How are Yuji and Choso linked to Kenjaku in Jujutsu Kaisen? The brothers' relationship, explained

The world of Jujutsu Kaisen has always been the exploration of the theme of distorted family ties and inherited curses as the main pillars of the story, and the relations between Yuji Itadori, Choso, and the old sorcerer Kenjaku are the best example to consider. In the anime and manga, bloodlines are hardly natural and kinship is normally created by experiments, by possession and by long-term manipulation. As the story progresses beyond the Shibuya Incident and into the Culling Game era, the connection between these three figures becomes one of the most emotionally and thematically significant threads in Jujutsu Kaisen.

Yuji Itadori and Choso are linked as brothers because Kenjaku is directly responsible for the creation of both, making them part of the same cursed bloodline. Kenjaku acted as Choso’s progenitor through the Death Painting Wombs and later became Yuji’s biological mother by possessing Kaori Itadori’s body. This shared origin binds Yuji and Choso through cursed blood rather than conventional family ties, placing them under Kenjaku’s long-term plan for sorcerer evolution in Jujutsu Kaisen.

Kenjaku’s influence stretches back over a thousand years, defined by his cursed technique that allows him to transplant his brain into other bodies. One of his most infamous experiments occurred during the Meiji era, when he possessed the body of Noritoshi Kamo, later remembered as the most evil sorcerer in history. Under that identity, Kenjaku conducted grotesque experiments on a woman capable of bearing children by cursed spirits. These experiments resulted in the Death Painting Wombs, nine hybrid curse-human fetuses infused with Kenjaku’s blood.

The result of these Death Paintings was Choso and his brothers Eso and Kechizu, intelligent beings and able to think independently. They were not like any other curses, they kept human emotions and memories, as well as a powerful feeling of family loyalty. The antiquity of his origin is connected directly to the Blood Manipulation technique of curse, which Choso uses to control his own blood with a great deal of accuracy. In Jujutsu Kaisen, this blood connection is more than symbolic, as it enables Choso to sense the deaths of his brothers instantly.

Yuji Itadori’s connection to Kenjaku was deliberately concealed for much of the story. In the Culling Game arc, Kenjaku is shown to have had Kaori Itadori, the mother of Yuji, and be fathered by Jin Itadori. This discovery confirms Kenjaku as the biological mother of Yuji, which is disturbing news that reinvigorates the meaning of Yuji being a guinea pig. In contrast to the Death Paintings, Yuji was designed as a human who can accommodate Sukuna without instantaneous death which makes him a pivotal element in the overall conflict of Jujutsu Kaisen.

This brotherly relationship between Yuji and Choso gains clarity in the Shibuya Incident arc. Firstly, Choso considers Yuji an enemy who killed Eso and Kechizu and he assaults him with the intent to kill him. Nevertheless, as they fight, Choso has a sudden and overwhelming realization of the idea when he feels the blood of Yuji is the same as his. It is the key to a mental breakdown and Choso has to accept Yuji as his younger brother, though he has never seen him.

Since then, the loyalty of Choso changes radically. He leaves Kenjaku and decides to save Yuji and this is in direct opposition to the same creature that brought him to existence. In Jujutsu Kaisen, this decision demonstrates that Choso is a human being because he attaches more importance to emotional attachments than the pre-established goal. Although confused at first, Yuji pragmatically accepts the connection and recognizes Choso as a family member, which reinforces the theme of the series that adopted connections will be better than cursed roots.

Jujutsu Kaisen and the Tragedy of Engineered Brotherhood

The relationship between Yuji and Choso reaches its emotional peak during the final confrontations involving Sukuna. Choso still fights with Yuji even after realizing that it was a game of manipulation to create his own being. His manipulation of blood also transcends the level of a fighting tool as it represents his devotion towards saving his surviving brother. This loyalty in Jujutsu Kaisen is contrasted directly with cold, utilitarian worldview that Kenjaku has.

The final sacrifice that Choso makes is when he protects Yuji against the Malevolent Shrine of Sukuna knowing that it will cost him his life. The way he dies once again confirms that he accepts Yuji as his family despite the fact that their relationship was not naturally formed. This is a resounding denial of the ideology of Kenjaku, and it confirms that free will may arise even though it has artificial roots. The scene is largely considered to be one of the most emotionally crushing scenes in Jujutsu Kaisen.

The position occupied by Kenjaku in their lives highlights one of the main themes of the series, namely lineage as a weapon. By creating life solely for experimentation, Kenjaku reduces family to a tool for evolution and chaos. Yuji and Choso’s bond, however, subverts The relationship between Yuji and Choso however overruled that purpose turning a doomed blood-line into a true brotherhood not based on blood, but based on choice and sacrifice.

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Finally, Jujutsu Kaisen makes Yuji Itadori and Choso brothers by directly involving Kenjaku into their construction, and linking them by cursed blood instead of the normal family bonds. Kenjaku’s experiments produced both the Death Paintings and Yuji himself, positioning them as parallel outcomes of the same ideology. This artificial relationship is later turned into one of the strongest emotional lines in the series by Choso acknowledging Yuji as his sibling and his eventual sacrifice. With their relationship, Jujutsu Kaisen provides a stinging commentary on manipulation, fate, and family meaning in the world dominated by curses.

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