Byakugan Eyes is a Dojutsu (Eye Technique)—a powerful ninja ability in the Naruto anime world. Regarded as one of the three great dojutsu, the Byakugan eye, which is the “all seeing white eye,” is the dōjutsu kekkei genkai (unique hereditary ability) of the Ōtsutsuki and Hyūga clans. Byakugan eyes is a distinct eye technique in the Naruto Anime, Novel, Manga, and games.
What Is Byakugan?
Byakugan literally means White Eye. It is a distinct eye technique that occurs naturally in the members of the Hyuga clan, and as such only the Naruto characters from the Hyuga house possess it. This is because, unlike the other eye techniques, the Byakugan is available from birth to its users, although, on very rare occasions, it can be activated.
The Byakugan eye is enlarged, with white featureless irides and no visible pupils. However, when activated, the pupils of the Byakugan become more distinct, with an increased blood flow to the eyes, causing bulgy veins near the temples. Although only members of the Hyuga clan can possess the Byakugan, a Hyuga descendant with a much diluted Hyuga bloodline can awaken the Byakugan in a single eye.
The Naruto anime suggests that not all users can successfully activate their Byakugan power, even if they are born with visible Byakugan traits. This is because not everyone with a Byakugan can undergo the intense training required to do so.
The anime also depicts the Byakugan activating automatically in stressful situations, even if the user hasn’t figured out how to do it on their own. When a person can utilize the Byakugan, they must not use it too often, or they will lose the ability to use it until they have had a chance to rest.
In Part I, Neji Hyuga’s Byakugan has a range of fifty meters, but in Part II, he can see at least 800 meters away. The precise range of the Byakugan varies depending on the user, although it can be improved with training. This eye technique is called the all-seeing white eyes because it is characterized by 360-degree field vision.
The Byakugan eyes possess several abilities, including using infrared to detect a target through their body heat, determining the development of one’s chakra, including telling if a person can mold chakra at all. For instance, Kaguya’s Byakugan gave her the ability to peek into the minds of her targets to ascertain their sentiments and thoughts and even to search through their memories.
She could do this to such an extent that Hamura tsutsuki could not repel her with his own Byakugan. Also, Kaguya could produce chakra pulses from her Byakugan to subdue her targets. The vision of the Byakugan can penetrate almost any object, including allowing users to see through walls, examine the contents of a person’s body, and peer underground.
The Byakugan also gives its users the ability to analyze an opponent’s fighting strategy, which heightens their predictive abilities.
Byakugan users can recognize certain kinds of clones from their originals and even the unique chakra signatures of particular people. Users can tell if an opponent is currently doing a genjutsu thanks to the Byakugan’s capacity to sense chakra. While the Byakugan can’t shield its user from an opponent’s genjutsu, it can at least make the user’s genjutsu more potent.
For example, Kaguya tsutsuki used the vast range of her Byakugan in conjunction with the Infinite Tsukuyomi to subjugate entire nations. Additionally, Momoshiki asserts that his Byakugan can read other people’s fates, while he bemoaned that it could not reveal his own.
The various abilities of this eye technique make it highly coveted; thus, the Hyuga clan devised a custom of branding most of its members with cursed seals; so when individuals branded with the cursed seal pass away, their Byakugan is destroyed. This practice was created to prevent the Byakugan from being acquired by foes.
For example, Kumogakure and Danzō Shimura. However, Ao of Kirigakure obtained a Byakugan from a Hyūga he defeated. Although the Byakugan has a 360-degree field vision ability, it has a blind spot.
Byakugan Blind Spot
Despite the Byakugan eyes’ ability to see in all directions at once, there is still a blind spot from which a user cannot see. This blind spot is outside Byakugan’s extended peripheral vision, behind the nape of the neck, above the first thoracic vertebra. This blind spot was made clear when Neji engaged one of the sound ninja 4 while trying to rescue Sasuke.
Does Boruto Have Byakugan Eyes?
Boruto does not have Byakugan eyes. The eyes of the Naruto character Boruto have been a subject of speculation amongst fans. Some speculations posit Boruto’s eyes are Byakugan, while others debate that his eyes are Tenseigan.
