Quick answer
- A curse user (呪詛師, jusoshi) is a jujutsu sorcerer who uses jujutsu for evil, such as killing non-sorcerers. They are human, not cursed spirits.
- Being designated a curse user is an official punishment under the jujutsu regulations, alongside public and secret execution. Suguru Geto was branded one after he killed 112 villagers (Ch. 77).
- Curse users ran freely until Satoru Gojo was born in 1989; his presence took their freedom away (Ch. 96), which is why so many joined Kenjaku’s plan to seal him.
- Most curse users die by the end of the manga (Ch. 271). Survivors include Miguel, Larue and the captured Juzo Kumiya.
Curse users are jujutsu sorcerers who use their power for evil: killing for money, for fun, or for an ideology. They are human beings with cursed energy, not cursed spirits. Suguru Geto is the most famous one, and after Gojo was sealed in Shibuya, a whole underworld of them came out of hiding.
This guide explains what the term means, how a curse user differs from a jujutsu sorcerer, and lists every notable curse user by faction with their technique and fate. Chapter numbers refer to the manga. Anime episodes use overall numbering (Season 1 = Episodes 1–24, Season 2 = 25–47, Season 3 = 48–59). Spoilers run to the end of the manga (Chapter 271).
What is a curse user in Jujutsu Kaisen?
The Japanese term is 呪詛師 (jusoshi). Curse users have existed as long as sorcerers have, and they were a threat alongside cursed spirits as far back as the Heian era (Ch. 82, Episode 31).
Two related labels show up in the story:
- Curse user: a sorcerer who uses jujutsu with evil intent, such as killing innocents.
- Non-curse user (非呪詛師, hijusoshi): someone with no real jujutsu of their own who still works in the curse-user underworld (Ch. 66, Episode 25). The Time Vessel Association members and Toji Fushiguro, the “Sorcerer Killer” for hire, fall into this group.
Before 1989 curse users took jobs and bounties openly in the jujutsu underworld. Then Satoru Gojo was born. A bounty was put on the Six Eyes baby, nobody could claim it, and Gojo’s presence shifted the balance of the jujutsu world. Curse users lost their freedom (Ch. 96, Episode 35). Our Six Eyes guide covers why that one child mattered so much.
Curse user vs jujutsu sorcerer: what’s the difference?
Both use cursed energy, and many curse users have the same training as sorcerers. The difference is legal and moral.
| Jujutsu sorcerer | Curse user | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Uses jujutsu to protect people from cursed spirits and cursed objects | Uses jujutsu for evil, such as killing non-sorcerers |
| Legal status | Works under the jujutsu regulations; ranked from Grade 4 to Special Grade | Counted as a “threat” by the regulations, alongside cursed spirits and cursed objects |
| How you become one | Trained at Jujutsu High or in a clan | Chooses the path, or is officially designated a curse user as a punishment |
| Punishment | Can be suspended, confined, sealed or executed for breaking the rules | Hunted by sorcerers; captured or killed |
| Examples | Gojo, Nanami, Yuji, Megumi | Geto (after 2007), Uraume, Haruta Shigemo, Ogami |
The regulations (printed in Volume 22) list the punishments Jujutsu Headquarters can give a sorcerer who breaks the rules: public execution, secret execution, designation as a curse user, sealing, confinement, suspension and confiscation of property. So “curse user” is also an official label, not just a fan description.
An execution order doesn’t make someone a curse user. Yuta was sentenced to execution for carrying Rika (Jujutsu Kaisen 0), and Yuji’s execution was suspended for a time after he swallowed Sukuna’s finger (Ch. 2). Both stayed sorcerers.
Suguru Geto’s group
Geto was a Jujutsu High student and a special grade sorcerer. In 2007 he killed all 112 residents of a village that was abusing two girls, Mimiko and Nanako, and left his Jujutsu High pin behind. He was expelled and branded a curse user (Ch. 77, Episode 29). By 2017 he was called the worst curse user of all.
