The Culling Game is essentially a battle to the death in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. It is played by sorcerers and non-sorcerers alike in different places all around Japan. Its end goal is to evolve humanity and turn the world into a place where only the best and most powerful sorcerers are left behind, leading to a new “Golden Era” of jujutsu sorcery.
This is, of course, Geto’s, or more accurately, Kenjaku’s main objective in the story. Prior to revealing that Geto is actually Kenjaku, who has taken over Geto’s body to execute this plan, we learn that “Geto” desired to eliminate individuals unfit for the world of jujutsu sorcery. This objective can be achieved through the Culling Game, which serves as a means to eliminate sorcerers considered too weak to endure such a challenging competition.
The basics of the Culling game
While technically the game allows voluntary participation, the players are actually pre-selected, and declining to join after being chosen comes with consequences. The game commences when a player receives a cursed technique, or to word it out the way the manga does, when the sorcerer is “awakened”. They are then given a 19-day period to decide whether or not to officially take part in the game. If they opt out, their cursed technique is removed, and there is speculation that it could lead to their demise. Once sorcerers have been awakened or chosen to participate in the game, there is no way to escape.
The game takes place within a series of 10 barriers or colonies, spanning both the western and eastern regions of Japan. The currently known colonies are as follows: Tokyo No. 1 Colony, Tokyo No. 2 Colony, Sendai Colony, and Sakurajima Colony. Each sorcerer can play in one of the barriers once they are put up, however, it is possible for humans who are not sorcerers to enter these barriers by accident. In that case, they are given the option to exit the area as they are not meant to be there in the first place. However, there is a potential risk for non-sorcerers who accidentally encounter a bloodthirsty sorcerer within the barriers. In such cases, there is a possibility that they might be targeted and harmed by other players who have the intent to kill.
Non-sorcerers like Maki, have the opportunity to actively engage in the game if they are selected and awakened with a cursed technique. Moreover, it is worth noting that the game may involve additional participants, including cursed spirits and ancient sorcerers who have similarly experienced the awakening and transformed into non-sorcerers.
Once the game starts for the players, their goal is to kill the other participants. This is where the idea of Charles Darwin’s “Survival of the Fittest” comes into play. Only the strongest jujutsu sorcerers can survive this game. Each participant is worth a certain number of points, and once they are killed by another player, they will get those points for themselves.
The players must keep earning points all throughout the game because if they are unable to increase their points in 19 days, they will be eliminated. This rule forces the players into active participation and is left with no choice but to continuously shed blood whether they like it or not. While there are already 8 original rules when the game started, there is the possibility of the players adding in new rules if they garner 100 points. This is what made the games even more complex and challenging than it already was, but some players also added rules that somewhat benefited the players.
How the Culling Game Began
After the conclusion of the Shibuya Arc, Chapter 143 of the manga introduces the Culling Game. Megumi informs Itadori about Noritoshi Kamo’s scheme, which involves jujutsu sorcerers being pitted against each other in a game of elimination. Megumi describes the Culling Game as a form of “jujutsu terrorism” due to the involuntary participation of numerous sorcerers.
In Chapter 145 of the manga, Master Tengen reveals that Kenjaku wanted to evolve humans in Japan, however, he lacked the cursed energy to fulfill that. Master Tengen continued, “The method of evolution Kenjaku has chosen…is the merging of humankind and me.” Master Tengen’s soul is all around them, with the world being his “self”. Kenjaku plans to use cursed manipulation to merge Master Tengen with the world, which is the ritual to be done in order to prepare for the start of the culling game. Master Tengen then asked for two people to become guards for the time being, as Master Tengen is being targeted by Kenjaku.
In essence, Kenjaku wanted to merge Master Tengen with humanity in order to create powerful beings, and it is through the culling game that there will be enough cursed energy generated for the fusion to be done. Master Tengen cannot reject being merged with them because of how evolved they have become over time.
Read more: What Happened to Nobara in Jujutsu Kaisen?
