What Every Domain Expansion Hand Sign Means In Jujutsu Kaisen

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The spiritual meanings behind all of the domain expansion hand signs
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The world of Jujutsu Kaisen is filled with spiritual references and inspirations. The domain expansion hand signs are an example, as each of them call on different Buddhist and Hindu deities or practices. It’s tough to recognize what the domain expansion hand signs mean, especially if you aren’t aware of Buddhist and Hindu mythology. In this article, we dive into all of the domain expansions in Jujutsu Kaisen and explain what they mean. Be warned, there are spoilers ahead.

Section 1 of 4:

All 13 Domain Expansion Hand Signs and Their Meanings

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  1. Enmaten, also known as Yama, is the God of Death in Hindu mythology, much like how Sukuna is considered the King of Curses. Sukuna’s Malevolent Shrine is an open domain that cleaves everything in its path, so it makes sense that he invokes Enmaten considering the similarities in power. [1]
    • How to Perform: Curl your index and pinky fingers on each hand together, straighten your middle and third fingers and press them together.
    • Both Sukuna and Enmaten are former humans who became deities in death.
  2. 2
    The hand sign Satoru Gojo uses for Unlimited Void represents Taishakuten-In. Gojo has one of the strongest domain expansions in the Jujutsu world, so it makes sense that the hand sign used to activate it invokes Taishakuten. Taishakuten-In, also known as Śakra and Indra, is a Hindu god who has been incorporated into Buddhism as one of its greatest protectors. [2]
    • How to Perform: Curl your thumb, pinky, and third finger together, hold your index finger straight up, then curl your middle finger around your index finger.
    • Taishakuten defends both deities and humans from evil, similar to how Gojo uses his overwhelming power to protect jujutsu sorcerers and humans from curses.
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  3. 3
    Jogo’s Coffin of the Iron Mountain ironically invokes Daikokuten. To activate his Coffin of the Iron Mountain domain expansion, Jogo uses a hand sign referring to Daikokuten, the deity of fortune, health, agriculture, and war. While Daikokuten represents wealth and good fortune, Jogo represents destruction and wrath, making for an ironic invocation. [3]
    • How to Perform: Bring your hands together and cross both of your index and third fingers together. Then, press the tips of your middle fingers together and align your pinkies with the crossed third fingers.
    • Daikokuten is the fusion of two other deities, Shiva the Destroyer from Hinduism and Ōkuninushi-no-Kami, the Japanese god of medicine, protective magic, and the underworld.
  4. 4
    Megumi Fushiguro invokes Yakushi Nyorai-In when he activates his Chimera Shadow Garden. Megumi is a special case, as his Domain Expansion is an extension of his Ten Shadows technique. The Ten Shadows technique allows Megumi to summon 10 shikigami of his choice, with the most powerful being Mahoraga. Mahoraga is also the name of one of the 12 Heavenly Generals who serves Yakushi Nyorai-In (also known as Bhaișajyaguru), making for a direct relationship between Megumi and the deity. [4]
    • How to Perform: Bring your hands together and cross your index and middle fingers into each other while pressing the tips of your thumbs against each other.
    • In Chinese Buddhism, Yakushi Nyorai is a guardian who’s used to overcome physical, mental, and spiritual sickness.
  5. 5
    The upper hand sign for Mahito’s Self-Embodiment of Perfection represents Nyorai. Nyorai, originally known as Tathāgatha in the Pali Canon of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, represents Gautama Buddha’s ascension beyond the human condition, specifically the endless cycle of rebirth and death. This is similar to how Mahito is considered the perfect human being in his own eyes.
    • How to Perform: Cross your fingers together but leave space between your palms. Press your pinkies together.
    • Mahito’s domain expansion allows him to alter the soul of anyone caught in it, spelling out certain death for most of his enemies.
  6. 6
    The lower hand sign for Mahito’s Self-Embodiment of Perfection refers to Kujaku-Myoo. Kujaku-Myoo is called Mahamayuri in Mahayana Buddhism and was originally a peacock who targeted humans. They were nearly killed by Buddha after eating him, just like how Mahito was almost killed after touching Sukuna’s soul. Buddha redeemed the deity after they promised to renounce their habit of eating humans. Mahamayuri now assists Buddha in different forms, just like how Mahito assists Kenjaku with his body-morphing abilities. [5]
    • How to Perform: Curl your index fingers and thumbs into each other, then press the rest of your fingers together.
    • Mahamayuri eats poison and can eat all of the toxic chemicals in someone’s body, symbolizing health and detoxification.
  7. 7
