The clans of the Naruto world vary greatly and are pretty important when it comes to this animanga.
Each clan has their own special power that is usually related to their genetic information, this special power is known as a kekkei genkai and is often related to the clan’s lineage to the original Otsutsuki clan, the celestial beings who formed the world of Naruto.
An example of this is the Hygua clan who possess the Byakugan, a special eye that allows them to have an extended field of view among other things.
Another example is the Sharingan eye which is only afforded to members of the Uchiha clan, and those who have gained the power through other means, such as Kakashi and Danzo.
Lineage is one of the biggest narrative drivers in Naruto, most characters are usually moulded by their family history and who they are related to. Sasuke is an obvious example of this.
Moreover, how these young ninjas find community is a big theme that recurs throughout the series, evident in the amount of stories that revolve around orphans.
Thus, a character’s clan can seem like really important information, and characters, such as Jiraiya, that don’t have a tapestry of familial history can stand out.
You may be wondering as a Naruto fan, then, what Jiraiya’s clan is? Jiraiya is the famed sensei of Naruto and a beloved character by fans. His history is sparse and unique from other characters, due to his relationship with the Land of Toads and his interesting character design.
His clan is never specifically mentioned which led to a lot of fans speculating what his clan is, in this article we’ve gone through some of the most popular fan theories and the most likely reasons why Jiraiya doesn’t have a clan.
Jiraiya the gallant was one of the most powerful ninjas in all of the Hidden Leaf village. He, alongside teammates Tsunade, and Orochimaru, was labelled one of the legendary sannin who are considered some of the most powerful shinobi in all of Konoha.
Jiraiya is particularly special as he is one of the only shinobi who has been to the Land of the Toads and has a special relationship with the Toads who allow summoning jutsus so that they can help him in battle.
Jiraiya’s senjutsu teachings in the legendary land of Mount Myoboku made him a limitlessly powerful ninja. Jiraiya was offered the role as Hokage many times but due to his hermetic and wandering lifestyle he always declined the role.
Jiraiya’s team member and fellow sannin, Tsunade, was the main Hokage during the Naruto series. Jiraiya had an undying love for Tsunade who rejected him a few times leading Jiraiya to a life of sexual deviance which is why Naruto refers to him as ‘pervy sage’.
After Naruto graduated from the Ninja Academy and passed his Chunin exams, Jiraiya spent three years training him in between the events of Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden.
Jiraiya and Naruto have an extremely close bond, Jiraiya became his godfather as Naruto’s parents died when he was very young.
So, when Jiraiya eventually dies at the hands of the Six Path of Pain, and his previous student, Nagato, Naruto is set on a path of redemption and to honour Jiraiya’s recognition of him as the child of the prophecy, the child to bring peace to the Naruto world.
What Clan Is Jiraiya?
Jiraiya’s clan is not actually mentioned in the anime or manga. This is likely because Jiraiya may not have a clan, or not know his own genetic and ancestral history.
Although never obviously mentioned, we can assume that Jiraiya is some form of orphan due to his close relationships with orphans in general such as Nagato, as well as his sympathy for Naruto.
He is particularly affiliated with the Ame Orphans, who Nagato is one of, who Jiraiya trained after their parents were killed in the Second Shinobi World War.
Most members of the Hidden Leaf wear a headband that has the symbol of the village on it, and has become synonymous with the anime series.
Jiraiya’s headband is actually different from the rest of the village, so this can throw off viewers who are trying to figure out Jiraiya’s clan. Jiraiya’s headband is related to his traveler’s life and relationship with the Toads of Mount Myoboku.
Firstly, wearing a headband that does not promote any specific village or clan allows Jiraiya to move between different villages without offending members of other villages by affiliating himself with another.
The headband that Jiraiya wears actually reads ‘oil’, which refers to the oil in the Land of the Toads. There is one point when Jiraiya is teaching Naruto in Myoboku where he teaches him oil control, remember?
As well as Jiraiya’s toad oil spitting Jutsu. It’s likely that as Jiraiya doesn’t have a clan he is showing his affiliation and gratitude to the Toads of Myoboku.
