What Are SUKUNA’s Full Name and Meaning in Japanese?

Ryomen Sukuna in Japanese Kanji

Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen’s full name is RYOMEN SUKUNA. It comes from a Japanese demon in an old myth.

What does Ryomen Sukuna mean in Japanese? Is it a name for a real person?

RYOMEN is “both side” and SUKUNA is said to mean “drive evil away”. His name is seen in several Japanese mythologies. Sometimes it’s a demon, and sometimes it’s a hero.

The strongest and the evilest sorcerer, Ryomen Sukuna. Honestly, it’s a very strange name since it’s not a normal name but the name for gods or demons. In this post, I’ll explain what his full name means based on the meanings of the Kanji characters!

RYOMEN

RYO = both, twin
MEN = side, face, mask

The word RYOMEN is usually used for meaning “both side” but it stands for “two faces” in this case. Ryomen Sukuna in Japanese mythologies had two faces on his front and back.

Was he a man who really exist?

YES. His name appears in several mythologies and legends. He is described sometimes as a demon, sometimes as a human.

SUKUNA

SUKU = inn, reside, previous life, time-honored, experienced
NA = a ritual for exorcising demons

The word SUKUNA has the meaning of “something that drives the evil away.”

Look at the second character NA. The symbol stands for a ritual for exorcising demons called “ONIYARAI” in classic Japanese. The left part of the character pictures a person and the right one stands for something bad like demons and disasters. In the Heian era (794-1192) in old Japan, there was a custom that governmental officers who put on a mask with four eyes drove away demons.

I guess the character design of Ryomen Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen comes from this tradition. His true form is described as a four-eyes man in the manga.

Wait. Wasn’t Ryomen Sukuna a bad guy? Considering the kanji meanings, SUKUNA is a very righteous name.

Exactly. There’s a contradiction!

What Kind of Person Was Sukuna in History?

Now you’ve learned the name RYOMEN SUKUNA means “a two-faced man who drives away the evil”. Though Ryomen Sukuna is described as a cruel demon in a Japanese old history book, the word SUKUNA means to get rid of something evil. Don’t you think that doesn’t make sense?

As for it, there’s an interesting fact. In the Hida area in Gifu prefecture, Ryomen Sukuna is enshrined as a god and respected by local people. Even some temples were built for him.

We can guess that he was a local hero who opposed the invasion by the Yamato imperial court of the time and fought for protecting the Hida area. The court won the battle and portrayed him as a demon to justify their dominion. This kind of thing always happens in history.

Ryomen Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen is a complete villain. But the meaning of his name isn’t evil, rather good.

I explained more detail about Japanese mythologies about him in another post. This is one of the popular posts, and I’m happy if you’d read it too!

Ryomen Sukuna in Real Life from Japanese Mythology