Jujutsu Kaisen: What Is Heavenly Restriction & Who Has It?

Jujutsu Kaisen has some of the best fights in the world of modern anime. The characters’ powers really come to the forefront, and with such great animation, we can only marvel at what Jujutsu Kaisen has to offer. Now, among the moves seen in the series, the Heavenly Restriction is certainly among the most interesting ones we’ve seen so far. This special move absolutely deserves our attention, and in this article, we will explain exactly what this Heavenly Restriction is.

Heavenly Restriction is a type of Binding Vow imposed from birth and is not the result of choice. They severely restrict the physical abilities of those who receive them, but the benefits they grant are, however, substantial in proportion to the tribute they inflict. It is impossible to determine exactly how a person receives this restriction and what factor favors this. One of the tracks could be simply chance.

In the rest of this article, we will tell you all the details about the Heavenly Restriction technique. You’ll find out all the necessary details about the technique, how it manifests, and what it can do. We will also answer some additional yet related questions about the technique that will help you understand it better.

What is Heavenly Restriction in Jujutsu Kaisen?

Heavenly Restriction refers to a type of Binding Vow (or restriction) imposed from birth and not the product of choice. They greatly limit the physical capabilities of persons who receive them, yet the advantages they offer are still great compared to the cost.

Right now, it is impossible to pinpoint exactly how someone comes to experience this kind of restriction and what influences it; one of the contributing factors could be pure luck. However, due to how drastically different each example is from the others, it is still quite fascinating to examine each one. Apart from this, there isn’t much information available regarding the approach, so we’ll describe what Binding Wovs are in general.

A Binding Vow is an agreement formed with Cursed Energy with oneself or others in return for limitations. All Cursed Energy users regard Binding Vows as one of the fundamental tenets of exorcism. They are essentially pacts that a person might make to use Cursed Energy, either with himself or another person.

Following the guidelines and limitations outlined in these contracts may lead to increased power or the accomplishment of a goal, but breaking a Binding Vow has unpredictable effects based on the situations listed below.

The fastest way for a person to develop their skills is to make a Binding Vow by risking their life. The amount of Cursed Energy a user has and the potency of their skills can both grow with the employment of Cursed Energy, which can be expanded quickly. His skills get more powerful when circumstances are added to them. The resistance and/or size of the barrier, or in other words, its effectiveness, are prioritized in the specific instance of magic barriers.

The thrower raises the chance of being found, increasing the barrier’s resistance by deviating from the fundamentals of barrier-throwing tactics, such as by remaining beyond their own curtain.

In this particular situation, it is evident that the greater the barrier, the more obvious the launcher’s location must be. In the event of a Domain Expansion, giving the enemy a way in or explaining how the territory works can allow the barrier’s areas of action to be expanded in the first scenario or increase the territory’s influence and efficacy in the second.

The user can also boost their hitting power by establishing guidelines on using their Black Energy and adhering to those rules. Loss of whatever is earned through a self-imposed Binding Vow is the consequence of breaking it.

A Binding Vow that is related to a third party differs from one that is made to oneself. The punishment is the first distinction. The only consequence of breaking a previously Binding Vow with oneself is losing the acquired skill.

However, if a mutual Binding Vow is broken, the offender may suffer an impossible calamity if the agreement is not upheld. One of the core tenets of exorcism is that doing what you desire often comes with a high price. For this reason, Binding Vows made with others are seen as unbreakable.

Therefore, upholding the Vow’s conditions is in everyone’s best interest. Because they were well aware of the dangers, the parties reached an agreement in exchange for a few concessions. They are frequently employed in situations where it is best to take a Binding Vow, such as when exorcists and plagues do not trust one another.

Relics can also have binding vows attached to them to restrict the spells they can cast. This is how exorcism schools handle the S-class artifacts they amass. Relics are ensured to endure through the years with a specific Binding Vow because they are S-class and cannot be destroyed.

Who has Heavenly Restriction in Jujutsu Kaisen?

So far, only three characters have been shown to have/use Heavenly Restriction. They are Kokichi Muta, Maki Zen’in, and Toji Fushiguro. In this section of our article, we are going to tell you about each of them and how the technique works with them.