    Yuta Okkotsu’s Authentic Mutual Love hand sign is linked to Dākini, the flesh-eating demon. In early Buddhist and Hindu texts, Dākini was a race of demons who ate human flesh. Dākini is considered the female embodiment of enlightened energy, similar to how Yuta’s love, Rika, became a cursed embodiment of their love after her death. Okkotsu’s domain expansion summons an infinite number of katanas, with each containing a random cursed technique that’s guaranteed to hit the target. [6]
    • How to Perform: Clench your left fist, straighten your right hand and curl your thumb into the edge of your palm.
    • The katanas are destroyed after being used once.
    • The cursed techniques within the katanas can only be activated by Yuta.
  8. 8
    Dagon’s Horizon of the Captivating Skandha is based on Budai’s infinite treasure bag. While the hand sign is unrelated, Dagon’s domain expansion is based on Budai’s (also known as the Laughing Buddha) infinite bag of treasures. Like Budai, Dagon summons an infinite horde of shikigami fish that he launches at his opponent when he activates his domain. [7]
    • How to Perform: Press your hands together, curl your fingers into each other, and align your thumbs with the sides of your hands.
    • Since his fingers were cut off in battle, Dagon had to draw a cursed seal to complete his technique.
  9. 9
    Yuji Itadori’s unnamed domain expansion hand sign represents Jizo Bosatsu-In. Jizo Bosatsu-In (also known as Kshitigarbha) is the Buddhist guardian deity of children and travelers, so it makes sense that Yuji invokes him. From the start of the Jujutsu Kaisen story, Yuji has vowed to help people with his power and guard those he cares about, just like Jizo Bosatsu-In’s inherent protective nature. [8]
    • How to Perform: Curl your fingers into each other and straighten your index fingers.
  10. 10
    Kenjaku uses an anti-forked palm for his Womb Profusion domain expansion. The anti-forked palm Kenjaku uses for his Womb Profusion technique is one of the 18 palm movements used for meditation in esoteric Buddhism. This alludes to the fact that he knows many types of sorcery, which makes sense considering he’s been alive for thousands of years. His domain expansion summons a giant pillar full of cursed spirits that destroy their target on sight. [9]
    • How to Perform: Face your hands away from each other, interlock your fingers, and align your thumbs with the sides of your hands.
    • Kenjaku’s use of the anti-forked hand sign represents his arrogance, as it’s the only hand sign among those seen that doesn’t directly reference a deity. This makes sense, as Kenjaku considers himself to be a deity.
    • Kenjaku’s domain expansion is borderless, which is extremely rare.
  11. 11
    Naoya Zenin’s Time Cell Moon Palace invokes Gigeiten, a patroness of the arts. Gigeiten is a minor female deity in Buddhism and the patroness of the arts, making Naoya’s invocation ironic considering his sexist attitude towards women. It makes sense though, as his domain turns his enemies into bloody works of art by restricting their movements to 24 frames of animation. [10]
    • How to Perform: Bring your palms together, curl your fingers together, and straighten your thumbs and index fingers towards your opponent.
    • Anyone who tries to move beyond the 24 frames is cut along their body.
    • Naoya’s technique is considered more powerful than Naobito Zenin’s, which only freezes the enemy in a single frame of animation.
  12. 12
    The hand signs for Kinji Hakari’s Idle Death Gamble reference Benzaiten. Hakari’s Idle Death Gamble uses hand signs that call on the goddess Benzaiten. Considering his gambling habit, this makes sense, as Benzaiten is the goddess of love and luck. His domain expansion summons a giant pachinko machine for a game of luck. Hakari has to hit a jackpot in order to receive four minutes of unlimited cursed energy. [11]
    • How to Perform: Curl your right thumb and index finger into a circle, straighten the rest of the fingers on your right hand, and place them above a straightened left hand with your palm facing up and your thumb curled inward.
    • A pachinko machine is a gambling device that blends pinball and slot machines. [12]
  13. 13
    Ryu Ishigori’s unknown domain expansion uses a hand sign that also invokes Mahamayuri. Mahamayuri is often depicted as benevolent, but their former habit of preying on humans is similar to Ishigori’s insatiable thirst for battle. Ishigori was summoned into the present by Kenjaku, where he was able to indulge in battle during The Culling Games. His domain expansion is never revealed, as Yuta Okkotsu and Takako Uro tried to summon their domain expansions at the same time to cancel out Ishigori’s. [13]
    • How to Perform: Face your palms away from you, straighten your fingers, and interlock them.
  14. 14
    Takako Uro’s unknown domain expansion invokes Jinja Taishō, the desert and guardian deity. Jinja Taishō (also known as General Shinsha) is a desert and guardian deity who healed diseases during the Heian era. This is similar to Uro, a jujutsu sorcerer from a thousand years ago who was the captain of a group of assassins associated with the Fujiwara family. Her domain expansion is unknown, as it was cancelled out when her, Yuta Okkotsu, and Ryu Ishigori all attempted to summon theirs at the same time. [14]
    • How to Perform: With closed fists, cross your arms together against your chest.
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Section 2 of 4:

