Research Project: Naruto & Japan (posted by Eliza)

INTRODUCTION 

I first learned about manga in Peru when I read a book “Young Artists Draw Manga.” I instantly fell in love with it. You may be thinking to yourself, what’s manga? Manga is a Japanese drawing style. Basically, it’s the Japanese word for comics and we first see Manga in the 1700s. The Manga we know today was very much shaped by the American occupation after World War II. 

Manga’s defining characteristics include a wide range of artistic styles, energetic and colorful graphics, and action-packed plots, often featuring ninja or magic elements. Common visual traits are large, expressive eyes and stylized hair, often brightly colored and spiky (“Art in Context”). At that moment, after I read “A Young Artist's Draw Manga" I thought to myself, “I’m going to do my Japan project about something that has to do with Manga.” My project ties to Manga with Naruto, a Manga comic.

Masashi Kishimoto created the Naruto comic series in the 1990s. It is one of the most popular Manga comic series of all time. Naruto is a story, with Naruto being the protagonist. There are 72 Naruto books and over 700 episodes of animation. The second tier characters are Sasuke, who is focused solely on avenging his clan, and Sakura, who knows more than both Naruto and Sasuke combined. Then there is Kakashi Sensei, the third tier character and the teacher of the three.

Now back to my research question: How did Japanese culture and history influence Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto cartoon?

METHODS AND SOURCES 

 I interviewed:

Akira 1, our guide at the first ninja museum

Ellen, a worker at the first ninja museum

Eiji, our tour guide in Hiroshima

A tour guide at the second ninja museum

Akira 2, our tour guide of Kanazawa

I also read five articles, watched seven videos and went to 5 museums. The museums included a museum about Shintoism in Japan, the Manga Museum in Kyoto, the first Ninja Museum in Tokyo, the second Ninja museum in Kanazawa, and finally the museum about the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

SECTION ONE: Ninjas

One of the more obvious ways that Japanese history influences Naruto is through ninjas. Did you know that the name ninja started being used quite recently? It is believed that ninjas called themselves shinobi. Back in the olden days shinobi were mere farmers and spying and assassinating people was their side job. Samurai couldn't do these jobs for they found them dis-honorable. Shinobi, unlike samurai, did not have any particular weapon. When many people think of ninja‘s weapons they think, ooh, throwing stars and, ooh, nunchunks. The truth is that shinobi did not use nunchuks at all and they only used throwing stars -or shuriken- for distraction. Mostly they used concealed weapons, like a ring with a turnable needle thing which you can flip around and stab your target with. There were even camouflaged weapons, like daggers inside of pipes, calligraphy sets, flutes, and much much more. Shinobi used kunai and rope to scale up castle walls and gather information. At the second ninja museum, I held a rusty old iron ball with spikes coming out of it on a chain. Classic, am I right? Did you know that there are records of up to 24 shinobi academies across Japan by the 1300s? I didn't.

In Naruto, they call themselves shinobi, just like in real life. In Naruto, all the ninja started off as normal people, with of course the exception of people born into the business. Naruto and his friends go to a ninja academy together. When -or if- you graduate from the ninja academy you get a forehead protector. That is based on fact – there really were forehead protectors. In Naruto, the main weapons used are kunai, dagger like things which you usually throw at your opponent but sometimes you see some stabbing action going on, too. The second most popular weapon in Naruto is the all famous throwing star -or shuriken. One of the more interesting weapons in real life and in Naruto is the iron fan, which a character named Temari uses. I saw an iron fan that shinobi used at the ninja museum in Kanazawa.

Overall, the depiction of ninjas in Naruto is more accurate than most ninja comics.

SECTION TWO: Shinto mythology

Naruto has been inspired by very many things but it is shocking how much it has been inspired by Shinto and Buddhist mythology. The base of Shinto mythology is that two gods, Izanagi and Izanami, were sent to create Japan. They did this by swirling a giant spear into the sea, which made the main island of Japan. The drops of water that fell off of the spear created the other islands. About a month later Izanami died and her companion, Izanagi, cried so hard that from his right eye came Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and from his left eye came Tsukuyomi, the moon god. Amaterasu and her brother Tsukuyomi are enemies. And from the snot pouring down his nose came Susanoo, the god of the sea and storms. They were the three divine children. Supposedly, the Royal Family descends from Amaterasu. That’s basically all that you need to know about Shinto Mythology for the time being.

