Kazuyoshi Iwamoto

**Kazuyoshi Iwamoto**(岩本 和善), the Sengoku Era Stone Hashira.

## Personality

Kazuyoshi embodied the gentle giant archetype, being surprisingly soft-spoken and sensitive, despite his intimidating appearance. He is also shown to be quite pious, carrying his prayer beads and staff at all times and offering prayers in poignant situations. Most notably, Kazuyoshi easily cried over the most insignificant things, accentuating his rather soft nature. This could be due to his love and sympathy for all living creatures brought about by his Buddhist upbringing.
Like the rest of the Hashira, Kazuyoshi had a great deal of respect for the Oyakata-sama. He was also one of the most respected individuals among the Hashira, being a symbol of hope due to his immense strength. Furthermore, Kazuyoshi acted as a leader for them, as he was the oldest, strongest, and the first demon slayer to be appointed Hashira.

## Background

Kazuyoshi's birth circumstances were shrouded in mystery. No one knew where he was born or came from. He was found floating down a river as a baby in a straw basket. Coincidentally, the basket floated to a Buddhist monastery and the abbot fished it out of the water. He took pity on the baby inside and decided to raise him as a monk. The abbot named the child **Genshin** **(玄信).**

Because he was raised as a Buddhist, Genshin adopted the Buddhist mindset: life is suffering, so do not inflict any suffering on anything that lives. When Genshin swept the floor, he was careful to not hurt any ants. When moths were flying toward lights, Genshin covered them up with cloths. He maintained a vegetarian diet just like his fellow monks, yet grew to a colossal size and became a pillar of strength. Genshin was a devoted monk and could meditate for days straight. Since Buddhists did not condone violence of any kind, it was a concerning surprise that Genshin learned to wield a giant polearm kama (scythe/sickle) as a weapon.

Life in the monastery was quiet and peaceful, so Genshin never had the chance to use his scythe. When he was 18, the abbot had to travel to give a lecture, and Genshin was tasked to guard the monastery. But on the night before the abbot returned, a ferocious demon attacked his monastery. Many of his fellow monks were defenseless and slaughtered by it. Even though Genshin did not like violence, he felt like he had to act to save lives. He picked up his scythe and dueled the demon. Surprisingly, Genshin had enough prowess and stamina to fight the demon to a standstill, and as the sun came up, he managed to pin the demon to a tree with his scythe and let the sunlight vaporize it.

The returning abbot was shocked to return to such a massacre. At first, he thought that Genshin, stained by blood and wielding a deadly weapon, did this. That accusation was quickly denied by the surviving monks who saw Genshin fight the demon. But that did little to change the abbot's mind: there was no proof of a demon. And even if there was, Genshin was in the wrong for fighting and killing it, instead of persuading it to change its ways. Even though Genshin protested, the abbot was unmoveable. He claimed that by killing the demon, Genshin committed a heinous crime that violated the first percept of Buddhism: to abstain from hurting or killing any living creature. He forced Genshin to leave the monastery, never to return.

Even though he was exiled from the monastery, Genkan still kept some of his Buddhist habits: remaining Buddhist, reciting sutras and mantras, meditating, and being vegetarian. But he also adopted some new habits that were unthinkable for Buddhist monks: he let his hair grow out, he wielded a weapon, and he abandoned his Dharma name 'Genshin' and adopted a new name, Kazuyoshi Iwamoto. Above all, he carried out the occasional but necessary violence against demons, something outrageous for Buddhists.

Two years after his exile, Kazuyoshi met Hideyoshi Ubayashiki, the Oyakata-sama. Hideyoshi told him that he also did not condone violence unless it was absolutely necessary. He then persuaded Kazuyoshi to use his mindset in the war against demons. Since the demons were evil beings that thrived on the suffering of other living creatures, Kazuyoshi felt responsible as a 'Buddhist' to stop them. Hideyoshi fashioned him a nichirin scythe, and Kazuyoshi started traveling the land, slaying demons to prevent suffering while also being a 'Buddhist.'

