Jujutsu Kaisen: The Dark Truth of the Simple Domain

Jujutsu Kaisen has created a complex power system that even considers the power output of those without unique tricks up their sleeves.

The Simple Domain is known as “the domain of the weak” that erases sure-hit effects and even cursed energy as a whole just like Hunter x Hunter’s concept of enforced Zetsu states.

It is a profoundly inspiring name at first, showing that there are multiple methods of using jujutsu outside the diverse innate cursed techniques throughout the stories.

However, Chapter 269 presents a much darker picture of the domain of the weak, revealing that the Simple Domain is another means of controlling the fate of Jujutsu Sorcerers.

History

During the Heian Era, there were many curses. In the old days, Hollow Wicker Basket was the only known counter to Domains and as an esoteric technique, few knew about it, albeit with less imposed secrecy than its successor.

At the time, Domain Expansions were mostly non-lethal because they did not impose a sure-hit effect and instead subjected targets to rules, with Hirumo Higurama’s Deadly Sentencing as a modern example.

With the growth of more powerful curses and curse users, possibly the rise of more lethal domains as well, a newer, stronger anti-domain technique was born, the Simple Domain made by Sadatsuna Ashiya to protect his followers.

But Ashiya understood that with this new defense, curse users could use it against sorcerers. To protect the weak, who would lose their strongest counter to curses and curse users, Ashiya imposed a binding vow within the technique for it to be usable, that the technique not be taught to outsiders.

Since binding vows enhance the strength of a technique, it is possible this restriction is what enables the Simple Domain to be an effective counter to domains.

On the one hand, this monopoly ensured the weak had a weapon to counter the strong. On the other hand, it also left many behind, many who either were not accepted by the school’s standards or were not able to accept the conditions of absolute obedience and non-disclosure.

As a result of this strict binding vow, many jujutsu sorcerers lacked the ability to protect against the domains of powerful curses and curse users, leading to untold and potentially avoidable casualties.

As such, Ashiya and the future heads of the school would take advantage of the monopoly to control the private army of Jujutsu sorcerers, with the seemingly benevolent goal of protecting those without great power or a cursed technique.

The New Shadow School remains an obscure relic of Jujutsu society’s past, accepting only a few disciples who accede to the demands of the technique.

Differences between Hollow Wicker Basket and Simple Domain

Before we move to Simple Domain usage, you may have wondered what the differences between Simple Domain and Hollow Wicker Basket are.

• Hollow Wicker Basket forms a barrier around the user to neutralize domains upon contact while sharing the same function, Simple Domain is a barrier with customized binding vows, and therefore custom effects.
• Hollow Wicker Basket restricts movement as the user needs to maintain the hand signs and stay in place to ensure protection. The New Shadow Style: Simple Domain allows swordsmen to respond to any attack and therefore continue to engage in combat.

Usage Overview

As a domain, the Simple Domain is a barrier technique that manifest the user’s domain in a smaller range but with the purpose of turning off the guaranteed-hit function of a Domain by affecting its barrier rather than cancelling the imbued cursed technique of that barrier

Because of its short range, it is only limited to protecting the individual user or anyone within a limited vicinity.

This is not a 100% protection but mitigates the damage to a non-fatal point.

While mostly a personal defense, the user can cover others inside their small space, as shown in Chapter 259 when Miwa protected Maki from Sukuna’s Malevolent Shrine, which was an open-barrier Domain Expansion, meaning anything, even objects without cursed energy such as modern technology and beings like Maki Zenin, can be affected by the guaranteed-hit function.

Most of the time, this function of the Simple Domain manifests in an aura coating or a box-like barrier in the case of Ui-ui, whose application of Simple Domain is at its height by neutralizing all cursed energy within a given area.

However, Simple Domain is not simply a shield or coating of energy.

We first see Simple Domain used in Chapter 35 through Kasumi Miwa to counter Yuji’s approach into her range. 

The prominent users of Simple Domain were swordsmen like Miwa and her teacher, Atsushi Kusakabe.

And if you notice, both prominent Simple Domain users lack an innate technique of their own, therefore channeling their cursed energy and efforts on producing effective attacks.

The swordsmanship allows cursed energy to be imbued into the weapons to serve as an offensive defense, usually a quick response to nearby attacks and requires the creation of a small Domain to be able to pick up an enemy’s presence.

As seen with Miwa, the swordplay is almost done out of instinct, given that the enemy has made contact with the user’s Domain, their inner world manifested within a barrier technique.

As seen with Kusabake, the New Shadow Style approach to Simple Domain not only defends against domains but can also deflect cursed energy attacks. 

However, the New Shadow School was not the only source of the Simple Domain and the concept of a Simple Domain began to blur somewhat with the introduction of two characters: Ghetto’s cursed spirit Kuchisake-Onna (Slit-Mouthed Woman) from the Hidden Inventory Arc (Chapter 72) and the sumo wrestler turned newly-minted sorcerer, Rokujushi Miyo.

Kuchisake-Onna’s barrier enforces a custom binding vow on those that enter her domain and herself, preventing the two parties from engaging in violence until Kuchisake-Onna’s question is answered. Because of the vow, time freezes.

This is the opposite for Miyo’s Simple Domain, a sumo ring which discards the complications of a binding vow. By having both parties mutually consent, the domain is created and within that domain, time flows faster. 

Unlike most users, Kokichi Muta does not use Simple Domain directly but instead stores them as cursed techniques inside bullets and spikes inside Ultimate Mechamaru.

How he acquired this knowledge was through careful observation of Kasumi Miwa.

Through the capsule format, Kokichi is able to disable his opponents by hitting them with Simple Domain bullets or spikes from Ultimate Mechamaru: Absolute.

This allowed Kokichi to cancel Mahito’s Idle Transfiguration technique.

Think of it like Hunter x Hunter’s Kurapika’s Chain Jail, which enforces the state of Zetsu that stops the flow of Nen aura, which is the likely inspiration of Simple Domain.

The Dark Truth of Simple Domain

In the latest chapter, we learn the complete story of Simple Domain and it’s incredibly dark.

For centuries, the New Shadow School has monopolized the use of Simple Domain.

At first, it seemed like a means of making the Simple Domain’s power a guaranteed protection against Domains, especially for those with a lower cursed energy output.

However, the true reason this technique is more like a curse than a jujutsu technique is because of its binding vows.

Along with the reasonable binding vow of restricting access of the Simple Domain to protect the weak users and vow of obedience to the New Shadow School head, there is a supposed Lifespan Contract attached.

This means every Simple Domain cast by any person, whether by an outsider or not, will always incur a price, which is the lifespan of the user being slowly drained with each other and fed to the head of the New Shadow School.

Fortunately, this came to an end when, sometime after Satoru Gojo’s release from the Prison Realm, Mei-mei investigated the whereabouts of the New Shadow School head.

More than providing the Sukuna raiders the means to protect against Malevolent Shrine without incurring a terrible price, Mei-mei came to stop the person responsible for potentially shortening her brother’s life and future.

After Mei-mei killed the head, Kusakabe stepped forward as the new head of the New Shadow School, which allowed him to undo all associated binding vows without seemingly weakening the technique.

Even then, the Simple Domain remains one of the most wicked cursed techniques due to its history of exploitation.

The binding vows set on the Simple Domain were potentially responsible for the weakening of modern sorcerers, as compared to their ancient counterparts.

Without Simple Domain in their arsenals, many young jujutsu sorcerers lost their lives on the battlefield and many Simple Domain users have also seen their lives and futures stolen to be used as a private army for a mysterious fourth clan faction running the New Shadow School.

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