The Real-Life Ryomen Sukuna Mythology: A Dive into Japanese History (2024)

Real Sukuna in Japanese History and Mythology

Hi, Junko from Japan here! Did Ryomen Sukuna, the figure we know from Jujutsu Kaisen, really exist in real life? Perhaps. His name surfaces in a number of mythologies and historical records in Japan.

It appears that Jujutsu Kaisen’s Sukuna was created by assembling fragments from each of Ryomen Sukuna mythology. Was the real-life Ryomen Sukuna also a king of curses? Let’s embark on a journey to understand his background!

The Ryomen Sukuna Mythology in the Ancient Chronicle, Nihon Shoki

Ryomen Sukuna features in an ancient Japanese book titled “Nihon Shoki”. Written in AD720, this historical record portrays him as a Japanese Yokai demon committing heinous acts.

This representation of Ryomen Sukuna in the Nihon Shoki forms a significant part of the mythology surrounding the character.

The Ryomen Sukuna of Nihon Shoki boasts eight arms and legs in total, with faces on both front and back. In the Kanji characters, RYO signifies “both sides,” and MEN represents a mask or a face, hence the term RYOMEN indicates his dual visages.

He was known for his prowess in battle, wielding two swords and two sets of bows and arrows. Despite his power and agility, he was eventually subdued by Takefurukumanomikoto, a warrior in service to the emperor of the time.

I think the Sukuna’s real form depicted in Jujutsu Kaisen is derived from this myth. His complete form in the manga is portrayed as a Yokai-like individual with four arms.

Legends of Ryomen Sukuna in Real Life: Gifu Prefecture

Ryomen Sukuna is said to hail from Gifu prefecture in Japan. Numerous myths and folklore about Sukuna persist in Gifu. Here, he is not demonized but is celebrated as a local hero.

In the Niugawa region of Gifu, legend has it that he was an embodiment of a god and constructed a temple. The image below is of the “Zenkyuji” Buddhism temple.

A statue of Ryomen Sukuna, resembling more of a Buddhist war god than a demon, is enshrined in the temple. The Sukuna statue in Zenkyuji dons magnificent armor and wields a large axe, bearing no multiple faces or arms.

In the Kanayamacho region, Ryomen Sukuna was a local warrior who met his end in a battle against Takefurukumanomikoto. This story aligns with the Nihon Shoki, but he is not characterized as a demon here.

In the Seki city region, he was an extraordinary human with two faces and four arms who eliminated a venomous dragon. Despite his unusual appearance, local lore states, “Ryomen Sukuna was strong enough for two men, and also he was clever.” He is revered as a courageous hero who protected the people of the Seki area.

Without exception, Ryomen Sukuna is respected as a great warrior in the Gifu area. Perhaps the real-life Ryomen Sukuna was a local hero who fell out of favor with the emperor and was subsequently depicted as a villain.

You know, history is often narrated through the lens of the victor!

In Seki city, a temple attributed to Ryomen Sukuna stands. According to legend, he vanquished a dragon that was harming the people and built a temple on the land where the dragon resided.

This is the Nichiryubuji temple, which houses a statue of Ryomen Sukuna.

Ryomen Sukuna in Real Life: Urban Legend or a Real Story?

This account is a ghost story posted on a well-known Japanese bulletin board system. It became a hot topic among bulletin board users and gained fame as an internet ghost story in Japan because it had a sense of realism.

A young man discovered a wooden box while demolishing an old temple in Iwate prefecture. He inquired about the box with a temple master, who admonished, “NEVER OPEN THAT.”

But his colleagues opened the box without asking. They unearthed a mummy with two faces, four arms, and two legs. Following this, the master arrived to retrieve it, proclaiming, “You can’t live a long life.”

As he predicted, one of them died from a heart attack, another was admitted to a mental health hospital, and the remaining three succumbed to a high fever. The poster himself was severely injured by stepping on an iron nail.

He managed to locate the son of the temple master and learned the origin of the mummy. According to him, the mummy was created by a religious cult. The cult isolated deformed humans in a sealed room until they starved to death, and the last survivor was mummified.

The mummy was christened Ryomen Sukuna and venerated as the cult’s source of curse power. Whenever Ryomen Sukuna was relocated, disasters would befall the area.

Though the curse abated after the cult leader’s death, rumors persist that the series of natural calamities in Japan are somehow linked to Ryomen Sukuna’s location.

The man who posted the story lost contact with both the master and his son, and the current whereabouts of Sukuna are unknown.

Do you believe this is a real story of Ryomen Sukuna in real life, or is it merely fiction? The decision to believe the story or not is entirely up to you!

This account is a ghost story posted on a well-known Japanese bulletin board system. It became a hot topic among bulletin board users and gained fame as an internet ghost story in Japan because it had a sense of realism.

A young man discovered a wooden box while demolishing an old temple in Iwate prefecture. He inquired about the box with a temple master, who admonished, “NEVER OPEN THAT.”

But his colleagues opened the box without asking. They unearthed a mummy with two faces, four arms, and two legs. Following this, the master arrived to retrieve it, proclaiming, “You can’t live a long life.”

As he predicted, one of them died from a heart attack, another was admitted to a mental health hospital, and the remaining three succumbed to a high fever. The poster himself was severely injured by stepping on an iron nail.

He managed to locate the son of the temple master and learned the origin of the mummy. According to him, the mummy was created by a religious cult. The cult isolated deformed humans in a sealed room until they starved to death, and the last survivor was mummified.

The mummy was christened Ryomen Sukuna and venerated as the cult’s source of curse power. Whenever Ryomen Sukuna was relocated, disasters would befall the area.

Though the curse abated after the cult leader’s death, rumors persist that the series of natural calamities in Japan are somehow linked to Ryomen Sukuna’s location.

The man who posted the story lost contact with both the master and his son, and the current whereabouts of Sukuna are unknown.

Do you believe this is a real story of Ryomen Sukuna in real life, or is it merely fiction? The decision to believe the story or not is entirely up to you!

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