Hinokami Kagura

## Sun Breathing

**Hinokami Kagura** (ヒノカミ神楽 (かぐら) , *Hinokami Kagura*?, lit. "Dance of the Fire God") is a Breathing Style only known and taught by the Kamado Family, later revealed to be the first Breathing Style, **Sun Breathing** (日 (ひ) の呼 (こ) 吸 (きゅう) , *Hi no kokyū*?).

## Overview

The Hinokami Kagura is a Breathing Style that is passed on from father to son in every generation of Kamado Family alongside the Hanafuda earrings. They use it within a ritual ceremony practiced every new year, where the Breathing Style user offers the Fire God a dance from sunset to sunrise to ward off threats and diseases.

The dance is composed of twelve segments repeated throughout the night until dawn. Tanjuro Kamado noted that the breathing technique utilized in this dance allows the user to never exhaust themselves no matter how long they move, making it such that they can seemingly dance forever. The last user of Hinokami Kagura is Tanjiro Kamado, who learned the Breathing Style from his father Tanjuro Kamado. Other people can learn this technique if taught by a Kamado descendant.

The Hinokami Kagura is later revealed by Shinjuro Rengoku to be a legendary Breathing Style known as **Sun Breathing** (日 (ひ) の呼 (こ) 吸 (きゅう) , *Hi no kokyū*?), the first one to have ever been created, though it was seemingly lost. All other Breathing Styles are derived from it as the result of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, its creator, modifying it to suit the individuals he taught who were unable to use it.

Both the Hinokami Kagura and Sun Breathing are Breathing Styles that mimic the sun and replicate it with the user's movements, techniques, and abilities. All techniques and forms are extremely varied and have no set pattern, making it the most versatile and effective against demons. Users of Sun Breathing visualize themselves seemingly manipulating solar flames when unleashing its techniques.

Tanjiro noted that using this style increases his overall power and speed, which may be due to the fact that his body is more suited to Sun Breathing as opposed to Water Breathing.

Upon seeing Yoriichi perform the twelve forms of Sun Breathing through his ancestor's memories, Tanjiro realized that, despite being replicated with a surprising degree of accuracy for hundreds of years and his own mastery of Hinokami Kagura, it had unnecessary movements, such as different wrist angles, footwork and breathing rhythm, compared to the Sun Breathing directly performed by Yoriichi. Removing them enabled him to use the Breathing Style in its purest form, to the point where Muzan Kibutsuji saw Yoriichi's visage overlapping with Tanjiro's own when he was performing the techniques against him.

## Known Techniques

Sun Breathing was initially created with 12 techniques all connected to one another by Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Later upon meeting Muzan Kibutsuji, Yoriichi perfected his swordsmanship form, creating a new unnamed thirteenth form.

* **Dance** (円 (えん) 舞 (ぶ) , *Enbu*?) - The user performs a singular downwards vertical slash in an arcing motion.
	+ **Dancing Flash** (円 (えん) 舞 (ぶ) 一 (いっ) 閃 (せん) , *Enbu Issen*?) - A modified version of **Dance** developed and utilized only by Tanjiro Kamado. The user combines the fundamental technique of Thunder Breathing with the high-powered slash of **Dance** by inhaling huge amounts of oxygen, increasing the pumping of blood through the entire body, focusing it on the legs, and releasing it all to assault the target with a slash. This technique was capable of out-speeding Genya Shinazugawa, Nezuko Kamado, and Hantengu.

* **Clear Blue Sky** (碧 (へき) 羅 (ら) の天 (てん) , *Heki-ra no Ten*?) - The user spins and twists their upper body in a circular motion, releasing a 360° slash.

* **Raging Sun** (烈 (れつ) 日 (じつ) 紅 (こう) 鏡 (きょう) , *Retsujitsu Kōkyō*?) - The user unleashes two consecutive horizontal arcing slashes around themselves to strike incoming attacks.

* **Burning Bones, Summer Sun** (灼 (しゃっ) 骨 (こつ) 炎 (えん) 陽 (よう) , *Shakkotsu En'yō*?) - The user performs a singular slash utilizing a spiraling motion which extends in front of themselves to defend from imminent frontal attacks.

* **Setting Sun Transformation** (斜 (しゃ) 陽 (よう) 転 (てん) 身 (しん) , *Shayō Tenshin*?) - The user backflips into the air before performing a singular horizontal slash which aims to decapitate the target.

