12: History of Jujutsu Sorcery
Introduction
The history of jujutsu sorcery is not simply a record of battles; it is the story of humanity’s eternal struggle against itself. From the earliest shamans to the modern age, curses have always emerged from human fear and suffering, and sorcerers have risen to contain them. Yet across centuries, the same cycle repeats: humanity’s emotions create curses, sorcerers fight them, tragedy multiplies, and the balance resets. Understanding this cycle is key to grasping why jujutsu society clings to tradition and why figures like Sukuna remain legendary even a thousand years later.
Ancient Origins: The Birth of Sorcery
Jujutsu began when humanity first recognized that negative emotions carried power. Ancient shamans, living in an era of constant war and superstition, were the first to sense and manipulate cursed energy. Their exorcisms were crude — rituals, sacrifices, charms — but they laid the foundation for sorcery. Early jujutsu was more spiritual than scientific, focused on appeasing and banishing curses rather than systematically controlling them.
Cursed spirits of this era were often mistaken for gods or demons. Villagers worshipped them with offerings, hoping to stave off disaster. In reality, these “gods” were early special-grade curses feeding on fear and devotion. Sorcerers rose as mediators, walking the line between priest and warrior.
The Era of Clans
As jujutsu matured, families who inherited strong techniques consolidated power. These became the great clans: Gojo, Zenin, Kamo, Inumaki. Each family built its identity around hereditary cursed techniques, enforcing bloodlines to preserve power.
The Zenin Clan prided itself on Ten Shadows and Projection techniques, enforcing strict hierarchies that crushed “defects.”
The Gojo Clan, rare in number but absolute in power, produced the legendary Six Eyes and Limitless line.
The Kamo Clan became infamous for blood manipulation and its dark experiments, their name tied to cruelty.
The Inumaki Clan carved out survival with Cursed Speech, both blessing and burden.
These clans shaped sorcerer politics, defining traditions that still govern modern jujutsu society. Their obsession with bloodlines hardened society into rigid hierarchies, sowing the seeds of corruption that persist today.
The Heian Era: Golden Age of Jujutsu
The Heian period (roughly 794–1185) is remembered as the Golden Age of Jujutsu. Cursed energy overflowed during this era due to social unrest, political upheaval, and constant war. Sorcerers and curses alike reached their zenith. Techniques were honed, domains were perfected, and special grade beings shaped the era like demigods.
Above them all stood Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses.
Once a human sorcerer of unparalleled might, Sukuna became a calamity, feared even by his peers.
Legends describe him with four arms and two faces, a monster in both appearance and power.
He dominated through overwhelming cursed energy and techniques, carving a legacy so absolute that his death required him to be sealed in twenty indestructible fingers.
Other sorcerers of the Heian era rivaled Sukuna’s strength, but none survived into legend as completely as he did. For modern sorcerers, the Heian era is both myth and benchmark — proof that sorcery has always had monsters beyond comprehension.
Post-Heian Decline and Evolution
After Sukuna’s fall, sorcery became more institutionalized. Schools and families codified cursed energy theory, creating the frameworks of grades, vows, and techniques. While sorcerers remained powerful, the chaotic brilliance of the Heian period gave way to rigid structure. The higher-ups trace their roots to this era, establishing their authority as “keepers of balance.”
This shift had consequences. By focusing on control and tradition, society stifled innovation. While cursed energy manipulation grew more precise, fewer legendary figures emerged. The world became “safer” but also more stagnant, with most sorcerers bound by clan expectations and bureaucratic hierarchy.
The Age of Cursed Objects
Across centuries, countless sorcerers and curses left behind remnants that became cursed objects.
Some were deliberate creations (seals, tools, weapons).
Others were accidents, like the lingering corpses of cursed beings.
A few were catastrophes, such as Sukuna’s fingers or the Death Paintings, which transcended generations.
These objects shaped history. Wars were fought over their possession, clans hoarded them for advantage, and rogue sorcerers unleashed them to destabilize society. In many ways, cursed objects became symbols of legacy — a sorcerer’s power surviving death itself.
Modern Sorcery: Schools and Suppression
By the modern era, jujutsu society had consolidated into the system we know today: two schools, clan dominance, higher-up authority. Students are drafted young, graded, and forced into battle against curses as soldiers of tradition. While technology and cities advanced, sorcery remained stagnant, chained to old rules.
This is why modern prodigies like Gojo are so disruptive. His overwhelming strength, combined with defiance of the higher-ups, represents a challenge not only to curses but to the very structure of society. The appearance of Sukuna’s vessel, Yuji Itadori, is likewise a historical echo — the return of Heian chaos to a world that thought it was stable.
The Cycle of Curses and Sorcerers
History in JJK is cyclical:
Negative emotions build across society.
Curses emerge in greater numbers and power.
Sorcerers rise to fight them.
Catastrophic figures (like Sukuna, or later Kenjaku) disrupt balance.
Institutions clamp down, suppressing innovation to regain order.
But the cycle never ends. Humanity’s emotions guarantee curses. Sorcerers fight endlessly, while the system they serve often hinders rather than helps. This is the tragedy of jujutsu — it is not a war that can be won, only managed.
Expanded Lore for Your Game
For your campaign, the history manual gives you opportunities to tie past to present:
Heian Echoes: Ancient sorcerers or cursed objects could reawaken, bringing Heian-style chaos into the modern era.
Clan Legacies: NPCs might be obsessed with living up to ancestors or breaking free from their shadow.
Historical Missions: Quests could involve uncovering sealed battlefields, shrines, or cursed zones that date back centuries.
Cycle Awareness: Characters might realize they are trapped in the same repeating history, forced to decide whether to break tradition or embrace it.