1. Kokichi Muta

Kokichi Muta is one of the most extreme examples regarding Heavenly Restriction. He was born without his right arm and legs severed at the knees, feeling nothing in his lower body.

Moreover, the young man’s skin is so fragile that he cannot stand the sun or even the moonlight without getting burned. He constantly experiences extreme tingling, which he describes as “if someone were constantly sticking needles into his flesh.” But, after accepting this, he was given vast amounts of Cursed Energy which he uses to control countless puppets of various shapes and sizes. He declared that he would give up everything to receive a healthy and normal body.

2. Toji Fushiguro

Toji Fushiguro is a second extreme case of Heavenly Restriction. If Kokichi had received an immense amount of energy in exchange for his physiological faculties, in the case of Toji, it was quite the opposite.

Indeed, the latter did not have an ounce of occult energy in him in exchange for superhuman physical ability. It is not uncommon to find exorcists whose occult energy is limited by a Heavenly Restriction to the point of reaching the level of an ordinary person. However, Toji was the only one in the world whose energy was completely deleted, making him a real Superman.

It has never been clearly explained how and why Toji was so powerful despite having no cursed energy. He was a true powerhouse that cannot be denied. Among his amazing powers are his ability to completely hide his presence from the jujutsu sorcerers (in fact, Satoru Gojo is the only one who could see him from behind), his extreme speed (which Megumi compared to the speed of Sukuna with two fingers – okay, that’s not even near Sukuna’s full power, but consider that Toji had 0 cursed energy), and his physical power (he was, in fact, superhuman here). And while this was, more or less, taken for granted, Akutani never really provided us with a proper explanation.

When Toji is concerned, of course, the main issue is that he has absolutely no cursed energy whatsoever. Others had at least a bit, but in Toji’s case – the level was 0, as his cursed energy was completely wiped out in every aspect. That is why it is so strange that he was so powerful, but it could be that he was so powerful exactly because he has 0 cursed energy.

Namely, if we consider that all the other characters with Heavenly Restriction were significantly weaker than Toji, we can actually deduce that there could be a balance of ratios there, i.e., the more one loses, the more one gets. This would actually explain a lot, although it is still just a theory.

Namely, if Toji Fushiguro was completely robbed of his cursed energy, then it would mean that he received the largest amount of other benefits given by this special type of Binding Vow. And, knowing how Binding Vows actually work, this would make complete sense. Toji Fushiguro lost an incredible amount of power, but he gained an incredible amount of a different power, which somehow balanced out his abilities and made him such a powerhouse character.

Remember, Toji Fushiguro pierced Gojo from the back and was then able to slash him with the Inverted Spear of Heaven, leaving him for dead. He then defeated Kuroi with ease, and after all of that, he even defeated Suguru Geto and two of his strongest curses. Now, sure, both Gojo and Geto were still students at the time, and were they at the peak of their abilities, Toji wouldn’t have stood a chance, but nevertheless, the two of them have, indeed, been considered to be the strongest at the time and it was nevertheless impressive that Toji was able to defeat both of them. It was only when Gojo returned for the second time that Toji ultimately died.

So, does this makes sense? It does, in a way. Knowing the logic of the whole series and how certain aspects of the lore actually function, we can state that this explanation does make sense and is lore-accurate from that perspective. A big issue here is that we have absolutely no confirmation of this, as Akutami never really provided us with any explanation, so this is mere conjecture on our part.

But we do hope that we have managed to provide you with a theory that might shed some light on this strange phenomenon and explain why Toji is as strong as he is.

3. Maki Zen’in

Maki Zen’in is a much more atypical example than the two previous ones. As explained above, there are several cases in which the energy is lower due to a Heavenly Restriction, sometimes reaching the level of an ordinary person. This was the case with Maki, who possessed a small amount of dark energy.

The latter could neither see the plagues nor manipulate what little energy she had left in exchange for increased physical ability. Upon Maki Zenin’s death, Maki lost all the low amount that was inside her, carried away by her late sister. Since, from the point of view of the exorcism, the twins are one, it is logical that the occult energy was divided between the two twins in this precise case.

Mai explained. As of this event, Maki no longer possessed a single ounce of energy, all in exchange for superhuman physical ability, becoming a similar case to Toji.