The Players of the Culling Game
Kenjaku awakened the sorcerers on November 1, 2018, at midnight. The sorcerers then had 19 days to officially participate in the game. Participants would then have to enter a colony to be considered a part of the game.
Tokyo No. 1 Colony | Tokyo No. 2 Colony | Sendai Colony | Sakurajima Colony |
Yuji Itadori Megumi Fushiguro Rin Amai Reggie Star Hiromi Higurama Fumihiko Takaba Hanyu Haba Remi Iori Hazenoki Hana Kurusu Chizuru Hari | Panda Momo Nishimiya Kinji Hakari Charles Bernard Hajime Kashimo. | Yuta Okkotsu Kasumi Miwa Kurourushi Ryu Ishigori Takako Uro Dhruv Lakdawalla Yorozu Sukuna | Maki Zenin Noritoshi Kamo Hagane Daido Rokujushi Miyo Cursed Naoya |
The Rules of the Culling Game
There were originally 8 rules stated by Kenjaku at the start of the game:
1. After awakening a cursed technique, players must declare their participation in the culling game at a barrier of their choice within 19 days. All the chosen participants have been awakened around nighttime on October 31, 2018, and November 1, 2018, at midnight, so they must have made their decision to join by November 19, 2018.
2. Any player who breaks the previous rule shall be subject to cursed technique removal. Once selected, participation becomes mandatory for the chosen players. Failure to join the game within the designated 19-day timeframe not only results in the removal of their cursed technique but also puts their life at risk, with a high likelihood of death.
3. Non-players who enter the barrier become players at the moment of entry and shall be considered to have declared participation in the culling game. However, they are granted a single opportunity to exit the colony without consequence. If, by chance, they enter the colony again, they are left with no alternative but to participate in the game.
4. Players score points by ending the lives of other players. Just like in “Battle Royale”, the goal of the players is to kill other players while keeping themselves alive.
5. Points are determined by the game master and indicate the value of a player’s life. As a general rule, sorcerers are worth 5 points and non-sorcerers are worth 1 point. When a player successfully kills someone, they earn a certain number of points that are based on the worth of a participant.
6. Excluding the point value of a player’s own life, players may expend 100 points to negotiate with the game master to add one new rule to the culling game. Although there are already 8 rules laid out, if a player manages to earn 100 points, they can negotiate with the game master to add their own rule to the game.
7. In accordance with the previous rule, the game master must accept any proposed new rule unless it has a marked and long-lasting effect on the culling game. The game master can accept any rules, unless its effect may be negative on the game’s flow.
8. If a player’s score remains the same for 19 days, that player shall be subject to cursed technique removal. This rule forces every player to actively participate in the game. If they don’t manage to kill someone and increase their points within 19 days, not only will their cursed technique be removed, but they will also be eliminated, in the sense of facing actual death as the consequence.
The New Rules of the Culling Game
Once the game began and players started earning points, they were able to add new rules:
- Hajime Kashimo, who earned 200 points, used up 100 to add a new rule in Chapter 158 of the manga. All players would be able to access information about other participants. This included their name, colony, the total number of rules, and rules added by them.
- In Chapter 167, Hiromi Higurama also added a new rule. Upon seeing Yuji’s pureness of heart, he thought that humanity may not be as bad as he thought. His new rule was to let players transfer points to each other.
- In Chapter 211, Yorozu, who was using Tsumiki Fushiguro’s body as a vessel, added a new rule as well. The new rule allowed players to enter and exit different colonies and barriers as they pleased. This allowed the players to participate in other areas besides the one that they first participated in.
- Kenjaku also added two rules in Chapter 220 that complicated the game further. First, new players were prohibited from joining the game, unlike the original setup of the game wherein as long as a person entered the barrier, they would automatically be considered a participant of the game. Second, the game would only end once every player except for Kenjaku and Megumi Fushiguro, who was turned into Sukuna’s vessel, were left alive. The second rule was basically a setup for a showdown against Sukuna and Kenjaku, but as of Chapter 223, the games are still ongoing.
Read more: Jujutsu Kaisen: Gojo and Sukuna’s Epic Fight Begins in Chapter 223