Who is Tengen from Jujutsu Kaisen? Role, Powers & More

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Anime expert Ryan Burns explains Tengen's crucial role in JJK

Co-authored by Ryan Burns and Marcus Pruitt, BS

Last Updated: February 25, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Who is Tengen?
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• Appearance
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• Importance
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• Powers & Abilities
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• Can Tengen be trusted?
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• Other S3 Characters
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• Video

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Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 is finally here, and there are plenty of questions already waiting to be answered. Some of the biggest questions are about Tengen. Who are they? Why are they so important, and can they be trusted? In an exclusive interview with wikiHow, an anime expert answers all of your burning questions, including who Tengen is, the role they play in the story, and more. Read on to learn everything you need to know about Tengen going into Jujutsu Kaisen season 3. Warning–there are spoilers ahead.

Who is Master Tengen from Jujutsu Kaisen?

Anime expert Ryan Burns says Tengen gives tasks to the other characters so they can enter the Culling Games. He is a crucial immortal figure from Jujutsu Kaisen who is responsible for creating and maintaining the barriers protecting Jujutsu society and the outside world from curses.

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Section 1 of 6:

Who is Tengen in Jujutsu Kaisen?

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1. 
   Tengen is an immortal figure who’s pivotal to Jujutsu society. Also known as Master Tengen and Star, they have been alive since the Nara period (710-794), during which they spread the foundational teachings of Jujutsu that would become the basis of the present Jujutsu world. Besides being immortal, they are also able to create barriers that help conceal Jujutsu High from the public, hide cursed weapons, and keep their presence hidden.

   • They reside in the Tombs of the Star Corridor, which is a hidden chamber directly beneath Jujutsu High. According to Burns, Tengen is rarely seen by the other characters.
   • Tengen prefers to remain neutral in worldly matters, but is a kind, well-mannered soul who’s willing to help sorcerers in times of need, like when they helped Yuji and the gang against Kenjaku.

   Meet the wikiHow Expert

   Ryan Burns is an anime and manga expert.
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Section 2 of 6:

What does Tengen look like?

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   Tengen is a four-eyed, hairless being with a cylindrical head. When readers first meet Tengen, they are greeted with four white eyes, pale white skin, and a cylindrical head that’s lightly wrinkled. This is because of Tengen’s cursed technique, Immortality, which prevents death but not aging. To combat the aging, Tengen used to merge with different vessels every 500 years, but when they failed, they rapidly evolved.

   • Tengen failed to merge with Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai, due to Toji Fushiguro’s interference in 2006, which forced their evolution. After evolving, Tengen became something more like a curse than a human.
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   When they were still human, Tengen was a woman with long white hair. Tengen held this appearance before she started merging. Since this was revealed as bonus artwork in volume 23 of the manga, there isn’t much known about it aside from the fact that she had long white hair and light-colored eyes.

   • It’s assumed that around this time, she was spreading the word about Jujutsu across Japan, which would inspire various religious groups and create the basis for Jujutsu society.
   • After the failed merger in 2006, Tengen evolved and became a genderless being that bears little resemblance to their former self.
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Section 3 of 6:

Tengen’s Role in the Story

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   Tengen’s merging process helped kick off Jujutsu Kaisen. The merging process was a major event in Jujutsu society, so when Riko Amanai was chosen as the next Star Plasma Vessel, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were chosen to protect her. When they failed and she was murdered by Toji Fushiguro, this kicked off Gojo’s ascension to the most powerful sorcerer, Geto’s downfall into evil, and the events of the Jujutsu Kaisen Story from Volume 0 onward.
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   Tengen is crucial to Kenjaku’s plot in season 3. In Jujutsu Kaisen season 3, Kenjaku kicks off the Culling Games, a battle royale intended to build up cursed energy and force people to awaken their own techniques. He wants to do this so he can force human evolution by merging the world with Tengen by way of his Cursed Spirit Manipulation, making the Star crucial to his plot. Tengen gives each character an individual task to enter the Culling Games, notes Burns.

   • Burns says Tengen was discussed in the past and wasn't really shown until he was introduced in season 3.
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Section 4 of 6:

Tengen’s Powers and Abilities

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   Immortality Immortality is Tengen’s innate cursed technique. It grants them eternal life but doesn’t stop them from aging, which means they need to reset their genetic information every 500 years by merging with a Star Plasma Vessel.

