Created by mixing the blood of a cursed spirit and a human, the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings (known as Jutai Kusōzu in Japanese) are a collection of nine special-grade cursed objects. These unique objects possess a half-human, half-curse composition, which sets them apart from other cursed objects in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Jujutsu Kaisen may seem like everything in this world falls into one of three categories – sorcerers, non-sorcerers, and curses – there are still many other entities that exist outside of these classifications. One such example is The Cursed Womb: Death Paintings. These mysterious creations were introduced in episode 21 of the anime, leaving many viewers perplexed about their nature and origin.
Spoiler warning to all Jujutsu Kaisen fans out there. This article will contain information from the manga, so if you’re an anime-only viewer and wish to avoid spoilers, proceed with caution.
Cursed Womb: Death Paintings Explained
The Cursed Womb: Death Paintings are a set of nine cursed objects that hold special-grade power. These objects are a hybrid of humans and curses. After their creation, the Death Paintings were placed under the protection of Jujutsu High to ensure that non-sorcerer would not get involved in their dangerous properties.
The Death Paintings were sealed and hidden in a storage warehouse for safekeeping. From then on, they were kept somewhere within Jujutsu High, under the watchful eye of Tengen. As the master of Jujutsu High, Tengen is responsible for maintaining a protective barrier around the school’s premises to prevent any cursed spirits from entering.
The nine Death Paintings take the form of fetuses and lack consciousness of their own, rendering them unable to act autonomously. However, during the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc of Jujutsu High, Mahito managed to steal three of the Death Paintings from the original set of nine. After removing them from Tengen’s protective barrier, they force-fed the fetuses to three unsuspecting humans, granting Choso, Eso, and Kechizu new flesh and blood vessels. This act caused the fetuses to develop their own consciousness, effectively creating three hybrid beings that are half-human and half-curse.
Who Is Choso, Eso, and Kechizu?
Choso, is the eldest of the Death Painting siblings, while Eso is the middle child, and Kechizu, is the youngest brother. Kechizu and Eso serve as the primary antagonists of the Death Painting Arc. but met their end during the same Arc in episode 24 at the hands of Yuji and Nobara. While curses typically disappear when they die, Cursed Womb: Death Paintings are unique in that they retain their flesh and blood even after death.
For 150 long years, the three siblings were sealed away together with nothing but the knowledge of each other’s existence to keep them going. Curiously, none of them have any memory of their mother nor do they harbor any particular grudge towards sorcerers – they simply exist for one another. It’s worth noting that Choso, Eso, and Kechizu all possessed cursed techniques that are blood-related.
Additionally, Choso’s cursed technique possesses a secondary effect that allows him to detect the presence and deaths of his brothers, as was evident in episode 24 when he sensed the deaths of Eso and Kechizu.
During the Shibuya Arc, Choso experienced an unexpected revelation. After encountering Yuji, he began to recollect forgotten memories of his origins, including the details of his birth and his deep-seated animosity towards Suguru Geto. It appears that Yuji’s presence somehow triggered a response in Choso’s mind or soul, causing him to remember things that were long lost to him.
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What Is the Origin of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings?
Episode 24 explains that It all began during the Meiji Era when a woman with a unique genetic makeup gave birth to a child that was half-human and half-curse. This unusual pregnancy caused her family to abandon her, and she fled to a temple run by jujutsu sorcerers for sanctuary. Unfortunately, Noritoshi Kamo, a sorcerer with an unhealthy obsession for creating the perfect hybrid child, discovered her and used her as a test subject for his experiments. He forced the woman to endure nine pregnancies and nine abortions, resulting in the creation of the nine cursed wombs that we now know as the Death Paintings. The details surrounding these nine births and the fate of the woman who bore them have been lost to history over time.
Death Paintings didn’t have just two parents, but three. In addition to their mother and the cursed spirit that impregnated her, Noritoshi Kamo played a crucial role in their creation by infusing his own blood with theirs. These three individuals collectively gave birth to the Death Paintings, and each of them played a significant part in shaping their existence.
Eso once pondered about the origins of the cursed energy that brought the Death Paintings into existence. He speculated whether it might have originated from the deep-seated hatred that their mother harbored towards Noritoshi Kamo. This raises questions about the nature of cursed energy and its relationship with human emotions such as hatred and anger.
What Is the Inspiration Behind the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings?
While we’ve seen only three of the nine Death Paintings in the story – Choso, Eso, and Kechizu – the others also have their names: Noranso, Sho-oso, Tanso, Sanso, Kotsuso, and Shoso. Interestingly, the concept of Kusozu, an ancient Japanese art form that depicts the nine stages of human decomposition, served as the inspiration for the Death Paintings as explained by Gege Akutami. Typically, these artworks depicted the decay of a female body left out in the open, showcasing the gradual process of decomposition until the bones were all that remained.
Kusozu is an artwork that originated in Buddhism and was created to help individuals rid themselves of worldly desires. The nine stages of decomposition depicted in Kusozu correspond to the names of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings. For instance, the first stage, Choso, represents the body’s inflammation caused by gas produced during the decomposition process.
The second stage, Eso, depicts the body’s skin starting to tear and break as decomposition progresses. Meanwhile, the third stage, Kechizuso, showcases the further damage to the body as melted fat, blood, and bodily fluids seep out. Each of the nine stages of decomposition in Kusozu shares a name with the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings. This leads to the inference that the other cursed wombs might be in a state beyond revival, as Choso, Kechizu, and Eso only represent the initial stages of decomposition.
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