The Eight Trigrams Sealing Style is one of the most iconic fūinjutsu techniques used in the Naruto universe. As a supplementary jutsu, it serves to imprison tailed beasts and other forces within living hosts. This sealing jutsu originated from Uzushiogakure's Uzumaki clan, who were renowned for their expertise in fūinjutsu.

The Uzumaki were exceptional seals due to their life force and heritage from Uzushiogakure. They had a close alliance with Konohagakure through their shared ancestry with the Senju clan. During the formation of the hidden villages, the First Hokage sought the Uzumaki's help to seal the Nine-Tails and other tailed beasts. This established the Uzumaki as the foremost seal masters, renowned for techniques like the Eight Trigram Sealing Style and the Four Symbol Seal. Their prowess in containment became invaluable assets against tailed beasts for generations to follow.

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Origins of the Eight-Trigram Sealing Style

The Legendary Seals of the Uzumaki

The Eight Trigrams Sealing Style originated as a fūinjutsu technique of the renowned Uzumaki clan. Hailing from the once-mighty hidden village of Uzushiogakure, the Uzumaki were known throughout the Shinobi nations for their longevity and expertise in sealing jutsu.

At the core of the Eight Trigrams technique is the Four Symbols Seal. This basic sealing array allows the user to imprison a target, such as an enemy or tailed beast, within another object or person. By overlaying two Four Symbol Seals precisely, it creates a significantly stronger barrier known as the Eight Trigram Sealing Style.

This ability proved invaluable in the ninja world, where tailed beasts posed immense threats. Villages eagerly sought the aid of Uzumaki seal masters to safely contain these living natural disasters. In fact, the Four Symbols Seal itself directly influenced the design of flak jackets worn by the Shinobi of Konohagakure in honor of their alliance with Uzushiogakure.

Minato Namikaze's Eight-Trigram Sealing of Kurama

Minato Namikaze's Famous Sealing Technique

Perhaps the most famous usage was the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze's sealing of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox Kurama. On the night of the Kyuubi attack, the fatally wounded Minato summoned a ceremonial stone altar and carefully layered two Four Symbol Seals. This created the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style container to imprison Kurama's vast chakra within his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki.

By overlapping the seals instead of perfectly joining them, some of Kurama's malevolent aura was able to merge with Naruto's body and spirit. This initially gave Naruto enhanced healing and assisted him in accessing the tailed beast's power when truly needed down the line. However, it also caused the young boy immense suffering from the village, which shunned him as the "Nine-Tails Reincarnation."

Appearance and Weakening of Naruto's Eight Trigrams Seal

Naruto's Burdened Seal

Within Naruto, the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style appeared as a circular pattern on his abdomen. The seal itself lay dormant, only visible when he began drawing on Kurama's tremendous chakra reserves. This proved a double-edged blessing, gradually corrupting Naruto's mind and body if he overused the tailed beast's energy.

The container method ensured Kurama could never fully manifest, yet over time, all seals naturally weakened. Anticipating this, Minato infused some of his and Kushina's residual chakra within Naruto as a failsafe. This allowed their spirits to periodically manifest, strengthening the Eight Trigrams Seal during moments of crisis when Kurama tried to betray Naruto.

Unfortunately, Minato could only reinforce the barrier once due to giving his life to complete the jutsu. Thankfully, Kushina also appeared later on in Naruto's struggles for control to aid her son and his tailed beast partner in reaching an understanding.

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The Power of the Eight Trigrams Seal's "Key"

The "Key" That Controls the Nine-Tails

As an added layer of security for posterity, Minato devised the "Key to the Seal." Carved upon the scroll toad Gerotora and entrusted to Naruto's godfather Jiraiya, this item could permanently remove or even further empower the Eight Trigrams container.

Jiraiya believed Minato wanted Naruto to access the Nine-Tails' power against a future threat. However, instead of strengthening the seal as intended, Jiraiya used the key to slightly weaken the Eight Trigrams Seal. This gave Naruto broader access to the Nine-Tails' chakra during his training. Only later was the key passed to Naruto, so he could prepare to replace the original seal with a new, even stronger variant.

Evolution into the Torii Seal Barrier

Evolution of the Sealing Style

After separating Kurama's malevolent chakra from the tailed beast itself, Naruto fused their essences together into a harmonious whole. This transcended their previous arrangement, evolving the Eight Trigrams Style beyond recognition. In its place emerged a colossal new sealing matrix—the Torii Seal.

Comprised of enormous stone archways interlocking like a ceremonial shrine corridor, this ethereal construct could easily immobilize even the fully realized Kurama. By manipulating the key, Naruto could further isolate and store the fox's energy apart from its physical form. In doing so, he at last gained perfect, balanced control over their joint power without fear of corruption or loss of self. This paved the way for Naruto and Kurama to truly see one another as partners.

The Legacy of the Uzumaki Clan's Fūinjutsu Prowess

The Legacy of Uzushiogakure

The story of Naruto Uzumaki and Kurama demonstrates why the sealing techniques of Uzushiogakure earned worldwide renown. Specifically, the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style showcases how two generations of seal masters from the Uzumaki clan safeguarded humanity from catastrophe through fūinjutsu's mastery.

By containing such dangers within living vessels linked by kindred bonds, bitter hatred can transform into understanding. Though the hidden Eddy Village itself fell long ago, its principles of balanced power and heritage of sophisticated containment methods endure through lost kin like Kushina and legacy bearers like the Fourth Hokage. The legacy of the Uzumaki and their immortal contributions to the Shinobi arts will forever shape the destiny of the Naruto world.

Naruto

A popular shonen anime based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga, Naruto follows its eponymous shinobi's journey as he goes from his town's outsider to its hero.

Creator

Masashi Kishimoto

Seasons

5

Number of Episodes

220

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu , Netflix , YouTube

Watch on Amazon

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