   • After the merging process was interrupted by Toji Fushiguro when he killed Riko Amanai, the Immortality technique caused Tengen to rapidly evolve.
   • Tengen evolved past conventional humanity after Toji interrupted the process, showing what happens if the technique is left unchecked.
   • When Tengen failed to change bodies, the technique tried to do so on its own, stripping them of their humanity and most of their sense of self, to the point where they see themselves as the world and vice versa.
   EXPERT TIP

   

   Brandon Riley

   Anime and Manga Enthusiast

   Brandon Riley is an anime and manga content creator based in Australia. With over 4 years of experience, Brandon is an anime video essayist, creating videos for social media, sharing his thoughts and analysis of anime and manga that he reads. Known as @BrandonRTalks on social media, he boasts over 125k followers and over 15 million views.

   

   Brandon Riley
   Anime and Manga Enthusiast

   In Jujutsu Kaisen, powers are unique to each character. Different characters have access to different powers. Some have incredible strength, while others have the ability to manipulate different things to their liking.
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   Barriers Tengen’s barriers are powerful barriers that separate the physical world from whatever they house in them. Tengen can manipulate these barriers on top of being able to create them, with some of their barriers constantly changing the appearance of Jujutsu High and others shuffling doors to prevent outside entry. The different types of barriers include:

   • Jujutsu High Barriers: These barriers change the appearance of Jujutsu High daily to hide its existence from the public.
     • Once you know where Jujutsu High is, these barriers aren’t hard to break through.
   • Concealing Barriers: These barriers shuffle thousands of doors constantly to conceal the entrance to the Tombs of the Star Corridor, Jujutsu High’s cursed weapons warehouse, and cursed objects.
   • Pure Barriers: These barriers increase Tengen’s cursed spirit suppression and strengthen barriers cast by Jujutsu High’s assistant managers.
     • There are four of these barriers: the Imperial Palace, the Tomb of the Star Corridor, the Yamakuni Mausoleum, and Mt. Hida, all of which are crucial to the Jujutsu world.
   • Empty Barriers: Vacant barriers housed by hexagonal panels.
   • Tengen’s shrine at the Tombs of the Star Corridor is the base of all the other barriers across Japan.
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   Vast Intelligence Seeing that they’re thousands of years old, Tengen has access to a vast amount of knowledge across history, especially when it comes to jujutsu sorcery, which they can use to aid the Jujutsu world or answer questions any sorcerers may have. They’re not much of a fighter, but they’re willing to step in when needed, using their knowledge to come up with winning strategies.
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Section 5 of 6:

Can Tengen be trusted?

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1. 
   Yes, Tengen can be trusted, but their neutrality makes it hard. Since becoming the pillar of Jujutsu society, Tengen has taken a neutral role. They have immense knowledge that spans centuries, so they were aware of threats like Sukuna and Kenjaku, but didn’t act, and this is a habit. This makes them hard to trust, as they typically don’t interfere with matters outside of themselves.

   • Despite this difficulty, Tengen can still be trusted, as they work to protect the Jujutsu world and keep curses from wreaking havoc on everyone else.

Section 6 of 6:

Other Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Characters

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   Kinji Hakari Kinji Hakari is a suspended third-year Jujutsu High student who’s known for his powerful cursed technique, “Private Pure Love Train.” His technique is luck-based, turning his domain expansion into a pachinko game that grants him infinite cursed energy if he hits a jackpot. This makes him an unpredictable character who’s capable of rivaling Satoru Gojo himself.
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   Hiromi Higuruma Hiromi Higuruma is a former defense attorney who is granted jujutsu powers after Kenjaku uses Mahito’s Idle Transfiguration to awaken dormant sorcerers and different vessels. He’s a relaxed genius who learns the ropes of cursed energy fairly quickly and becomes an ally to Yuji and the team.
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   Fumihiko Takaba Fumihiko Takaba is a failing comedian-turned-sorcerer at the hands of Kenjaku’s activation of Idle Transfiguration. Although he’s failing, his cursed technique, “Comedian,” allows him to bring all of his comedic ideas to life, literally! This makes him a key player in the Culling Games.
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   Yuta Okkotsu Yuta technically isn’t a new character, but you may be confused when you see him on screen due to his new look. He’s a powerful character who has access to the “Copy” technique and his shikigami, Rika. With Copy, he can copy anyone’s technique as long as he ingests a bit of them, which he does through Rika.
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