Who is Ryomen Sukuna?
Ryomen Sukuna is said to have had one body with two faces pointing in opposite directions, and four arms and four legs. He appears in the Nihon Shoki (720) in the records of the reign of Emperor Nintoku. In recent years he has drawn attention as the inspiration for the name of a character in the popular manga Jujutsu Kaisen.
Sukuna in the Nihon Shoki
According to the Nihon Shoki, a man named Sukuna lived in Hida Province (today’s northern Gifu Prefecture). His two faces looked in opposite directions, and he wielded a sword and a bow and arrows freely in his many hands. Because he refused to obey the imperial court and plundered the people, he was killed by a general sent by the court. Here he is portrayed as a fearsome rebel against the central government.
A hero of Hida
In the Hida and Mino regions, however, Ryomen Sukuna is remembered as a hero and holy man who slew an evil dragon and founded temples. Legends about him survive at Senkoji Temple in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, and a statue of Sukuna carved by the Edo-period monk Enku is well known. He is a fascinating figure, told of in completely different ways by the capital and by the local people.
