The history behind Jujutsu Kaisen’s Curse King

from godzilla arrive demon slayer, Japanese pop culture has a long history of reimagining millennia-old stories and legends for modern audiences. This largely includes dark fantasy manga/anime Jujutsu Kaisen and its counterpart, Ryōmen Sukuna, a powerful magician and demon “King of the Curse.” The nickname doesn’t actually come from Japanese mythology, but historical depictions of Sukuna have changed so radically over the centuries that Jujutsu KaisenThis take on the character feels like a natural evolution of the legendary character. Judge for yourself:

Takayama Senkoji Temple in Gifu Prefecture, two-faced Suna statue carved by Enku (1632-1695)

From an ancient, many-limbed anti-authoritarian

The first mention of “Ryomen Sukuna” comes from japanese bookmarker, The second oldest chronicle of Japan. One of the chapters on the reign of Emperor Nintoku (c. 290-399 AD, r. 313-399 AD) tells of a bandit from Hida in modern-day Gifu Prefecture who refused to recognize imperial rule and terrorized the local population, so an emissary was sent to kill him. He probably had no trouble finding Sukuna, the aptly named “Two-Face” (literal meaning of “two-faced”).

According to the chronicle, Sukuna “was built in such a way that he had two faces on one torso. The two faces were back to back… He held a sword on each side of his body, and he used a bow and arrow with all four hands at the same time.” Yes, you read that right: four hands. He also has four legs.

Early Japanese documents are actually full of stories of Kyoto slaying fearsome figures (whether limbed or eight-limbed) who posed a threat to its authority, but there was often more to these stories. For example, the death described in Kuyehaya the Hooked Hercules. Japanese bookmarker actually historic The Origin of Sumo Wrestling. So, what about Sukuna?

The story may be an allegory about the expansion of the Yamato clan, who now make up the majority of Japan’s population. But they are not always the only game in town and must compete with the descendants of the indigenous Jomon people, represented by Sukuna, for supremacy. All four of his arms are holding weapons (sometimes including spears and axes), which may have been a poetic way of showing that these non-Yamato men were skilled warriors, thereby enhancing Kyoto’s prestige in defeating them. Or, it could be a literal demonization of “others” that people in the Hida region demonize. no have.

Ryomen Sukuna sculpture at Zenkuji Temple in Gifu Prefecture | c/o Hida Takayama Tourism and Convention Bureau

“Our Sukuna is different”

Local legends from the Hida Takayama and Mino areas of Gifu Prefecture depict Ryōmensuna as the heroic leader of a powerful clan who fought against Yamato’s invasion. Some researchers have even speculated that the entire “eight limbs” depiction may be a historical memory pair Chiefs who waged war over missile sovereignty. However, since they lost, local mythology also tends to incorporate stories about how the Sukuna/Sukuna twins slayed a dragon, which is very difficult. So in comparison, the entire failure of the Yamato is not important at all!

In addition, Suna Ryomen of Gifu may be a giant who used magic to plant more than 1,000 cypress trees across the country. This part is almost certainly a fusion of warlord stories and myths of ancient mountain gods, fusing what may have been true freedom fighters with deities of immense power, lending even more prestige to the former. things happened in Other Japanese legends.

The National Treasure Eleven-faced Guanyin Statue at Shaolin Temple in Kyoto

Buddhism calls itself “two-faced suna”

The conflict between Yamato and Jomon descendants dates back to around the third or fourth century, when there were two main Sukuna myths: monsters and folk heroes. However, after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the sixth century, Sukuna’s Mythology received another expansion pack. read account Japanese bookmarker Regarding Sukuna’s multiple heads and arms, Buddhist monks noted the figure’s many similarities to the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.

Technically speaking, Avalokitesvara is the bodhisattva of compassion and a key figure in Japanese Buddhism, with depictions including eleven-headed and thousand-armed versions. These multiple-headed and multi-limbed resemblances were all the monks needed to elevate Suna to the status of a semi-saint figure and patron of Hida Takayama Senkoji Temple.

according to Buddhist In the myth, Ryōmensuna emerged from Dewahira’s cave, dug up a copy of the Lotus Sutra, and ventured across Hida to perform miracles and promote agriculture. The connection between Buddhism and Sukuna is so strong that after the success of Senkoji Temple, the number of visitors actually increased significantly. Jujutsu Kaisen. Die-hard fans of manga and anime may also purchase local “Sukuna pumpkins” as souvenirs.

Riangmen Suna as depicted in Jujutsu Kaisen | © Akutagaga/MAPPA

Sukuna’s gritty reboot connects it to Jujutsu Kaisen

During the Taisho Era (1912-1926), the monster warlord Miracle Worker was reinvented again, this time as a two-headed mummy discovered during the excavation of a demolished temple. Those who open the crates are dead, cursed/strained, or suffer some other horrific fate. Of course, this never happened and there may have been an attempt to create a Japanese version of The Curse of Tutankhamun, whose tomb was discovered in 1922. When the people needed a name for this chilling tale, they found “Ryomen Sukuna,” one of the busiest characters in all of Japanese mythology.

It’s not a huge leap from here to this Jujutsu Kaisen, Granted, this does more to the character of Sukuna than just transplanting him into the modern day. Who knows what other stories this mythical character will have in the future. He wears many hats, maybe he should be named the God of Freelancing next?

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