Naruto: A Mythical and Religious Analysis

A guide to the mythical and religious elements of the Naruto series. A book that serves as a side-by-side commentary on the first season and Shippuden. Overview of the information in some major chapters Chapter 1: Land of Waves - Inari Mythology - The Kitsune in Japanese Folklore - Kakashi vs Zabuza being a modernisation of Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro Chapter 5: Naruto vs Neji - The role of Confucian values in shaping the Hyuga clan - The adaptations of The Journey to the West, in terms of narrative value and characterisation of Naruto - The role that Taoism plays in providing an answer to Neji Chapter 7: Sannin Showdown - Adaptation of The tale of the Gallant Jiriaya for the three Sannin - How the story also influences the Konoha crush arc Chapter 8: Sasuke leaves the village - The possibility of the Egyptian Mythology of Osiris being a significant shaping of Sasuke's character, and the Myths of Horus shaping Sasuke in early Shippuden. - The nihilistic differences in Kimimaro and the old Neji Chapter 14: Brothers between battle - The story of the Shinto god Susanoo and the story of Yamata-no-Orochi being featured - Sasuke's personfication of Amaterasu - How the cave of Amaterasu's entrapment has been modernised in correspondence with the ideas of Plato's cave Chapter 16: Pain - The symbolism of Christ developing to fight Pain on his own - The psychological symbolisms found in Western alchemy, mapping onto Naruto's descent into hell - Naruto's TnJ with Nagato bearing resemblance to Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov Chapter 20: Tests of Character - Zetsu's correspondence to the alchemical symbolism of the mandrake - How this carries over into the ideas of the homunculus, with Zetsu and Naruto articulating two different types Chapter 25: Squad 7 Reunited - The history of Indra and the Asuras in Hinduism - The combination of select Yokai and Shugendo rituals which forms the idea of the Ten-Tails - The history of Shugendo influencing Ninshu, and the division between Hagoromo's children Indra and Ashura Chapter 26: Endgame - Kaguya being adapted from The tale of the Bamboo cutter - The story of the Chinese Goddess of the moon and the elixir corresponding to the divine fruit - The story of Obito's redemption (also see Chapter 22.)