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It you're not over Itafushi in ch. 265 and 266, then this is for you.

So this follows part 4 of the culling game arc foreshadowing, regarding flowers.

I found that they've been used as amacha in a bathing ritual for Buddhist statues. Keeping that in mind as context...

The label on Fushiguro's drink here reads midou, or meedō if we're going to translate it phonetically. It isn't in katakana, so it's probably a Japanese word, but I don't know it.

Only one definition came up, and...

That's interesting. That's suspicious.

I know the statues by Grandpa Itadori's grave represent Yuuji. And I've guessed that the origin story this ritual celebrates is about the Buddha who represents Megumi.

And I guess he's also a statue, who will be enshrined and bathed.

Tldr I assume this all is foreshadowing to the curse bath and to the figurative one, that happens in Yuuji's domain.

Speaking of Yuuji's domain.... It's peak itafushi, I should make a masterlist of itafushi stuff at this point.

I'm not an expert on flowers, Buddhism, or Japanese so any additions to this are appreciated

Is there any meta analysis on momotaro references in jujutsu kaisen?

Reading the takaba vs kenjaku fight always takes me back to what Gojo said* in the hidden inventory arc.

I think these are all the momotaro mentions.

Pls help me. I can't stop thinking about it but I know nothing.

*Iirc, certain English translations like the dub leave out momotaro completely, and he said "grinding to endgame in an MMO is far more exhausting." similarly, they left out the name of the model on Gojo's phone background. I care too much about translation details.

Edit to add; there might be more references but without being named I wouldn't know. So any additions or context would be appreciated (ik it's a game and I looked into playing it but momotaro doesn't look fun to me r i p)

Edit 2: after looking into this, I believe there are more subtle references to Momotaro, even in the final chapter. I think it has a similar meaning to the satosugu breakup - the folktale vs. the game, are you using jujutsu for your own ethical calling or are you following the rules of someone else's game?

Guys... Was itafushi meant to parallel Kenjaku & Takaba?

I couldn't stop thinking about when Takaba said that he didn't want it (his dream performance) to end.

Was he really saying that he didn't want Kenjaku's life to end? It feels like the same energy as...

It's funny bc even w the soul resonance they had, Kenjaku has no fear for his life and replies like this.

And the mention of their fans knowing nothing about comedy... Yuuji knew nothing about jujutsu... (idk man)

And they both said the same thing?? Megumi's will to live had already...

And Takaba... I hope he's just playing dead I'm still mad we didn't get to see him vs sukuna

But in the end... They were grateful. And saying "you cracked me up" is also interesting bc Yuuji cracked Megumi and Sukuna apart.

Tell me you see this too I'm begging

I THINK ch. 270 gave us more hints about Momotaro?

Momotaro is mentioned when Gojo speaks to Suguru in the hidden inventory arc. It also appears during Takaba's fight with Kenjaku.

Different translations of the same page - at first, I thought this was saying that Geto is a bit different from Kenjaku - that Takaba used his CT to revive Geto in attempt to have a comedy partner (rip Kenjaku's brain, but it's better to leave him in the afterlife).

In the later translation, it seems they're discussing the difference between jokes. I'm not fluent in Japanese but I wouldn't be surprised if this could be read with multiple meanings.

Why is momotaro only mentioned with Geto - or Kenjaku, in his body? I know that Kenjaku was more interested in playing video games than knowing what CT had occurred in awakened players in the culling games.

There's the satosugu ship, and there's the chemistry between Kenjaku and Takaba.

There's the joke about Momotaro's conception - eating a magic peach and bumping uglies.

Idk the significance yet...

At this point maybe I should watch gameplay of momotaro? Or beg the internet to add anything they know.

I just cannot believe this is a coincidence bc gege wrote this, you know? So what does it meeaannnnnnn.....

Latest update here:

Momotaro (from the game) seems to resemble the way our latest curse victim sees her fiancé...?

Momotaro from folklore seems to resemble Yuuji.

I've been thinking about this reblog of yours for months and I finally figured out how to respond to it.

