Yuta Okkotsu in Jujutsu Kaisen: Character Profile and Abilities Explained

Yuta Okkotsu (乙骨憂太) is a Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer and the main protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen 0. In the main series he is a major supporting character, the second person Gojo names as having the potential to surpass him, and the sorcerer who kills Kenjaku during the Shinjuku Showdown.

He also existed before Yuji Itadori. Akutami created Yuta as his original protagonist before deciding to build a serialised series around a new lead character.

Character Profile

Who Is Yuta Okkotsu?

Yuta Okkotsu is a Special Grade sorcerer who begins the series completely isolated, repeatedly attempts suicide to protect the people around him, and develops into one of the strongest and most strategically valuable sorcerers in the final arc.

He is a distant relative of Gojo through Michizane Sugawara, one of the greatest sorcerers in Japanese history. This bloodline gives him cursed energy reserves that place him among the very top of the current generation. His name contains the kanji meaning “One With Many Friends” — deeply ironic given his total isolation at the start of JJK 0.

His childhood friend Rika Orimoto died in a traffic accident when they were children. Yuta subconsciously cursed her soul by refusing to accept her death, binding her spirit to himself as a Special Grade vengeful cursed spirit. He did not know he was the one who cursed her. He thought the opposite — that Rika was haunting him as punishment. Her power was so overwhelming that the higher-ups sentenced him to death. Gojo intervened, enrolled him at Jujutsu High, and gave him a reason to survive.

Yuta’s special skill, listed in the official fanbook, is crafting kneaded erasers. His favourite food is salted cabbage with sesame oil.

What Are Yuta’s Abilities?

Yuta’s power comes from two things: an enormous volume of cursed energy comparable to the top sorcerers alive, and the Copy technique that allows him to replicate any cursed technique Rika consumes from its user.

Rika

The cursed spirit that remains with Yuta after JJK 0 is not the same Rika Orimoto whose soul passed on. It is a remnant — a manifestation of the love Rika left behind, now functioning as a shikigami linked to Yuta’s technique. By wearing the promise ring Rika gave him as a child, Yuta can fully manifest her for five minutes, accessing his complete technique stockpile and full cursed energy output during that window.

Rika serves as external storage for every technique Yuta has copied. She consumes a piece of the technique user — an arm, blood, any body part — and Yuta gains the ability to replicate that technique. He copies Toge Inumaki’s Cursed Speech, Takako Uro’s sky manipulation, and others across the Culling Game. His copies work immediately and at full or near-full effectiveness.

Domain Expansion: Authentic Mutual Love

Yuta’s Domain Expansion floods the space with Rika’s presence, giving him access to all copied techniques with guaranteed hits inside the barrier. It is one of the few domains in the series that functions as a complete technique arsenal rather than a single ability amplified.

Reverse Cursed Technique

Yuta masters Reverse Cursed Technique at a high level, allowing him to heal himself and others. During the Shinjuku Showdown he uses a version of it learned during battle to kill Kenjaku, turning the ancient sorcerer’s own technique mechanics against him.

What Happens to Yuta in the Story?

Yuta defeats Geto at the end of JJK 0 and frees Rika’s soul, trains in Africa under Miguel during the Shibuya arc, returns to fake Yuji’s execution, dominates the Sendai Colony, and kills Kenjaku in the final arc.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0

Yuta enrolls at Jujutsu High, befriends Toge, Maki, and Panda, and learns to control Rika through the bonds he builds with his classmates. He fights Geto during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons and defeats him by fully manifesting Rika and using every ounce of his cursed energy. After the fight Rika’s original soul passes on, telling Yuta she was happier spending time with him as a curse than when she was alive. He leaves for Africa to train.

Itadori’s Extermination Arc

Yuta is assigned to execute Yuji after the Shibuya Incident. He stabs Yuji through the chest but heals him in the same motion through a pre-arranged binding vow. The execution is faked. Yuji survives. Yuta joins the operation against the Culling Game.

Culling Game — Sendai Colony

Yuta enters the Sendai Colony alone and faces three elite players simultaneously: Dhruv Lakdawalla, Takako Uro, and Ryu Ishigori. He defeats all three, demonstrating the full ceiling of his power and establishing his position as the second strongest active sorcerer. This sequence confirms everything Gojo had said about him.

Shinjuku Showdown

Yuta returns to his own body after using Gojo’s body during the final battle, with Rika having kept it alive using Reverse Cursed Technique. He kills Kenjaku after Takaba’s fight leaves the ancient sorcerer weakened. After the battle Rika eats Kenjaku’s brain, ensuring he cannot transplant into another body.

In the epilogue Yuta temporarily leads the Gojo Clan, eventually marries Maki Zenin, and has two grandchildren — Tsurugi and Yuka Okkotsu. Both he and Maki live to old age, dying before 2080.

Why Was Yuta Absent During Shibuya?

Yuta was written out of the Shibuya Incident deliberately because his presence would have made Kenjaku’s plan nearly impossible to execute. A Special Grade sorcerer with Rika’s power level present in Tokyo on October 31 would have changed the outcome entirely. Akutami sent him to Africa with Miguel to preserve the story’s tension.

For more on the characters he works alongside see the 3rd year students page and the final arc page.