With the release of Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 257, some of the biggest and oldest questions in Jujutsu Kaisen have finally been answered. What is Yuji Itadori's relationship to the series' main villain, not just who he is but who he is, and what does that mean for the story going forward?
Be confident that we can analyze our favorite pink-haired wizard and answer the question: Who is Yuji Itadori really? And be careful, this article contains spoilers for Chapter 257 and most of Jujutsu Kaisen.
Yuji Itadori's Family Tree: Death Paintings
In the first episode (and first chapter) of Jujutsu Kaisen, we learn that Yuji was raised by his dying grandfather, Wasuke Itadori. Shortly before Wasuke Itadori died, he vaguely mentioned Yuji's parents, but then died without saying anything meaningful. From Yuji's point of view, he never mentioned his family again, although it was established early on that he was quite popular in middle school because unusual physical strengthwhich has led many to speculate about his lineage.
In Chapter 143 of the manga, we meet Itadori's parents for the first time: Jin Itadori, his father, and Kaori Itadori, his mother. Kaori has something remarkable about her—a stitch running across her forehead, exactly like the one we see on Suguru Geto in the Shibuya Incident.
This means Kaori has been possessed by Kenjaku , the infamous evil Jujutsu wizard who devoted his life to the study of Cursed Energies and Cursed Objects. Notably, he conducted horrific experiments while possessing the body of Meiji period witch Noritoshi Kamo, including impregnating an innocent woman and forcing her to abort her fetus. me—these fetuses will become Cursed Womb: Deadly Paintings. The first three of these curses are Special Class curses that manifest as Eso, Kechizu, and Choso.
During the events of the Shibuya Incident, Choso engaged Yuji, attempting to avenge his fallen brothers whom Yuji and Nobara had exorcised during the Yasohachi Bridge incident. The battle is almost entirely one-sided, with Choso using Blood Manipulation—a Kamo technique he inherited from Noritoshi Kamo's body—to fatally damage Yuji. When Yuji died (before being revived by Sukuna), Choso suffered a familiar feeling of fear—the same feeling he felt when Eso and Kechizu were killed. He explains in Chapter 153 that the effect of his cursed technique is to sense the transformation of his younger brothers no matter how far away they are. For living creatures, death is a transformation, which is why he could sense the feeling of his brothers' death and he sensed Yuji's impending death . This confirms that Yuji is Choso's brother in some way.
From then on, Choso calls Yuji his brother and the series largely ignores that implication. Is Yuji Itadori one of the Cursed Womb: Painting of Death? Did Choso make a mistake? Enter today's groundbreaking Chapter 257.
Yuji Itadori: Does not include Sandevistan
Ever since Yuji Itadori met Satoru Gojo, it was clear that his body was unique. Firstly, he can safely contain the Cursed Soul, Sukuna, one of the most feared witches of the Heian period; and second, he can consume the Cursed Object known as 'Sukuna's Fingers', allowing him to get closer to serving the entire vessel to Sukuna.
During the rather lengthy battle between the Jujutsu witches and Sukuna, we witnessed Sukuna's power and his powerful abilities—especially his Cursed Technique,'Shrine' , comes with'Cleave'and'Dismantle', two techniques used to cut through solid matter. Even Satoru Gojo, arguably the strongest magician in modern times, fell before Sukuna's power.
So how did Yuji survive this battle for so long? Is he secretly reincarnating Goku? Does he possess more plot armor than Jin-woo Sung? In many previous chapters, the online fan community criticized Gege Akutami for poor writing, the TikTok community rallied around the theme of'Lobotomy Kaisen', criticizing the mangaka for the lengthy pacing and unbelievable nature of fight.
Now, with Chapter 257, we know why Yuji Itadori was (in David Martinez's words) “built differently.”
Twins are victorious
At the beginning of Chapter 257, we are shown a flashback of Sukuna (still in Megumi's stolen body) talking to Uraume about his origins. Sukuna announces that he is actually a twin. To avoid starvation in the womb, Sukuna ate his twin and absorbed his body. This provides a plausible explanation for why Sukuna's true manifestation has four arms and four eyes (and is tied to the Sukuna myth in Japanese legend).
Sukuna went on to explain that his brother's soul had been “drifting” for some time, going through various cycles of life and death, before being found and “paired” with none other than their old friend. I, Kenjaku. That's right, Yuji's father, Jin Itadori, is the reincarnated Sukuna's older brother. It seems very possible that Kenjaku knew this and intentionally had his female form (Kaori Itadori) impregnated, thus giving birth to Yuji Itadori's 'vessel'.
Yuji Itadori is not only on par with Sukuna but perhaps even better than him. With Sukuna descendant blood from his father and unusual birth conditions from Kenjaku, Yuji is uniquely positioned to defeat Sukuna and save the Jujutsu world once and for all.
What about Choso?
This revelation about Yuji's heritage also answers the question: How can Yuji use Blood Manipulation?
Curse Techniques are passed down through blood, so it's time to take a quick check on Choso's heritage! Third-year Kyoto High School student Noritoshi Kamo also uses Blood Manipulation, confirming that this special technique has been passed down in the Kamo bloodline. Noritoshi Kamo of the Meiji period was Choso's father through Cursed Womb: Paintings of Death, and he passed on his techniques to both his experimental fetuses and his born children.
Sometime before the Duel at Shinjuku, Yuji ate the six remaining Cursed Wombs: Death Paintings, granting him his newfound Blood Manipulation power. Back in Chapter 244, we learn that Kyoto High’s Noritoshi helped teach Yuji how to use Blood Manipulation because Choso was—in Yuji’s words—a “bad teacher.” It's good to know that Noritoshi is trying to clear his name!
From here to where?
The war against Sukuna is still undecided and readers have more questions than answers! Considering how many twists and turns we've had so far, there may be more surprising developments to come—especially surrounding Kenjaku's true goal in creating Yuji Itadori.
We look forward to this new phase of the fight between Yuji and Sukuna!
© Gege Akutami/Shueisha/JUJUTSU KAISEN Project