Naruto Lore Explained: Boruto’s Jougan Eye – A Full Breakdown

When Boruto first released it’s commencing chapters and episodes, many fans were quickly sent on another lore investigation to figure out what the dojutsu that Boruto had was.

Many fans who had already seen ‘The Last: Naruto the Movie’ will have perhaps thought that Boruto was awakening a Tenseigan thanks to his Hyuga clan blood.

Yet, as the season grew on, many fans were interested to learn that they were wrong and the eye which Boruto has is in fact a new type of dojutsu called the Jougan. As this is such a new piece of lore, that has now become canon, there will be many fans who want to understand more about the eye.

We’ve curated all the information we currently have about the Jougan eye so you can learn more about Boruto and his interesting dojutsu. Keep reading to find out!

What Is The Jougan And Its Powers?

So, there isn’t much information out there about the jogan even though we have seen Boruto use it a couple of times, there is no data book that covers this dojutsu, and almost no official lore about the eye. 

As mentioned, when the eye was first seen by fans many assumed it was a Tenseigan or some type of Byakugyan but it is actually quite different from both.

The most official information anyone has about the eye, and which most fans base their information on, is actually a blog post written by one of the show’s animators Chengxi Huang.

Huang wrote mainly to clear up discussion about Boruto having a Tenseigan or Byakugan. Huang quickly shot down these ideas and said that Boruto’s eye is called the ‘Jougan’ or Jougan which translates literally as ‘pure eye’.

The main information he disclosed is that the dojutsu is closely related to the Otsutsuki dimension and outlines the eyes powers as being mainly sensory based. 

He suggests that Boruto’s Jougan can sense negative emotions in the same way that Naruto can, from observing Boruto in combat we can also recognise that he can sense when the Otsutsuki make portals into our dimension known as ‘Yomotsu Hirasaka’, and can also see through into different plains of dimension which others can’t. 

The exact operation of each individual power has not been disclosed, most of this information is gathered from observation and speculation.

What Huang also points out is that the author hadn’t created all the information himself and, in typical Naruto fashion, was moulding the dojutsu off of a good idea.

How Is The Eye Acquired?

As there is still a lack of official information on the dojutsu, there hasn’t been much information about how Boruto, or anyone else, acquires this eye. We can deduce a few things based purely on the fact that only Boruto has this eye, and what his special DNA means about acquisition.

The fact Boruto is the only one with the eye says a lot about who can acquire it. It’s unclear if and who could manifest the Jougan in addition to Boruto – potentially only Himawari.

Both Boruto and Himawari are, obviously, a combination of Hinata and Naruto’s DNA. This is important as Naruto is a direct descendent of Hagoromo Otsutsuki,

The Sage of Six Paths, and Hinata is a direct descendant of Hamura Otsutsuki. It seems that while Himawari manifested the Byakugan, Boruto seems to have manifested the Jougan. 

So, it seems that the Jougan requires some combination of Otsutsuki DNA, namely Hamura and Hagoromo. This makes some sense as the eye seems to have some connection with the Otsutsuki dimensions.

It’s unsure if or even how someone else may acquire the dojutsu, it seems that Boruto has this as a result of his specific ancestry.

Even with the specific DNA required, it’s still unsure whether Boruto awakens the eye as a result of emotion, as someone would awaken the Sharingan, or if it was simply age that brought about the dojutsu.

When Boruto first uses the eye it occurs when he focuses on something too hard and he doesn’t have control over its activation. As Boruto progresses as a shinobi he seems to acquire an ability to turn it on and off on command.

Is The Jougan An Early Form Of The Tenseigan?

There’s no information we have right now that would obviously suggest that the Tenseigan and Jougan are related, but there is some speculation based on the information we currently have.

Namely, it’s disclosed in ‘The Last: Naruto the Movie’ that if someone with Otsutsuki DNA transplants a Byakugyan into themselves, they could awaken the Tenseigan, as Toneri Otsutsuki does in the movie. 

Boruto, as mentioned, technically has Otsutsuki DNA as both his father and mother are descendents of the clan.

So in theory if a Byakugyan was transplanted into Boruto, he could use the Tenseigan. Moreover, when Toneri is finding a Byakugyan to steal, he steals Hanabi’s eye who is Hinata’s sister, suggesting her eye is ‘pure’, potentially due to her direct descendence from Hamura.

What is being suggested here is that Boruto’s DNA being both directly descended from both Hamura and Hogoromo has allowed the Tenseigan to awaken in Boruto, and that the Jougan is the base form of the Tenseigan, in the same way that the Sharingan is the base form for the Rinnegan. 

Yet, the information might not make this as plausible. Huang seemed to make it clear that the Jougan and Tenseigan weren’t related. Moreover, many fans take a consensus that the Tenseigan is actually the evolved form of the Byakugan.

So, while the Tenseigan is clearly related to the Otsutsukis, as the Jougan is, it does seem unlikely they are directly related in the same way the Sharingan and Rinnegan are.

The Jougan’s true origins and powers are yet to be revealed and will come as the seasons draw on.

Final Thoughts

The Jougan is an interesting dojutsu that remains shrouded in mystery until more plot is revealed.

It seems the eye was created to naturally create a way in which the human shinobi can actively fight and deal with the Otsutsuki which become a much more imminent and present threat in the Boruto series than they were in Naruto. 

Moreover, many fans were aware of how Boruto, and Himawari, have unique DNA, both being directly descended and having a combination of Hamura and Hagoromo Otsutsuki’s DNA.

Fans understand that when DNA is combined like this it often has some interesting consequences for the shinobi world, and it makes sense there is some new power intertwined between the DNA.

If Boruto and Himawari team up and master their abilities they could be a serious threat to deal with as sensory shinobi and could be a serious addition to any shinobi squad.

Fans will simply have to wait and see for information about the eye to be released and confirmed.

Historically with Naruto, the writers change and create lore as it fits their plans for the plot, so the lore could go in any direction depending on where the plot leads us. 

What the Jougan eye does suggest is that the shinobi of earth, through the eye, can gain a glimpse of the world in which the Otsutsuki live.

If anything, what is clear is that the Jougan eye takes us a little closer to understanding more about the Otsutsukis and creating some sort of peace with their tribe.