Yoshinobu Gakuganji

Gakuganji is stern, conservative, pragmatic, and strongly inclined toward maintaining the jujutsu world's traditional hierarchy. He considers dangerous anomalies according to the risk they pose to society rather than the emotional circumstances surrounding individual students.

This places him directly against Satoru Gojou, whose efforts to protect young sorcerers repeatedly circumvent decisions made by headquarters. Gakuganji regards Gojou's overwhelming individual power as destabilizing even when their ultimate goal of protecting society overlaps.

He is not portrayed as needlessly cruel in every circumstance. Much of his harshness comes from obedience to a system built around containing supernatural risks, and later events force him to reconsider whether unquestioning adherence to that system produces the outcomes he intends.

Gakuganji is also capable of honoring information entrusted to him even when possessing it could dramatically increase his political value.

Gakuganji's cursed technique turns his own body into an amplifier for musical sound. He uses an electric guitar to send cursed energy through melodies and project the resulting energy outward as destructive sound waves.

His appearance deliberately contrasts with the technique: despite being one of jujutsu society's oldest authority figures, his combat style resembles a rock guitarist rather than a traditional ritual practitioner.

He possesses enough practical combat experience to confront other experienced sorcerers and operate personally rather than relying completely on younger subordinates.

As a principal and higher-up, his greatest influence is institutional rather than purely physical. He can issue instructions to Kyoto students, participate in promotion discussions, and communicate directly with the senior jujutsu authorities.

Gakuganji first becomes directly involved when the Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event brings both schools together. He supports the official position that Yuuji should not have survived his postponed execution.

He privately orders Kyoto's students to kill Yuuji during the competition, reasoning that eliminating Sukuna's vessel while the opportunity exists protects the larger public.

The invasion by Hanami and allied curse users interrupts those plans and forces both schools into a shared defensive battle.

Gakuganji's position within the traditional establishment becomes increasingly important after the Shibuya Incident, when jujutsu headquarters issues severe rulings against multiple figures associated with Gojou.

Headquarters orders Gakuganji to execute Masamichi Yaga. He confronts Yaga and mortally wounds him, but before dying Yaga reveals the method for creating independent cursed corpses like Panda. Gakuganji keeps that information secret rather than handing it to the higher-ups.

When Gojou later learns that Gakuganji withheld Yaga's secret, he recognizes that the old principal may be capable of becoming the kind of authority figure jujutsu society actually needs.

Satoru Gojou is Gakuganji's principal political opponent. Gojou openly mocks his conservatism and challenges the system Gakuganji represents.

Masamichi Yaga is Gakuganji's fellow school principal and longtime professional acquaintance. Their relationship culminates in Yaga's execution and his decision to entrust Gakuganji with the secret of creating autonomous cursed corpses.

Yuuji Itadori is regarded by Gakuganji as an unacceptable risk because he contains Sukuna.

Aoi Toudou, Noritoshi Kamo, Momo Nishimiya, Kasumi Miwa, Mai Zenin, and Kokichi Muta are students under Gakuganji's authority at Kyoto Jujutsu High.

Panda is connected to Gakuganji through Yaga's unprecedented cursed-corpse research.