But, it has been established that Boruto’s eye technique is neither the Byakugan eyes nor the Tenseigen eyes. Instead, Boruto’s Dojutsu is unique to him alone, and it is called Jougan, which is known as the pure eye.
At first, Boruto assumed that the Jougan was his Byakugan awakening. Even fans believed that the eye technique was a more evolved version of the Byakugan because Naruto and Hinata got married and had two children: Himawari and Boruto.
Because Hinata is a member of the Hyuga clan and possesses a Byakugan, it was thought that Himawari and Boruto would inherit the Byakugan from their mother. But, Boruto’s case happened to be different. It is, however, also speculated that after Naruto and Hinata had Boruto, the Otsutsuki chakra was also transferred to him and evolved his Byakugan into a Jougan.
Characters With Byakugan
The Byakugan eyes belong to members of the Hyugan clan, each with varying strength in wielding the Byakugan. Here are some of the Naruto Characters of the Hyuga clan and their Byakugan eyes.
Himawari Byakugan
Himawari is Hinata and Naruto Uzumaki’s second and youngest child. Himawari had little experience as a kunoichi, but she already had a lot of potential. As a young child, she could knock her father out with a single blow and terrorize her incredibly strong older brother.
She received the Byakugan eyes because she is a Hyuga descendent via her mother, Hinata. At the age of three, after witnessing Boruto rip her favorite toy to pieces, Himawari unconsciously awoke the Byakugan out of rage. Her grandfather, Hiashi, openly praised her for awakening it at such an early age in the anime.
Her typically blue eyes become the white and featureless hue that the Byakugan are known for when they are activated. She can see through solid objects with it, have nearly 360 degrees of x-ray vision (except from a tiny blind spot at the top of the thoracic vertebrae), and even completely understand the chakra route system. Despite having no prior training, she could swiftly adapt to its abilities and employ them effectively.
Hinata Byakugan
Hinata is Hiashi Hyuga’s eldest daughter. She is a kunoichi of Konohagakure and was once the heiress of the Hyuga clan, but she was demoted after it was determined that she was unfit to hold the post of clan leader. She later assimilated into the Uzumaki family after getting becoming married to Naruto.
As a Hyuga, Hinata wields the Byakugan, which gives her penetrative vision in a nearly 360° area around herself, with one blind spot at the back of the neck above the first thoracic vertebra. With it, she frequently helps others track and scout the area for their target(s).
Focusing her vision in a single direction, Hinata can see across great distances, reaching as far out as 20 kilometers during the battle against Toneri. Hinata’s Byakugan gives her assaults pinpoint accuracy, which she can share with others to enhance their own. She may also use it to locate genjutsu while looking for the caster nearby.
Hinata can magnify and use infrared vision in the anime to view tiny things. By the time she reached adulthood, Byakugan’s enhanced chakra sensitivity enabled her to detect even the tiniest hint of chakra activity.
Neji Byakugan
Neji was a shinobi of Konohagakure’s Hyuga clan, the son of Hizashi. He possesses the Byakugan eyes as a Hyuga. Though it was a typical dojutsu in his clan, Neji’s was regarded as being particularly potent. With these eyes, he has nearly 360° of a penetrative field of vision.
He is aware of a minor blind-spot behind his third upper thoracic vertebra, a weakness he tried hard to overcome but to no avail. Instead, he took extra measures to compensate for it by dispersing chakra throughout the vicinity. This gave him a way to detect any incoming attacks and gave him time to defend himself.
He observed the 361 tenketsu that run along the chakra pathway networks. Over time, he could extend the range of his Byakugan, whereas in Part I, he could only see objects from a distance of 50 meters. In Part II, he could see things from a distance of at least 800 meters.
Hamura Byakugan
The first two people to be born with the capacity to use chakra were Hamura Otsutsuki and Hagoromo Otsutsuki, both of whom were Princess Kaguya’s children. Hamura is the ancestor of the Hyuga clan and the founder of the Shinobi of the Moon.
