Concept and Development
Masashi Kishimoto developed the concept of jutsu in order to explain the superhuman feats that ninja performed in the Naruto series. He intended the design for the ninja in Naruto to dispel preconceived notions about ninja popularized by other manga and to bring an original take to the presentation of ninja in manga. The use of hand seals substitutes for the incantations for magic found in other sources, and was based on the motions of ninja in various role-playing games. The hand seals are based upon the characters of the Chinese zodiac, which is a longstanding tradition in Japan, and Kishimoto used them specifically to draw upon that tradition.
Although the concept of chakra appears in Indian mythology, in Buddhism and in other belief systems, in an interview, Kishimoto claimed that none of these influences were the basis for his use of chakra in Naruto. He further asserted that it was a term to apply a concrete definition to ninjas' ability to use jutsu in Naruto, and was comparable to the Force in Star Wars or to magic points in role-playing games.
Read more about this topic: Jutsu (Naruto)
Famous quotes containing the words concept and/or development:
“The heritage of the American Revolution is forgotten, and the American government, for better and for worse, has entered into the heritage of Europe as though it were its patrimony—unaware, alas, of the fact that Europe’s declining power was preceded and accompanied by political bankruptcy, the bankruptcy of the nation-state and its concept of sovereignty.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“On fields all drenched with blood he made his record in war, abstained from lawless violence when left on the plantation, and received his freedom in peace with moderation. But he holds in this Republic the position of an alien race among a people impatient of a rival. And in the eyes of some it seems that no valor redeems him, no social advancement nor individual development wipes off the ban which clings to him.”
—Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911)