The one of the only 4 special grade Jujutsu sorcerers is Yuta Okotsu.
Okkotsu has more cursed energy than Gojo and is able to use reverse cursed technique.
In this article, a native Japanese writer explained Yuta Okkotsu including the Japanese backgrounds.
Notes
The basic notes of Yuta Okotsu is summarized below.
| Age | 17 |
| Birthday | 3/7 |
| Height | 178 cm |
| Birthplace | Miyagi |
| Personality | Thoughtful |
| Cursed Technique | Rika |
| Ability | Copy, Reverse Cursed Technique |
| Domain Expansion | Usable (name/effect unknown) |
| Special Skill | Making poppy seeds |
| Favorite Foods | Salted cabbage with sesame oil |
| Bad Food | Steak fat |
| Stress | Not being able to see classmates |
| Grade | Special Grade |
| Voice Actor | Kayleigh McKee |
Official fanbook states the age of Okkotsu is 17 years old and he repeated a grade.
Okkotsu is a second-year student at Tokyo Jujutsu High around November 2018 and his birthday is March 7th, which implies that Otsukotsu repeated a year.
In November 2016 (when Okkotsu was in his first year of high school), Okkotsu caused an incident in which his classmates were locked up in lockers.
Around May 2017, Okkotsu enrolled as a first-year student at the Tokyo Jujutsu High.
In other words, Okkotsu experienced the first year of high school twice (repeating a year).
Also, from the height chart in the official fanbook, you can see that Okkotsu is about 178 cm tall.
Characters with a similar height include Noritoshi Kamo (177 cm) and Megumi Fushiguro (175 cm).
Regarding Okkotsu’s personality, although it has changed greatly between the 1st and 2nd years of Jujutsu High, it is same that he is thoughtful.
In fact, the Okkotsu’s stress column in the official fanbook states “Not being able to see classmates”.
And, when Tengen requested that two of the three, Tsukumo, Choso, and Okkotsu, stay, he Okkotsu said he don’t want to be separated from everyone anymore.
In addition, Okkotsu asked a genuine question to Uro, a player of the Culling Game, “How can you be so desperate for your own sake?”.
And, Fushiguro, who dislikes 90% of people, also said that Okkotsu is the only senior Fushiguro can respect without hesitation.
In this way, Okkotsu is respected by many people because he cares about others.
These are the basic notes of Yuta Okkotsu.
What Does 乙骨憂太 (Yuta Okkotsu) Mean?
The official fanbook revealed the origin of the name of 乙骨憂太 (Yuta Okkotsu)
The reason why the author Akutami gave the name 乙骨(Okkotsu) is because it’s kind of cool.
In terms of Japanese sense, Okkotsu has certainly a cool pronunciation writing style.
Japanese meaning of the letter of 乙骨 is below.
乙：something cool
骨：born
By the way, the last name 乙骨 actually exists, and there are about 60 people in Japan.
The reason why the author gave the name 憂太(Yuta) is because the Japanese meaning of 憂太 represents melancholy, worry, pain, and tough, which implies Okkotsu has suffered from Rika’s curse.
The above is the Japanese meaning of the name 乙骨憂太 (Yuta Okkotsu).
Descendant of Michizane Sugawara
In Vol. 0 of Jujutsu Kaisen, Gojo Satoru said that Okkotsu is a descendant of Michizane Sugawara, one of the Three Vengeful Spirits of Japan.
According to Wikipedia, Michizane Sugawara was a Heian period aristocrat who became a vengeful spirit after he died because of being deported for an innocent crime.
Michizane Sugawara
Sugawara no Michizane (菅原 道真/菅原 道眞, August 1, 845 – March 26, 903) was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian Period of Japan. He is regarded as an excellent poet, particularly in Kanshi poetry, and is today revered in Shinto as the god of learning, Tenman-Tenjin (天満天神, often shortened to Tenjin). In the poem anthology Hyakunin Isshu, he is known as Kanke (菅家), and in kabuki drama he is known as Kan Shōjō (菅丞相).
It is said that Michizane became a vengeful spirit because of the successive deaths of government officials and emperors who were involved in the demotion of Michizane, and the fact that lightning struck the court after the demotion, killing several aristocrats.
Although Okkotsu is was a descendant of the Michizane, but in the Vol. 20 of Jujutsu Kaisen, Uro said to Okkotsu, “Are you one of the Fujiwara”.
In Japanese history, the Fujiwara clan was also a force that held power during the Heian period, and it was the Fujiwara clan who plotted to demote Michizane.
As for whether Okkotsu’s ancestor is Sugawara or Fujiwara, in the illustration of Vol. 20 of Jujutsu Kaisen, Okkotsu said, “Fujiwara? Gojo-sensei said Sugawara…. It doesn’t matter, or maybe the sensei’s mistake”, and the autor Akutami commented that Okkotsu is too uninterested in himself & Gojo is too untrustworthy.
In addition, the author Akutami said, “Michizane’s passage is a present for Mr. Yamanaka, who is now deceased. He has been saying for a long time that he wanted to include a real person.” in the official fanbook.
From the above points, it would be correct that Okkotsu is a descendant of not Fujiwara but Sugawara.