He took over the remains of the Time Vessel Association, built a religious group to collect curses, and gathered commanders he called family. Together they launched the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons in December 2017.
| Curse user | Technique / weapon | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Suguru Geto | Cursed Spirit Manipulation | Killed by Gojo after losing to Yuta (Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Ch. 4). Kenjaku then took over his body |
| Mimiko Hasaba | A doll and noose: what she does to the doll hits her target | Decapitated by Sukuna in Shibuya (Ch. 112, Episode 39) |
| Nanako Hasaba | Manipulates whatever she photographs with her phone | Cut to pieces by Sukuna right after her sister (Ch. 112, Episode 39) |
| Manami Suda | Unrevealed | Joined Kenjaku; caught in Jogo’s Maximum: Meteor in Shibuya (Ch. 115, Episode 40); her death is confirmed in Ch. 255 |
| Toshihisa Negi | Unrevealed | Same as Manami: joined Kenjaku, died from the Meteor (Ch. 115; confirmed Ch. 255) |
| Larue | Heart Catch, a remote “hand” that grabs and crushes targets | Survived. Sided with Yuki Tsukumo (Ch. 136, Episode 47) and fought Sukuna (Ch. 255–256) |
| Miguel Oduol | Black Rope (cancels techniques); Prayer Song | Survived. Recruited by Gojo, trained Yuta in Kenya, fought Sukuna (Ch. 255) |
After Geto died, the group split (Ch. 114, Episode 40). Manami and Negi followed Kenjaku, who was wearing Geto’s body. The twins refused, then made a deal with him to get Geto’s body back. Kenjaku broke the promise because they had not sealed it with a binding vow (Ch. 93, Episode 34). They fed Yuji a Sukuna finger hoping Sukuna would kill Kenjaku for them, and Sukuna killed them instead. Larue ended the argument by saying they would always be family, and he and Miguel walked away from curse-user life.
Kenjaku and Uraume’s allies in Shibuya
Kenjaku used several independent curse users for the Goodwill Event raid and the Shibuya Incident. Most joined for the same reason: sealing Gojo would let them work freely again.
| Curse user | Technique | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Juzo Kumiya | Makes cursed tools; created Dragon-Bone | Gojo crushed his arms and legs at the Goodwill Event (Ch. 52, Episode 20). Captured and interrogated alive (Ch. 53, Episode 21) |
| Haruta Shigemo | Miracles: stores small strokes of luck and spends them to survive fatal blows | Beaten by Nanami (Ch. 100); cut in half by Sukuna as he ran away (Ch. 119, Episode 41) |
| Jiro Awasaka | Inverse: weak attacks hurt him, strong ones barely do | Knocked out and tied up by Yuji and Megumi (Ch. 97, Episode 35). Fate after that unknown |
| Ogami | Séance Technique: summons a dead person’s body information into a vessel | Summoned Toji into her grandson; Toji’s will took over and he killed her (Ch. 98, Episode 36) |
| Ogami’s grandson | Vessel for Ogami’s séance | Died when Toji, in his body, killed himself (Ch. 113, Episode 40) |
| Niji Ebina | Unrevealed; keeps a chameleon-like curse on his head | Decapitated by Mei Mei (Ch. 98, Episode 36) |
The Shibuya group is where the fandom often misplaces Toji. He was never a curse user in the strict sense: he was a non-curse user and a hired killer while alive. In Shibuya he was a revived body that Ogami summoned, and he turned on her.
Kenjaku, Sukuna and Uraume
The story’s three biggest villains are also filed as curse users by the fan wiki.
| Curse user | Technique | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Kenjaku | Moves between bodies by transplanting his brain; used Geto’s Cursed Spirit Manipulation | Decapitated by Yuta (Ch. 243) |
| Sukuna | Shrine (Dismantle and Cleave), Divine Flame | A human sorcerer in the Heian era. Defeated by Yuji and turned to dust (Ch. 268) |
| Uraume | Ice Formation | Sukuna’s loyal servant. After Sukuna’s defeat, Uraume cut their own neck with ice and died (Ch. 268) |
Kenjaku, as Noritoshi Kamo in the Meiji era, created the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings and was remembered as the most evil curse user in history (Ch. 134, Episode 46). For Sukuna’s and Kenjaku’s barrier techniques, see our domain expansions list.
Q and other curse users
Q was a curse-user group that tried to kill the Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai, in 2006. Their aim was to stop Tengen’s merger (Ch. 66, Episode 25).
| Curse user | Group | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Bayer | Q’s strongest fighter | Beaten easily by Gojo (Ch. 67, Episode 26); what happened to him next is unknown |
| Kokun | Q | Threw Riko off a building; captured by one of Geto’s curses (Ch. 66, Episode 25). Q then disbanded (Ch. 67) |
| Yorozu | Heian-era curse user revived for the Culling Game | Incarnated in Tsumiki Fushiguro’s body; killed by Sukuna (Ch. 217–219) |
| Dhruv Lakdawalla | Ancient curse user revived for the Culling Game | Killed by Yuta in the Sendai Colony (Ch. 173, Episode 58) |
Why did curse users side with the cursed spirits?
