Highlights
- Cult of Jashin origin shrouded in mystery, born in ninja village Yugakure focused on peace.
- Hidan, an immortal Jashinist, follows doctrine of violence, murder. Hails Total Slaughter motto.
- New Jashinists led by Ryuki lack former cult’s fervor, target civilians. Original cult essentially defunct.
Akatsuki has no shortage of deranged people who have gone beyond human limits and understanding in order to achieve their ambitions. From a young shinobi who modified his own body to become the perfect puppet to a money-hungry shinobi who rips people’s hearts out of their chests in order to prolong his own life, this organization is truly a place for the worst that the shinobi world has to offer.
One of the most unhinged members of Akatsuki is a man named Hidan. He is an immortal with an unquenchable thirst for blood. He is also the one who killed Asuma Sarutobi. Hidan belongs to a cult named Jashinism. He worships Jashin passionately and will proudly kill in his God’s name. So let’s use this chance to uncover the truth behind this dangerous cult. From its mysterious origin to its current state, this is all you need to know about the cult of Jashin.
Mysterious Origin
Jashinism is a cult shrouded in mystery. There’s no record about when it began or how it came to be. Most people don’t even know about the existence of this cult until its most famous member, Hidan, actively boasts about it during his tenure in Akatsuki. That being said, two things are widely known about this cult. The place where it was born and its dangerous creed.
Village Hidden in the Hot Springs
The root of the Cult of Jashin can be traced back to a small nation called the Land of Steam. This cult was born in this nation’s ninja village, Yugakure, better known as The Village Hidden in the Hot Springs.
According to the stories mentioned in the Naruto Hiden Series (a series of Naruto’s spin-off light novels), Yugakure used to operate like a regular ninja village. They have a relatively strong army of ninjas and would go on missions or even battlefields when necessary. However, a couple of decades before the story of Naruto, Yugakure decided to be a peace-loving village. They wanted to focus more on tourism than fighting.
While most people would agree that this is an applaudable decision, a certain group of ninjas from Yugakure were dissatisfied with that decision. They were trained and lived for combat and now the village has taken away their reason for existence. One of these ninjas was none other than Hidan.
“Total Slaughter is the motto of the Church of Jashin. There’s even an actual commandment that prohibits half-killing.”
— Hidan, Chapter 313
The Doctrine of Violence and Murder
Hidan was one of the few shinobi from Yugakure who truly believed that the main purpose of a ninja is to kill. Seeing Yugakure turn into a pacifist village enraged him. So he decided to leave. But before he walked away, he slaughtered as many of his former comrades as he could, which prompted the village to brand him as an S-Rank missing-nin.
Not long after he left the village, Hidan found out about a cult named Jashin who worshiped a deity by the same name. This cult’s teachings revolved around violence and killing. To them, bringing death to other people is akin to giving them salvation, cleansing them from their sins. Hidan couldn’t agree more with this principle. He finally found his purpose in life and instantly became a devout follower of Jashinism.
A Cult of Extremists and Fanatics
With such a harrowing and dangerous doctrine, it’s no wonder that the Cult of Jashin was filled with the most unhinged and murderous people. They were both fanatics and extremists who were excited about committing a massacre.
Kill Thy Neighbor
Hidan was undoubtedly the most devout and the most bloodthirsty member of this cult. Not only that, he was also the most active and the most vocal of them all. He would proudly proclaim his faith and even pray to Jashin for a good kill before every fight. According to Naruto’s Databook, one of the doctrines of Jashinism is “Kill Thy Neighbor”.
That’s right, they encouraged their followers to kill their neighbors first. After all, it’s only natural to give salvation to those who are closest to you first. Since Hidan had already done that while he was still a ninja from Yugakure, this doctrine made Hidan feel that his actions were the right decision all along. Some even said that he also killed fellow Jashin followers, though there’s no concrete evidence to support this claim yet.
A Body That Refuses to Die
Apart from being a Jashinist with the most kill count, another reason why Hidan was well-known in the Ninja world was due to his immortal body. You can stab him, cut him, and even behead him, but he will still be yapping away. According to the Naruto Hiden series, the only way to kill Hidan was by starving him to death, which was precisely what Shikamaru did.
In the same series, Hidan also mentioned that his immortal body was the result of a Jashin ritual involving lots of human sacrifices. There are not many details regarding said ritual, but one thing’s for sure, Hidan was the only known successful case in the history of the cult.
The New Generation of Jashinism
|
Title |
Naruto: Konoha’s Story – The Steam Ninja Scrolls |
|---|---|
|
Publisher |
Viz & MANGA Plus |
|
First Published |
October 28, 2022 |
The Cult of Jashin practically vanished following the news about Hidan’s fate. Any follow-up investigation conducted by Konoha to look for any member of this cult proved to be a waste of time. They always came back empty-handed. That is until a new upstart started to make some noise, more than a decade after Hidan’s battle with Shikamaru.
Misguided and Delusional Souls
|
Character Name |
Mirai Sarutobi |
|---|---|
|
First Appearance |
Naruto Chapter #533 |
|
Release Date |
April 11, 2011 |
In a spin-off manga called Naruto: Konoha Story: Steam Ninja Scrolls,Kakashi, Guy, along with a young chunin ninja named Mirai Sarutobi, daughter of the late Asuma Sarutobi, investigate a case of missing persons in Yugakure. As it turns out, the one behind those mass kidnappings is none other than the Cult of Jashin. Or rather, the new generation Cult of Jashin, led by a young man named Ryuki.
However, these young upstarts are nothing but a group of fanatics who have nothing to do with the real Cult of Jashin that was active during Hidan’s time. These people are nothing more than a bunch of misguided and delusional souls who hear about the unbelievable evil deeds that the cult, especially Hidan, has done in the past and they strive to be just like those lunatics.
A Shadow of Their Former Shelf
|
Character Name |
Ryuki |
|---|---|
|
First Appearance |
Konoha Shinden Chapter #6 |
|
Release Date |
January 06, 2023 |
Since this new Jashinist only acts based on stories and rumors, they are really incomparable to the original cult, both in terms of power and reach. That being said, Ryuki and his followers still adhere to the main teachings of Jashinism, “Total Slaughter” and “Kill Thy Neighbors”. These poor misguided souls have plenty of violence and destruction to spread around.
What they lack, however, is the bravado and the fanaticism of the original cult of Jashin. Hidan is undoubtedly a despicable human being, but he is absolutely a devout Jashinist and will proudly proclaim his faith to anybody around him. Not only that, he also always seeks strong opponents to fight because he believes that killing a strong enemy is a much more meaningful sacrifice to Lord Jashin.
On the contrary, the new Cult of Jashin operates mostly in secret and they prefer to kidnap young civilians. The moment a trained ninja appears, there’s not much that they can do. They are violent against those who can’t fight back. They are nothing more than a shadow of their former shelf. So it’s safe to say that one of the most dangerous cults in the ninja world has officially ceased to exist.
Naruto is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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