Megumi Fushiguro is one of the few sorcerers in Jujutsu Kaisen with untapped ability; he just isn't aware of it yet. While Yuta Okkotsu and Hakari Kinji, two other Jujutsu High students, have tamed their strength and emerged as some of the best in the community, Fushiguro's technique still has space for development.
Fushiguro has had a difficult time learning the Ten Shadows because he inherited the most potent cursed skill of the Zenin clan. He can use this method to summon 10 Shikigami, using the ones he's tamed in combat to help him fight foes. From his shadows, he produces these things, but where do they live when they aren't in use?
What Does Jujutsu Kaisen's Ten Shadows Technique Mean?
The Ten Shadows technique is passed through the Zenin clan, one of the three most influential and prominent families in the Jujutsu world. When a user inherits this technique, they are given two Divine Dogs to help the chosen sorcerer exorcise Shikigami, causing them to submit. A sorcerer cannot use a Shikigami to their benefit until it has been defeated, but can summon it whenever they wish to try to conquer the deity. As the name suggests, at any one time the user can control up to ten Shikigami, each with unique and powerful abilities.
To summon them, the sorcerer must weave specific hand signals resembling a shadow puppet, each calling out a different Shikigami. Thus far in Jujutsu Kaisen, Fushiguro has fought alongside his Devine Dogs, loyal manifestations with excellent tracking abilities, and Nue, which resembles an owl and often aids Fushiguro through flight. He also has serpents, toads, elephants and rabbits at his disposal. The young Zenin makes optimal use of his shadows and could even hide his body for a surprise attack by manipulating them.
Where Is Fushiguro's Shikigami Kept When He Is Not Fighting?
Fushiguro manifests his Shikigami from the shadows, but where exactly the shadows lead remains a mystery. A Shikigami must be tamed before being used, which suggests they must reside in some other realm so they can be ready for battle when summoned. The Shikigami may remain in a spiritual realm while they await commands from the Ten Shadows user. Jujutsu Kaisen often pays homage to Japanese culture -- including religious aspects such as the Eastern view of the afterlife and inner worlds (Domains) -- which could provide more insight into the shadows.
Buddhism is one of Japan's main faiths alongside Shintō, both of which are often practiced simultaneously. In Buddhism, there are six realms of rebirth in which beings are reborn depending on the kind of life they lived. There are three lower realms -- the hell realm, the realm of the screaming ghosts, and the animal realm -- as well as three higher realms -- the godlike, demigod and human realms. Considering many Shikigami have animalistic features, it would be most practical to assume they reside in the animal realm.
However, Shikigami such as Mahoraga can't necessarily be classed as animals, and some of Megumi's other deities do stray from the classic idea of one. Therefore, it's more likely the Shikigami are summoned from one of the other lower realms.
Given that it's improbable the Shikigami of the Ten Shadows technique wait in a room to be summoned -- and each new user must tame the deities before they use them -- a spiritual realm where the Shikigami can freely roam may be the most practical conclusion for where they reside. Fushiguro is yet to tame all ten available Shikigami, so as more come under his control, details about the shadows and where these manifestations reside will come to light as Jujutsu Kaisen continues.
