CHARACTER PROFILE
Tsurugi Higashikata
- Primary work
- JoJolion
Tsurugi Higashikata (東方 つるぎ, Higashikata Tsurugi) is a primary character featured in the eighth part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, JoJolion. Tsurugi cooperates with different factions as both an ally and antagonist over the course of the story.
He is the child of Jobin and Mitsuba Higashikata, and the youngest member of the Higashikata family. Raised as a girl, Tsurugi's fear of the Rock Disease drives him to cooperate with Josuke Higashikata and Yasuho Hirose to find a possible cure. Tsurugi is a Stand user whose Paper Moon King allows him to transform objects into origami which can manipulate his opponents' sensory abilities with illusions.
Image attribution details
Tsurugi Higashikata. Source illustration via JoJoWiki; copyright remains with the original rights holders.
Image via JoJoWiki. Original franchise/production rights holders retain copyright; the wiki text CC BY-SA license does not license this image.
Original image ↗ · Archived image ↗01Basic information
02Appearance
Tsurugi is a short chubby child with a slightly muscular build. He has dark neck-length hair styled in a bob cut. Since the firstborn child of each generation of the Higashikata family has to be raised as a girl in an attempt to ward off the Rock Disease, Tsurugi crossdresses by wearing a sleeveless polka dot dress and a pair of slip-on shoes. The bottom of his dress has a horizontal pattern of large origami samurai hats all around it as well as frills below that. The front of his shoes also have origami samurai hats and on top of his head in the middle of his parted bangs is a large origami frog.↗
On Tsurugi's right shoulder is a tattoo with the kanji for "life" (命, inochi) and on his left shoulder is a tattoo with the kanji for "princess" (姫, hime).↗
03Personality
Tsurugi's personality is a strange mix of typical childishness and precocious sinisterness.↗
Tsurugi is introduced as a playful yet creepy kid. During his introductory arc, he plays a mean prank on both Yasuho and Josuke by making them unable to differentiate between people through his power Paper Moon King. He eventually apologizes to Yasuho for the distress he's caused her. Other similar traits are his quick friendship with the dog Iwasuke and his love of making puns. Tsurugi is also quite libidinous and he shows a disturbing attraction toward Yasuho, frequently improperly fondling or licking her. That said, Tsurugi also sees her as a valuable ally, if not a friend.↗↗↗↗↗↗
However, he also shows a measure of threat. When he was chased by Aisho, Tsurugi didn't hesitate to trick his foe into confusing a bus with his father, killing him. It is also shown that Tsurugi is somewhat of a black sheep in school, being the target of bullies and having no shown friends.↗↗↗↗
04Abilities
Tsurugi's Stand is Paper Moon King, enabling him to give a degree of life to origami of his creation. These origami display different capabilities depending on the type of animal or object they are shaped into, similar to Tubular Bells. After they touch his target, the target is subjected to the illusion that all people and/or symbols and text appear the same. He can also subject the illusion that an object is something else, used during the fight ' Doobie Wah! ' where Tsurugi used his stand to trick Aisho Dainenjiyama and give the illusion that the buses were Jobin Higashikata.↗
05Story
SPOILERS
Background
Tsurugi is born from the union between Jobin Higashikata and Mitsuba. As Jobin's eldest son, Tsurugi has been fated to be struck by the Rock Disease and was raised as a girl all his life. He appears to fit in quite well in the Higashikata family. He was present during the family photo and was introduced by Norisuke Higashikata IV.↗
Aware of his family's curse, Tsurugi is worried about his eventual fate. Soon before his introduction, Tsurugi meets the architect Yotsuyu Yagiyama, who shows him a possible cure in the form of an unknown food. Yotsuyu then persuades Tsurugi to help him kill Josuke in exchange for the cure.↗
Paper Moon Deception
Tsurugi comes to the forefront when Yasuho encounters him after being taken to the Higashikata family 's underground storeroom. After attempting to play with her and having taken her phone, she discovers that Tsurugi is male after some struggle, at which point he reveals that his family's firstborn always cross-dresses in order to ward off the "curse" that strikes them at age 11 where their bodies stiffen and turn to stone, similar to what happened to Rina Higashikata.↗
Against Yotsuyu Yagiyama
