By Harry Nugraha
There are lots of things that haven't been mentioned about Tanjiro's father in the Demon Slayer anime. Here's what you need to know about him.
At the start of the first episode of the first season of Demon Slayer, we saw Tanjiro Kamado find his mother and siblings killed by a demon. What’s even worse, one of his sisters, Nezuko Kamado, began to turn into a demon. What we didn't see, however, was his father.
When the story of Demon Slayer begins, Tanjiro is the oldest man in his family. His father is no longer in the picture. So who is Tanjiro's father? Why is he no longer with his family? And what sort of role does his father play in the story? Read on to find out the answer to these questions.
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Who is Tanjiro's Father?
Tanjuro Kamado was the name of Tanjiro Kamado's father. He passed away before the event of the main story of the Demon Slayer. It is not mentioned how long Tanjuro had passed before the story, but in several flashback scenes, we can see him interacting with a younger Tanjiro. So we can assume that he's been gone for quite some time.
During his life, Tanjuro was stricken by an unnamed disease that caused his body to be so skinny and frail, and his skin also appeared quite pale. In his later years, Tanjuro spent most of his days bedridden. Whenever he could find the energy to move, he usually used this opportunity to talk and teaches Tanjiro about all sorts of things.
What Role Does His Father Play in The Story
No matter how weak his condition was, there was one thing that Tanjuro Kamado never failed to do. It was the ritual dance for the Fire God that performed in new years from sunset to sunrise without stopping. This dance is called the Hinokami Kagura, and it has been passed down from father to son for generations in the Kamado family.
Tanjuro always made sure to let Tanjiro see and learn about the movements of the dance. This exact movement is what later on turns out to be the foundation of the Sun Breathing technique. Sun Breathing was the technique used by the first demon slayer, and it is also the basis of all modern breathing techniques. Without the image of his father's dance burned deep inside his memory, Tanjiro won't be able to use the technique that will be crucial in the effort of defeating Muzan Kibutsuji.
Other than the Hinokami Kagura, other techniques that Tanjiro learned from his father are the Transparent World and the Selfless State. Transparent World is a technique that allows its users to foresee any kinds of attacks. This is possible because mastering this technique will enable the users to see the world around them, especially living beings, in a transparent state. By seeing the shift of their bones, the twitch of their muscle, and even the flow of their blood, it becomes possible to predict their attacks and even find out their weak points.
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The Selfless State, on the other hand, is in a way the total opposite of the Transparent World. Because the goal of this technique is to prevent the enemy from predicting the user's attacks while making it easy for the users to land a critical hit at the same time. During a selfless state, the user will showcase absolutely no drive, anger, hate, or any other kind of emotion whatsoever.
The combination of all of these techniques will significantly enhance a demon slayer's ability to kill a demon in one clean strike. That being said, these techniques are very hard to master and require a tremendous amount of concentration to maintain. That's why not many people in the world of Demon Slayer are capable of using these techniques.
What is The Kamado Family Relationship With The Demon Slayers
As mentioned earlier, the Kamado family always performs the Hinokami Kagura dance, which is essentially the Sun Breathing technique, every new year for every generation. The first demon slayer, Yoriichi Tsugikuni, was the only known user of this lost technique. So how is Kamado able to use this technique? What is the Kamado family relationship with the demon slayer corps anyway?
Well, for generations, the Kamado never had anything to do with the demon slayer corps. As a matter of fact, Tanjiro is the first Kamado who ever took the mantle of the demon slayer. The reason why they know this technique is due to the fact that Sumiyoshi Kamado, Tanjiro's ancestor, was an acquaintance of Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
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Yoriichi was a man with a few words who had even fewer friends. Sumiyoshi was one of his closest friends. He always found solace whenever he stopped by Sumiyoshi's house and had a chat with him. During one of his visits, Yoriichi performed all of his Sun Breathing techniques in succession in front of Sumiyoshi and his family.
Sumiyoshi was so captivated by the movements that he decided to pass it down to his descendants as a way to keep Yoriichi's legacy alive. And that is how the Sun Breathing's movements stay accurate within the Kamado family for more than a hundred years. Thanks to Somiyoshi, and later on Tanjuro who passed it down to Tanjiro, the world is left with a weapon to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji, long after Yoriichi passed away.
Those are ultimately the role of Tanjiro's father, Tanjuro Kamado, in the story of the Demon Slayer. He might be a minor character that only appears in certain flashback scenes, but he holds the most crucial key to end the story. Without what he taught to his son, the world would have no hope in slaying Muzan Kibutsuji.
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