For most of them it was about Gojo, not ideology. Awasaka and Ogami both killed freely for money until the Six Eyes child was born. Ogami even took the contract on young Gojo and was scared off when the child spotted her from afar (Ch. 96, Episode 35). Sealing Gojo in the Prison Realm meant curse users could move freely again (Ch. 114, Episode 40).
Only Geto’s group had a real ideology: a world of sorcerers without non-sorcerers. Even that group split once Kenjaku, not Geto, was giving the orders.
Who are the strongest curse users?
There is no official power ranking for curse users. On the facts shown in the manga, the top tier is clear:
- Sukuna and Kenjaku, who drive the whole final arc.
- Suguru Geto, one of only four special grade sorcerers, and called the worst curse user of all for the danger he posed (Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Ch. 2).
- Uraume, who fought Kinji Hakari to a standstill in the Shinjuku Showdown (Ch. 245).
The Shibuya hires sit far below them. Mei Mei beat Ebina without using her technique (Ch. 98), and Kenjaku himself called Juzo expendable (Ch. 53).
FAQ
What is a curse user in Jujutsu Kaisen?
A curse user (呪詛師, jusoshi) is a human jujutsu sorcerer who uses jujutsu for evil, such as killing non-sorcerers. The jujutsu regulations treat them as threats alongside cursed spirits and cursed objects.
Is Geto a curse user?
Yes. After killing 112 villagers in 2007 he was expelled from Jujutsu High and branded a curse user (Chapter 77). By 2017 he was called the worst curse user of all.
Is Toji Fushiguro a curse user?
Not strictly. Toji had no cursed energy, so he is classed as a non-curse user: someone without jujutsu who works in the curse-user underworld as a hired killer.
Which curse users survive the manga?
Larue and Miguel survive and fight Sukuna in the final arc. Juzo Kumiya was captured alive, and the fates of Jiro Awasaka, Bayer and Kokun are left unknown.
Why did curse users help seal Gojo?
Gojo’s existence had taken away their freedom since his birth in 1989 (Chapter 96). Sealing him in the Prison Realm would let them work openly again.
More Jujutsu Kaisen guides
Who Is Yuji's Mom? Kaori Itadori & Kenjaku ExplainedKaori Itadori is Yuji's mother, but Kenjaku took her body and gave birth to him. The reveal chapter and episode, her Antigravity System, and a full timeline.
Megumi's Ten Shadows: All 10 Shikigami & Hand SignsAll 10 of Megumi's Ten Shadows shikigami in order: names, hand signs, powers, who tamed each, Mahoraga, Chimera Shadow Garden, and what happened by Ch. 271.
Six Eyes Explained: Why Gojo's Limitless Needs ThemWhat the Six Eyes (Rikugan) are in Jujutsu Kaisen, why Limitless can't be mastered without them, every known user, and how Toji beat them — with chapter and episode references.
JJK Barriers Explained: Curtain, Domains & Simple DomainJJK barriers explained: the Curtain (veil) chant, the anti-Gojo curtain, domains vs Simple Domain, Tengen's barriers and Culling Game colonies.
Hakari's Domain Explained: Idle Death Gamble RulesHakari's Domain Expansion, Idle Death Gamble, explained: the 1/239 jackpot odds, every riichi scenario, the 4:11 unkillable mode, and each fight by chapter.
Jujutsu Kaisen Terms Explained: Beginner's GlossaryJujutsu Kaisen terms explained: 40 JJK words with kanji, romaji and short definitions, from cursed energy to domain expansion, plus the full grade system.
Every JJK Domain Expansion: Names, Kanji & EffectsAll 17 Domain Expansions in Jujutsu Kaisen in one table: official English names, kanji and romaji, sure-hit effects, first chapter and anime episode, plus how domain clashes and counters work.
This guide is the English edition of a BuzzBeaver article originally written in Japanese: 日本語版を読む. Facts are checked against the official manga and anime; fan theories are labeled as such.