Someone Very Kind And Wonderful In My Comments For EE Asked To Read The Full Version Of The Chapter 3

someone very kind and wonderful in my comments for EE asked to read the full version of the chapter 3 end notes, which were too long for ao3 character count, so here it is 💕

link to chapter 3

end notes:

The structure of Sukuna’s shrine is inspired by his domain, which takes the form of a Buddhist temple. However, here it also includes many Shinto architecture elements, such as the sanctuary hall and torii, because during the Heian era (and until the Meiji Restoration in 1868), Buddhism and Shinto were syncretized. When Buddhism appeared in Japan from China and Korea in the mid-6th century, it integrated with the indigenous Shinto, so traditions, religious practices, and shrines and temples often combined elements of both. In JJK, it is stated that Tengen was helping spread Buddhism during the Nara period (710-784 AD). As Sukuna has been alive for longer, his shrine contains both Shinto and Buddhist elements.

The torii is the entrance arch to a shrine. Shinto shrines contain a honden, or main hall, is the building that houses the enshrined deity. The haiden, which Sukuna’s shrine lacks in this work, is the main worship/oratory hall, where visitors can pray. They are sometimes connected, with the haiden in front of the honden. Burning incense is a purifying practice that was introduced with Buddhism. Offerings of food are present in both religions.

The main lighting sources in the Heian period were charcoal braziers, candles, and paper lanterns. Chouchin are hanging lanterns made by covering a bamboo frame with silk or paper. Although the earliest record of a chouchin is in 1085, paper lantern technology has been common in China since the Tang Dynasty (690–705 AD).

As mentioned in Chapter 1, the Fujiwara clan was an incredibly powerful political family during the Heian era. In JJK, they are shown to have employed sorcerers like Uro Takako.

Sukuna’s shrine is in the province of Hida, or the modern-day Gifu prefecture, within the Japanese Alps. Hida’s capital was the modern-day city of Takayama, which also contained its provincial temple, or kokubun-ji, established in 757 after a smallpox epidemic. Hida’s carpentry was so well-known that during the Nara period, an official court position for Hida craftsmen was created. The province provided timber and metals from its forests to other regions.

Hida province had a relatively small population and was categorized as an inferior to mid-level country in terms of importance during the early Heian era. However, during the later Edo period, its importance rose because the Gifu region contained the Nakasendō, one of the five main routes of the time and one of two that connected Kyoto and the new capital Edo (modern-day Tokyo).

Aoi Matsuri is one of the three main annual festivals held in Kyoto, Japan. It is the festival of the two Kamo shrines in the north of the city, Shimogamo Shrine and Kamigamo Shrine. Both these shrines have been established since the 6th-7th century and are both historical “National Treasures” of Japan today. They are named both for the Kamo river and the Kamo clan, early inhabitants of the area who helped establish it as sacred. The festival originated during the reign of Emperor Kinmei (539-571 AD) according to the Nihon Shoki. When the capital was moved to Heian-Kyo in the 9th century, Aoi Matsuri became an annual imperial event. As such, at the height of its grandeur, it’s plausible that celebrations would reach the Hida province. In JJK (in the official fanbook), the Kamo clan rose to prominence after inheriting the lineage of a man named Onmyouji, a powerful sorcerer during the Heian era, though there is nothing to suggest the clan itself did not exist prior to this.

The Nihon Shoki, completed in 720 AD, is the second-oldest book of Japanese chronicles and contains both historical and folk/mythological records. In the Nihon Shoki, Ryoumen Sukuna is described as an inhumanly strong man with two faces and eight limbs. During the reign of Emperor Nintoku (c. 313-399 AD), he terrorized and plundered towns until he was defeated by a military leader from the Imperial Court named Takefurukuma no Mikoto in 377 AD.

However, folklore in Hida regards Sukuna as a protector. He was the patron deity of the Senko-ji, Zenkyu-ji, and Nichiryubu-ji temples for feats such as defeating a dragon and praying for a good harvest, though none of these are recorded in the Nihon Shoki, outside of folktales. One of the stories expands on Sukuna’s last fight; he was ambushed first, then after a long battle, retreated to Mount Norikura, east of Takayama. He fought again there but eventually succumbed. Takefurukuma, impressed by his valor, offered him mercy if he surrendered, but Sukuna refused and was killed. In this work, Sukuna lived, and the man possessing Takefurukuma is implied to be Kenjaku.

In JJK, Kenjaku contracted Dhruv Lakdawalla, a sorcerer originally from the late Yayoi period (2nd century AD). Dhruv already lived a second life in some undetermined era before incarnating into the Culling Game, so Kenjaku might have contracted him at that point and not been alive during the Yayoi period. However, he is likely older than Sukuna due to his knowledge of Tengen, and his age here is increased like Sukuna’s.

In 675 AD, Emperor Tenmu prohibited the consumption of cattle, dogs, horses, monkeys, and chicken during the farming months (4th-9th months of the year). Eventually, due to the influence of Buddhism and the scarcity of such domesticated animals, the ban expanded to be year-round. Deer, boar, rabbits, and wild fowl remained part of the Japanese diet, though meat was never an important staple in the first place. This ban on meat lasted until close to the Meiji era in the 1800s.

Narezushi is fermented fish, likely stemming from the paddy fields of ancient southern China. Sources conflict on when exactly it migrated to Japan, but it was pre-Heian; the earliest extant written reference to sushi is the Yōrō Code, a compiled code of governing rules, in 718 AD. It was during the Muromachi period (1336-1573 AD) that namanare, which is partially-raw fish consumed fresh with rice, became popular.

As mentioned in Chapter 1, Sugawara no Michizane was a scholar and politician during the Heian era who was banished by his political enemies in the Fujiwara clan. After his death in exile, disaster struck the Imperial family and palace, leading them to believe he had returned in wrath. He was known as one of Japan’s (and JJK’s) most infamous vengeful spirits. Kitano Tenmangū, a shrine in Heian-Kyo, was built in 947 to appease his angry spirit. He was later deified as Tenjin, the Shinto god of learning.

In JJK, Tengen is the strongest barrier user in Japan. His barriers are extremely skilled at hiding the presence of the school and cursed storehouse, as well as himself. Reggie calls him a shut-in, and Yuki says he does not interfere with the world. Humans usually cannot see curses due to their lack of cursed energy, so humans in the Heian era perhaps couldn’t either. However, it’s likely that more sorcery-capable humans existed in the golden age than in the present day.

Usually, sorcerers can only turn into cursed spirits through death, but Tengen evolved into a curse-like being by the accumulation of time (and likely cursed energy), enough so that he could be controlled by curse manipulation. This evolution is the basis of Sukuna’s body evolving into cursed flesh in this work. In JJK, Sukuna’s fingers are written as having grown in power until the seals on them became ineffective. The paradox referenced in regard to Gojo’s technique is the Achilles and the tortoise paradox of motion.