Jujutsu Kaisen is a world filled with curses and death.
Negative emotions from humans give rise to Cursed Energy. When Cursed Energy accumulates, it manifests into Cursed Spirits. These spirits bring harm to society and cause human deaths, prompting the emergence of sorcerers who wield Cursed Energy to combat them.
In Japan, more than 10,000 unnatural deaths and disappearances occur each year. Most are the result of curses—negative emotions made manifest.
Nearly all humans have the capacity to generate Cursed Energy.
However, most ordinary people can't see Curses. Their Cursed Energy continuously leaks from their bodies. These people are called non-sorcerers.
There is, however, a smaller group of people born with the ability to see Curses. Their Cursed Energy circulates within them and doesn't leak. As long as they're alive, they won't inadvertently spawn Cursed Spirits. These people are known as Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Human → Cursed Energy → Cursed Spirit → Human. The three form a closed loop, maintaining a strange and delicate balance.
And this balance is most clearly reflected in one thing:
The overall strength between Jujutsu Sorcerers and Cursed Spirits remains in equilibrium.
...
At age six, Sōjun Minamoto awakened his Innate Technique, marking him as someone with the talent to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
His rapid physical development began to stabilize.
The pain from growing too quickly, and the soul-level discomfort that came with it, gradually subsided and eventually vanished.
Only after tasting that pain could he truly appreciate ordinary happiness.
But the effects remained.
His appearance no longer matched his age—he looked six or seven years older. It would be awkward for someone like him to attend kindergarten or elementary school again.
So his parents hired private tutors and had him stay home to study. He didn't mind. Revisiting academics brought him a new kind of joy.
With his body returning to normal, his interest in the world only grew.
...
"I want to learn martial arts!" Sōjun told his mother.
A familiar voice came through the phone.
"Handle those little things yourself. If you need an adult, go to the nanny. Dad and I are busy—talk later, mua~! Be good!"
Her voice was gentle—but only for that brief minute.
It was always like this. Sōjun had long gotten used to it.
He calmly set the phone down.
He knew his parents were Jujutsu Sorcerers. They knew he had awakened his Innate Technique. No one was trying to hide anything.
Mr. and Mrs. Minamoto were rarely home.
At first, he thought they were constantly out exorcising curses on missions. Only later did he realize how naive he'd been—they were just off vacationing overseas.
What's the essence of Cursed Energy?
Negative emotions.
You mess with that stuff too much, of course you go crazy. Jujutsu Sorcerers—just a bunch of lunatics, really.
He'd made it this far alive. That alone was no small feat.
Sōjun often felt out of place in this so-called loving little family of three. He wasn't unhinged enough to fit in. So, from early on, he'd become a classic latchkey kid.
Honestly? It's complicated.
Rather than dwell on it, he told the nanny what he wanted. She clearly had been informed ahead of time and briskly took him by the hand and led him out.
The world is dangerous. Sōjun could see things most people couldn't—but that didn't mean he dared look at everything.
Like that Fly Head spirit from before—he not only saw it, he played with it.
But now?
He glanced across the street at a Cursed Spirit lurking beneath the traffic light. He didn't dare stare. Because if it noticed him, he'd be the one getting toyed with next.
The light turned green. He crossed with the nanny.
As they passed under the light, Sōjun didn't dodge at all, brushing right past the Curse.
It locked eyes on him.
Sōjun kept his gaze forward, walking straight like any normal kid. A cold chill brushed past his legs—it felt like standing in front of an open fridge.
The two passed each other without incident.
Success.
He'd tried this many times.
Starting with the Fly Head, up to the Curse just now.
The stronger his targets became, the more confident he was: as long as he pretended not to see them, most Cursed Spirits would also ignore him—unless he made eye contact or the Curse was intelligent enough to see through the act.
Satisfied, Sōjun gave a small nod. He rubbed the soles of his feet against the pavement, then jumped onto a nearby guardrail?!
"Be careful!"
The nanny yelped, arms outstretched like a mother hen shielding her chick.
Sōjun extended his arms like a tightrope walker, wobbling along the rail. He only took a few steps before frowning and jumping down.
He used to be over forty. Now he was six. Forty plus six, divided by two—that's his current mental age, more or less. But sometimes, he acted like a full-blown kid. Other times, a middle-aged man. It led to some odd behavior.
Integration takes time. He just had to be patient.
...
How did things end up like this?
Sōjun was holding a little pinwheel in his right hand—the nanny had just bought it for him.
He sat quietly in the waiting area, watching her handle the registration, pick a class, and then bring him to the training room.
A bunch of little kids filled his view.
Sōjun was speechless.
Thankfully, the coach noticed and walked over.
"You're in the wrong place."
Sōjun brightened.
Then came, "You should be in the advanced group."
Ah—what?
He followed the coach helplessly to another training room—this one full of older kids.
Fine then—
Ha! Hey!
The high-pitched shouts of children echoed through the spacious room.
At the coach's direction, Sōjun changed into his training gear and joined in.
The coach taught Kyokushin Karate.
Unlike other karate styles, Kyokushin emphasizes real combat. It rejects the "pull-your-punches" philosophy and favors direct physical contact. Protective gear is rarely used. Aside from strikes to the head and groin being prohibited, all other targets are fair game. Hands, feet, elbows, knees—no weight classes. It's known as full-contact karate.
The coach demonstrated a few techniques. He was good—definitely skilled enough to teach Sōjun.
Sōjun listened attentively and followed instructions without complaint.
"You're very talented. Want to be my disciple?" the coach asked after watching him for a while.
"I have to ask my mom first," Sōjun replied, playing innocent.
"I'll get in touch with your parents later."
Motivated, the coach trained him even harder.
...
His days looked like this:
Up at 6:30. Mornings spent studying Japanese, Math, and English with a tutor. Afternoons were for karate with the coach. Evenings were for reviewing the day's progress, documenting all the little experiments he'd tried.
To and from practice, he'd exorcise the occasional unclassified Cursed Spirit and stumble upon the occasional surprise. Like opening a blind box—who doesn't love that?
In this way, he had practical exorcism experience. He was a real Jujutsu Sorcerer now.
The days passed steadily. Sōjun wasn't in a rush. He trained, studied, and experimented step by step. Each day brought a bit of growth—fulfilling and fun.
No matter how chaotic or dangerous the world became, someone tall would hold up the sky. In that respect, he'd clearly inherited the "excellent" traditions of Mr. and Mrs. Minamoto.