This article is Jujutsu Kaisen Hidden References Explained Episodes 1–9, With a Japanese Fan Lens. of continuation of the article.
If you haven’t read it yet, please read it first!
The References Japanese Fans Caught Instantly (Episodes 10–19)
If you watch Jujutsu Kaisen in Japanese, you can feel a second layer under the action.
It is not “hidden lore.” It is cultural muscle memory—old TV, famous names, gaming slang, and religious vocabulary that Japanese viewers recognize instantly without explaining.
This guide covers the pop-culture and language references that stand out in these episodes, using the official global episode titles.
Episode 12 – To You, Someday
Gojo’s joke is a pro-wrestling reference, not magic
There is a small moment where Yuji sounds genuinely disappointed that “Jujutsu” is not the kind of power system where you can simply cast moves like Thunder or Fire. That disappointment is funny on its own—but Gojo’s response makes it more Japanese.
Japanese fans point out that the “Thunder / Fire / Powerbomb” rhythm matches a famous finishing move associated with Japanese pro-wrestler Atsushi Onita. In Japan, Onita is a name that immediately evokes a very specific style of wrestling culture: loud, dramatic, and a little bit chaotic in the best way.
So Gojo’s line lands as a quick “don’t treat this like a kids’ fantasy spell list” jab—delivered through a reference that older Japanese viewers or wrestling-aware fans instantly get. It is the kind of joke that sounds random in subtitles unless you know the name.
Episode 13 – Tomorrow
Red wire or blue wire: a film-memory shortcut
In this episode’s training context, the “red line / blue line” phrasing Japanese fans mention is strongly tied to a classic bomb-disposal dilemma: which wire do you cut.
The reason it hits so hard in Japan is that this trope is not just “a movie thing.” For many viewers, it is specifically anchored to a famous 1974 thriller, Juggernaut, which is often referenced as an early mainstream example of the wire dilemma. Even people who have not watched the film have absorbed the trope through decades of parody and repetition.
So when Japanese viewers connect this line to Juggernaut, they are basically saying: this feels like the original wire-choice anxiety—pure cinematic tension condensed into two colors.
Episode 15 – Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event – Group Battle 1 –
Gojo explains Domain Expansion as a “buff” (gaming slang, not fantasy jargon)
Gojo uses the word buff as an analogy for Domain Expansion, and this is one of those moments where modern Japanese speech and global gamer language overlap.
In games, a buff means a temporary boost: stronger attack, better defense, faster movement, higher resistance. Japanese players use バフ in daily gamer talk exactly the way English speakers do: buff and debuff are standard vocabulary now.
So Gojo choosing that word is not “weird translation.” It is character-accurate modern language: he is explaining an abstract, high-level concept to Yuji using the fastest shared reference point—game logic.
Episode 15 – Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event – Group Battle 1 –
Iron Encircling Mountains: why Jogo’s Domain name feels “religious” in Japanese
Jogo’s Domain Expansion name in Japanese includes the idea of Iron Encircling Mountains. That phrase is not invented for anime. It comes from Buddhist cosmology.
In traditional Buddhist world imagery, Mount Sumeru sits at the center, surrounded by rings of mountains and seas. The outermost boundary is a ring of iron mountains—an enclosing border of the world.
So when Japanese viewers see “iron mountains” used in a Domain context, it does not just sound cool. It sounds like an intentional borrowing from religious vocabulary that implies a sealed realm—an enclosed world with no escape.
Episode 15 – Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event – Group Battle 1 –
Unlimited Void is also real Buddhist terminology
Gojo’s Domain Expansion, Unlimited Void, is famous worldwide now—but the Japanese term it comes from has strong Buddhist echoes.
In Japanese Buddhism-related vocabulary, the term can connect to the concept of “Infinity of Space,” a formless meditative realm beyond material form. Japanese viewers who have encountered Buddhist terminology in school, books, or temple culture will feel that texture immediately.
That is why the name lands with a particular kind of weight in Japanese: it does not feel like “anime naming.” It feels like an imported religious phrase describing a place where normal perception breaks.
Episode 17 – Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event – Group Battle 3 –
Fushiguro’s naming: “the frog at the bottom of a well”
The technique name Japanese fans point out here (linked to Fushiguro’s frog shikigami variation) is a wordplay rooted in a proverb.
In Japanese, there is a famous saying: “A frog in a well does not know the ocean.” It describes narrow perspective—someone trapped in a small world who cannot imagine a wider one.
The proverb traces back to Chinese classical literature, and the idiom exists in multiple forms across East Asia. When a technique name borrows that structure, Japanese viewers immediately read the vibe: something about limited viewpoint, hidden depth, or a creature defined by the boundary of its world.
Even if the show does not explain it, the phrase carries a built-in meaning payload for Japanese ears.
After episode 20, we will introduce it in this article.
Currently under intense production!
I still don’t have enough stories, so this article will continue.
Please wait for the update!
Why these references matter
Jujutsu Kaisen does not require viewers to catch these references to follow the story. Instead, thJujutsu Kaisen does not demand recognition of these references. You can enjoy the story without them.
But for Japanese viewers, these details quietly reinforce authenticity. The dialogue feels like it belongs to Japan. The characters feel like they grew up watching the same TV, hearing the same commercials, and absorbing the same news footage.
This is not lore.
It is texture.
Understanding that texture does not change the plot.
It changes how alive the world feels.
All Write：kumao
This site conveys the true record of Jujutsu Kaisen in Japan.
[The box office success of the theatrical version of “Jujutsu Kaisen”: a thorough analysis of the factors that caused the record hit｜akihabara.site Official