Profile
Biological Information:
Kanji: 産
Romaji: Ubume
Alias: mother of countless souls
Personal information:
Species: Human (formerly)
Vengeful curse
Age: 650+ (estimated as a cursed spirit)
Gender: AFAB
Height: 179 cm (changes during periods of metamorphosis)
Status:
Status: deceased (exorcised in 2010)
Relatives: Emiri Kuroi (mother) †
Unnamed father †
Haruhisa Hashizume (husband) †
Unnamed newborn †
Unnamed parents-in-law †
Hisaya Hashizume (brother-in-law) †
Affiliation: themselves
Grade: special grade
Portrayal:
Japanese: Atsuko Tanaka (example: Kyoko Saionji from Psycho-Pass season 3)
Ubume (産女) was a vengeful cursed spirit and one of the 16 registered special grades. They were initially a human who was ostracised and cursed by their village for supposedly bringing them bad luck during the time of their pregnancy. Finding solace in the acceptance of the only two women who helped them while their husband was away during childbirth - Ubume was killed by the two soon after delivering their first child as a sacrifice to the gods and an "act of forgiveness" to the elders within their village.
Hurt and betrayed as their pleas to save their newborn had been disregarded, they had vowed to seek revenge. Ubume's wrath was not blind; it was calculated and precise. The descendants of the two women, unknowingly carrying the burden of their ancestors' sins, became the primary targets of Ubume's vengeance. Within the descendants, their sole main target was their firstborns out of resentfulness (as Ubume lost their firstborn). Consequently, cursing them when they're newborns as they imbue their cursed energy into them, resulting in premature deaths around the time they reach the age of five. It's noted that every child that was cursed had poor health.
The premature deaths result from being unable to handle their cursed energy – which only steadily increased since they were cursed through a binding vow forced between themselves and their victims' mothers. Momoko Hashizume is the only firstborn who has survived being cursed by the special-grade cursed spirit.
The curse of Ubume (産女の呪い Ubume no noroi) was a minor concern for the Jujutsu higher-ups for centuries. They started investigating further once the sorcerers assigned to investigate unnatural deaths of children died at the hands of Ubume. Satoru Gojo was The only victorious sorcerer capable of exorcising them and completing the investigation.
Appearance:
Ubume took the shape of a somewhat tall cursed spirit that appeared human at first glance. Their skin was deathly pale – almost white and had a slender physique. Ubume was rather beautiful but had an unsettling air resembling an antique doll.
They had long pitch-black hair that reached past their feet, was let loose and appeared neat. Their eyes were gentle but tired and bloodshot. While their innate technique was in use, their eyes would glow, and the sclera would turn black. They had a hollow part at the centre of their forehead that resembled an empty eye socket for a possible third eye that would glow upon activating their technique and had somewhat sharp canines upon close inspection.
Ubume wore an utterly white yukata stained in red at the lower half, as it was what they wore while giving birth. While Ubume appeared human, it is observed that they lacked legs underneath their yukata, only having the upper half of their thighs on the lower half of their body – they had visible, permanent bloodstains and burned marks with charred skin.
They had sharp, pointed black nails that could change in length and resembled Momoko's when they used their technique. When encountered, they have a gloomy look and, at times, can be seen with dried-up blood that resembled tears that hadn't been wiped off after crying under their eyes.
While this was their default appearance, they could shapeshift and take another individual's appearance through their cursed energy and memory.
Personality:
When they were alive, Ubume was sweet, kind-hearted, and hardworking. They always fed the stray animals and would share their food with their fellow Maiko if there was a food shortage. They loved their mother profoundly and would do anything to support her, even willingly choosing to work as a Maiko. Ubume was also a romantic at heart with an idealised sense of love.
They were a pacifist who condoned war and violence, always opting for peace and highly forgiving. Most of their personality was retained after their death, except Ubume was no longer forgiving and held deep resentment towards the people who killed them and watched them and their newborn child burn. When appearing before children moments before stealing their souls, Ubume seemed very gentle and motherly. The tears shed during soul-stealing moments were both a reflection of lingering empathy and a haunting reminder of their tragic separation from their child, thus showcasing a twisted semblance of motherhood, driven by an insatiable desire to fill the void left by the loss of their child.
