The Culling Game Arc in Jujutsu Kaisen: Rules, Colonies, Fights and Outcomes Explained
The Culling Game (死滅回遊, Shimetsu Kaiyū) is the seventh arc in Jujutsu Kaisen and the largest in the manga. It runs from Chapter 143 to Chapter 213 and covers a death tournament Kenjaku has been engineering for over a thousand years. By the time it activates, Gojo is sealed, Yuji is a wanted man, and roughly a thousand ordinary people across Japan have just woken up as jujutsu sorcerers with no idea what is happening to them.
The game ends. It does not end cleanly.
Arc Profile
| Detail | Information |
| Arc Name | Culling Game Arc (死滅回遊編) |
| Arc Number | 7th arc in Jujutsu Kaisen |
| Manga Chapters | 143–213 |
| Start Date (in-story) | October 31, 2018 — activation after Shibuya |
| Primary Antagonist | Kenjaku |
| Core Goals (protagonists) | Free Gojo, rescue Tsumiki, protect Tengen |
| Anime Adaptation | Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 (2026) |
What Is the Culling Game?
The Culling Game is a forced death tournament Kenjaku activated immediately after the Shibuya Incident— trapping roughly a thousand newly awakened sorcerers across ten colony zones in Japan and compelling them to kill each other for points.
Kenjaku built this game across centuries. The actual mechanism is Tengen’s barrier network — repurposed to seal colonies across Japan and channel the cursed energy generated by hundreds of combatants dying into something Kenjaku can use for his real goal: merging humanity with Tengen to create a new species beyond individual consciousness.
The game has no game master in the traditional sense. A shikigami interface called Kogane manages the rules mechanically. Kenjaku is not the game master — deliberately, through a binding vow — which means killing Kenjaku does not end the game. The sorcerers figure this out too late to make the simple plan work.
Understanding how cursed energy works is essential to understanding why the Culling Game functions as a ritual rather than a simple tournament.
What Are the Rules of the Culling Game?
The Culling Game operates on eight original rules, with additional rules purchasable by players who accumulate 100 points — turning the scoring system into a political tool as well as a survival mechanism.
The Original Eight Rules:
| Rule | Condition |
| Rule 1 | Players must declare participation in a colony within 19 days of awakening |
| Rule 2 | Players who fail Rule 1 have their cursed technique removed — effectively killing them |
| Rule 3 | Anyone who enters a colony becomes a player — civilians get one chance to exit |
| Rule 4 | Players earn points by killing other players |
| Rule 5 | Kogane determines point values — sorcerers worth 5 points, non-sorcerers worth 1 |
| Rule 6 | Players may spend 100 points to propose a new rule — subject to game master approval |
| Rule 7 | New rules cannot eliminate existing ones or end the game directly |
| Rule 8 | Players whose score remains unchanged for 19 days have their technique removed |
Rules Added During the Game:
- Rule 9 (Kashimo) — Players may access information about all other players through Kogane
- Rule 10 (Higuruma) — Players may freely transfer points to other players
- Rule 11 (Megumi) — Players may spend 100 points to exit the game by substituting a non-player
- Rule 12 (Yorozu, using Tsumiki’s body) — Players may freely enter and exit colonies
- Rules 13–15 (Kenjaku) — Closes new player entry, defines end conditions, gives Megumi authority to activate the Tengen merger
Rule 12 is the arc’s most consequential addition. When “Tsumiki” uses Megumi’s 100 points to add free colony movement rather than escaping, it signals that the person in Tsumiki’s body is not Tsumiki. The revelation that Yorozu had been inhabiting her the entire time follows immediately.
What Are the Ten Colonies?
Ten colony barriers are positioned across Japan in a line from north to south — sealed zones where players are trapped until they accumulate 100 points or the game ends.
The two most active colonies in the arc are Tokyo No. 1 and Tokyo No. 2. The Sendai Colony sees the most concentrated early violence.
Tokyo No. 1 Colony
Yuji Itadori and Megumi enter here. The primary targets are Hiromi Higuruma — who holds the second-highest point total in the game — and Hana Kurusu / the Angel. Yuji’s fight with Higuruma is the colony’s centrepiece. Megumi’s fight against Reggie Star runs in parallel.
Read the Tokyo No. 1 sequence from Chapter 162.
Tokyo No. 2 Colony
Kinji Hakari and Panda enter here. Hakari’s targets are Hajime Kashimo — the strongest non-allied player — and Hana Kurusu’s location. Kashimo holds 200 points — the highest total in the game.
Read the Tokyo No. 2 sequence from Chapter 181.
Sendai Colony
Yuta Okkotsu enters alone and faces Dhruv Lakdawalla, Ryu Ishigori, Takako Uro, and the cursed spirit Kurourushi. The Sendai Colony establishes within 12 days that the game is far more dangerous than the Tokyo zones.
