One of the strongest characters in Jujutsu Kaisen is Ryoumen Sukuna.
When Sukuna expands his domain, he makes a unique hand sign.
In this article, a native Japanese writer explained Sukuna’s Domain Expansion, the original source of its hand sign, and its meaning including Japanese backgrounds.
Cursed Technique
Sukuna’s cursed technique must be related to cooking.
We know the three kinds of Sukuna’s Jujutsu.
Sukuna’s Jujutsu
・Dismantle：Normal slashing.
・Cleave：Slashing that cuts the target in half according to target’s strength and cursed energy.
・■：Taking out flames.
So, all three of these cursed techniques above are related to cooking.
In fact, the kitchen knife for cooking was depicted when explaining Dismantle and Cleave.
In addition, what Sukuna said, “I was going for three slices.” and “Let’s start with a little taste.”, implies his cursed technique is related with cooking.
(The nuance above is clearer in Japanese version than in English)
Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine
In addition, Sukuna can use Domain Expansion, Malevolent Shrine (伏魔御厨子).
What Does Malevolent Shrine (伏魔御厨子) Mean?
The kanji of Malevolent Shrine (伏魔御厨子) is difficult even for a native Japanese.
The Japanese meanings of 伏魔御厨子 are below.
Japanese meanings of 伏魔御厨子
“伏” means “lurk”, “hiding”, and “ambush”.
“魔” means “a evil god”, “not a human act”, and “mysterious power”.
“御” represents a politeness.
“厨子” means the box for storing cooking utensils.
Therefore, the meaning of the 伏魔御厨子 may be the toolbox for subjugating (≒ cooking) opponents.
Effect
The effect of Malevolent Shrine is to constantly shower Dismantle and Cleave against the objects inside the domain.
At Shibuya Incident, the area where Sukuna expanded the domain became a vacant lot, which implies the destructive power of Malevolent Shrine.
And Sukuna can expand the domain to a wide range of 200 meters by the Binding Vows not to close the barrier.
In addition, Jujustu Kaisen Vol.14 states that expanding the domain without closing the barrier is truly divine technique like painting a masterpiece not on a canvas but on air.
Only Sukuna and Kenjaku can expand a complete domain without closing the barrier.
Hand Sign
When Sukuna expands the domain, the index finger and little finger are folded and the other fingers are raised.
The original source of this hand sign must be Yama (閻魔天).
According to Wikipedia, Yama (閻魔天) is the king of the underworld and rules over death.
閻魔天 decides whether a person goes to hell or heaven from his behavior during life
閻魔天 is terribly feared by people, and this point is common with Sukuna.
In addition, 閻魔天 is one of the Twelve Deities among with Śakra (帝釈天) who is the original source of Gojo’s hand sign of Unlimited Void.
Only Gojo and Sukuna’s hand signs are based on Twelve Deities, which may correspond to Sukuna and Gojo being the top two in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Also, Yama rides a water buffalo, which may correspond to the bones lying inside the Malevolent Shrine.
Postscript
This is the article of “Sukuna’s Domain Expansion Explained by a Native Japanese”.
Other articles explained the interesting and important issues in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Hand signs and these original sources are summarized in the article below.
Plese read them as well.
In addition, the Japanese version of this article is here.