Breathing Style

Breathing Styles
Name
Japanese	呼吸法
Rōmaji	Kokyū Hō
Characteristics
Creator(s)	Yoriichi Tsugikuni
Purpose	Enhancing the physical abilities, such as the strength, speed and stamina of the user
User(s)	Demon Slayers
Debut
Manga	Chapter 4
Anime	Episode 3

Breathing Styles (呼 (こ) 吸 (きゅう) 法 (ほう) , Kokyū Hō^?) are swordsmanship styles that utilize Total Concentration Breathing which are practiced and taught by Demon Slayers.

Overview

A Breathing Style being used to slay a demon.

Breathing Styles are swordsmanship styles that makes use of an esoteric breathing technique known as Total Concentration Breathing practiced and taught by members of the Demon Slayer Corps and are used in combat by Demon Slayers (later passed on as traditional dances post-time skip).

The swordsman of the first Breathing Style.

All known Breathing Styles currently taught within the Demon Slayer Corps are derived from Sun Breathing, the first one ever created. The majority of known Breathing Styles mimic a certain element of nature (i.e. flame, water and wind) and replicates it with the user's movements, techniques and abilities. The weapon attacks of Demon Slayers who use Breathing Styles are also longer ranged, possibly due to shockwaves or air pressure generated from their weapon itself when swinging and striking.

Love Breathing: a Breathing Style created to meet its creator's needs.

New Breathing Styles are always being created to suit a Demon Slayer's combat needs, which results in new weapons being utilized in demon hunting (i.e. flails and whips). Such Breathing Styles embody a bigger variety of concepts, like animals, plants and emotions (i.e. serpents, flowers and love). In any case, these new creations always branch out of the five fundamental Breathing Styles. Many of them are personal creations limited to only one user due to a trait or combat style unique to them, but there are cases when branching Breathing Styles have found usage from other Demon Slayers aside from their creators. In both cases, the users are Hashira-level Demon Slayers or at least highly-skilled and competent. When utilizing a Breathing Style, users automatically visualize themselves manipulating the concept behind their style, making it seem as if they were using magic, though those that are less apt and proficient in their style will visualize less of it than one who is.

Tanjiro combines two Breathing Styles.

It is possible to mix different Breathing Styles if the user cannot master one particular Breathing Style alone in order to use the stronger aspects of different styles to compensate. Tanjiro Kamado, realizing that he could not master Water Breathing like Giyu Tomioka nor could he handle the strain of Hinokami Kagura, showed to be able to combine the two techniques together in order to have stronger strikes than when he used Water Breathing alone and move for longer periods of time than if he used Hinokami Kagura alone. He did this to save Hinatsuru from Gyutaro, and later used it once again during the Infinity Castle Arc to slay dozens of demons.

History

The origins of Breathing Styles go back nearly five centuries before the Taisho Era. During the Sengoku period, Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the most powerful Demon Slayer to have ever lived, created Sun Breathing, the first Breathing Style and progenitor of all others who would come after it. He attempted to teach his Breathing Style to numerous Demon Slayers, including his brother Michikatsu, but none could learn it, lacking the innate talent for peerless swordsmanship Yoriichi possessed since birth. Instead, Yoriichi opted to modify Sun Breathing and teach several "inferior" versions to his students, each of which focused on a student's individual strengths and weaknesses. Thus, Sun Breathing spawned its first offspring; an incredibly versatile and flexible style evolved into Water Breathing; a style centered on powerful singular strikes that 'burn' evolved into Flame Breathing; a style which channeled strength into the legs to reach blinding speeds evolved into Thunder Breathing; a purely offensive style featuring swift rotational movements evolved into Wind Breathing; a style utilizing the ground to perform forceful offenses and sturdy defenses evolved into Stone Breathing. Michikatsu Tsugikuni's attempt to learn Sun Breathing eventually evolved into Moon Breathing.

