why did toji spare the zenin clan

Toji didn’t spare the Zenin clan out of mercy so much as out of disinterest, changed priorities, and basic self‑preservation. Most explanations mix what is shown in Jujutsu Kaisen with reasonable fan speculation.

Core reasons often given

• No driving trigger like Maki’s. Toji was abused and ostracized, but the clan never crossed the kind of final line (like killing a loved one) that pushed him into full genocidal rage the way Mai’s death did for Maki.

• Different priorities after leaving. Once he left the clan, his life shifted to making money as a mercenary and looking out (in his twisted way) for Megumi, not revenge crusades.

• Cost vs. benefit. Wiping out a big clan would make him the top enemy of the entire jujutsu world, guaranteeing endless pursuit and likely death, with no real profit beyond old grudges.

• His “whim” and personality. Multiple discussions boil it down to Toji being someone who moves on whims: if he had decided to, he probably could have killed them, but most of the time he simply “didn’t feel like it.”

Toji vs. Maki: different paths

• Maki’s rage is explicit and focused. She openly resents the clan and defines herself in opposition to it, so when the clan targets Mai and pushes her past the edge, a massacre fits her emotional arc.

• Toji buries his feelings. He acts like he doesn’t care—about pride, about family, about Megumi—so instead of turning hurt into revenge, he turns it into nihilism, gambling, and dangerous jobs.

• Recognition vs. destruction. Some fans frame it as Toji wanting to “beat the system” from the outside by defeating top sorcerers, whereas Maki eventually chooses to erase the system (the clan) itself.

What about Megumi and the Zenin clan?

• Toji originally plans to sell Megumi to the Zenin not just for cash but so his son can leverage a good cursed technique to secure status and safety he himself never had, even though he hates the clan.

• Later, during his death scene and then Shibuya, it becomes clear he doesn’t want Megumi trapped by the Zenin , which is why he’s relieved Megumi isn’t a Zenin and asks Gojo to take care of him instead.

In‑universe vs. meta explanation

• In‑universe: Toji is powerful enough and angry enough that he could have destroyed the clan, but his love for his wife and son, his mercenary mindset, and his lack of a clear breaking point keep him from that path.

• Meta / author side (as fans discuss it): There is also a sense that “he’s just like that” — a chaotic, self‑serving character whose unresolved grudge is part of his tragedy, contrasted deliberately with Maki’s completion of that revenge arc later.

So when people ask “why did Toji spare the Zenin clan,” the most accepted answer is:
He didn’t spare them out of kindness; he just chose his own survival and twisted version of moving on over burning everything down.

TL;DR: He hated them, probably could have killed them, but never had the combination of motive, timing, and willingness to throw his life away that Maki eventually does.