Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 1

Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | YA | Published in 2018

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1

Chapters 2-3

Chapters 4-5

Chapters 6-7

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Background

Historical Context: Taishō Era Japan

The Taishō era is the name given to the rule of Yoshihito, who ruled Japan from July 30, 1912, to December 25, 1926, and was posthumously given the title Emperor Taishō. This era was followed by the Shōwa era, which lasted until January 7, 1989, and was preceded by the Meiji era, which ran between January 25, 1868, and July 30, 1912. The Meiji era marked a time of increasing contact between Japan and the Western powers. Before this era, Japan was an isolated, feudal society where the shogunate—regional, military lords who were the highest-ranking samurai—held most governing power, as opposed to the emperor. In this era, Emperor Meiji sought to reestablish the power of the emperor, largely through a governmental restructuring—inspired by western governments—and other modernization efforts. The Constitution of the Empire of Japan, enacted on November 29, 1890, made the government a mix between an absolute monarchy and a constitutional government inspired by representative democracies. Japan experienced its own Industrial Revolution that overhauled education, infrastructure, production, and technology.

This legacy extended to the Taishō era. Advocacy for social causes like welfare and workers’ rights grew in popularity, and the economy boomed. Much of this growth was at the expense of other East Asian countries like China. As Japan modernized its military and technology, the country began to war with and colonize China. The First Sino-Japanese War occurred in 1894-1895 during the Meiji era: During the Port Arthur Massacre, 2,600-20,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed. This legacy extended through the Taishō era, particularly throughout World War I. While Japan fought alongside the Allies, its overreach into the Chinese government caused strain between them and the West.

Fighting with the Allies during World War I made Japan one of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference’s “Big Five” powers. The post-war era led to the movement for “Taishō Democracy”—a trend toward liberal democracy that affected people’s opinions on politics, the economy, education, and gender inequality. Throughout the rule of Emperor Taishō, individual Prime Ministers and elected governments often experienced domestic crises that made these burgeoning democratic governments unstable.

All these factors made for a social environment that was constantly changing. Traditional elements of Japanese culture existed alongside and in tension with new or adopted social, economic, governmental, and technological models. The Taishō era’s tension between traditions and emerging beliefs shows throughout Demon Slayer. Later arcs of the manga explore the cultural and technological changes characteristic of the era. The first volume juxtaposes an accepted, traditional view of the nature of demons with the new, more empathetic model that Tanjiro and Nezuko demonstrate, mirroring the larger changes of the era.

Cultural Context: Japanese Religion, Mythology, and Folklore

Though Japan is home to a variety of people who practice many religions, two of the most popular are Shintō and Buddhism. While both are ancient Asian religions, Shintō is indigenous to Japan, while Buddhism was imported from India.

Shintō is an animistic, polytheistic religion that has no centralized authority: Therefore, practice can vary by era, region, and practitioner. There is no one definition for Shintō faith and practice. Some practitioners consider Shintō more of a lifestyle than a religion. Generally, it is structured around the existence of spirits called kami, who inhabit all things but are not immortal or omniscient. Kami is a fluid designation, and kami can be either benevolent or destructive. It is difficult to define Nezuko, who is a demon, as a kami. She is, however, an oni, a demon in Japanese folklore. Another important category of spirit in Japanese folklore are yōkai. While Nezuko may also be considered a yōkai, they are often depicted as ghosts in popular culture. Sabito and Makomo are likely yōkai.

While the environment of Demon Slayer draws heavily from Japanese folklore and Shintō beliefs, Tanjiro’s training bears some hallmarks of Buddhist inspiration. Though Tanjiro has certain natural proclivities that make him a good candidate for the Demon Slayer Corps, he must undergo years of rigorous training. Buddhists practice mindfulness and meditation to work toward a state of complete liberation and enlightenment. Tanjiro learns breathing forms reminiscent of ānāpānasati, a Buddhist breathing form that centers mindfulness of the body. Other breathing forms, like tummo breathing, can raise one’s body temperature. This calls to mind Makomo’s explanation of the role of breathing in demon slaying, wherein “total concentration breathing” leads to an increased heart rate and temperate that spikes a human’s strength enough to fight a demon.

Koyoharu Gotouge’s manga combines various aspects of Japanese religions, mythologies, and folklore into a unique and rich fantasy world. While many aspects of this world are inspired by tradition, other aspects challenge tradition. Tanjiro continually defies authority to uphold his morals, even when this means defying tradition. The manga also criticizes the patriarchal aspects of Shintoism and Buddhism prevalent in East Asia through Nezuko, who exhibits a strength and self-control that defy others’ expectations.

Literary Context: Shōnen Manga

Manga is the term used to refer to Japanese comic books and graphic novels, which are often serialized and published weekly. A person who creates manga is called a mangaka; sometimes, one person both writes and illustrates a single manga on a work-intensive weekly basis. This is the case with Demon Slayer, as the story and art are both penned by Koyoharu Gotouge, a pen name used to protect the mangaka’s identity.

Demon Slayer is a shōnen manga. Shōnen is a broad editorial category of manga traditionally aimed at adolescent boys and young men. Other categories of manga are shojō, which targets adolescent girls and young women, seinen, which targets adult men, and josei, which targets adult women. None of these categories are “genres” in the western sense of the word: They describe intended demographics. While shōnen ostensibly targets young boys, its characters, themes, and plot lines are widely appealing to people of all ages and genders. This is also true of shōjo, though seinen and josei may contain more mature themes and subject matter.

Though shōnen is not a genre in itself, there are several popular genres that fall within this category, most notably action and adventure. Oftentimes, shōnen contains magical or superhuman elements that lean into fantasy or science-fiction tropes and themes. Shōnen often portrays a young male as a protagonist, who must train, persevere, and overcome a set of obstacles or hardships to fulfill his quest. Many shōnen narratives follow the principles of the hero’s journey, a popular story template in which a hero embarks on a quest, meets and conquers various challenges and crises, and is morally or physically changed at the end of their quest. Since much manga and anime (Japanese animation, often based on manga) are episodic, this cycle may happen many times to the same primary characters, over many chapters and seasons. The longest manga, KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops, is 1,960 chapters. The longest running shōnen anime, Case Closed/Detective Conan, has aired 1,056 episodes over 26 years.

Shōnen manga were some of the first manga to gain influence beyond the Japanese market. The first manga-inspired work to enter and find success in the American market was Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy in 1965. However, the original work was adapted and redrew. While other translated manga reached the United States with their original art in the late 70s, manga as a whole massively grew in popularity in the 90s. Popular titles such as Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece reached American audiences in both manga and anime forms.

The international influence of manga continues to grow in the 21st century. As the literary form flourishes, older manga influence newer additions. Demon Slayer is relatively new to the market, with its serialization having begun in 2016—making it the only manga of the top 10 best-selling manga to debut in the 21st century. Gotouge stated Demon Slayer is inspired by classic shōnen manga Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Naruto, and Bleach (Schley, Matt. “Koyoharu Gotoge Reveals the Manga that Inspired Demon Slayer,” Otaku Magazine US, 21 October 2020).