Jujutsu Kaisen: What Does Megumi’s Name Mean & How Is It Connected to Gojo?

Megumi Fushiguro, who is, incidentally, one of the most popular characters in the Jujutsu Kaisen series, is also often discussed among the fans of the series. And while there certainly are numerous things we can talk about when Megumi is concerned, this article is going to be dedicated to a very personal aspect of his persona, as we are going to explain why Megumi is called Megumi and how his name reveals a lot about his past. In this article, we have decided to explain the meaning of Megumi Fushiguro’s name, as you are going to find out why he is called like that and what his name actually means.

In Japanese, Megumi’s name is spelled as 伏黒恵. Taking into account the meaning of the individual kanji symbols, his name would mean, literally, “the gift of prostrated blackness,” as his last name, Fushiguro, means “prostrated blackness,” while his first name, Megumi, means “gift” or “blessing” (i.e., a gift that is more than just a normal gift). And while the last name probably has no deeper meaning, he was, based on what we know, given the name Megumi because his parents considered him to be a blessing in their lives, despite the fact that this particular story ended up being more tragic than one would expect.

The rest of this article will be divided into two separate sections but will, ultimately, focus completely on Megumi Fushiguro and his name. The first of these two sections will explain the meaning of Megumi Fushiguro’s name and the whole etymology, while the second one will reveal how we actually found that out and why this element was important for the story in the first place. Some mild spoilers might be present, so be careful how you approach the article if you haven’t seen the latest episodes.

Megumi’s name is highly symbolic…

As we usually do when we have to explain the meaning of some Japanese words, names, or phrases, we will strip the phrase down to its bare essentials so that you know exactly what you’re dealing with. In Japanese, The name Megumi Fushiguro is written as follows: 伏黒恵. Of course, the last name is written first, so these kanji have to be read as Fushiguro Megumi. As we can see, Megumi’s name is actually composed of three individual kanji, and their meanings are as follows:

• 伏 (fushi) – this kanji actually means laid down or prostrated and is actually used as part of the verb fusu (伏す), which means exactly that; fushi is a conjugated form of fusu;
• 黒 (guro) – this kanji means black, and while it is usually read as kuro, when combined with some other syllables, it can be read as guro, as in this case;
• 恵 (megumi) – this kanji means blessing or a (special) gift and is actually both a noun and a name.

Now that we know the bare essentials, it is quite easy to decipher the meaning of the phrase, especially since the name itself is not overly complex and can be formed into a phrase with relative ease. So, considering everything we have said, we could translate Megumi’s name as “the gift (or blessing) of prostrated blackness,” which doesn’t really mean anything, but it is a precise translation. But why is it meaningless?

Well, this is probably because Akutami never intended for Fushiguro to mean anything special, so he never cared to attach any special meaning to the last name. But, the first name, Megumi, is very important, and the symbolic value of that name was revealed in the fourth part of the “Hidden Inventory” mini-arc. This will be explained in the next section.

… but also quite ironic

So, as we have explained above, Megumi’s name is quite symbolic and very important for understanding the circumstances of his birth and childhood. Namely, we know that Megumi is the son of the villain Toji Fushiguro.

Rejected by his family, the Zenin Clan, for having a Heavenly Restriction that completely drained him of his cursed energy, Toji simply abandoned them one day and decided to start a life of his own. Many believe that his decision not to kill them was a fortunate circumstance for them because Toji could have easily done so based on how powerful he was.

After departing, he started working as an assassin of jujutsu sorcerers and also became a gambler. But, not long after that, a young Toji met the young woman who would become his first wife during this time; her last name was Fushiguro (her first name was never revealed). After they got married, Toji gave up his Zenin name and adopted hers, becoming Toji Fushiguro. The couple seemed to be quite happy, and soon they had a child, Megumi, who was their only son.

It has to be noted that Megumi’s mother changed Toji for the better. He seemed to be happy for the first time in his life, and he even gave up gambling and stopped working as an assassin. But luck was never a long-lasting thing with Toji, as his wife unexpectedly died, and Toji, devastated, soon succumbed back to his old habits and returned to his old job. On top of that, he completely stopped caring for Megumi.

Megumi had a high propensity to manifest cursed energy. During this period, he even met with Naobito Zenin to tell him that he would sell his son to the Zenin family if the boy’s cursed energy manifested itself. This was the evil Toji, the one who harbored no feelings for Megumi whatsoever, and while he did promise his son to the Zenin Clan, he also did tell that to Gojo, knowing that Gojo would probably do everything he could to stop Megumi from falling into the hands of the despised Zenin Clan.

Now, this is where we actually saw that Toji also had memories – as we’ve seen – of a younger version of himself holding a baby Megumi in his arms with great love, which seemed to be quite contradictory to his usual behavior. This is especially relevant in light of the scene in which Shiu Kong asks Toji how Megumi is.

At the time, Toji initially kept silent. He observed his boats as the two of them met on the race track, and it seemed that he was either thinking something over or that he was simply going to ignore the question. But then, after a couple of moments, he asked: “Who is Megumi?” Of course, Toji knew who Megumi was, despite being a character – as he would admit later – who was horrible with names, but due to the nature of his relationship with his son and his personality, he even managed to “forget” who he was at one point, although this was mostly related to Megumi’s name, not the fact that he was his son.

How do we know this? Well, after handing Riko’s corpse to the Time Vessel Association, Megumi mulled something over and the word “megumi” came to his mind at that same moment, he remembered his son and concluded that Megumi was his name, with the happy memories coming back to him. It didn’t sway him emotionally but showed us that there was once a very different Toji and that Megumi’s name was more than just a name, i.e., that it had a deep and important symbolic meaning.

Namely, as we have said, Megumi’s name means “gift” or “blessing,” the fact that Toji and Megumi’s mother chose that exact name for their son proved to be highly symbolic, as they considered him a blessing. And while this is not surprising when Megumi’s mom is concerned, as we know that Megumi held her in high regard and that she was a nice person, the fact that a young Toji cared so much about Megumi at one point seems strange, knowing the version of the character we’ve seen in the present timeline.

But yes, Megumi was loved, and Megumi was considered to be a blessing, as his birth also significantly helped Toji improve his life and become a better person.

But, this is also the irony of this fact. Namely, Megumi was perceived as a blessing and gift from the heavens, someone who was loved, wanted and made the lives of his parents better. But, that blessing soon disappeared, as Megumi was left without a mother, and with her passing, his father simply reverted back to his old self, and that version of his had no love for Megumi. So yes, it turned out to be quite ironic that the gift that everyone wanted, that the blessing that made everyone happy, was painted by such tragedy that the young boy had to be saved by Gojo, a complete stranger to him.