Even as a cursed spirit, despite claiming to be a pacifist, Ubume was ruthless against the sorcerers assigned to their case. The pacifist principles that once defined them crumbled in the face of those perceived as obstacles that hindered their plans. The unrelenting pursuit of their goals led to ruthless actions, blurring the line between the benevolent human they once were and the vengeful spirit they had reincarnated into, as they immediately and brutally killed them. When they came across a child who bore the slightest resemblance to their then-husband despite being a target of their curse, it revealed the fractures in their psyche, exposing a fragile, sentimental side of Ubume. Ubume felt a deep sense of sentiment as they reminisced about when they were pregnant and spent with their husband.
Even as a human, Ubume had always believed in the second life and reincarnation. Thus, they were convinced that this child was a reincarnation of their own due to resembling their husband. This belief in reincarnation became a desperate hope to mend the irreparable loss, as they showed a sense of overprotective behaviour towards her when she was exposed to danger. This warped mentality was because Ubume never recovered from the loss of their child – while stealing the souls of those children was done out of resentment, it could also have been Ubume's attempts at filling the void left behind from that tragedy, but no matter how many they absorbed, it was never enough for them...
No amount of souls could replace their child until they came across one whom they had believed to be a reincarnation. The loss of their child left a considerable void within them, and they cursed the villagers for killing their baby, showing little concern for their own life – perhaps they wouldn't have come back as a vengeful spirit if their baby had been spared.
During their final moments, they willingly chose to use the last bits of their cursed energy to visit the child in her subconscious via a dream instead of healing themselves. Through Momoko's dream, it was shown that deep down, all Ubume ever wanted was to spend time with their child and watch them grow – within the dream, they managed to fulfil that wish by living in the false reality until the last bits of their cursed energy was exhausted; despite knowing in the end and coming to terms with the fact that she was never their child.
Abilities and Powers:
Overall skill level: Ubume was registered as a special grade cursed spirit due to its immense cursed energy and dangerous technique. However, Ubume was not much of a fighter, so they were weaker regarding raw strength than other special grades in the series. Despite their frail appearance, Ubume had proved to have a higher endurance to attacks, and coupled with the raw power of their technique, Ubume, despite lacking in raw fighting prowess, was considered a threat to Jujutsu Society. However, Ubume relied heavily on their technique, which may have resulted in their downfall.
Enhanced endurance: During their battle against Satoru Gojo, Ubume was shown to possess astonishing endurance as they could take multiple physical blows from him and appear unharmed.
Metamorphosis: Ubume was able to alter their physical appearance to resemble the mother of the children whose souls they stole while appearing before them on the night of their fifth birthday - tricking the children into believing that they were embracing their mother as it called them for a hug before stealing their soul.
Jujutsu:
Cursed energy manipulation:
Immense cursed energy: Being the child of a (former) sorcerer, Ubume had been blessed with large amounts of cursed energy when they were a human, which drastically increased once becoming a cursed spirit. They could imbue into objects and people with little effort. The amount of energy was so extensive that even the likes of Satoru Gojo had commented on it being the most he'd ever sensed from a cursed spirit (before he met with Rika and the revival of Sukuna), hinting at just how powerful they were.
They can control their cursed energy efficiently enough to protect themselves from danger by covering their whole body. They can also more or less handle anything they imbue their cursed energy with; this is seen when Ubume can control the soul-turned-cursed spirit that haunted Momoko for most of her life and could even see whatever it saw. While Ubume can detect cursed energy levels from other cursed spirits and sorcerers, due to no training or concrete understanding of Jujutsu, Ubume is unable to read the flow of cursed energy,
Binding vow:
Firstborn soul (初子の魂 Hatsune no tamashī ): Any woman born into the two cursed families immediately enters a binding vow with Ubume after experiencing a dream where Ubume forces them into allowing them to steal the soul of their firstborn child in exchange for sparing the children of their future pregnancies the night before labour. They are to forget about it immediately once the condition is met.
Innate technique:
Divine punishment (神の罰 Kami no batsu): Exceedingly dangerous, the innate technique allows Ubume to kill humans and cursed spirits with a single touch. The effect is instant; therefore, the target has no time to experience pain resembling euthanasia. Their touch isn't lethal as they can touch others and objects without their technique's effect. Upon activation, Ubume would bleed from their eyes and mouth. The hollow mark on their forehead also starts glowing. The colour is a deep shade of red.
Innate domain:
Ubume can create an innate domain similar to the cursed spirit Kuchisake-onna without using a proper domain expansion. The space is created when Ubume's stomach enlarges to the point of explosion, covering the area with hardened blood. The domain is pitch black, with bloodstains plastered all over the ground, and consists of all the stolen souls. The babies' cries are deafening, and they attack whoever is trapped inside. When Ubume tells them to protect their "mother", each soul explodes upon hearing those words.
