Naruto Changed Neji’s Curse Mark After Antisemitism Concerns

Naruto mostly steered clear of hot-button stuff, but there was one visual that made the anime pump the brakes: Neji Hyuga's forehead seal. In the manga, his curse mark is a manji, a common Buddhist symbol in Japan. In the anime, it became a simple X. Why? Because to a lot of Western eyes, that manji looked a little too much like a Nazi swastika. And the show clearly did not want that headache.

What fans thought they saw vs. what it actually was

In Masashi Kishimoto's manga, Neji's seal is the Hyuga Main Family's Juinjutsu, drawn as a manji. In Japan, that symbol marks temples and is tied to Buddhism and good fortune. Across Asia, you see versions of it in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, where it is connected to the Buddha's footsteps and broader spiritual meaning.

But outside that context, the association shifted. The Nazi swastika - the Hakenkreuz - turned the symbol into a banner for racial supremacy and German nationalism. The two are not the same, but the resemblance is enough that the anime team clearly decided to avoid confusion and swapped the manji for an X on Neji's forehead. Honestly, a sensible call if your goal is to keep the focus on the story and not get dragged into a symbol debate.

"People are extremely dumb when they want to be..."

Why the seal matters to Neji's whole deal

Neji is one of Naruto's first big rival fights and later becomes a key ally. His backstory hinges on that Hyuga Main Family's Cursed Seal Technique. The Hyuga clan splits into a main house and a branch house, and the main house brands branch members with this seal. Two reasons:

First, when a branded branch member dies, the jutsu locks down their Byakugan so enemies cannot reverse-engineer the clan's kekkei genkai. Second, the seal can be used to punish or control a branch member if they disobey the main house. Neji was branded by his uncle when he was four years old, during Hinata's birthday. That strips him of agency and builds up a ton of resentment. He describes it as living like a bird in a cage.

His turning point is classic Naruto: the protagonist hammers home the idea that fate is not fixed, and Neji decides he is not just a stamp on his forehead. From there, he shifts from bitter prodigy to reliable teammate, and the curse mark becomes part of what he overcomes rather than all that defines him.

Quick facts

• Symbol in the manga: manji, a Buddhist sign common in Japan and across Asia
• Symbol in the anime: switched to a plain X to avoid swastika confusion
• What the seal is: Hyuga Main Family's Juinjutsu, also called the Hyuga Main Family's Cursed Seal Technique
• Why it exists: protects the Byakugan after death and lets the main house discipline branch members
• Who branded Neji: his uncle, when Neji was 4, during Hinata's birthday
• Neji Hyuga basics: anime debut Episode 21; manga debut Chapter 36
• Neji's death: anime Episode 364; manga Chapter 614
• Where to watch Naruto: streaming on Crunchyroll

Would the show have gotten flak if it kept the manji? Given how quickly that symbol reads as the swastika for a lot of viewers, probably. The X is not as textured or culturally specific, but it let the anime dodge a fight it never wanted in the first place.