Summary

• The Cursed Womb: Death Paintings are a group of half-human, half-curse fetuses created by the evil sorcerer Noritoshi Kamo.
• The Death Paintings gain their independence and take over the bodies of their hosts, becoming autonomous beings with self-awareness and their own agenda.
• Choso, in particular, has a significant connection with Yuji Itadori and all three play a crucial role in the ongoing conflict with the antagonist Kenjaku.

Since its debut in 2018, Jujutsu Kaisen has quickly grown into one of the most successful shonen franchises of all time. As the second season of the series' anime adaptation continues to wow audiences, its manga approaches what seems to be its final saga, wrapping up many of the plotlines involving its most popular characters. However, one group of individuals that continue to play a major role in the series are the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, whose connection with Yuji Itadori has been teased since all the way back in the Death Painting Arc.

Jujutsu Kaisen almost never thoroughly explores the backstories of its characters, so many of the details involving the creation of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings are still unknown. That said, the series has revealed enough about them to foreshadow their relevance to the story, and with each passing arc, they become more and more important to world of jujutsu sorcery.

Updated on October 27, 2023 by Kennedy King: Jujutsu Kaisen's narrative is heating up at an exponential rate, and with the creator of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, Kenjaku, poised to overthrow the jujutsu world, his machinations are more relevant than ever. Only time will tell what the Death Paintings' ultimate role in the story will be, but if there's one thing that's certain, it's that these beings represent the true intersection of human life and cursed energy.

What Are the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings?

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To understand the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, one must first appreciate the circumstances of their creation. At the beginning of Japan's Meiji Era (roughly the middle of the 19th-century), an unknown woman mysteriously became pregnant with a half-human, half-curse child, leading her to be ostracized from her family. After fleeing from her home, the woman arrived a temple where jujutsu sorcery was practiced — it was at this point that she first met Noritoshi Kamo, arguably the most evil jujutsu sorcerer of all-time. Under Kamo's guidance, the mother of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings was impregnated nine times, and each time, the heinous jujutsu sorcerer aborted her unborn children, keeping their fetuses for future experimentation.

At some point over the next century-and-a-half, Tokyo Jujutsu High would come into possession of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, which the school hides deep within the confines of Tengen's barrier technique. Like most objects hidden within this barrier, these half-human, half-curse fetuses were safely sealed for decades; however, when Mahito infiltrates Tengen's barrier during the Goodwill Exchange Event, the special-grade curse is able to steal three of them. Similar to other cursed objects like Sukuna's fingers, these Death Paintings are effectively harmless until they're ingested by a human. Upon being consumed, they completely take over the body of their host, and in the process, they fully manifest as independent creatures capable of acting with their own self-awareness and agency.

The Cursed Womb: Death Paintings And Their Connection To Yuji and Kenjaku

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The Cursed Womb: Death Paintings make their first appearance in Jujutsu Kaisen shortly after the Goodwill Exchange Event. As Megumi Fushiguro battles a cursed spirit bearing one of Sukuna's fingers, Nobara Kugisaki and Yuji Itadori battle against two of the Death Paintings brought to life by Mahito. Despite the grotesque appearance of these two characters (named Eso and Kechizu), they demonstrate a unique trait for cursed spirits: a willingness to sacrifice their own safety or the sake of another's well-being. The pair truly seem to think of each other as brothers, so it's only natural that their surviving sibling, Choso, is emotionally distraught when he finds out about their loss. However, he eventually finds companionship in the most unlikely of places — Yuji Itadori.

All Known Cursed Womb: Death Paintings

• Choso
• Eso
• Kechizu

The fallout surrounding the Shibuya Incident leads to the shocking reveal that Noritoshi Kamo, the individual who created the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, was controlled by the same being that occupies Suguru Geto's body during the events of Jujutsu Kaisen. This ancient sorcerer goes by Kenjaku, and among many other deeds, he also played an undetermined role in the birth of Yuji Itadori. As shown in a strange flashback following the Shibuya Incident, Kenjaku once controlled the body of Yuji's mother, strongly hinting that the antagonist gave birth to the series' protagonist. Upon learning this, Choso immediately recognizes that he and Yuji were wronged by the same figure, which prompts the Cursed Womb: Death Painting to take up arms with Jujutsu Kaisen's heroes. Since Kenjaku utilized his blood in the creation of the Death Paintings, there's a strong chance that Choso and Yuji actually share a non-negligible amount of DNA, creating one of the strangest relationships in shonen history.

Read CBR's Review of Jujutsu Kaisen 0

Jujutsu Kaisen's tendency to reject conventionality makes it difficult to predict where its narrative is heading, but as Ryomen Sukuna and Kenjaku continue to threaten the stability of the jujutsu world, the potential of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings and Yuji Itadori have never been more important. Kenjaku has left a trail of discarded experiments in his wake, and while the odds are still stacked against Jujutsu Kaisen's protagonists, it finally seems as though Kenjaku's sick sense of curiosity is coming back to bite him.

Choso’s relationship to the other Cursed Womb: Death Paintings is arguably the most sincere bond in Jujutsu Kaisen, which feels especially meaningful given his status as a half-human, half-curse. If he and Yuji Itadori can capitalize upon their position at the intersection between cursed spirits and jujutsu sorcerers, then they may actually be able to devise a plan to defeat the world's most twisted sorcerer and the King of Curses himself. Only time will tell what their ultimate role in the story is, but considering how long Choso and Yuji's powers and backstory have been teased, it's all but guaranteed to factor in sooner rather than later.