I went and read No Longer Human by Junji Ito and it was a very upsetting thing to go through. I don't think I can read it again. However, I came out of it thinking that Gege was probably inspired by it.

When Yozo is first introduced, I noticed that Takaba's backstory was very similar. Feeling isolated from others, he decided to become a clown to gain acceptance from others. (Citations in Image Captions)

And later when Yozo was caught "cheating" (it's in quotes because those women are child rapists), I noticed that her face was really similar to the one Higuruma's client made when he felt betrayed by the trial outcome.

There's probably a lot more to say about how themes surrounding CSA and suicide in this work are echoed in JJK, but I'm not able to make the post myself. No Longer Human is too far out of my comfort zone in terms of graphic depiction to delve into it deeper.

But you seem strong enough to handle it, so... Idk maybe run with this some more.

Ohhh this is so interesting! I could definitely read No Longer Human again - tbh I read Junji Ito's version years ago. This year I listened to the audio book and bought a copy - but it's like, a draft in the author's handwriting (bc I thought it would help me study Japanese and if I had an English translation that I'd read it on repeat lmao). But you're real for that - I forget how disturbed people tend to be trying to read through it, I'm sorry that was rough.

I did go back to read the reblog and idk how relevant all that was - I've reread the manga since and felt like, oh I might have been misremembering some things like Uraume - idk if they actually had a freeze response in ch. 219, since they did tell Yorozu to back off though it took a minute - but it's also interesting how their CT deals with ice. Like to have a fight response, they freeze others? It's so interesting but I can't be sure whether it's there at all. (ik that yap II inspired some more coherent posts, like how it influenced Choso's self-image, etc., I linked but didn't tag you back then bc I felt Annoying especially w heavy topics but I can definitely go back and find them if you'd like.)

On a twin peaks note (without spoiling it), I feel like it inspired jjk to some extent - I've been feeling like the last chapter will end the way s2 did. Or at least - with the weird dreamy themes, "we are the dreamer who dreams and who lives inside the dream", etc...

But you're right - Yozo and the others' reactions resemble more jjk characters than I would think to connect. Takaba's jokes are truly a shield... And now I have an excuse to read Junji Ito's version again? Thank u so much (also isn't it funny how September 28 Uzumaki airs and September 30 jjk ends?).

I think gege gets inspired by the most tragic stories, I wonder how much of that is accurate but I can't always be convinced otherwise.... Especially when anime / manga series that he's confirmed as influences often deal with autonomy in ways that I couldn't handle (Evangelion, the night beyond the tricornered window).

By the way - ik we've mentioned elfen lied before, but in the first episode, you know that coffee mug? How it looks like jjk foreshadowing? Even has snail head Mahito - cut off-, the baseball, Panda, the worm (also cut off).... and later the newborn babies that look just like Yuuji...

I swear that elfen lied, Kagewani, and banana fish influenced jjk. It seems so obvious w those, maybe Vampire Princess Miyu as well.

Sorry for getting off topic - I've been looking into why Momotaro keeps coming up in jujutsu kaisen, and in the end it came back full circle to that damn coffee cup. Invest in a baseball team? A zoo? I'm going insane.

All this to say - rereading Junji Ito's version and seeing if I notice similarities between manga panels is so exciting. Gege even made a note that he asked for permission before drawing - I think it was the Uzumaki CT - So we know he's a big fan of Junji Ito. And it seems like there is a rly good chance No Longer Human inspired him as well (though I feel like characters with similar traumas having similar reactions is inevitable to some extent, if they're written in a believable way, it should be clearer when I'm reading both stories in the same format) based on the stories he has officially referenced.

I think at this point that Sukuna (and Uraume, and likely all of the other reincarnated sorcerers) were under a pact to protect (or at least not harm) kenjaku.

Sukuna and Uraume were both uncomfortable with Yorozu (all 4 of Sukuna's eyes looked dead inside, dissociating in different directions, like a freeze response), and they both attacked her - during the Heian era when she had a high social status and there could be consequences. They didn't tolerate the disrespect of personal boundaries.

