All 13 Jujutsu Kaisen Domain Expansion hand-signs and their meanings

Hand signs and hand seals are key to Domain Expansions in Jujutsu Kaisen. These are more than just hand gestures; some are based on animals akin to Naruto's usage of them, and others are found in Buddhism and Hinduism as mudras to aid in meditation, evoking states of mind, healing, or gods.

As an example, consider Gojo's hand seal for the Infinite Void, which invokes Taishakuten-in, or Indra, the king of gods in Hinduism. Similarly, Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine's summoning sign invokes Enma Ten-In, aka the name of the king of hell Yama in Buddhism.

All of Jujutsu Kaisen's Domain Expansion hand signs have similar meanings and affiliations with spirits, gods, or spiritual and religious concepts. This article shall explore 13 of these associated with the diverse characters.

Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers from the Jujutsu Kaisen anime and manga. Any opinions on meanings are exclusive to the author. Further, the Domain Expansion must have a hand sign to go along with it even if the technique itself is unseen.

All Jujutsu Kaisen Domain Expansion hand sign meanings and affiliations

1) Satoru Gojo's Unlimited Void: Indra

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Jujutsu Kaisen's strongest sorcerer and the Honored One, Satoru Gojo's Unlimited Void Domain Expansion, is considered one of the most powerful next to Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine. The hand seal used for opening the Unlimited Void, known as Satra or Taishakuten-in, supposedly originated from the Hindu god Indra.

In Hinduism, Indra is considered the king of the devas and Svarga. Indra is a destroyer, a master, a god of order, and one who killed the great evil Vritra to bring rain and sunshine as a savior of humanity. This is a fitting comparison for Gojo, as he is also regarded as a savior of mankind and a destroyer of evil.

2) Ryomen Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine: Yama

Jujutsu Kaisen's Sukuna and Yama (Image via Studio MAPPA/British Museum)

Gojo's antithesis in Jujutsu Kaisen, Ryomen Sukuna, also known as the King of Curses, employs the Enmaten or Yama hand seal. Yama, the King of Hell in Buddhist mythology, has many names, from King Yan in Taoism to Enma Ten-in in Japan. The Malevolent Shrine is a violent instakill move that kills almost everything in its path, so Sukuna's invocation of Yama makes perfect sense.

Once a human turned into a deity, Yama's transformation mirrors Sukuna's from a human shaman to the king of curses. Yama questions the karmic actions of ignoble people, and if they fail to consider the consequences of their actions, they are cast into hell.

3) Jogo's Coffin of the Iron Mountain: Daikokuten

Jujutsu Kaisen's Jogo referencing Daikokuten (Image via Studio MAPPA/Metropolitan Museum of Art)

The hotheaded Disaster Spirit Jogo has quite a deceptive god attached to his hand sign. For his Domain Expansion, he ironically invokes Daikokuten, the Japanese deity of fortune, wealth, agriculture, and war.

Interestingly, Daikokuten is a fusion of two different deities, Shiva the Destroyer from Hinduism and Ōkuninushi-no-Kami, the Japanese got of medicine, protective magic, and the underworld. Given that the god was thought to be roughly as wrathful as Jogo is shown to be throughout the narrative, this fusion seems appropriate.

4) Megumi's Chimera Shadow Garden: Yakushi Nyorai aka Bhaiṣajyaguru

Jujutsu Kaisen's Megumi and Bhaiṣajyaguru (Image via Studio Mappa/The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Megumi's inherited technique, 10 Shadows, combined with his Domain Expansion Chimera Shadow Garden, is a formidable force to be reckoned with. While he's only been able to use it fully once in the Jujutsu Kaisen anime, it had a major impact alongside Mahoraga's summoning. In Japanese mythology, Mahoraga, or Makora, is one of the 12 Heavenly Generals protecting the Yakushi Nyorai, Buddha of Healing.

The hand seal used by Megumi is associated with Yakushi Nyorai, originally known as Bhaiṣajyagu. This healing Buddha is considered a guardian, someone whose mantra is used by Chinese Buddhists to overcome mental, physical, and spiritual sickness. In Japan, he's invoked in memorial services for the dead.

5) Mahito's Self Embodiment of Perfection Part 1: Tathāgata

Mahito and Tathagata (Image via Studio MAPPA/The Rubin Museum of Art)

Mahito's Domain Expansion, Self Embodiment of Perfection, involves two different hand signs associated with two deities. The upper hand sign represents Nyorai in Japanese, originally Tathāgatha in the Pali Canon of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. The term is interpreted as Gautama Buddha referring to himself as a being that has transcended the human condition, beyond the endless cycles of rebirth and death.

6) Mahito's Self Embodiment of Perfection Part 2: Kujaku-Myoo

Mahito and Mahamayuri (Image via Studio MAPPA/The Tokyo Museum of Art)

Mahito is unique for having two hand signs involved in his Domain Expansion summoning. While the first invokes Gautama Buddha, the second references Kujaku-Myoo, who was originally called Mahamayuri in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism and dubbed the female Wisdom King.

Mahamayuri was originally a peacock that preyed upon humans and was nearly killed by the Buddha after eating him. The divine deity was redeemed and granted a place in heaven after promising to renounce their habit of preying on humans. It's stated that Mahamayuri assists the Buddha in various forms, much like how Mahito takes on many forms himself when assisting Kenjaku's plans.

7) Hakari Kinji's Idle Death Gamble: Benzaiten

Hakari Kinji in Jujutsu Kaisen's manga and Benzaiten (Image via Shueisha/The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Kinji Hakari, the Ganchinko Fight Club owner, is a third-year delinquent from Jujutsu High. His Domain Expansion is a giant pachinko machine involving a game of luck. It requires him to hit a jackpot for unlimited Cursed energy for four minutes and is all themed around a romance novel.

