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Vanessa Piña has been an anime writer at ScreenRant since 2024. She is freelance writer who worked as a copywriter and proofreader before deciding to write for her favorite series as an anime journalist. At ScreenRant, she focuses on timely coverage of the latest anime releases and updates on popular franchises.
Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, episode 3 and chapter #160 of the manga.
In episode 3 of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, Tengen finally reveals that Kenjaku is the name of the ancient sorcerer who possessed Suguru Geto's body. While his identity was hinted at in the Shibuya Incident arc, Kenjaku's connection to Yuji surprised many fans and led them to question his origins and motivations, which had only been subtly suggested until now.
Kenjaku is the true mastermind behind Jujutsu Kaisen's story. Not only did he trap Satoru Gojo in the prison realm and initiate the Culling Game, but he also meticulously planned a revolution in the world of sorcery over centuries. There's a lot of mystery surrounding Kenjaku, and here are all the details of everything he orchestrated up to Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3.
The Main Identity of Kenjaku Isn't Noritoshi Kamo
Although Choso initially identified the entity within Suguru Geto as his father, Noritoshi Kamo, this was only one of the many bodies he inhabited over his more than a thousand years. His real name, Kenjaku, is a Buddhist term meaning "rope for binding people," used by some deities to bring salvation. This is why Yuki Tsukumo found his name ironic.
Curiously, Kenjaku has always "bound" and "guided" people and destiny throughout Jujutsu Kaisen's story, which highlights the symbolism in the series. While it's not explicitly stated when or where Kenjaku was born, his name, face, and personality have changed with each era, embodying countless identities. He has even taken on the body of a woman, as seen with Kaori Itadori.
Kenjaku has survived thanks to his cursed technique, which allows him to take over another person's body by swapping their brains. Kenjaku will retain the memories, techniques, and cursed energy of the original host, but Jujutsu Kaisen's official fanbook states that the stitch marks on his forehead cannot be removed using the reverse cursed technique due to the binding bow.
How Kenjaku Influenced Jujutsu Kaisen's Story
In Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, episode 2, the scar on his forehead implies that Kenjaku possessed the body of Yuji's mother, Kaori Itadori. Since Choso and the other Cursed Womb Paintings were created by Kenjaku after he usurped Noritoshi Kamo's body, this explains why he perceived that Yuji shared a blood connection with them and why he considers him his brother.
Although Jujutsu Kaisen's story doesn't reveal exactly when he stole her body, it's implied that she died and Kenjaku was indeed Kaori when Yuji was conceived. Furthermore, in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter #160, Kenjaku refers to Yuji as "his son." He also showed familiarity with Setsuko Sasaki.
Sasaki was the student who removed the seal from Sukuna's finger at the beginning of Jujutsu Kaisen, which proves it was all orchestrated by Kenjaku, and his objective was to make Yuji a vessel. The reason Kenjaku chose Kaori Itadori is also related to the fact that Yuji Itadori grew up to be the perfect vessel for the King of Curses.
This means that Kenjaku went far beyond other anime villains, as he took control of the main character's mother's body and gave birth to him. Kenjaku was also involved in Toji Fushiguro's role in preventing Tengen's merge, which connects to Satoru Gojo and Megumi Fushiguro, demonstrating the extent to which he was involved in all the events of Jujutsu Kaisen's story.
Why Kenjaku Started the Culling Game
The objective of Kenjaku is to create an era in which sorcery would flourish. He is trying to achieve this goal by reviving Sukuna and using the Culling Game's battlefield to produce enough cursed energy to fuel the assimilation of Japan's population with Tengen. However, Sukuna was a sort of insurance in case the strongest sorcerer, Gojo Satoru, could not be sealed.
Kenjaku's motivation is to optimize cursed energy through the evolution of humanity. He wants to merge humanity with Tengen to reach its true potential. According to Kenjaku, this evolution will create a new era of sorcery, even greater than the Heian period, when Sukuna lived.
Kenjaku Will Continue To Be A Central Villain In Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3
Kenjaku seeks to access a higher level than the current cursed energy, which explains why he also experimented by creating multiple Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, mixing curses and humans. However, there is no deep philosophical reason for his actions and experiments. It's not exactly salvation, as Kenjaku's name suggests.
It's believed that Kenjaku seeks to satisfy his curiosity and obtain some excitement. That's why he marked thousands of civilians by granting them cursed techniques, fed some cursed objects to transform them into vessels of ancient sorcerers, and unleashed 10 million cursed spirits, causing a cycle of death in Japan in the Culling Game, which will be seen in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3.
Kenjaku isn't exactly the game master of the Culling Game due to a binding vow, so stopping him won't halt the carnage. As the second sorcerer with the best barriers, his objective is to infiltrate the Tombs of the Star Corridor and force Tengen to merge with humanity using his cursed manipulation technique.
This puts Kenjaku in a position where he must face both the special grade sorcerer Yuki Tsukumo and one of his creations, Choso, something fans should look forward to in Jujutsu Kaisen's anime.
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