On that note, Sukuna wore a mask (Megkuna) in order to face her a thousand years later (I think he preferred that form not just bc he fit into the way everything is built physically, but bc it was like dying your hair to feel like a different person, a reflection less connected to your past memories). It feels intentional that Sukuna had to relive his own trauma in order to repress Megumi - continuing the cycle of abuse.

Kashimo Hajime wanted to fight Sukuna - but never seemed to consider Kenjaku as an opponent. Kashimo only agreed to Kenjaku's plan in order to reach Sukuna, since he was born 600 years too late.

Uro definitely had beef with Kenjaku, but she never sought after him. Like she would have preferred to forget that he exists - but Uro really seems like someone who would attack him if she could.

In ch. 239 (right before takaba vs. Kenjaku), a sorcerer who very much resembles Uro is raging about the way he gave them a second life just to take it away, that's cruel, what does he even want? And he kills them.

Then there's the other guy who wants to attack kenjaku, but was hoping for Gojo to come take his side after defeating Sukuna. And kenjaku is just laying on the ground, unbothered, as he does.

In the month that Kenjaku spent with Sukuna for protection from Gojo - it's clear that they didn't want him around. But they didn't have the power to even kick him out.

And... Yeah this post is bc I was thinking about the time sukuna killed Nanako and Mimiko. That no one else's head exploded like that. It felt personal, despite all their submission and fear.

The common interpretation is that Sukuna didn't like to feel manipulated or told what to do, but over the location of a finger? That's too petty, I think.

I think what really set him off was Kenjaku's manipulation, his chains, that Sukuna wasn't free enough to lash out at the one who put him in the cage in the first place. That hurt - but he also couldn't show that vulnerability. So he had to cover it up with his edgelord "I'm so evil I kill bc I feel like it" narrative.

Then he distracted himself with Jogo, who might have given him more fingers but didn't bow as low... I always thought it was weird that Sukuna offered his service to someone who didn't respect him so much.

But I don't think he was really putting himself in that position - or, like all the binding vows, it was a way to relive his trauma on his own terms. With a curse that could entertain him, but not overpower.

One page into the first light novel and I have to look up 10 things (bc I need to find the clues gege is hiding lmao) but

I'm going to do more research on Masakado because he sounds a lot like Sukuna, and reminds me of reading about an irl shrine that is likely for him (I cannot remember the name of it though).

Update: light novel meta analysis gets its own blog, @hermit-reads

Wait. Then it immediately goes into Itadori's curiosity about Akibahara being impossible to repress

Because it's a dreamlike place

Cosplayers, maid cafés, giant robots on foreign vehicles, video game characters, bright advertisements, etc. that make it feel like a theme park

He says he wants to go for the sight-seeing - which is foreshadowing ch. 265??

I am losing my goddamn mind and I'm only on like. Page 2

Edit to add: light novel analysis posting is now limited to @hermit-reads

Hello everyone I may have found more itafushi propaganda.

So in ch. 266, Fushiguro and Yuuji have that heart to heart conversation about life, dreams and suffering.

And ducks get a weird amount of screen time. That has to mean something, yeah?

They even come out of the manga panels - which I've grown to believe means that they feel like something inevitable, that will reach you (based on Mahito and Sukuna's hands, I think it's a design choice to illicit emotion in the reader).

So I looked up Japanese symbolism for ducks...

Transformation. Purification. Metamorphosis. Marital happiness. Nurturing and bonding. Good luck, emotional stability, that sort of thing.

These meanings remind me of the hydrangea flowers and how they could be suggesting amacha, a ritual bath for Buddhist statues. How megumi's drink in the culling games had that label.

Guys I'm going insane the first chapter of the first light novel is so much foreshadowing it shows so much of the end of the manga, especially ch. 268. Even the baptismff is mentioned. And after that, or even Gojo's unsealing. How Megumi feels with Hana. I'm screaming.