In the first place, the reason why Uro regarded Okkotsu as Fujiwara was that Okkotsu asked her, “How can you be so desperate for your own sake?”.
Uro was once the captain of the Fujiwara clan’s assassination squad and was not allowed to have even a name.
In other words, the question of Okkotsu, “How can you be so desperate for your own sake?”, would have reminded Uro of Fujiwara’s teaching that Uro doesn’t need to have a name.
Therefore, what Uro said to Okkotsu would mean that that the way of Okkotsu’s thinking is like Fujiwara.
Cursed Technique
In the official fanbook, Okkotsu’s cursed technique is described as “Rika”.
In addition, it is described in Vol. 20 of Jujutsu Kaisen that, “Rika is Okkotsu’s cursed technique and can store cursed energy for him. Rika remained with him after Rika Orimoto passed away.”
Therefore, one of the Okkotsu’s cursed technique would be to manifest Rika.
Moreover, in Japanese version of Jujutsu Kaisen, the ability to manifest Rika was revealed to be an external cursed technique.
So, Okkotsu’s innate cursed technique, which is engraved on the body at birth, has not been clearly stated yet.
However, Okkotsu possesses an ability of copy that would be his innate cursed technique.
Now, let’s summarize the abilities of Okkotsu below.
Abilities of Okkotsu
・To connect with Rika through the ring.
・To connect with Rika for 5 minutes
・To use the cursed technique of copy while connected to Rika.
・Rika’s full manifestation while connected to Rika.
・ To get cursed energy from Rika while connected.
In short, Okkotsu can fully manifest Rika for 5 minutes through the ring, during which he can use a cursed technique and obtain cursed energy from Rika.
And a cursed technique that can only be used while connected to Rika would be copy, which is suggested from the fact that Okkotsu used cursed techniques of Inumaki, Dhruv, and Uro after connecting with Rika.
The Okkotsu’s ability of copying has no disadvantages such as deterioration, but it must be necessary to take in the target’s flesh or blood in order to copy cursed techniques.
The fact that the copy requires the target’s blood or flesh is suggested in the scene where Ishigori said, “But there must be a major condition for it!” with remembering Rika’s eating the arm of Uro.
In addition, the fact that the hand sign of Okkotsu’s Domain Expansion represents a witch who eats human flesh called Dakini(荼枳尼天) also suggests that the copy requires the target’s flesh.
Strength
It’s clear that the Okkotsu is insanely strong.
In fact, in Vol. 0 of the Jujutsu Kaisen, Okkotsu defeated a special grade Jujutsu sorcerer Suguru Geto, and in Volume 20 of the Jujutsu Kaisen, he defeated three powerful sorcerers and one special grade cursed spirit.
The origin of the strength of Okkotsu is the overwhelming amount of cursed energy and reverse cursed technique.
Okkotsu’s cursed energy is more than Gojo.
Itadori mentioned about the Okkotsu’s cursed energy, “His whole body and his katana too are constantly surging with cursed energy…. His attacks are decisive plus he can keep damage to a minimum.”
In addiotion, Okkotsu can use the reverse cursed technique and its output.
In the story, there are only three people who can output the reverse cursed technique: Sukuna, Okkotsu, and Ieiri.
The reverse cursed technique has the disadvantage of consuming a large amount of cursed energy, but in addition to the original large amount of cursed energy, Okkotsu also stores cursed energy in Rika, so he will rarely run out of it.
In fact, even when facing 3 special sorcerers and 1 special grade cursed spilit in a row, he didn’t run out of cursed energy.
In this way, Okkotsu is an all-rounder based on close combat skills using cursed tools and cursed energy manipulation, Rika’s long-range attacks, overwhelming amount of cursed energy, recovery of cursed energy by Rika, reverse cursed technique, copy, Domain Expansion, etc.
Cursed Technique Reversal
Reverse Cursed Technique is a skill to create positive energy by multiplying cursed enegy, negative energy.
And, Cursed Technique Reversal is activated by flowing this positive energy into your innate cursed technique.
As I mentioned earlier, Okkotsu can use reverse cursed technique, so he must be able to use reversal cursed technique reversal.
Actually, Gojo learned cursed technique reversal, at the same time he learned reverse cursed technique.
Now, what we want to know here is the effect of the Okkotsu’s cursed technique reversal.
Cursed Technique Reversal has the opposite effect of Cursed Technique Lapse.
In the example of Gojo’s Limitless, Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue and Cursed Technique Reversal: Red has the opposite effect of convergence and divergence.
Therefore, the cursed technique reversal of Okkotsu may have the effect of creation, which is the antonym of copy.
However, to create cursed techniques is so storong that there must be disadvantages based on Binding Vows.
Quotes
I love you, Rika.
How rude. This is pure love.
I will kill Yuji Itadori myself.
Sensei… I won’t let you kill your best friend a second time. I will kill Kenjaku and by myself I will obtain 400 points.
How can you be so desperate for your own sake?
Living only for yourself will only get you so far.
There’s nothing I could have said to her. Whatever I’d say would just lead to violence. Because I’m blessed.
Postscript
This is the article about “Yuta Okkotsu Explained by a Native Japanese”.
Other articles explained the interesting and important issues in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Plese read them as well.
In addition, the Japanese version of this article is here.