Why Did Kenjaku Create the Culling Game?
The Culling Game is not a tournament — it is a ritual designed to force Master Tengen to merge with all of humanity in Japan, creating a new collective species without individual consciousness.
Kenjaku spent centuries preparing this. He sabotaged Tengen’s 2006 Star Plasma merger to leave Tengen in an unstable evolving state. He marked thousands of civilians with Idle Transfiguration years before the game activated. He structured the rules specifically to prevent any single action from stopping it — no game master, no killswitch.
Every death inside a colony generates cursed energy. Enough deaths across ten colonies creates the conditions for the forced merger. That is the entire point.
Who Are the Key Players?
The Culling Game introduces more new characters than any other arc — a mix of modern civilians awakened by Kenjaku and ancient sorcerers reincarnated specifically to participate.
Allied Players:
| Player | Colony |
| Yuji Itadori | Tokyo No. 1 |
| Megumi Fushiguro | Tokyo No. 1 |
| Kinji Hakari | Tokyo No. 2 |
| Yuta Okkotsu | Sendai |
| Maki Zenin | Various |
| Choso | Tengen’s location |
| Yuki Tsukumo | Tengen’s location |
| Hana Kurusu | Tokyo No. 1 → 2 |
Notable Opposing Players:
| Player | Colony |
| Hiromi Higuruma | Tokyo No. 1 |
| Hajime Kashimo | Tokyo No. 2 |
| Remi | Tokyo No. 1 |
| Fumihiko Takaba | Tokyo No. 1 |
| Takako Uro | Sendai |
| Yorozu (in Tsumiki’s body) | Tokyo No. 1 |
What Are the Arc’s Key Events?
The Culling Game arc moves across three overlapping tracks — the Tokyo operations, the Sendai operations, and the off-colony events involving Tengen, Maki, and the Zenin Clan.
The Perfect Preparation Phase — Chapters 143–157
Before the game formally begins, Yuji’s group meets Master Tengen. Tengen reveals Kenjaku’s full plan, Gojo’s unsealing path through the Angel, and the ten colony structure. The group divides across roles.
Maki’s story runs in parallel. After Mai’s death and the activation of her Heavenly Restriction, Maki massacres the Zenin Clan, defeats Naoya Zenin — twice — and returns to the group with new physical capability comparable to Toji Fushiguro.
Tokyo Colony Operations — Chapters 158–213
The game begins formally on October 31. Key chapter milestones:
- Chapter 162 — Megumi vs Reggie Star’s group begins. Remi lures Megumi into the ambush
- Chapter 173 — Yuji vs Higuruma — domain confrontation and change of heart
- Chapter 181 — Hakari vs Charles Bernard
- Chapter 186 — Hakari vs Kashimo begins
- Chapter 150 — Maki’s full rampage through the Zenin Clan
- Chapter 210 — Hana Kurusu found, Angel reveals herself
- Chapter 212 — “Tsumiki” reveals herself as Yorozu
The Tsumiki Revelation
The rescue plan for Tsumiki executes correctly. The 100 points are transferred. The substitution rule is in place. Tsumiki arrives in Tokyo No. 1 — and uses the points to add Rule 12 instead of leaving. Yorozu reveals herself. Every moment of the reunion was performance.
Yorozu fights Sukuna — now controlling Megumi’s body. Sukuna kills her using Megumi’s Ten Shadows Technique. Tsumiki’s body dies with Yorozu. Megumi’s will collapses. Sukuna’s hold deepens.
Gojo’s Unsealing
After Hana Kurusu is healed by Yuta and Shoko Ieiri, the Angel uses Jacob’s Ladder on the Prison Realm at Training Ground No. 4. Satoru Gojo is freed — the arc’s stated primary goal achieved at the same moment Megumi is effectively lost.
Kenjaku Reaches Tengen
Despite Yuki Tsukumo and Choso’s defence, Kenjaku reaches Master Tengen. Yuki is killed — her final Star Rage generating a black hole that nearly kills Kenjaku but fails. Kenjaku captures Tengen. The game’s real endgame begins.
What Does the Culling Game Mean for the Manga?
The Culling Game breaks Megumi, frees Gojo, builds the new generation of allied sorcerers, and hands Sukuna the Ten Shadows Technique — all simultaneously.
Every thread advances a different piece of the final arc. Hakari defeating Kashimo brings a powerful ally into Shinjuku. Yuta’s performance in Sendai establishes his ceiling. Higuruma’s Executioner’s Sword becomes the plan to target Sukuna’s soul specifically. And Megumi’s loss gives Sukuna what he needed for the Shinjuku Showdown.
For context on why death is so central to Jujutsu Kaisen as a series, the Culling Game is the arc where that theme operates at its largest scale. Read every chapter of the arc at jujutsukaisenmanga.pro, starting from Chapter 143.