I'm keeping my light novel meta blog @hermit-reads just for adding information not in the anime or manga, so I came here to vent since we've all been spoiled.

Anyway the book is v enjoyable, it's so funny. Megumi's like, this idiot has such awful taste I can no longer be surprised he ate sukuna's finger.

It also makes me feel like no fic I've written or read exaggerates Yuuji's characterization. So that's... Weirdly validating. Like I almost felt bad for him but no he IS JUST so easy to write that way bc he is that way.

I do love the way Toji, a man who’s been dead since the beginning, haunts the narrative.

Like he was a man doing his best to survive in a world that didn’t want him, everything he touched turned to poison. He had ruthlessness down to an art form, everyone’s life is worse off for having known him.

He is the holy grail, he haunts every single person he has ever met, he’s the reason for all of this, this has nothing to do with him. he will come back again and again and again the narrative isn’t through with him.

I do love the way Toji, a man who’s been dead since the beginning, haunts the narrative.

Like he was a man doing his best to survive in a world that didn’t want him, everything he touched turned to poison. He had ruthlessness down to an art form, everyone’s life is worse off for having known him.

He is the holy grail, he haunts every single person he has ever met, he’s the reason for all of this, this has nothing to do with him. he will come back again and again and again the narrative isn’t through with him.

Crazy that Yuuji started the culling games with Megumi saying start by saving me. And here we are now at the end and the only person Yuuji might actually save is Megumi and that’s a start. But also

What the fuck, fuck you gege

They tried to lead me astray but I knew this day would come.

I knew that we would see the light once more! Our queen Nobara Kugasaki has returned to us 😭🙏

And she is already kicking ass and taking names

Gege, forgive me my sins for I hath doubted 🤲

We said that shit till it was backwards, they have freed my girl 🗣️🗣️

WE UP!!!!!

God what even do I do with this chapter 😭 but here are some of my thoughts.

SPOILERS FOR CH. 268

- what the fuck

-“Maybe it’s time to try living for someone else” okay the itafushi shippers really won with that one, I can’t lie. But at the same time it feels like Megumi’s always been living his life for someone else specifically Tsumiki. so it kind of feels like the stronger message would have been to decide to live for himself? Kind of how yuuji’s journey went from finding this greater purpose to live and fight to simply just living is okay as well. But that’s just me. Im interested in hearing other people’s take on the situation

- this is from last chapter but I so really like the parallel of yuuji in this fight for his life with Sukuna and Mahito and being so weighed down by everything that he has lost and everything he is still trying to save and then Kugasaki hits that resonance and Yuuji sees that he’s not alone and god something about it always being Nobara and her insanity breaking him from that sorrow and giving him that last push to fight like he's not alone.

- also I do think seeing Nobara’s resonance after having to be the one to break it to itadori that she wasn’t recovering, really solidified that there where things still worth living for.

- I don’t know something about Sukuna finally after all these chapters acknowledging itadori by finally saying his name is so very Sukuna off him. It’s like the inverse of him going into Jogo’s flashing life and telling him he’s strong. This time he’s the one dying and he’s finally acknowledging the boy that killed him. Say what you want about Sukuna but he ain’t no sore fucking loser.

- God how fucking Yuuji Itadori of the whole thing to after everything all the terror and the torture and the pain to still offer Sukuna a chance to live and live better. A chance to not be a slave to his nature to this curse in their blood. God Yuuji what do I even do with you.

- okay so not even a fucking frame of the Hakari/Uraume showdown. Really 😭😭. It looked like things were happening too. With that final parting it looked like they’d reached some kind of understanding and not even a fucking frame. Gege the way your mind works.

- really not even one punch? Not even one gambling shot. I’d have payed good fucking money to see Hakari explaining how a pachinko machine works to a 1000 year old curse servant.

- the little “you’re just lucky is the best compliment for a guy like me” and the “yeah I guess it is” was a great exchange tho. Which is is why I wonder. Really not one fucking frame😭. I wonder if mappa will just ignore this and give them a fight scene anyway like they elongated the Sukuna vs Mahagora fight.

