Summary
- Yuji's parentage is confirmed in chapter #203 Kenjaku is his mother who created him to serve a purpose as Sukuna's vessel.
- Yuji's extraordinary abilities may be linked to Kenjaku, explaining his inhuman strength and aptitude for jujutsu.
- Kenjaku's involvement raises questions about Yuji's family's role in the story, hinting at potential future revelations in Jujutsu Kaisen.
While eating Sukuna's finger certainly made Jujutsu Kaisen's Yuji Itadori a sorcerer, it doesn't explain the near superhuman abilities before eating the finger, nor his ease at mastering cursed techniques afterward. Normally, these are abilities one inherits through their bloodline. But, since Yuji's parentage had never been clearly explained, fans could only guess why Yuji is so special. Now that his true parents have been revealed, it seems only natural that he'd be exceptional.
Chapter #203 reveals a popular fan theory about Yuji's parentage in Jujutsu Kaisen was indeed correct. Kenjaku is Yuji's mother. After he volunteers to attack Kenjaku in order to force him to play his best hand, and allow Yuki Tsukumo to mount a counter-attack, Choso asks Kenjaku why he's so interested in Yuji since he's never shown much interest in his other children, the nine Cursed Womb - Death Paintings.
In response, Kenjaku admits to Yuji existing to serve a purpose, namely to be a vessel for Sukuna, and being a hub for continuous cursed spirit generation. This confirms that there is much more to Yuji's origins than meets the eye and Kenjaku may have indeed taken over Kaori Itadori's body as part of his grand scheme.
"The Boy Is From That Time": Yuji's Mysterious Origins In Jujutsu Kaisen Make Him Shonen's Most Original Protagonist
Jujutsu Kaisen's most mysterious character is none other than its protagonist Yuji whose origins and true powers are an every growing mystery.Yuji, I Am Your Mother
Yuji's parentage was revealed back in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter #143. There, fans learned that Yuji was born to Jin and Kaori Itadori. Jin's backstory was explained but not much was discussed about Kaori. However, since she had the same scar marks on her forehead as Kenjaku, more than a few fans believed that the body stealing Kenjaku had replaced the real Kaori before meeting Jin, and subsequently had a child with him, named Yuji.
Others argued, that despite the evidence to the contrary, if Yuji were his son, Kenjaku wouldn't let him participate in Jujutsu Kaisen's Culling Game, as that would put the son at great risk of being killed. In other words, no father who worked so hard to have a son would voluntarily put him in harm's way.
While Kenjaku does not directly admit to being Yuji's parent, he does not deny Choso's criticism. But he does tacitly confirm it by disproving the idea that if Yuji were his son he would not let him participate in the Culling Game. As Kenjaku states, having Yuji as a son wasn't for love or legacy but rather to serve as a tool that he needed to achieve his ultimate goal. Considering the thousands of years in Jujutsu Kaisen that Kenjaku has had to develop this plan, having a child, would seem one of the easier steps in the process.
As to loving father to his children and keeping them safe from harm, Kenjaku's fight with Choso, says much about his thinking on this issue. It also reveals how willing he is to use or discard them if that furthers his interest in permanently changing the Jujutsu Kaisen universe. If this is not convincing enough that Kenjaku is Yuji's mother in Jujutsu Kaisen, there is also the panel on last pages of chapter #203 showing Choso talking about his brothers with a picture including Kechizu, Eso, and Yuji Itadori.
What Kenjaku Being Yuji's Mother Means for Jujutsu Kaisen
If Kenjaku is truly Yuji's mother then perhaps Yuji is more perfected version of the Death Paintings which could not only explain why Choso envisioned Yuji as his brother but also how Yuji is able to use Blood Manipulation against Sukuna, which is a technique inherited solely among the Kamo Clan. This also raises the question of why Kenjaku chose Kaori and the Itadori family in particular to carry out his newest experiment and whether there may be something special about Yuji's family that has yet to play a role in the story.
Kenjaku's involvement in Yuji's conception might also explain his inhuman strength and speed which has mostly gone unexplained until now along with his exceptionally high aptitude for jujutsu even as an amateur. Clearly, there are still many mysteries about Jujutsu Kaisen's Yuji and his origins and it is unclear whether these secrets will ever come to light with Kenjaku's death.
Jujutsu Kaisen is available to read from MANGA Plus and Viz Media.