Megumi Fushiguro is my favorite character in the big hit anime, Jujutsu Kaisen. He is cool, doesn’t talk so much, doesn’t have much interest in others and got negative thinking….but He’s so strong! His Jujutsu technique, Shadow Technique is just amazing. Today, I’m going write about his technique and how it works.
The historical technique inherited through the family
The Shadow technique has been inherited though the Zenin (禪院 ぜんいん) family. (Megumi’s last name is from his mother and his father is Toji Zenin.) However, not all the family members can use the technique, for example, Maki (真希 まき) and Mai (真依 まい) are the members of Zenin family but they can’t use the technique. A long time ago, the heads of Zenin family and Gojo family which were of 3 big Jujutsu clans (the other is Kamo.) fought and killed each other by their Jujutsu techniques: The Shadow technique of Zenin and the Limitless Technique of Gojo (The head of Gojo family also had Rikugan like Satoru Gojo).
The origin of the name and how the technique works
The shadow technique (十種影法術 とくさのかげほうじゅつ Tokusa no kage houjutsu)
十種 (とくさ tokusa) means 10 species,
影 (かげ kage) means shadow,
法術 (法術 ほうじゅつ houjutsu) means method, way or magic.
You use shadow as an intermediary and conjure Shikigami (式神 しきがみ). Shikigami is considered a fierce god conjured by Onmyoji (陰陽師 おんみょうじ), a master of Onmyodo (陰陽道 おんみょうどう).
→Want to learn more about Onmyodo? Here is more information !
→Interested in other animes related in Onmyoji?
- Twin Star Exorcists (双星の陰陽師 そうせいのおんみょうじ Sousei no Onmyoji)
- Shaman king (Zake Asakura, from ep 21) (シャーマンキング）
- Gintama (Onmyoji arc) (銀魂 ぎんたま)
There are 10 kinds of Shikigami and you are given only 2 of them (divine dogs white and black) first. You have to exorcise them to be able to manifest them and control them freely, then you can challenge the next one.
Once one of the Shikigami is destroyed, you can’t manifest it anymore, but the power and curse technique of the destroyed one converts into another one.
1 Divine dogs (玉犬 ぎょくけん Gyokuken) The first Shikigami given to a sorcerer. Just like dogs, they got high agility and are great in sensing and detection ability. The white one had destroyed bey the special-grade cursed spirit in the junior juvenile center, however its power passed on to the black one and it became “Kon”.
2 Toad (蝦蟇 がま Gama) The giant toad-like Shikigami. It caught Nobara Kugisaki (釘崎 野薔薇 くぎさき のばら) by its tongue and carried her in its mouth.
3 Great Serpent (大蛇 おろち Orochi) The huge snake-like Shikigami. It was destroyed by Sukuna Ryomen (両面 宿儺 りょうめん すくな).
4 Nue (鵺 ぬえ Nue) The giant bird-like Shikigami. It flies and attack enemies in the sky. It Knocked Momo Nishimiya (西宮 桃 にしみや もも) off from her bloom in the exchange event. Also, It carried Takuma Ino (猪野 琢真 いの たくま) on its back.
5 Max Elephant (満象 ばんしょう Bansho) The elephant-like Shikigami. It attacks by a great amount of water gushing out of its trunk.
6 Rabbit Escape (脱兎 だっと Datto) The rabbit-like Shikigami. Megumi manifested hundreds of them in the Shibuya incident and surrounded the evil curse user by them so that he couldn’t move.
7 unknown
8 unknown
9 unknown
10 Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga (八握剣 異戒神将 魔虚羅 やっかのつるぎ いかいしんしょう まこら Ykka no Tsurugi Ikai Shinsho Makora) None of the Ten Shadow Technique sorcerers has succeeded in exorcising this Shikigami yet so far. It analysis an opponent’s ability and obtains resistance and a telling blow.
Extra Bottomless (不知井底 せいていしらず Seitei Shirazu) TheShikigami Megumi manifested by combining 2 and 4. Since it's by his expanded technique, he can manifest it as many as he wants even if it's destroyed.
The other use of the Shadow technique
It seems a shadow functions like liquid to the Shadow Technique users. In the season1 episode 6, Megumi put his fingers inside his shadow and also, he carried the cursed tools inside his shadow during the exchange event.
Domain Expansion: Chimera Shadow Garden
Chimera Shadow Garden (嵌合暗翳庭 かんごうあんえいてい Kango anei tei)
嵌合 (かんごう kango) to fit, to engage
暗翳 (あんえい an ei) dark shadow
庭 (てい tei) garden
The Domain Expansion by using the Shadow Technique. You lay the shadow pond inside the domain and you can make full use of the Shadow Technique including quick manifesting of Shikigami and refinement of your clones there. Megumi succeeded to lay his domain in the battle at the Yasohachi Bridge.