji can be seen on a sign on the left-hand side of Ryu's stage in Street Fighter II. In some official Street Fighter II artwork, Ryu's belt has four kanji emblazoned upon it: kaze (風 wind), hayashi (林 woods), hi (火 fire) and yama (山 mountain) these four kanji make up the furinkazan. In many of his appearances, Ryu carries around a large, white duffel bag containing items important to his travels such as: clothing, plane tickets, passports, and local currency. Ryu's most recent appearance in Street Fighter IV has him in his original Street Fighter II outfit. Ryu's gi becomes increasingly tattered and aged throughout the game’s timeline, indicating its years of wear and tear. In Street Fighter III, Ryu has black hair, and facial stubble to show his growth in age. Ryu would not canonically receive his red headband until after a sparring session with Ken during this timeline. In the Street Fighter Alpha series, Ryu’s hair became a lighter shade of brown, and he retained the white headband which hearkens back to his appearance in the first Street Fighter.

Ryu's first appearance in the original Street Fighter replaced the red headband with a white one and depicted him with bright red hair, gray eyes, and red slippers. Ryu is portrayed as a Japanese man whose basic, and most recognizable attire from the Street Fighter II timeline consists of medium-length brown hair, brown eyes, a long, red headband a white karate gi with the sleeves ripped off at the shoulders, bare feet, and a black belt. 4.6 Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game.

4.5 Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.4.3 Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie.

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