| Symbol and Markings Guide |
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To help personalize their wardrobe and identify themselves, the ninja in the world of Naruto will often adopt certain markings. These can be clan symbols, tattoos and logos.
To view seals, please consult the General Seal Guide.
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| Clothing Symbols |
| Akatsuki Clouds |
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Though they are a secretive organization, Akatsuki is known for wearing their striking black cloaks with the red cloud patterns.
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| Akimichi "Shoku" Symbol |
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Both Akimichi Chouji and Chouza bear the "shoku" (food) kanji on the front of their clothing. Known for their consumption of high calorie foods, the kanji character is fitting.
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| Fourth Hokage's Jacket Symbol |
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Over his normal ninja flak jacket and gear, the Fourth Hokage often wore a long white jacket with red flames along the bottom. Emblazoned on the back was the kanji for "Yondaime Hokage" (Fourth FireShadow).
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| Gamabunta's "Ebi" Symbol |
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The Toad boss Gamabunta wears a short kimono bearing the "ebi" (shrimp) kanji on its back. Ebi, when used in conjunction with another kanji, changes to form "gama," meaning toad. By itself "ebi" could possibly refer to Gamabunta's favorite food, or be a play on his size.
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| Hyuuga Hinata Jacket Symbol |
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Hinata wears this symbol on the upper right and left arms of her jacket. The symbol may be tied to Hinata's name, the kanji of which means "Sunny Place".
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| Jiraiya's "Abura" Symbol |
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Jiraiya wears a forehead protector bearing the "abura" (oil) kanji. The kanji comes from Jiraiya's title as Gama Sennin (Toad Hermit), where toad oil was thought to hold special medicinal properties.
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| Jiraiya's Toads' "Chuu" Symbol |
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Jiraiya often summons an orange man-sized toad to help in battle and also with which to hang out. The toad wears a necklace bearing the "chuu" (friendship/loyalty) kanji.
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| Kankurou Jumpsuit Symbol |
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While no explicit meaning is ever given, the colors utilized in both the symbol and suit itself are probably drawn from Kabuki as well. With black meaning terror and fear and the dark red meaning anger.
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| Nara Shikamaru Jacket Symbol |
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Shikamaru wears this symbol on the upper right and left arms and on the back of his jacket.
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| Nin-Dog "Henohenomoheji" Face Symbol |
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Hatake Kakashi's Nin-Dogs wear the "Henohenomoheji" hiragana face on their clothing. The hiragana characters for Henohenomoheji form the face itself. The first two "he" are the eyebrows, the first two "no" are the eyes, the "mo" is the nose, the next "he" is the mouth and the final "ji" forms the chin. This is often placed on the face of kakashi (scarecrow) in Japan.
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| Sound Five Tunic Symbol |
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The six members of the Sound Five (Kidoumaru, Jiroubou, Tayuya, Sakon, Ukon and Kimimaro) all wear this variation of the Yin-Yang symbol. The Yang portion which is white represents light, heaven and dominance. Here the light dominates, which prevents harmony in life.
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| Tsunade's "Kake" Symbol |
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The Legendary Sannin Tsunade wears the "kake" (gambling) kanji on the back of her robe. Known for her love of gambling, the symbol is fitting.
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| Uzumaki Clan Symbol |
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Naruto wears this red swirl symbol on the back of his jacket. The symbol is worn on the standard uniform of the Chuunin and Jounin, being found on the upper arms and back of the flak jacket. It is the marking of the Uzumaki Clan, who shared an alliance with Konoha. Konoha founder Senju Hashirama married Uzumaki Mito, who hailed from the clan and Whirlpool Village.
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| Zaku's "Shi" Symbol |
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The Sound ninja Abumi Zaku wears three "shi" (death) kanji down the front of his shirt.
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| Official Logos |
| Hidan's Jashin Symbol |
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Akatsuki member Hidan believes in Jashin, an "Evil God" cult. He wears their symbol on a necklace. The cult believes in the glory of slaughter and utter destruction. Anything less than killing is seen as blasphemy. When an enemy is defeated, Hidan appears to use the Jashin symbol to perform bloody rituals.
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| Konoha Barrier Team Symbol |
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The Konoha Barrier Team maintains the barrier guarding the village. They wear this symbol on their tunics and shoulder patches.
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| Konoha Military Police Symbol |
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Founded by the ancestors of the modern Uchiha clan, the Police Corps incorporates the Uchiha fan and a four-cornered star.
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| Medical-Nin "I" Symbol |
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Doctors in the Leaf medical squad bear the "I" (doctor) kanji on their left breast.
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| Sasori Puppet Stamp |
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Sasori of the Red Sands was a master puppet maker. To that end he stamped all his works with his official scorpion mark. Kankurou's puppets were from his line of creations.
