Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu (呪じゅ術じゅつ, Sorcery?), also known as Jujutsu Sorcery, is one of the defining features of the Jujutsu Kaisen series.

Jujutsu is often used as an umbrella term that includes all sorcery-related abilities that sorcerers and cursed spirits can access using cursed energy. It is also often used as a prefix for the vast majority of terms within the jujutsu society. (i.e. Jujutsu Sorcerer, Jujutsu High, etc.)

A person capable of utilizing jujutsu is colloquially referred to as a “Jujutsu Sorcerer” (呪じゅ術じゅつ師し, Jujutsushi?) or simply “Sorcerer” (術じゅつ師し, Jutsushi?) while those who can not use jujutsu are called “Non-Sorcerers” (非ひ術じゅつ師し, Hijutsushi?).

It is unknown for how long exactly, but jujutsu has existed for thousands of years, for as long as curses have roamed the Earth.

The Heian Era, one thousand years ago when Ryomen Sukuna reigned supreme, is considered the “Golden Age of Jujutsu”.[1][2][3] Sukuna has described jujutsu sorcerers to have produced powerful fighters in every era.[4] In a never-ending war between sides utilizing jujutsu, a society of organized humans with the ability to fight curses has formed.

In the modern era, Jujutsu Headquarters and the Big Three Sorcerer Families currently control the landscape of their community. The Big Three Sorcerer Families have existed since the Heian Era and have maintained their prominence thanks to powerful cursed techniques that are passed down through their families. The culture within these clans are obsessed with bloodline purity and passing down these inherited techniques.[5] In many cases, inheriting the clan’s most coveted technique will automatically promote an individual to become the next head of the clan.

Jujutsu sorcerers currently are recruited and trained through the two jujutsu educational facilities in Tokyo and Kyoto. Both schools are considered to be the pillars of the jujutsu community alongside headquarters. As the population increases in Japan, so does the strength of curses. The only thing keeping them in check are the crown jewels of the Gojo clan: the Six Eyes and the Limitless technique.

Satoru Gojo is the first person in several hundred years to be born with boths, making him a near-unstoppable force. As cursed spirits increased so did the prominence of curse users, who used their abilities to curse others and exploit them for power. With Gojo’s birth, the balance of the jujutsu world shifted the advantage back to the sorcerers dedicated to protecting humanity.[6]

Jujutsu can also dictate fate by binding destinies together. The Six Eyes is connected to Tengen and the Star Plasma Vessel by this type of “fate”. Regardless of any outside interference, the Star Plasma Vessel and the Six Eyes would always appear on the day of Tengen’s merger. Toji Fushiguro, an anomaly that had broken away from jujutsu completely, was able to shatter their destinies. This was the beginning of what would become a massive distortion in the jujutsu world.[7]

Sukuna has been incarnated in Yuji Itadori. Kenjaku was able to acquire Prison Realm and form an alliance with powerful unregistered cursed spirits to seal Satoru Gojo. He’s attempting to find what goes beyond the limits of the connection between humans and cursed energy. Using the Culling Game, Kenjaku plans to evolve humanity into something beyond jujutsu sorcerers and cursed spirits. The Culling Game is jujutsu terrorism on a scale never seen before in history, and Kenjaku is using it to usher in the return of the Golden Age of Jujutsu.

Cursed Energy (呪じゅ力りょく, Juryoku?) is a power source produced from negative emotions, which can accumulate and ferment until a cursed spirit is manifested. Negative emotions such as grief and anger exist within every human being. Non-sorcerers constantly leak cursed energy from their bodies as a result, leading to the creation of cursed spirits. Sorcerers are trained to control their cursed energy instead of allowing it to leak from their bodies haphazardly.

Cursed energy can be used to reinforce the user’s body to grant them superhuman physical capabilities such as enhanced strength and durability. It is also used to fuel cursed techniques and charge talismans among other functions. The aggregate amount of an individual’s cursed energy isn’t determined by how many negative emotions they possess but by their innate talent for jujutsu. For example, Yuta Okkotsu possesses an immense amount of cursed energy due to his genetic relation to Michizane Sugawara.

Cursed Techniques (術じゅつ式しき, Jutsushiki?) are specific abilities that activate when cursed energy is channeled into a process akin to a mathematical formula within the user’s body. Cursed techniques are activated by manipulating cursed energy using one of two operations known as “Lapse” and “Reversal”. Innate techniques and non-innate techniques are activated through lapse while reverse cursed technique is activated through reversal.

Shikigami (式しき神がみ, Shikigami?) are familiars similar to cursed spirits that are tamed and conjured by sorcerers in battle. Shikigami conjuration is another type of non-innate technique but some innate techniques include utilizing shikigami within their function

Cursed Objects (呪じゅ物ぶつ, Jubutsu?) are items with a dark history that contain cursed energy. They generally consist of the remnants of ancient sorcerers that can be incarnated into a new body if the cursed object is consumed by a compatible vessel. Special grade cursed objects such as Sukuna’s fingers and the Death Painting Wombs are indestructible.

Cursed Tools (呪じゅ具ぐ, Jugu?) are weapons infused with cursed energy. Even non-sorcerers can use them to combat curses. Special grade cursed tools, save for Playful Cloud, are imbued with a cursed technique. Normal weapons that are constantly imbued with cursed energy by their user over a long period of time can be considered semi-cursed tools.

Cursed Corpses (呪じゅ骸がい, Jugai?) are inanimate objects possessed by a curse allowing them to gain self-control. They can appear naturally as hostile curses but are more often used as dolls and puppets for sorcerers. Cursed corpses created by sorcerers have a core that acts as their heart, allowing them to act independently of their creator

Cursed Restrictions (呪じゅ縛ばく, Jubaku?) are limitations created through jujutsu that benefit the user in one facet while determining them in a separate way. Binding vows can be willingly created by sorcerers but heavenly restrictions are placed at birth