Magatsu Izanagi
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Itachi and Shisui: Transcending the Heavens
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Introduction
This thread serves as an analysis on Itachi and Shisui's friendship, broken down into two parts:
1) Their friendship at face value, in context of the manga.
2) Their friendship and how it ties in with Shinto mythology.
Please note: any observations made towards things such as MS techs, etc are being made strictly in the context of portrayal in the manga, story-wise.
1) Their friendship at face value, in context of the manga.
2) Their friendship and how it ties in with Shinto mythology.
Please note: any observations made towards things such as MS techs, etc are being made strictly in the context of portrayal in the manga, story-wise.
It was established many times during the series that Shisui was Itachi's best friend, and he was like an older brother to him.
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Itachi clearly held Shisui in the highest of regards, as the only time in the series when he utterly lost his temper was triggered by people indirectly bad-mouthing Shisui and accusing Itachi of killing him (indirectly implying that Shisui's life was worthless to Itachi).
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But in fact, Shisui DID do that (albeit not for the reasons this guy is assuming). Itachi took this as the guy calling Shisui a coward, which prompted his reply ("It's not wise to judge others based on...")
Next, Itachi asks if they are suspicious of him. They reply that they are, which prompts Itachi to seemingly abandon his pacifistic nature and beat them up.
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This scene is often overlooked in terms of Itachi retaliating physically. From this out-of-character (Itachi never loses his cool, ever) outburst alone, it can be established that Shisui had a place in Itachi's heart that was second only to Sasuke, maybe even equal (in different ways). That's why when he felt like Shisui was being tarnished or looked down upon, he snapped (of course, once he did snap, he began to speak against the clan as a whole, and didn't mention Shisui directly, but it's what triggered it that's important).
When Itachi was as young as 7 years old, his wisdom was already on par with that of a Hokage:
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Likewise, the same applied for Itachi's influence on Shisui. Before dying, Shisui entrusted his eye to Itachi asking him to keep Konoha safe and the Uchiha honorable, saying he was his best friend and the only one whom he could ask of this.
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Additionally, this is also why Itachi had the command "protect Konoha" programmed into Shisui's eye. By doing so, he made the eye a direct extension of Shisui's will.
That's also why he chose to give it to Naruto. To him, Naruto shared the same heart as Shisui (the same feelings), so it seemed only fitting to give it to him, as Naruto using the eye power would be the closest thing to Shisui using KA himself.
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Summing all this up, it's safe to say Itachi held Shisui in the highest of regards, and he was a key influence to him in his life. If Shisui didn't exist, Itachi's life may have been drastically different.
As you may know, Kishimoto uses a lot of names and symbolism from Japanese/Shinto mythology in the manga. Both Itachi and Shisui apply to this trend, as they both represent different deities, and their friendship ties them together in this respect.
To explain what is meant by that, one first has to understand what they both represent, individually.
Itachi - Izanagi
Itachi Uchiha is a representation of the Shinto god, Izanagi. A lengthier explanation as to why this is the case can be found in
-Izanagi had Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu in his eyes (albeit they are reversed from Itachi, see the thread for why)
-Izanagi wielded the Totsuka Blade, as did Itachi
-Itachi's role as an Edo parallels Izanagi's journey to the underworld.
If you have any doubts or want some clarification as to why this is true, check out the aforementioned thread.
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thread (feel free to read the full explanation there), here is a short summary of the parallels in his life to Izanagi's life:-Izanagi had Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu in his eyes (albeit they are reversed from Itachi, see the thread for why)
-Izanagi wielded the Totsuka Blade, as did Itachi
-Itachi's role as an Edo parallels Izanagi's journey to the underworld.
If you have any doubts or want some clarification as to why this is true, check out the aforementioned thread.
Shisui - Kotoamatsukami
Shisui Uchiha can be seen as a representation of Kotoamatsukami (別天津神, meaning "distinguished heavenly gods"), a term for the collective Shinto gods/powers who were the first to come into existence.
This is the reason why KA is said to be above all other genjutsu, because the Kotoamatsukami were above all other Shinto gods/powers in the hierarchy of the deities.
They came into existence spontaneously, whereas the gods/powers that followed them (the next generation of gods) were created FROM powers that already existed. In that sense, Kotoamatsukami is superior to the other deities, as KA is superior to other genjutsu.
Shisui can be seen as the "embodiment" of the Kotoamatsukami, because he carries KA within him. And if you see Shisui himself as a representation of Kotoamatsukami, you can see other parallels occur.
First of all, his doujutsu is named "Kotoamatsukami" (referred to as KA from now on, so as not to confuse it with this term). Right away, this serves as a connection between Shisui and the Shinto mythology.
This is the reason why KA is said to be above all other genjutsu, because the Kotoamatsukami were above all other Shinto gods/powers in the hierarchy of the deities.
They came into existence spontaneously, whereas the gods/powers that followed them (the next generation of gods) were created FROM powers that already existed. In that sense, Kotoamatsukami is superior to the other deities, as KA is superior to other genjutsu.
Shisui can be seen as the "embodiment" of the Kotoamatsukami, because he carries KA within him. And if you see Shisui himself as a representation of Kotoamatsukami, you can see other parallels occur.
Now that they have been established as individually representing gods, the final piece that serves as a connection between the two can be seen.
Here is an excerpt about Kotoamatsukami and Izanagi:
Itachi only awakened his Mangekyou Sharingan (and with it, the attributes that make him represent Izanagi as listed before) AFTER Shisui's death. And at the same time, Shisui gives his eye to Itachi, passing on his will and last wishes to him:
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Summing all that up, it can be said that Shisui's death and how it affected Itachi represents the creation of Izanagi, and his sucession to Kotoamatsukami.
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-Summary/Conclusion-
-Shisui inspired Itachi and solidified his morals. He was a key influence in his life.
-Itachi represents Izanagi, the Shinto god, and Shisui represents Kotoamatsukami, the first Shinto gods to come into existance.
-Shisui's death and how it affected Itachi directly represents the creation of Izanagi and his sucession to Kotoamatsukami.
Thanks for reading,
Magatsu