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| Senju Clan Symbol |
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One of the most powerful clans of their time, the Senju helped found the village of Konoha. Their leader, Senju Hashirama, went on to become Shodai Hokage.
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| Twelve Elite Guardians |
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The Twelve Elite Guardians are specially trained individuals whose duty is to protect the Fire Country Daimyou. The members are identified by the "Fire" character marked on their loincloths.
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| Uchiha Clan Symbol |
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Drawn from the meaning of the term "Uchiwa" in Japanese, the Uchiha clan has adopted a fan as their clan symbol.
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| Body Marks |
| ANBU Tattoo |
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This tattoo is worn by ANBU members on the upper arm.
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| Gaara's "Ai" Tattoo |
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Gaara used his sand to scar the kanji of "ai" (love) into his forehead.
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| Gaara's Tanuki Eyes |
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Shukaku lied dormant within Gaara but could operate freely when Gaara slept. Because of the dangerous nature of Shukaku in this free wheeling state, Gaara went without sleep. As a result his eyes become dark and discolored. Stylistically this enhanced his ties to the tanuki, as the species has a dark area around their eyes.
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| Hachibi Jinchuurki's Ox Horns Tattoo |
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This tattoo is worn on the left cheek of the Hachibi Jinchuuriki. The tattoo is that of ox horns, but it also resembles octopus arms. Together they are the two animals of his bijuu, an Ushi-Oni, a mythical creature which was depicted as a combination of two animals.
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| Inuzuka Cheek Marks |
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The Inuzuka clan is known for their ties to canines. The members all bear the crimson fang marks on their cheeks.
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| Inuzuka Hana's Tattoo |
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Hana has this tattoo on the upper portion of her right arm. The tattoo may be a stylized flower, as per the meaning of her name.
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| Jiraiya's Cheek Marks |
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Jiraiya has two red marks on his face which start at his eyes and run down his cheeks. These have been present on his cheeks from his youngest appearance in the series, growing longer and larger as he aged.
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| Jiraiya's Summoning Tattoo |
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Jiraiya has this tattoo on the palm of his left hand. Whenever he wants to summoning a toad, he will bite he right thumb to draw blood and then wipe it across this tattoo on his left palm. It should be noted that this tattoo has appeared about 4 times in the series, and each time Kishimoto has drawn it differently. What it displayed to the left comes from when Kishimoto drew it the largest and clearest.
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| Kankurou Kabuki Face Paint (Initial) |
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When Kankurou first appears in the series, he wears this kabuki face paint. In kabuki, purple color make-up is sometimes used to represent nobility, which makes sense as Kankurou's father is Kazekage.
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| Kankurou Kabuki Face Paint (Second) |
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When Kankurou appears again later in the series, he has modified the look of his kabuki facial paint.
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| Kankurou Kabuki Face Paint (Third) |
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When Kankurou appears yet again later in the series, he has modified the look of his kabuki facial paint.
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| "Karasu" Mark |
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Kankurou's puppet Karasu has the "karasu" (crow) kanji on its chin.
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| Kimimaro's "Maro Mayu" Mark |
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Drawn from the Heian era, Kimimaro has the mayu (eyebrow) mark commonly found on the noble class (who used the formal "maro" to refer to themselves).
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| Mizuki's "Chakra Enhancing" Formula Mark |
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This skull was placed on Mizuki in the past by Orochimaru. This skull contained one of Orochimaru's experimental formulas. If the formula was mixed and ingested, the ninja would be granted the genetic power of an animal. Unfortunately the formula was not perfected and power fades soon after, leaving the ninja a weakened shadow of their former self.
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| Orochimaru's Summoning Tattoo |
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Orochimaru wears this snake-like tattoo on his left arm. The tattoo itself runs fully around the length of his forearm. When Orochimaru needs to summon Manda or another great snake, he will draw blood and run it along the length of the tattoo, terminating the wipe at the head portion.
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| Rasengan Training Tattoo |
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Jiraiya wears this tattoo on the palm of his right hand. He also placed an ink version of this tattoo on Naruto's palm. The tattoo is used to concentrate the wearers focus when controlling the swirling of their chakra in their palm. By focusing on this one spot, the wearers mind stabilizes and is capable of extracting great power.
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| Tsunade's Forehead Mark |
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The Legendary Sannin Tsunade bears a mark on her forehead. This is not a tattoo or beauty mark, it is a chakra gathering point for her Souzou Saisei technique. Releasing this massive amount of built up chakra in battle allows the cells of her body to hasten the creation of new cells. This allows her to heal her wounds.
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| Uzumaki Naruto's Kyuubi Cheek Whiskers |
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After being born to the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki Uzumaki Kushina, three facial markings appeared on Naruto's cheeks. When Naruto gets very angry and his uncontrolled Kyuubi power leaks out, the whiskers grow in size and become more feral looking.
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