Did you know that the swastika, which in Japanese is called manji, often appears in anime and manga? In this article, we will explore various instances of the swastika in Japanese culture.
In the West, swastikas are often censored, criticized, and viewed with hateful eyes because of Nazism. Do anime and manga view it the same way?
What some do not know is that the swastika actually has no relation to the atrocities committed by Nazism; there are different swastikas called manji that are religious symbols of Buddhism.
We even wrote an article discussing the true meaning of the Buddhist and Nazi swastika, and if you haven’t read it, we recommend doing so, as we won’t discuss the meanings in this article.
Table of Contents
What does the kanji 卍 manji mean?
Perhaps you are curious about the meaning of this kanji [卍]; we know it is a Buddhist symbol, but what is its etymology in the Japanese language? What is its use in the dialogues of anime and manga?
When you look up 卍 in the dictionary, you find it described as a sign of auspiciousness that means the whorl of the chest of the Indian god “Vishnu”.
The word has no particular meaning, but in some way it can indicate something dangerous, strong, and incredible like a god. Of course, this symbol is much older, which makes its meanings more obscure.
Nowadays, this symbol 卍 among young people often has the same meaning as yabai, meaning no meaning at all. It is a slang used to refer to both good and bad things.
High school girls often type the expression majimanji [マジ卍], which means the same thing as majiyabai, an exclamatory slang used to refer to something amazing, exciting, terrible, or indescribable.
So whenever you find such a symbol present in any dialogue of a manga or anime, just conclude that it means the same thing as yabai or means nothing at all.
The lack of meaning makes the slang senseless, perhaps just to confuse the older generations when they see conversations on Line and Twitter.
We believe that the reason the swastika is used after maji is that this word is euphonic, it fits well in the text to highlight the messages and also has no real meaning like the ideograms.
The Swastika in Tokyo Revengers – Tokyo Manjikai (Touman)
In the anime and manga Tokyo Revengers, you find a reference to the Nazi swastika in the name of the main gang of the anime called Tokyo Manjikai.
The gang is nicknamed and abbreviated as touman [東卍], and the swastika is also often used decoratively to separate the title of the manga [東京卍リベンジャーズ].
The swastika is also featured on the covers of tankobon volumes, and the characters wear clothes with swastikas similar to the gangs of the 70s in real life.
The manji in the gang’s name likely comes from the name of the gang leader: Sano Manjirou. Toukyou Manji-kai can literally mean “Tokyo Swastika Association”.
The Swastika in Bleach – Bankai
You may not know, but Bankai [卍解] is written with the swastika. This word means nothing; it was just an invention of the author, but it is called the final release.
Before the bankai, the sword skill is called Shinkai [始解], which means initial version, initial release, first upgrade, or something like that.
The main character also has a manifested power called Fullbring or Kangen Jutsu in which his sword makes a sign that resembles the swastika.
Manji-Poosu – Swastika Pose
A passing trend in Japan is called manjipoosu [卍ポース], where Japanese people would make a swastika pose to take a photo or something similar.
Japanese people also used to say Manji [卍] when taking a photo with the pose, just like some say cheese (cheesu) before taking a picture.
This scene can be seen in the anime Kaguya-Sama where students make this pose to take a photo. There are different ways to make this pose; some use only their arms, while others use both arms and legs.
Swastika Used as Exclamation! 卍卍卍
On the internet, the swastika is also often used as exclamation points at the end of sentences, repeated three times or more.
Again, the swastika takes on the same meaning as yabai, referring to something exciting or thrilling, causing young people to write their sentences using 3x the swastika 卍卍卍.
The number of swastikas doesn’t matter much; it is often typed the same way as laughter [wwwww]. Sometimes the swastika is used to contain a word in the middle, like 卍whatever卍.
Just as lol is not written only when we are laughing, 卍 also doesn’t need to be added only when one is surprised or excited about something.
The Swastika Appearing in Anime
Besides the mentioned instances, the swastika appears in various situations in anime. Whether on the foreheads of villains, in the background of Buddhist temples, or even on Google Maps.
Here are some other occasions where the swastika makes appearances in anime:
- The villain in Yu Yu Hakusho has a manji tattooed on his forehead.
- In One Piece, a swastika was incorporated into the crest of the Whitebeard pirates.
- In Naruto, the Caged Bird seal is a manji symbol in the manga, but the anime changed it to an “X”.
- In Rurouni Kenshin, there is a faction similar to the Yakuza called “Hishimanji” that uses the swastika like the Nazis.
As you can see, the appearance of the swastika tends to be censored when going to the West. Unfortunately, people around the world have a certain prejudice against the religious symbol, thanks to the Crazy Nazis.
Japanese people know that the Manji has absolutely nothing dark about it; it is just a very common religious symbol seen in different locations and temples in Japan.
Leave a Reply