One day, he came across a young shepherd. He was trying to fight off a majestic white wild stallion that was eating his grass. The boy was named **Tabibito Nakayama (中山 旅人),** and was hot-blooded and impatient. Kazuyoshi calmly tamed the stallion and decided to keep it. Feeling he could learn a lot from Kazuyoshi, namely calmness, and patience, Tabibito became Kazuyoshi's first demon-slaying disciple. Kazuyoshi gave him the Dharma name **Kazuya (和也).**

Sometime later, Kazuyoshi arrived at a village together with his disciple Kazuya where he saw a young man called **Hachiro Tamano** **(珠野 八郎)** who got into trouble for harassing some women. Kazuyoshi decided to take him under his wing as his second disciple and teach him about virtue and respect. Kazuyoshi gave him the Dharma name **Masaya (正也).**

Not long after, Kazuyoshi and his two disciples came to a river. Their initial plan to cross the bridge was blocked by a bandit named **Kiyoshi Nagasa (長砂 淨).** This bandit blocked off the only bridge in the region and robbed anyone that tried to cross it. Kazuya and Masaya managed to overpower him and wanted to kill him, but Kazuyoshi granted him mercy instead. Kiyoshi abandoned his bandit ways and became Kazuyoshi's third disciple. Kazuyoshi gave him the Dharma name **Shin'ya (真也).**

With his three disciples, a 25-year-old Kazuyoshi was summoned back to the Demon Slayer HQ, where Yoriichi Tsugikuni was demonstrating his breathing techniques at the request of the Oyakata-sama. Yoriichi then began teaching his breathing style to other demon slayers. Kazuyoshi was unable to master it, so Yoriichi taught him a modified style that focused on utilizing the ground beneath him and the vast surroundings to generate powerful and sturdy attacks that specialize in both offense and defense. Kazuyoshi found it to be very suiting with his scythe. Thus, Stone Breathing was born, and Kazuyoshi was appointed as the first of the Hashira. He was later on an mission when he found and released Kotetsu Satugono. Kotetsu later became the Spectrum Hashira

## **Trivia:**

* Kazuyoshi's surname contained the kanji for 'stone' (岩 *iwa*) and 'origin' (本 *moto*). His given name contained the kanji for 'peace' (和 *kazu*) and 'virtuous' (善 *yoshi*). His former Dharma name contained the kanji for 'mysterious' (玄 *gen*) and 'faith' (信 *shin*).
* Unlike his Taishō Era counterpart, Gyomei, Kazuyoshi was not blind and had perfect vision.
* Kazuyoshi served in the corps for the longest amount of time out of any of the Hashira.
* Kazuyoshi, his three disciples, and his white stallion were all inspired by the main cast of the 16th-century Chinese novel *Journey to the West.*
* Kazuyoshi and his three disciples all wielded long polearms for weapons. Kazuyoshi wielded a nichirin kama (scythe), Kazuya wielded a double-bladed nichirin yari (spear), and Masaya wielded a nichirin chigiriki (flail), and Shinya wielded a nichirin ono (axe).
* Kazuyoshi's mantra, "Namu Amida Butsu" also known as Nembutsu (念仏 *Nenbutsu*), is a Nianfo chant from Shin Buddhism. A common translation is: "I entrust myself to the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life."

## Kazuyoshi viewed the other Hashira as follows:

* *"She's delicate. She tends to work too hard. She seems to enjoy talking to Mizuhara. Namu Amida Butsu."* - about the Flower Hashira.
* *"He tends to not speak much. His past as a senseless killer is disturbing. Namu Amida Butsu."* - about the Shadow Hashira.
* "*She's a good-natured girl. She seems to like Kaminari. Namu Amida Butsu.*" - about the Phoenix Hashira.
* "*He possesses a strong will and is honest at heart. He's a bashful person. His anger will prevent him from achieving Nirvana. Namu Amida Butsu."* - about the Wind Hashira.
* "*He's naturally inarticulate and gloomy. He seems happy talking with Hanae. Namu Amida Butsu.*" - about the Water Hashira.
* "*He's positive, and never lies. He's honest. Namu Amida Butsu.*" - about the Flame Hashira.
* *"He's forgetful, but that never gets in the way of his duties. Namu Amida Butsu."* - about the Mist Hashira.
* *"He's a good friend. He needs to commune with the Buddha. Namu Amida Butsu."* - about the Thunder Hashira.
* *"He's a good man. He cares for his little brother but envies him. Having desires is not the path to Nirvana. Namu Amida Butsu."* - about Michikatsu Tsugikuni.
* *"He's very close to achieving Nirvana. He radiates the energy of enlightenment that the Buddha has. Namu Amida Butsu."* - about Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
* "He is very annoying for a Hashira,though I did save him. Namu Amida Butsu.-about the Spectrum Hashira