In Naruto, some characters appear with the powerful eye jutsu Sharingan. In an interview, the author Masashi Kishimoto explains that he was inspired by a play.
What is Sharingan? Sharingan in Naruto is one of the three major eye arts alongside the Byakugan and the Rinnegan. It is also a Kekkei Genkai, an inherited ability normally reserved for members and relatives of the Uchiha clan. Members of this family can awaken the Sharingan, but this is not guaranteed.
The Sharingan turns the user’s iris blood red when activated. Depending on the level of awakening, it has one to three so-called tomoe, points with tapered tails. In the most powerful variant, the Mangekyou Sharingan, each user receives an individual character.
The basic possible applications include copying skills or movement sequences. It can also be used to analyze other people’s chakra flow. It also allows the owner to trigger illusion jutsu only through eye contact. The powerful Mangekyou also gives the user overpowering abilities, such as the unquenchable black flames of Amaterasu or powerful illusions via Tsukuyomi.
One of the most powerful Sharingan holders is Sasuke Uchiha. Here he faces his opponent Momoshiki together with Naruto:
Boruto: Naruto and Sasuke fight Momoshiki
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Inspiration from the theater
What inspired Kishimoto? In an interview for the release of the film The Last: Naruto the Movie, Naruto author Masashi Kishimoto spoke about an inspiration for the powerful Sharingan. Specifically, this comes from the Kabuki theater Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari (which translates as The Story of the Gallant Jiraiya).
The protagonist here is the eponymous Jiraiya, who has an eye called the Sharingan. By the way, Jiraiya also made it into the Naruto manga – as Naruto’s powerful teacher.
In the interview, Kishimoto goes on to say that he took the concept of the Sharingan from the play and gave it to the Uchiha clan as a blood inheritance. He wanted to make the fact that Kakashi also has such an eye a big mystery. This was only resolved with Kakashi Gaiden years later: the Naruto manga started in 1999, while the resolution in Gaiden was only told from the end of 2004.
How does the Sharingan evolve over the course of Naruto? Kekkei Genkais are very rare, especially at the beginning of the story. Only Sasuke Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake use it and are therefore the focus of envious opponents like Orochimaru. Later, Sasuke’s brother Itachi appears, who can sometimes use very powerful jutsu through the Sharingan.
But especially after the time jump, more and more Sharingan owners appear, including Danzo Shimura as well as Shisui, Madara and Obito Uchiha. While the Uchiha have awakened their Sharingan, Danzo stands out in particular for shamelessly implanting the eyes of deceased Uchiha clan members into his arm.
By the way, MeinMMO recently published some power rankings for Naruto. Sometimes there is also one of the members of the Uchiha clan. If you want to know who can best use their Sharingan, read on here: Naruto: The 7 strongest members of the Uchiha clan in the ranking