Kuji-kiri (九字切り, meaning "nine symbolic cuts") is a practice involving a sequence of nine hand gestures that is used throughout several Japanese religions and martial arts. They are mostly known in popular culture for their association with ninjutsu. They were based on the kuji-in of Taoism.
The nine signs include:
- Rin (臨) - Power
- Pei or Pyō (兵) - Direction
- Tō (闘) - Harmony
- Sha (者) - Healing
- Kai (皆) - Premonition
- Jin (陣) - Knowing
- Retsu (列) - Dimension
- Zai (在) - Creation
- Zen (前) - Enlightenment
In TMNT[]
Oroku Saki begins teaching the Ninja Turtles the practices involved with kuji-kiri in TMNT #131 in order to stand a chance against Rat King and his allies. Saki explains that the techniques were only taught to a handful of ninja at hidden temples, who were to learn them specifically for critical, secret missions and not to use them outside of those parameters. The techniques are incredibly dangerous and have strong ties to black magic. They can be debilitating to the user and those around them, so they must be used with sparingly. The kuji-kiri also works properly only without the direct gaze of an outsider. In TMNT#139, Kitsune introduces the existence of a secret 10th cut : Tōng.
In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 40th Anniversary Comics Celebration comic, the story Teen Spirit centers on the five Turtles as they practice Kuji-kiri. Saki leaves them to it so that he can go and meditate, but the mischievous teens begin pranking each other. When that leads to anger, the dark spirits in the Thin place appear and the Turtles must quickly realize their mistake and then do damage control.
Techniques[]
| Cut | Ability | Hand sign |
|---|---|---|
| Rin
"Strength", "Confrontation" |
Increases the strength of the user, he becomes strong enough to
break a trunk or shatter rocks with his bare hands. |
 |
| Pyō
"The soldier", "To channel" |
Channels the mystical energy, the user can breathe fire or fire energy beams from his hands. | 
|
| Tō
"Harmony", "Battle" |
Allows the user to become in harmony with nature, he can also control creatures such as Grybyx. |  |
| Sha
"Against a foe", "Healing" |
Allows the user to conjure his dark self while shielding his spirit. |  |
| Kai
"All", "With everyone" |
Allows the user to sense if people binded with him are in danger. |  |
| Jin
"Information", "To prepare", "Reading of thoughts" |
Allows the user to sense the true intentions of anyone. |  |
| Retsu
"Control of space and time", "To move in a row" |
Allows the user to travel in space and time.
Astral projection is a basic principle of retsu. |
 |
| Zai
"To appear", "To create" |
Allows the user to create falsehoods or expose truths. |  |
| Zen
"To move forward" |
Allows the user to summon the spirit of a dead person. |  |
| Tōng
"Unification", "Interconnection", "As a whole", "Together" |
Allows the user to summon the mystic power of gravity in order
to pull people, witness the past and the future. |
|
Users[]
See also[]
- Kujikiri, an assassin in Image Comics continuity with a similar name.