Fan Theories
Fans love to speculate the redacted information in programmes such as Naruto, as Jiraiya’s clan is not clear certain fans have speculated his real clan based on his looks.
Most clans have some biological heritage also, All Uchiha have dark hair, The Uzumakis are historically yellow or red hair, we can also rule out Jiraiya being in the Hyuga clan for obvious reasons such as him not possessing the Byakugan.
Hatake clan?
As there do seem to be some physical consistencies within a clan then it would make sense that Kakashi and Jiraiya could potentially be from the same clan, the Hatake clan.
The main reason for this is that they both have white hair and could potentially link them to the same clan. Sakuromo, Kakashi’s father, was also around at the same time as Jiraiya, his similar haircut could potentially link them together.
Sakuromo also has a sort of rivalry with the three sannin as some people suggested Sakuromo was more powerful than the sannin. This is purely fan theory, though, there’s no obvious reason to link Jiraiya to the Htake clan beyond their character designs.
Senju Clan?
As Jiraiya is an obviously powerful ninja, his skills seem to require an unusually high amount of chakra. Jiraiya also has many jutsu, rather than one inherited skill.
This is a trait of the Senju clan, who don’t have a unique genetic kekkei genkai, apart from Wood Release which is unique to the Senju’s, and chose to master all the skills presented to the shinobi, rather than just one.
Senju translates into English as ‘The clan with a thousand skills’. If we are going to follow the physical compatibility theory, then this would also work as Jiraiya looks a lot like Tobirama Senju.
This creates a framework that Jiraiya seems to fit pretty well, he is the master of many justu’s rather than just one, all of which require large amounts of Chakra. If Jiraiya does have a clan which is unknown to him, this could potentially be it.
What About Koji Kashin?
In Boruto, some fans expected Jiraiya’s clan to be disclosed in Boruto: Next Generations, as it seemed to have bothered fans even to this day. The closest we get is Koji Kashin, who is created as a clone of Jiraiya.
Amado, who created Koji with genetic information from Jiraiya, hoped that with the genetic abilities of Jiraiya, Koji could defeat Isshiki Otsutsuki. Although Koji is not blood related to Jiraiya in the familial sense, he is purely a clone.
I personally feel that the writers decision to introduce Koji, the clone of Jiraiya, is a confirmation that he doesn’t have a clan in Naruto and the writers aren’t going to create a narrative about finding him a clan in Boruto.
Boruto is still running and unfinished, so perhaps there will be some closure when it comes to Jiraiya’s clan. Some fans even believe that Jiraiya will return in some capacity in the series due to the recent events, but there is no guarantee this will happen.
Conclusion
So, in the manga as well as the anime there is no definitive clue to what, and if, Jiraiya’s clan is or he even has one. Jiraiya’s clan is not really pertinent to the Naruto storyline, Jiraiya has no children and is a very unique character among other characters who are very clan affiliated.
It seems to me that Jiraiya’s clan doesn’t really need to be mentioned. There are many characters in Naruto who either don’t have a clan, or their clan is really unimportant.
Sakura Haruno for example, she is an important main character, and we know her clan in Haruno, but the Haruno clan is not big or important in the series.
On the other hand, the Uchiha and Uzumaki clans, for example, are extremely important to the formation and history of the Hidden Leaf Village, so their stories are important.
There is a great chance that Jiraiya maybe does have a clan, but the writers don’t choose to mention it as it is unimportant.
Some characters simply stand on their own in the series and their clan is unimportant, Orochimaru, for example, has no specific clan but this doesn’t really matter due to his unique goals and personality.
What seems more obvious to me is that Jiraiya is affiliated with the Land of the Toads, as his family isn’t mentioned. The Toads are the one who trained him and taught him the definitive abilities he holds, not sourced from his genetic information.
This is clear in his headband which affiliates him with the Toads of Myoboku rather than the Hidden Leaf Village.
Jiraiaya’s character build makes him extremely independent and unique, he is a hermit and traveler who doesn’t really have a home or anything tying him down, so his clan seems unimportant in general.