- and now finally, some good fucking food.

- Gojo’s little I killed your daddy note is so funny. What the fuck is wrong with him

- again. What the fuck.

- Nobara being as rude as fucking always god I love her. She is taking no prisoners. Fuck you mean you aren’t weeping at her feet at her return.

-Them trying to do the whole box suprise for Megumi and him catching them in the act is so stupid I actually can’t 😭. They really only have one braincell

- Nobara not giving a single fuck about her mom like what. Also what did she mean by “Special grade authority”

- crazy that they all got face scars now. They’re a matching set.

- I wonder what Yuuji’s talk with gojo was. I wonder what parental figure gojo exposed for him.

- I dunno this chapter making me feel like he might come back. Gojo Satoru just might make a come back.

- I’m glad that atleast after everything it’s gunna end with the three of them. Maybe a little damaged and worse for wear but together and that counts for something.

-lastly…..what the fuck m.

You know what honestly I don't think we talk enough about Yuuji and Nobara's relationship, just how much they meant to each other

Nobara means so much to him, just seeing her resonance enough to give him strength. the parallel of yuuji in this fight for his life with Sukuna and Mahito and being so weighed down by everything that he has lost and everything he is still trying to save and then Kugasaki hits that resonance and Yuuji sees that he’s not alone and god something about it always being Nobara and her insanity breaking him from that sorrow and giving him that last push to fight like he's not alone. It's why it's her death that really unravels him that really makes him feel like he can't go on. It's only when Arata tells him that she's not dead yet that there's a minuscule chance she just might make it through (and a truly hype speech from the one and only Aoi Todo) that he's able to get up again and give it all he's got.

He loves her so much that even the thought that Angel might fill the space she left in their trio that she might somehow replace her is enough to deeply unsettle him and make him keep his distance. and god what.

And Nobara loves him right back, maybe it took a little longer but she got there. Nobara whose whole philosophy is keeping the best getting rid of the rest who looks at love like it's a scarce resource actually shed tears a boy that by her own admission she'd only known for 2 weeks. just god. It's yuuji she tells about her chair system, it's him (and the rest of those boys) that she let pull up his own chair in her heart by her own analogy she literally made extra space for him in what she viewed as a limited seating. God doesn't that just drive you insane?

He means so much to her that she entrusts her last words to him. She wants him to carry those words on to the people she loves. That she can look at him and smile and tell him to spread the word "it wasn't so bad" Life wasn't so bad and that he was a small part of that is just so ughhhhh.

God how do I go on

Honestly the reason that Hakari and Kashimo got on so well was because they were both men that spent their lives chasing a thrill.

Kashimo is just as much a slave to the fever as Hakari is

it’s probably why Hakari and gojo got on as well cause gojo in his own way was also chasing a thrill.

that’s why neither of them could really understand Sukuna cause Sukuna’s not chasing a fight or a challenge he simply is.

Sukuna said it best when he's hungry he eats when he's bored he fights and if he thinks something's interesting he plays with it. he's not chasing anything he's simply letting life happen to him

but Hakari's chasing a gambling habit, Kashimo is chasing a good fight and for all he probably won't admit it Gojo's looking for an equal.

it's why he wants the next generation to be stronger than him, why he wants Megumi to believe in the strength of his powers. Nobody's come close to being Gojo Satoru with him since Geto and he's still chasing that. He won't find it tho, cause it was never about the strength.

Look how sad Yuuji is at the thought that Gojo could ever think he was forgettable 🥺. Gojo is his sensei and Yuuji loves his sensei, so much.

And Yuuji knows what it is like to feel like one cog in the never-ending curse machine, easily replaceable when broken and that's fine for him (at this point) but he would never let any of his friends think they were replaceable, EVER.

And so I actually don't care what Gege thinks; even it is in the way only one cog can only remember another, Itadori Yuuji will always remember Gojo Satoru.

Really can’t believe that the love of Gege’s life, Toji didn’t make one last random appearance, even as a call back. Wow, the strength.