Kimetsu no Yaiba Wiki
Register
Kimetsu no Yaiba Wiki
Tag: Visual edit
No edit summary
Tag: Visual edit
Line 23: Line 23:
 
|[[Tanjiro Kamado]]*
 
|[[Tanjiro Kamado]]*
 
|A black ring connected to its core by lines with a border of the same color. It heavily resembles a wagon wheel in appearance.
 
|A black ring connected to its core by lines with a border of the same color. It heavily resembles a wagon wheel in appearance.
  +
Tanjiro's second blade sharpened by Hagenzuka, used the handguard of Kyojuro Rengoku.
 
|[[File:Tanjiro's Tsuba E17.png|230px]]
 
|[[File:Tanjiro's Tsuba E17.png|230px]]
 
|-
 
|-

Revision as of 04:51, 7 May 2021

Tanjiro's Nichirin Blade changing color.

Nichirin Blades ( (にち) (りん) (とう) Nichirin tō?) are special blades used by and made specifically for the Demon Slayer Corps to slay Demons. They are forged from a unique ore that constantly absorbs sunlight, one of the only major weaknesses of Demons. Therefore, decapitation by Nichirin Blade is one of the only ways a human can kill a Demon, the other being the use of a Wisteria-poison coated weapon.[1]

Nichirin Blades take on a distinct color when first drawn by its owner, which is why they are also referred to as "The Color Changing Swords".[2] However, the holder is required to have a certain amount of skill, or the blade will not change color.

Forging Process

Nichirin Blades are forged with Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Crimson Ore, both of which are found on high mountains like the Sunlight Mountain, which is perpetually bathed in sunlight all throughout the year.[3]

Demon Slayer recruits choose their own ore after successfully passing the Final Selection. The ore will then be used by a swordsmith of the Swordsmith Village during the forging process, and the swordsmith will personally bring the weapon to the Demon Slayer.

Handguards

Each Nichirin Blade contains a handguard, or tsuba, that protects the swordsman from cutting themselves. It is located where the handle and the blade meet and can come in a variety of colors and shapes. Based on his appearances in the series, Inosuke Hashibira's Nichirin Blades temporarily had handguards when Kozo Kanamori first presented his newly-forged blades. Afterwards, he chipped his swords and removed the handguard and wrapped the hilt with bandages.

Swordsman Description of Handguard Picture
Tanjiro Kamado* A black ring connected to its core by lines with a border of the same color. It heavily resembles a wagon wheel in appearance.

Tanjiro's second blade sharpened by Hagenzuka, used the handguard of Kyojuro Rengoku.

Tanjiro's Tsuba E17
Zenitsu Agatsuma Circular shaped with 4 slight indentations, the center has a silver tone with small triangles and has a golden border. File:Zenitsu's Tsuba E12.png
Inosuke Hashibira* A black ring connected to its core by an arrangement of semicircles, possibly to resemble a fish. Inosuke's Former Handguard
Kanao Tsuyuri Circular shaped with a light pastel blue center and border, filled 3 red five-leafed flowers and a winding pattern that is light green in color. Kanao's Tsuba Manga
Genya Shinazugawa Two hollow ovals that overlap its core and are a dull shade of brown. File:Genya's Tsuba Manga.png
Giyu Tomioka Hexagonal shaped with a bronze core and with an overlapping fuschia border.

Tomioka's second blade obtained during the fight against Muzan has a handguard resembling a whirlpool.

Giyu's Tsuba E1
Shinobu Kocho Flower shaped with 4 petals; The petal has an aqua colored core with an orange border. Shinobu's Tsuba EP20
Kyojuro Rengoku Shaped like a flame with a red core and golden border. Kyojuro's Tsuba
Mitsuri Kanroji Shaped like a 4 leaf clover; The leaves have a pink core with a golden border. File:Mitsuri's Tsuba Manga.png
Muichiro Tokito Rectangular shaped with hollowed rectangles at each corner. File:Muichiro's Tsuba Manga.png
Sanemi Shinazugawa Abstract shape with 8 points with an overlapping pattern; Each plate has a forest green core with a silver border. Sanemi's Tsuba E22
Obanai Iguro Gold circular shape engraved with two snakes connected by several plant-like platterns. Obanai's Tsuba Manga
Tengen Uzui Circular shaped with 4 slight indentations and gold in color, there's a maroon ring that connects to the center; it has an outer green border. Tengen's Tsuba
Yoriichi Tsugikuni Circular shaped with 4 slight indentations, with a black center and a golden border. File:Yoriichi's Tsuba Manga.png
Kokushibo Circular shaped with 4 slight indentations, a center with 3 eyes and several black veins and a golden border. File:Kokushibo's Tsuba Manga.png

*Tanjiro began using Kyojuro's handguard as of Chapter 129.

*Inosuke removed the handguard shortly after receiving the reforged sword.

Blade Colors

Kyojuro explaining Breath Styles to Tanjiro

Kyojuro explaining Breathing Styles' associated colors.

Nichirin Blades change color depending upon the user, making each blade unique. They can be of many colors. Zenitsu Agatsuma's blade is unique in that its coloration does not form as a solid band but instead as a lightning motif down the length of the blade. The reason for this patterning is unknown.

Each color is said to impart certain properties to the blade. The properties of black Nichirin Blades are not well understood, causing them to be considered a bad omen that the Demon Slayer will not go far (due to dying before much can be learned about the blade).

Crimson Red Nichirin Blades

By raising the temperature of the blade, a Nichirin blade will turn red. Red Nichirin blades hamper the regeneration of demons and in some cases even burn them on a cellular level leaving wounds that are unable to heal. The creation of the Crimson Red Nichirin blades is the transfer of heat. Throughout the series, they have been 3 ways red blades have been achieved. These ways include using Nezuko Kamado's Blood Demon Art, raising the temperature of the blade with a strong grip, and clashing two Nichirin blades together (the last two ways can only be achieved when the Demon Slayer Mark is present).

Symbolism[4] Colors No. Known users
Sun Black 2 Tanjiro Kamado

Yoriichi Tsugikuni*

Sound Amber 1 Tengen Uzui
Water Blue 2 Giyu Tomioka

Sakonji Urokodaki

Stone Gray 1 Gyomei Himejima
Wind Green 1 Sanemi Shinazugawa
Beast Indigo-Gray 1 Inosuke Hashibira
Serpent Lavender 1 Obanai Iguro
Insect Lavender-Blue 1 Shinobu Kocho
Flower Light Pink 2 Kanao Tsuyuri

Kanae Kocho

Love Pink 1 Mitsuri Kanroji
Moon Purple 1 Kokushibo
Flame Red 1 Kyojuro Rengoku
Mist White 1 Muichiro Tokito
Thunder Yellow 1 Zenitsu Agatsuma

Trivia

  • Their namesake contains the kanji for "sun" ( (にち) nichi?), "ring" ( (りん) rin?), which could translate to either "sun ring" or its most common meaning, "sun." In addition to the kanji for "blade" ( (とう) ?), the full translation to the Nichirin Blade is "sun blade."
  • The ore used to forge the swords are likely based off of Hihi'irokane, which literally means (Brilliant Scarlet Metal), a legendary metal of Japanese myth that shines brightly in a manner that it resembles flames or the sun. The metal is considered to be similar to other mythical ores such as Orichalcum of Greek and Roman myth and as such is said to have had magical properties.

References

  1. Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 6 (Page 1).
  2. Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 9 (Page 15).
  3. Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 9 (Page 12).
  4. Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 54 (Page 8).