Many of the jutsus, or magical techniques, in Naruto are named after Shinto gods. The most famous of the jutsus named after gods in Naruto is obviously Amaterasu. The Amaterasu jutsu is the highest level of fire release, or breathing flames through your hands. It is really hard to accomplish, and it makes such a strain on the user’s body that their eyes start bleeding. It is so hot that it can burn other fires. It is also the only jutsu that can defend the Tsukuyomi jutsu. Also, the jutsus’ powers sometimes have something to do with Shinto mythology. The first time we see this is when Kakashi, the teacher, holds a ball of lightning in his hand. The lightning is so powerful that he once sliced another lightning bold in half. This is the same as a Shinto myth of a samurai who does the same thing.

Buddhist traditions also show up in Naruto. In Buddhism, there is a thing called chakra, which is basically the energy of your body. It flows through vessels almost like arteries and veins. There is also chakra in Naruto. Chakra is the energy source in Naruto. You can not move your limbs let alone do a justu. You will sometimes see the characters praying at a Buddhist shrine or where a Buddhist statue is in the background.

SECTION THREE: The Atomic Bomb

Before I start with Naruto stuff I have to talk a little about the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Franklin D. Roosevelt was president when the U.S. government made the atomic bomb. There were over a hundred thousand people involved, and yet only a handful actually knew what they were doing. The hundred thousand people were stationed in thirty-seven locations across the U.S.. This program was called the Manhattan Project. The goal of the Manhattan Project was to stop hundreds of thousands of troops having to invade Japan; they were worried that maybe 250,000 would be killed in the invasion.

On August 6, 1945, at approximately 8:15 am, a plane named after the pilots mother, Enola Gay, hovered above Hiroshima. Its target was the Aioi Bridge. When they dropped the bomb named “Little Boy” it exploded directly above the Hiroshima hospital. I have been to the spot where this happened. The temperature exceeded 12,600 degrees fahrenheit. Out of the 340,000 inhabitants of Hiroshima, 70,000 were killed instantly. Around 70% of the buildings were totally demolished.  At the end of the year, more than 30,000 had died from the radiation. Three days later, the US did the same thing on Nagasaki, where people from 400 miles away could see the 12 kilometer high mushroom cloud. I went to the atomic bomb museum in Hiroshima. I did not like it because I felt so depressed learning about what happened and reading the life stories of the people who died next to their belongings.

Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, depicted the atomic bomb in his comics. There was a character named Nagato, and his only life goal was to make ”true peace.“ He is not really a good guy, nor is he a bad guy. He is a complicated shinobi. After his best friend died to save his other best friend, Nagato changed his name to “Pain” and decided that the only way for humans to really want peace was to understand paaaaiiiin! Therefore, he uses a very destructive jutsu called the shinra tensei to demolish an entire city. Here is a clip, if you would like to watch it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An1ZrG0mbf4

I think that Kishimoto created this character to show how awful the atomic bomb was. The United States dropped the atomic bomb to create enough fear to make peace. After going to Hiroshima, the clip of Pain reminded me a lot of the atomic bomb.

CONCLUSION

For my conclusion, I drew a shinobi team of three teenagers and one sensei. I fully made-up these characters, although all senseis have a uniform jacket and pants. The sensei’s name is Saikō. One of the girls' names is  Kuruna, the others is Tatsumaki and the boy’s name is Otokonoko. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Briannica.com, October 1, 2025.

Cesar Jan Struriewicz, “the Real History of Ninjas,” Tokyo Weekender, October 18, 2024.

Epimetheus, “Naruto Is About Nikes,” YouTube.com, August 31, 2024

Gregory White, “The Ultimate Guide to Japanese Mythology,” Mythology.com, 2022.

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, “Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings,” ICANW.org, 2023.

Jeauhe Kim, “Ninjas: How Japanese Spies Evolved Into Pop Culture Heroes,” History.com, November 10, 2023.

Jason, “Japanese Mythology 101,” StoryTellingDB.com, December 12, 2022.

Joseph Messink, “10 Naruto Jutsus Inspired by Japanese Folklore.” cbr.com. Jan 14, 2023

Story Dive, “Naruto: The Real Myths and Legends Explained,” June 19, 2020.

”Three Precious Children of Shinto Mythology,” YouTube.com, 2021.