Jujutsu Kaisen is translated as Sorcery Fight in English. Of course, it’s right. But we have no KAISEN word with this combination of Kanji letters in Japanese, and it’s a coined word by the author Akutami Gege. Therefore, it doesn’t mean simply “fight.” Sorcery FIght is a free translation. Then what does Jujutsu Kaisen really mean? I’ll explain the meanings of each Kanji character and the intention hidden behind the title!
JUJUTSU – curse spell
JU = curse
JUTSU = spell, technique, skill
The word JUJUTSU means an occult art for cursing someone in Japanese. It’s a kind of magic but includes more negative and awful impressions. In the English edition of Jujutsu Kaisen, JUJUTSU is translated as “Jujutsu sorcery.”
If literally translated, JUJUTSU must be “curse” or “cursed technique.” But the word “cursed technique” is used to refer to another term JUTSUSHIKI. Jutsushiki is an ability that is unique to each Jujutsu sorcerer. For example, Gojo Satoru has Limitless and Fushiguro Megumi has Ten Shadows Technique as their cursed technique.
What does JUTSUSHIKI mean in Japanese?
SHIKI is a technique or spell, and SHIKI stands for formula or style.
Usually, the word JUTUSHIKI is used as a medical term that means “operative method.” But it’s the terminology and not a common word. The Kanji symbols JUTSU and SHIKI have very similar meanings and the word JUTSUSHIKI is considered simply “spell” or “technique” in Jujutsu Kaisen.
KAI – rotate
This Kanji letter means “rotate” and “move around.” The doubled square symbol pictures something rolling around. The left part of the character stands for “long way.” This makes the meaning of “something is keep rotating.”
SEN – battle
SEN simply means “battle.” It frequently appears in Japanese manga and anime, and you may have seen it.
Then does the word KAISEN mean to keep fighting?
There’s no word of KAISEN with these Kanji combinations in Japanese. I guess this is a coined word by the author. Judging from the letters, it can be interpreted as “endless battles” or “long-continued battles.” So the title Jujutsu Kaisen can be understood as “endless cursed technique battles” or something.
It may imply how long the battle between humans and cursed spirits is. Or it’s the story that Itadori Yuji and his fellows put an end to the long-lasting battles against the curse.
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