Hakari's hand signs reference one of the seven lucky gods in Buddhism: Benzaiten, who represents music, wealth, and longevity, among many other things. Kinji's Domain Expansion is centered on luck, making this hand seal and deity a fitting one to invoke for a gambler.

8) Dagon's Horizon of the Captivating Skandha: Budai

Dagon's cursed symbol in Jujutsu Kaisen's anime and Budai's statue (Image via Studio MAPPA/The British Museum)

The Cursed Spirit Dagon consumed many humans during Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident as a backup plan in case Gojo couldn't be sealed. His Domain Expansion, Horizon of the Captivating Skandha, was summoned after being cornered by Maki, Nanami, and Naobito. As fans know, Dagon was forced to use a cursed seal when his fingers were cut off to complete the technique.

The Horizon of the Captivating Skandha contains an unlimited number of lethal shikigami fish. According to Jujutsu Kaisen's manga's 13th volume, Dagon's cursed seal is based on Budai's treasure bag.

Budai is known as "the Laughing Buddha," whose name means "cloth sack," referring to his bag that is said to carry an unlimited amount of treasure.

9) Naoya's Time Cell Moon Palace: Gigeiten

Naoya and Gigeiten (Image via Shueisa/Akishino-dera)

Naoya Zenin's Time Cell Moon Palace is a technique where targets have their movements restricted to single frames of animation. Unlike Naobito Zenin's version, which only freezes its victim in a single frame of animation, Naoya's spells danger. Any attempt to move beyond 24 frames of animation, which is equivalent to moving in slow motion, results in bloody cuts on the body.

The hand sign Naoya uses invokes Gigeiten, a minor Buddhist female deity and patroness of the arts, which is ironic given his sexist attitude toward women.

Gigeiten is considered a master of the arts, particularly music. Naoya is thought to have perfected Projection sorcery with his Domain Expansion, which transforms his opponents into bloody works of art.

10) Kenjaku's Womb Profusion: Anti-Forked Palm

Kenjaku and the corresponding hand seal (Image via Shueisha/Discover Japan)

The scheming villain of Jujutsu Kaisen, Kenjaku's Womb Profusion, is an eradication curse. It takes the form of a giant pillar of cursed spirits capable of obliterating a target upon contact. This first showed up in chapter 205, severely injuring Yuki Tsukumo in their fight.

The source for the hand sign is the anti-forked palm, one of the 18 palm movements in esoteric Buddhism, used for meditation. Kenjaku's use of it alludes to the fact that he is familiar with various types of sorcery. It also signifies his arrogance since the anti-forked palm does not reference a deity, as Kenjaku believes himself to be one.

11) Yuta Okkotsu's Authentic Mutual Love: Dakini

Jujutsu Kaisen 0's protagonist and Dakini (Image via Shueisha/Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 249 revealed Yuta Okkotsu's Domain Expansion against Sukuna. Known as Authentic Mutual Love, it creates an environment filled with an infinite number of katanas, each of which contains a random cursed technique guaranteed to hit its target. The disadvantage is that the katanas are destroyed after only one use, and only the caster can activate the techniques within the blades.

Yuta's hand seal's origins can be linked to Dākini, a spirit, goddess, or demon in different mythologies. In East Asian esoteric Buddhism and early Hindu texts, Dakini was a demon who ate human flesh.

Dakini is a goddess connected to one of the six chakras in Hindu Tantric literature; in Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhism, she is best understood as a female embodiment of enlightened energy.

12) Ryu Ishigori's Unknown Domain Expansion: Mahamayuri

Ryu and Mahamayuri (Image via Shueisha/Wellcome Trust)

Ryu Ishigori is a jujutsu sorcerer over 400 years old, summoned into the modern day by Kenjaku. Ryu has an insatiable hunger for battle, shown off in his appearance during The Culling Game. In Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 179, Yuta Okkotsu and Takako Uro attempted to summon their own Domain Expansion at the same time, canceling out Ishigori's.

Ryu's sign invokes Mahamayuri, the same deity that Mahito invokes. Mahamayuri is considered the Peacock Wisdom Queen in Chinese Buddhism. She's usually portrayed as benevolent, with three faces and six hands. In Journey to the West, she curses the king of the Kingdom of Zhuzi to suffer from lovesickness for three years.

13) Takako Uro's unknown domain expansion: Jinja Taishō/General Shinsha/Shensha)

Uro and Jinja Taishō(Image via Shueisha/Agency for Cultural Affairs)

Takako Uro is a jujutsu sorcerer from a thousand years ago and was originally the captain of a group of assassins affiliated with the Fujiwara Family. Her Domain Expansion was canceled out when she, Ryu, and Yuta all attempted to summon theirs simultaneously in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 179.

Uro's hand sign appears to reference a desert and guardian deity named Jinja Taishō, who healed diseases and kept demons away. He was said to have aided Xuanzang's pilgrimage to India in Journey to the West.

Final Thoughts

Hiromi and Smallpox Deity and their references (Image via Shueisha, Wikipedia, and Studio MAPPA)

In conclusion, the list consists of 13 Jujutsu Kaisen's Domain Expansions that require unique hand signs. While Hiromi Higuruma's Deadly Sentencing refers back to Lady Justice with the blind shikigami Judgeman in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 159, the Smallpox Deity invokes a yokai that spreads smallpox called the Amazake-Babaa, and Yorozu's is a reference to perfect spherical geometry and has an insect theme, there are no hand signs involved in their summoning, and they couldn't be listed.

The one exception is Dagon, whose Domain Expansion had to be done via a cursed seal in Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident arc. As stated previously, Jujutsu Kaisen has many references within it, from gods to spiritual healers to demons.