Who is Yoriichi Tsugikuni? Is He Related To Tanjiro?

We’ve been heavily invested in Demon Slayer recently. And, honestly, who can blame us? The anime is just so good at keeping us interested even more in recent episodes. The latest arc “The Entertainment District” is turning out to be one of the most entertaining arcs yet. 

Things are starting to heat up gradually, and a lot of new information is surfacing up, like important plot points and new characters. Of course, let’s not forget dope fight scenes. 

We enjoyed the fights with Daki the most in all the fights recently. We won’t lie, she may be extremely narcissistic and annoying, but she puts up one hell of a fight. We will definitely not forget her fight with Tanjiro and Nezuko anytime soon.

But we’re not really here to talk about Daki’s fight, right? We have something even more exciting to talk about. During the Daki Vs. Tanjiro battle, the obi demon suddenly got a flashback of a man. She realizes that what she was looking at were, in fact, Muzan’s memories. 

Now, the question is: Who is that mysterious man? Why did Daki feel fear when she saw him? 

If you are curious, then you’ve come to the right place. We will tell you who the mysterious demon slayer is, so sit back and enjoy reading!

Who Is The Mysterious Demon Slayer From Muzan’s Memories?

For some of you peeps who think that it’s Tanjiro’s father, then you’re thinking wrong. The man in Muzan’s memories is actually Yoriichi Tsugikuni, a former demon slayer. Yoriichi might be the most respected demon slayer in history. 

Yoriichi was regarded as the model demon slayer, and the rest of the corps looked up to him. Even calling him a sort of a legend from the past wouldn’t be stretching it too far. Moreover, this man is like the God of Demon Slayer Corps. A lot of fight dolls were modeled after him because he was a perfect demon slayer in every possible sense.

If the fact that Yoriichi was hailed as a god surprises you, then you would be flabbergasted to know that he is like the progenitor of various forms of sword breath styles that the modern-day demon slayers use so readily. Yes, you heard us right.

Yoriichi is actually the one who practiced the Sun Breath technique in the past. The rest of the breathing techniques are just copies made from the Sun Breath. Of course, Yoriichi created the rest of the sword breath styles himself (On a side note, he reminds us of Otsutsuki Kaguya from Naruto, the origin of all powers and all).

Before we move forward, a fun fact: Yoriichi had (or has) a brother who became a demon because he was jealous of the former’s strength. That demon is actually Kokushibo, Upper Kizuki One demon. Yes, the demon that comes second only to Muzan himself.

Why Was Muzan Afraid Of Yoriichi In Daki’s Memories?

We would never have imagined that Even Kibutsuji Muzan (Demonic Micheal Jackson) would be afraid of anyone. This demon existed for centuries and is heavily experienced in combat and demonic powers. 

Yet, Yoriichi managed to strike such deep-seated fear and trauma in Muzan that even the demons with his cells would feel their bones shaking. We saw how Daki reacted to the memories. 

It was because Yoriichi had brought Muzan to the brink of death in the blink of an eye. Yoriichi might be the only one who even came close to killing the Demon King. 

Muzan managed to escape, of course, but he was left traumatized for centuries after because of this particular battle. So much so that he wanted Tanjiro dead just because of the Hanfuda earrings that the boy was wearing (You know, Yoriichi actually owned those earrings. So that brings us to…)

Are Yoriichi And Tanjiro Related?

A big fat NO. This is a commonly misinterpreted idea among the fans that Tanjiro and Yoriichi may be related. But in fact, they aren’t. 

Then how does Tanjiro come across those Hanafuda earrings? Why can Tanjiro use Sun Breath Technique? How did his father know about it?

Tanjiro says that the earrings belonged to his father Tanjuro and were actually passed down as family heirlooms. It is a really interesting fact because those earrings actually belonged to Yoriichi. 

But what are the odds? Yoriichi had a close friend “Kamado Sumiyoshi” who is the actual ancestor of Tanjiro. It’s completely possible that Yoriichi passed on those earrings and his knowledge of the Sun Breath (and Hinokami Kagura) to Sumiyoshi. The latter must have passed on his learnings to his descendants.

In conclusion, Tanjiro and Yoriichi aren’t related; but the former’s ancestor was a close pal of the legendary demon slayer. 

Oh, and Tanjiro getting the burn mark on his forehead (resembling Yoriichi) was a pure coincidence. The boy got it when hot water fell on his face. So there’s that too.

Phew, that was a lot of information to take in, we know. But it is a really important and interesting fact from the Demon Slayer history. If there is something else that you want to know, we are more than happy to help you with your queries. Drop them down in the comments!

You can watch Demon Slayer on Netflix.