History:
Ubume was originally a human born at the end of the Kamakura period in 1330, after the Heian era, better known as the golden age of sorcery. They were a woman born to a lower-middle-class family – their father had been executed for being a follower of a religious occult who worshipped Ryomen Sukuna and was a sorcerer turned stray curse user. Their mother had fled with her daughter the night before, changing her daughter's last name into her maiden name, Kuroi. She had run to a village far into the east of Kyoto and started working as a courtesan to support herself and her child. Ubume grew up in an environment where they learned to fend for themselves at a young age and were taught how to please people by their mother.
Since they were too young to be a courtesan, Ubume was made to work as a Maiko to support their mother. Due to their father being a curse user, it appeared that the ability to see curses run in the family as they too were able to see them – but due to witnessing how their father was ostracised for his seemingly unique ability, Ubume chose to hide this fact to protect their mother. A few years passed, and life in their new village was peaceful. They could start anew, which her mother had wished for when she fled their previous town. When they were fourteen, they met a young boy, supposedly a year or two older than them, who was from a well-off, noble family when they were out running errands for other courtesans.
It was love at first sight for them both, with him instantly proposing to them - which they declined due to their status as a Maiko but made sure to explain it to him before parting ways. They happily tell their mother of this encounter, which surprised her because her daughter grew up quickly. She asked them for his name, which made them realise they never got it, making their mother and a few other courtesans laugh. They met him again the next day and were greeted with a single red rose to the face. They met more often after that, and they would listen to his stories of when his family would travel around Kyoto, falling deeply in love. While he would leave the village with his family, the boy always came back to meet them, making them very happy.
He had asked for their hand in marriage once again two years later after an incident where they had saved his life from a cursed spirit that was haunting him - using their cursed energy to kill it despite their inexperience at manipulating their cursed energy. It was the first time they even sought to use it, and it was in an attempt of desperation. While he could not see it, the boy felt great relief after spending time with them, calling them his "cure", and wished to spend the rest of his life with them again. The young couple would elope shortly after turning 21 and formally retired from their position as maiko, as his family did not accept him marrying a "lower class girl". Ubume tearfully bid farewell to their mother and the other courtesan who helped raise her as they wished for a blessed married life for the young couple.
Due to his high social standing and education, their husband would quickly find work in the town that they had relocated to– leaving Ume as a homemaker as he promised them that they would not need to work and he would provide a life of comfort for the rest of their lives. Despite separating from their mother, Ume was in total bliss with their husband and enjoyed every moment of their married life. They were even happier when they became pregnant a few months later and were joyful about building their own family. This happiness, however, was short-lived. Since their arrival in town, the cursed spirits would slowly increase as their cursed energy flow would change through the stages of their pregnancy. As they did not know how to regulate it, it would "leak", thus attracting nearby weaker cursed spirits that would slowly terrorise their town.
It started as many townsfolk having a spirit latch onto them and drain them of their energy, and then severe cases in which individuals have passed. The change did not go unnoticed by them, and they would seek the guidance of an outsider who warned them of the "bad energy" circulating their town coming from one of the townsfolk. Distrust was built among them, making them hostile and wary of each other - until one of the older townsfolk exclaimed that their town was peaceful until "that woman" appeared. Everyone noticed who he was referring to and soon realised his statement was true. The strange incidents, the sicknesses, and the deaths all made sense.
As whispers of blame and fear circulated through the town, Ume found themselves isolated, facing the accusing glares of their once-friendly neighbours. The joyous anticipation of building a family turned into a nightmare as the townspeople, fueled by superstition and desperation, began to view Ume as the source of the misfortunes plaguing their once-peaceful community. This hostility was only directed at Ume when their husband was away for work, as they would pretend as if all was like it was before in front of him or when he was around while pointing fingers and dismissing them in his absence. As they did not wish for him to be treated equally, Ume kept silent about their hypocrisy towards them.
During the period of ostracisation, contempt, and hostility, two women reached out to help Ume when they lost their balance in the streets. One woman's hands helped them stand, while the other carried their things, while everyone else had ignored them, touched them deeply. As they helped them home, Ume discovered that the two women were outsiders who migrated into the village like her, enveloping her with the hope that everyone did not hate them - having the support of those two was enough. Having faced the unfounded suspicions of the townsfolk themselves, they empathised with Ume.