What is a domain expansion?

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  1. A domain expansion is a powerful technique that allows the user to alter space and time. In Jujutsu Kaisen , a domain expansion takes a sorcerer’s innate domain (which is a personified metaphysical landscape located within their mind) and brings it to the outside world using a specific hand sign, allowing them to shape the world to their liking. There are three types of domain expansions: incomplete, non-lethal, and lethal. [15]
    • An incomplete domain expansion is a barrierless domain that is expanded with cursed energy, but doesn’t have a cursed technique. The lack of a cursed technique means there’s no certainty the caster will hit their opponent within the domain. An example would be Megumi’s Chimera Shadow Garden.
    • A non-lethal domain expansion is as it sounds, a domain that doesn’t necessarily kill the caster’s opponent. An example would be Kinji Hakari’s Idle Death Gamble.
    • A lethal domain expansion is a domain that is intended to inflict lethal damage on an opponent. An example would be Sukuna’s Malevolent Shrine, which cuts and cleaves anything within its radius.
Section 3 of 4:

Are hand signs required for a domain expansion?

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  1. Jujutsu Kaisen characters don’t always use hand signs when they activate their domain expansions, but it is extremely common. For example, when Dagon was fighting Naobito, Nanami, and Maki, he had to draw the sign on his torso because he lost his fingers. [16]
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Section 4 of 4:

Are domain expansion hand signs real?

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  1. To activate their domain expansions, Jujutsu Kaisen characters use hand signs called mudras. Mudras are Buddhist hand signs that help communicate and express yourself non-verbally. Like domain expansions, mudras are an external expression of your inner resolve. [17]


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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.worldhistory.org/Yama/
      2. ↑ https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/taishakuten.html
      3. ↑ https://mythlok.com/daikokuten/
      4. ↑ https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/12-generals.shtml
      5. ↑ https://en.tbsn.org/master/detail/36/
      6. ↑ https://www.learnreligions.com/dakinis-female-icons-of-liberation-450160
      7. ↑ https://religion.utk.edu/megan-bryson-in-the-conversation-who-is-the-laughing-buddha-a-scholar-of-east-asian-buddhism-explains/
      8. ↑ https://www.okujapan.com/blog/japanese-jizo-statues/
      9. ↑ https://www.cbr.com/jujutsu-kaisen-chapter-206-kenjaku-domain-expansion-sukuna-connection/
      1. ↑ https://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/g/gigeiten.htm
      2. ↑ https://mythopedia.com/topics/benzaiten
      3. ↑ https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2065.html
      4. ↑ https://mangajjk.com/%E2%9C%94-jujutsu-kaisen-chapter-179/
      5. ↑ https://journeytothewestresearch.com/tag/jinja-taisho/
      6. ↑ https://www.cbr.com/jjk-domain-expansion-explained/
      7. ↑ https://youtu.be/2aK-_mXT5k0?t=0&si=GRLKsu3_ADiLWCfh
      8. ↑ https://web.stanford.edu/class/history11sc/pdfs/mudras.pdf

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