As the years lapsed, the five fundamental Breathing Styles became passed down from generation to generation. As for Sun Breathing and Moon Breathing, they became all but forgotten by the succeeding generations of Demon Slayers. In their place, Demon Slayers created new Breathing Styles that branched from the five fundamental ones to suit their combat needs. Some were relegated to history as they lacked practitioners aside from their creator, while others survived through their learnability and non-uniqueness. Long-lived examples are Flower Breathing and Mist Breathing, who remained active all the way into the Taisho Era.

The Taisho Era saw an influx of unique Breathing Styles. Insect Breathing and Serpent Breathing spawned from Water Breathing, Flame Breathing brought forth Love Breathing, Sound Breathing emerged from Thunder Breathing, and Beast Breathing branched from Wind Breathing. The last pair's connection is rather odd, since the role of Wind Breathing was remarkably absent during the development of Beast Breathing.

Breathing Styles were not entirely lost to history after the demons were wiped out. Instead, they eventually became traditional dances practiced until today.

List of Known Breathing Styles & Users

The five fundamental Breathing Styles (Flame, Water, Wind, Stone and Thunder) originate from Sun Breathing, the first Breathing Style. Subsequently, numerous other Breathing Styles evolved as branches from these five core styles.

Name	Example Image	Kanji	No. of Known Forms	Color	Known Users
Sun Breathing		日	13	Black	Yoriichi Tsugikuni Sumiyoshi Kamado Tanjuro Kamado Tanjiro Kamado Kanata Kamado Sumihiko Kamado
Water Breathing		水	11	Blue	Sakonji Urokodaki Giyu Tomioka Murata Sabito Makomo Aoi Kanzaki (Formerly) Tanjiro Kamado
Flame Breathing		炎	9	Orange-Red	Shinjuro Rengoku Kyojuro Rengoku Mitsuri Kanroji (Formerly)
Thunder Breathing		雷	7	Yellow	Jigoro Kuwajima Kaigaku Zenitsu Agatsuma
Stone Breathing		岩	5	Gray	Gyomei Himejima
Wind Breathing		風	9	Green	Masachika Kumeno Sanemi Shinazugawa
Moon Breathing		月	16	Light Purple	Kokushibo
Flower Breathing		花	7	Light Pink	Kanae Kocho Kanao Tsuyuri
Insect Breathing		蟲	4	Lavender Blue	Shinobu Kocho
Serpent Breathing		蛇	5	Lavender	Obanai Iguro
Love Breathing		恋	6	Dark Pink	Mitsuri Kanroji
Sound Breathing		音	5	Amber	Tengen Uzui
Mist Breathing		霞	7	White	Muichiro Tokito
Beast Breathing		獣	11	Indigo Gray	Inosuke Hashibira

Breathing Styles Relationship Chart

Sun

Water

Moon

Flame

Thunder

Stone

Wind

Flower

Serpent

Love

Sound

Beast

Mist

Insect

Trivia

• The names of Breathing Styles are very strict. For example, the Flame Breathing (炎 (ほのお) の呼 (こ) 吸 (きゅう) , Honō no kokyū^?) should never be referred to as Fire Breathing (火 (ひ) の呼 (こ) 吸 (きゅう) , Hi no kokyū^?).
• Breathing Styles were not entirely lost to history after the demons were wiped out. Instead, they eventually became traditional dances.
• Breathing Styles don't unleash their elemental attacks; people who see this just think they see and feel it, they are just there for visual effects, however, there are a few exceptions. For example, the Thunder Breathing users mimic lightning with such high fidelity that they cause the air to vibrate when poised to unleash a technique and create immensely loud sounds akin to thunder with their mere footsteps, so it feels like they are producing thunder to others.
• Apart from two, all of the currently known Breathing Styles are either created during the Sengoku period or as personal creations during the Taisho Era. As for Flower Breathing and Mist Breathing, it is still unclear when they were created, but Mist Breathing's potential creator was active during the Sengoku period.