The two women had supported Ume during the latter months of their pregnancy, including cooking for them while their husband was away, making Ume trust them heavily, finding solace in their kindness, and entrusting them with the vulnerability of being there for them as they gave birth. Unfortunately, Uume was killed by the two soon after delivering their first child as a sacrifice to the gods - being pressured into killing them during their most vulnerable moment by the elders of their town as the women could no longer bear being subjected to the same hostility shown towards Ume; with the act of sacrifice being their "act of forgiveness". Hurt and betrayed as their pleas to save their newborn had been disregarded as both mother and child were burned alive, Ume had vowed to seek revenge.
Amidst the incident, the outsider who had initially suspected the "bad energy" within the village performed a ritual that, according to him, was necessary for the soul of Ume to be sacrificed to the gods. His ritual, however, did not let Ume's soul pass onto the afterlife; it was bound to their remains. The house in which Ume lived became an attraction towards all the spirits in their town due to the release of Ume's cursed energy, thus relieving those who had fallen ill due to their presence. As the decades passed, Ume's soul gradually transformed by merging with the residual cursed energy, rebirthing into the vengeful spirit known as Ubume.
Ubume's technique was a mystery until after their imminent death.
Quotes:
• (To Mieko and Shiori during their final moments as a human) "My baby– I do not care for what will happen to me. I beg of you, please save my baby!"
• (To Satoru Gojo) "That child reminded me of my husband, Haruhisa. It was foolish of me to think she was my child reincarnated. I knew she wasn't, but I wanted her to be— no, I convinced myself she was, but I could not help it; there is nothing more powerful than a mother's love."
Trivia:
- They were exorcised by Satoru Gojo in 2010 when he was tasked to take over the mission regarding a series of premature deaths of children who each died during their sleep and, once discovered, had blood dripping down their eyes as if they were crying. The previous sorcerers tasked with the mission all ended up dying at the hands of Ubume's cursed technique.
- The concept (and name) is loosely based on the Ubume, a Japanese yokai of pregnant women who died before or during delivery. Ubume translates to "woman giving birth." As Ume was an actual person during a specific period, they are not classified as an imaginary vengeful spirit.
- Ubume's maiden name when they were alive was Ume Kuroi.
- Ume was killed at age twenty-four during the Muromachi period. Therefore, Ume was alive from 1330 to 1354. If their time as a human had been included, their exact age would have been 656.
- As the outsider had cursed Ubume's soul to be tied to its remains, Ubume resides in the abandoned plot of land of their former residence on the outskirts of the town; as Ubume could not leave the area physically, they 'halved' their soul whenever they would steal the souls of children so that their 'main soul and body' remained. At the same time, the 'half' would be able to leave.
- Ubume's last words implied that they had some relationship with the cursed child (Momoko). After some (extensive) investigation, it was revealed that Momoko's biological father was a descendant of Ubume's husband's family; to be precise, her husband's monozygotic twin, as he had been so overcome with grief with the loss of his wife and child resulting in him never marrying and consequently, never having another child. He had passed away some years after.
- One can assume that Ubume remembered the past, seeing a hint of their (deceased) husband in Momoko, and chose to spare her life because they, who had lost their child hours after birth, believed that due to this resemblance, the child was a reincarnation of their child who passed away. Ubume chose to protect her and used the soul she stole (her sister) as a sought companion where Ubume could watch her grow through their (the soul that turned into a cursed spirit when it came into contact with Ubume's cursed energy) eyes. When Momoko was in danger, the cursed spirit's levels of cursed energy would increase and return to normal when there was no threat.
- They share the same voice actress as Hanami.
- Suguru Geto sought them due to their dangerous technique, but they were exorcised before he could add them to his collection of curses.
- Ubume gave Satoru the ideology of love being the most twisted curse, as the curse of Ubume was essentially born out of a mother's love (and grief) for her child who passed - so much that their "love" for their child was what ultimately led to a "defect" in their curse that followed.
Notes:
- I speak about Ubume with they/them pronouns as they no longer identify as a woman after their death, as they fully accepted that they were no longer a human.
- The outsider the town sought guidance from was a curse user.
- Yes, he conned the townsfolk.
- Yes, it took centuries to find that one child because I said so; lol, just kidding. Initially, those who knew about the death of Ume warned their children and grandchildren and subsequently to avoid getting involved with the children of that family. It took centuries of avoidance until they forgot about the warning.
- Moreover, as Ume was not a sorcerer, it took time for them to manifest into a vengeful spirit and find a way to leave the constraints of the (geological) issue placed on them by the outsider.
- The curse of Ubume only affected the women born into the families. The women who married into them were spared.
- Additionally, for one of the two families, it was rare for women to be born into and raised by the family as they valued sons far more than daughters.