Josuke later spots him bringing food to the bunker and follows him. When Josuke and Norisuke are attacked by Yotsuyu Yagiyama 's I Am a Rock, Tsurugi begs his grandfather to leave Josuke for dead, as he is cooperating with Yotsuyu. Tsurugi eventually tells them that he is afraid of the Rock Disease which will affect him, and that Yotsuyu showed him a cure in the form of a mysterious fruit, testing it on a dog.↗
It's a Summer Vacation Everyday
While Tsurugi is playing with his new dog, Josuke approaches him to enlist his help in interrogating Jobin, Tsurugi's father. Initially reluctant to go against a family member, Tsurugi is eventually swayed to Josuke's side by urgency and reveals to him that his father is obsessed with stag beetles, which will allow Josuke to uncover a weakness. While Josuke confronts Jobin, Tsurugi goes to Yasuho's house and asks her to help with her new Stand Paisley Park.↗
Doobie Wah
Yasuho proceeds to investigate Aisho. Observing the place where Jobin met the man from a rooftop, Yasuho and Tsurugi uncover a link between Aisho, who is a security guard at the stadium, and Yotsuyu, who oversaw the renovation of the stadium. They see Aisho at the same place heading to a nearby park and decide to tail him with Yasuho's phone folded into a frog. They witness a man who, after eating the fruit, regrows his missing legs while his eyes shatter into stone.↗
Ozon Baby's Pressure
Tsurugi decides to confront his father Jobin about the latter's involvement with the Rock Humans. Before long, Tsurugi, Jobin, and Iwasuke feel the attack of Ozon Baby, an enemy Stand Jobin has planted inside the family orchard. Trying to escape out of the shed they were in, Tsurugi meets Ozon Baby itself and bears the full brunt of its power, suffering a debilitating decompression sickness. He almost dies but Jobin manages to take him to safety and revive him.↗
The Wonder of You
Before the fruit can be harvested, Ojiro Sasame confronts Tsurugi and tells him that he knows about the Locacaca Organization and his father Jobin Higashikata 's involvement in their operation. Threatening to denounce Jobin unless Tsurugi lets him meet the father, Ojiro also stealthily puts Tsurugi's hand under his control. Fleeing from Ojiro, Tsurugi inadvertently leaks the location of the Locacaca because he's forced to hold a phone and send photos and videos to Ojiro.↗
Soon, Toru infiltrates the Higashikata residence to retrieve the Locacaca plant from Yasuho. While unconscious, Tsurugi, along with his mother Mitsuba, Hato, and Daiya, are caught along Wonder of U 's calamity as the plane door flying towards Yasuho lands inside the house. When Kaato arrives in the Higashikata household, she stores Tsurugi's body in between her cards and uses him to perform an equivalent exchange with Toru.↗
Aftermath
Days later, the Higashikata family go to the Higashikata Fruit Parlor to order a cake as a celebration of Norisuke 's discharge the next day, as well as a new beginning in the Higashikata family history. Daiya invites Josuke and Yasuho who have been walking nearby. While choosing a cake made by the Higashikata parlor, everyone breaks down into tears, including Daiya, Hato, Mitsuba, and Joshu. Tsurugi then insists Josuke to choose a cake.↗
07Relationships
| Character | Relationship | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Norisuke Higashikata IV | Grandfather | ↗ |
| Kaato Higashikata | Grandmother | ↗ |
| Jobin Higashikata | Father | ↗ |
| Mitsuba Higashikata | Mother | ↗ |
| Joshu Higashikata | Uncle | ↗ |
| Daiya Higashikata | Aunt | ↗ |
| Hato Higashikata | Aunt | ↗ |
| Josuke Higashikata | Adoptive Uncle | ↗ |
08Sources & attribution
- Tsurugi Higashikata
Source text: JoJoWiki and its contributors. This entry has been reorganized and condensed for readability under CC BY-SA 4.0. Archived records reflect their capture dates. Referenced manga, anime, and artwork retain their respective copyrights.
Source bibliography (10)
- Tsurugi was originally stated to be 9 years old in JJL Chapter 7, and then later 10 years old in JJL Volume 22; however, in JJL Chapter 107, Tsurugi's age is stated to be 11. Open ↗
- JoJolion Chapter 11: Family Tree Open ↗
- JoJolion Chapter 26: Tsurugi Higashikata's Goal, and the Architect, p.7-9 Open ↗
- JoJolion Chapter 22: Morioh 1901, p.33 Open ↗
- JoJolion Chapter 38: Jobin Higashikata is a Stand User, p.4 Open ↗
- JoJolion Chapter 43: Love Love Deluxe, Part 1, p.2 Open ↗
- JoJolion Chapter 93: The Wonder of You, Part 10, p.25 Open ↗
- JoJolion Chapter 29: Norisuke Higashikata, Tsurugi Higashikata, and Yotsuyu Yagiyama, Part 3, p.8 Open ↗
- JoJolion Chapter 42: Doobie Wah, Part 4, p.45 Open ↗
- JoJolion Chapter 83: The New Locacaca, p.33 Open ↗
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