Hamura, an Otsutsuki, has the Byakugan, which gives him nearly 360 degrees of x-ray vision (except for a small blind spot at the upper thoracic vertebrae). His Byakugan’s sight may be concentrated to dramatically extend its range in one direction to at least 20 kilometers.
Hamura’s Byakugan can recognize chakra by the exact people it comes from, recognize when genjutsu is being utilized, and tell some sorts of clones apart from the genuine thing. The 361 tenketsu that run along the chakra pathway system can be seen by the Byakugan because of its highly developed chakra vision. Hamura’s capacity to perceive chakra more clearly than the Sharingan is debatably his byakugan’s strongest trait.
Is the Byakugan stronger than the Sharingan?
Although the byakugan is superior to the Sharingan in some ways/abilities, the Sharingan and Byakugan are often subjects of superiority debates. When the Byakugan eyes were introduced in the Neji vs. Hinata fight, Kakashi said the Byakugan is superior to the Sharingan because it has a better “penetrating perceptive ability.”
However, because it cannot hypnotize human targets or copy techniques that it sees, it sometimes may appear that the Byakugan’s abilities are inferior to those of the Sharingan (the Byukugan is thought to have evolved into the Sharingan).
Sharingan’s abilities: The eye of Insight gives the Ability to see Chakra and grants enhanced perception. The Eye of Hypnotism lets the user use Visual Genjutsu.
Byakugan’s abilities: 360-degree diameter field of vision, ability to see kilometers wide, the user can follow high-speed movements, ability to see chakra and the chakra system, and can widen the range of genjutsu.
However, the Byakugan and the Sharingan are both extremely powerful and are second-to-none at what they do, and they do different things. The real strength of either eye depends on the user and their skill.
Byakugan Vs Sharingan Vs Rinnegan Compared
Hagoromo Otsukiki also called the “Sage of Six Paths,” is the source of the Byakugan, Sharingan, and Rinnegan, all of which are dojutsu. Even though they are all regarded as bloodline traits (Kekki Genkai), they each have unique skills and attributes.
Physically, a Rinnegan typically has a white eye with numerous coiling rings in it. The Byakugan is a pure white eye, and the Sharingan is red with three black tomoe marks. The Rinnegan, the Sharingan, and the Byakugan eyes are the three great Dojutsu.
Due to the many debates centered around the abilities of The Byakugan, The Sharingan, and The Rinnegan, it can be quite confusing to single out the superiority of either, as the power of a Dojutsu is usually dependent on the skill of the user.
As such, the decision of which Dojutsu is superior is more often than not subjective owing to sentiments, although the Rinnegan is widely regarded as the strongest of the three. However, below is an analysis of the three great Dojutsu:
Byakugan
The Byakugan eyes have several skills, including 360-degree vision save for a blind spot, the ability to use infrared to detect targets by their body heat, and the ability to gauge one’s chakra growth, including the ability to determine whether a person can even mold chakra.
Sharingan
Any magical, illusory, or martial art that is seen can be predicted, memorized, and copied by the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan. It does not appear at birth automatically; instead, it only shows up when the person carrying it experiences intense emotional stress.
Rinnegan
The Rinnegan grants its owner access to all variations of the chakra’s properties as well as the ability to employ six different types of power, each linked to one of the six Buddhist worlds; the puppeteer technique, a particular variation of the recall technique, mind-reading, the ability to absorb any magical technique, the power to raise the dead, and the control of gravitational fields.
Therefore, The Rinnegan Dojutsu gives its user the largest number of abilities and enhances the individual’s powers to a higher level. Sharingan and Byakugan eyes don’t compare well to the Rinnegan, although they can come very close when wielded by a skilled user.
Is there a Golden Byakugan?
Fans of the Naruto anime believe that the upgraded Byakugan eyes will become the Golden byakugan. This belief was made popular by Urashiki and Momoshiki’s golden-colored Byakugan.
Momoshiki’s Byakugan eyes turned golden after he absorbed Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki’s power and Urashiki’s Byakugan became golden after he consumed the chakra he collected with his eyes. However, the creators of the Anime haven’t created an actual Golden Byakugan.