* **Solar Heat Haze** (飛 (ひ) 輪 (りん) 陽 (かげ) 炎 (ろう) , *Hirin Kagerō*?) - The user rushes forth, now attempting to deliver a strike seemingly enveloped in a heat-haze, masking the true length and location of the blade to deliver an unexpected strike.

* **Beneficent Radiance** (輝 (き) 輝 (き) 恩 (おん) 光 (こう) , *Kiki Onkō*?) - The user spirals into the air whilst performing a swirling slash upwards to strike the target.

* **Sunflower Thrust** (陽 (よう) 華 (か) 突 (とつ) , *Yōkatotsu*?) - The user performs a singular thrust utilizing the tip of their blade to strike the target.

* **Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance** (日 (にち) 暈 (うん) の龍 (りゅう) ・頭 (かぶり) 舞 (ま) い, *Nichiun no Ryū Kaburimai*?) - The user assumes a high stance, before unleashing a number of consecutive slashes in a fluid motion in the form of a Japanese dragon made of solar flames. This technique is capable of decapitating multiple targets at once.

* **Fire Wheel** (火 (か) 車 (しゃ) , *Kasha*?) - The user flips into the air behind the opponent before unleashing a singular vertical slash in a circular motion to swiftly cut the target in half.

* **Fake Rainbow** (幻 (げん) 日 (にち) 虹 (こう) , *Gen'nichi Kō*?) - The user performs high-speed twists and rotations, creating afterimages that are primarily used for evading attacks. These afterimages are particularly effective against enemies with sharp vision.

* **Flame Dance** (炎 (えん) 舞 (ぶ) , *Enbu*?) - A two-strike combo which starts with a downward vertical slash leading into a horizontal slash right after.

* **Thirteenth Form** (拾 (じゅう) 参 (さん) ノ型 (かた) , *Jū San no kata*?) - The user continuously performs all twelve forms of **Sun Breathing** in repetitive succession to increase the accuracy and agility of its movements, and attacks. This form was created solely for the purpose of killing Muzan Kibutsuji, since the repetition of all twelve forms aims to destroy Muzan's twelve vital organs (seven hearts and five brains) that move freely inside his body.

### Game Exclusive Techniques

* **Cross Slash** (二 (に) 連 (れん) 袈 (け) 裟 (さ) 斬 (ぎ) り, *Nirenkesa Giri*?) - The user ignites their sword with solar flames and releases two arching flame slashes to their opponent, each individually making an "X" shaped slice.

* **Scorching Rush** (早 (はや) 駆 (が) け斬 (ぎ) り, *Hayagake Giri*?) - The user rushes forward with a flaming sword and performs a 5-move combo as follows: a low-ended strike from the left, a low-ended strike from the right that lifts the user off the ground briefly, a spinning wave attack, a powerful forwards upward slash and finally an overhead downward slash.

* **Phoenix Flash** (瞬 (しゅん) 転 (てん) 斬 (ぎ) り, *Shunten Giri*?) - The user disappears in a flash of fire, before reappearing from fire in mid-air either upright, where they perform a massive overhead circular slash, or upside-down where they perform an angled 360° sword slash.

## Demonstrations

* Anime
* Manga

## Trivia

* The passing of Sun Breathing as a Kagura draws heavily from Shintō mythology. In Japanese folklore, famous tales in volumes of the "Nihon Shoki" (日 (に) 本 (ほん) 書 (しょ) 紀 (き) , ***"Nihon Shoki"***?) and "Kojiki/Furukotofumi" (故 (こ) 事 (じ) 記 (き) , ***"Kojiki/Furukotofumi"***?) explain that the Kagura ritual originates when Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, retreated into a cave, plunging the world into darkness. In response, Ame-no-Uzume, the goddess of revelry and dawn, danced outside the cave to entice the sun goddess out. From these events, the Kagura was born, a ritualistic dance that honors Kami (Gods and ancestral spirits). Likewise, Sun Breathing was disguised as a Kagura and passed down as the **Hinokami Kagura**.
* The term and technique **Fire Wheel** (火 (か) 車 (しゃ) , *Kasha*?) is in fact an inspiration from the classic yōkai Kasha, literally meaning "Burning Chariot". Kasha are demonic beings with the head of a cat or tiger, the body of a man, and fiery tails. They ride on burning chariots around the world, snatching up the bodies of the recently deceased of those who have made heinous sins and take them to hell.
* It is implied that the reason **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*?) is because its pronunciation is exactly the same as **Sun Breathing** (日 (ひ) の呼 (こ) 吸 (きゅう) , *Hi no kokyū*?).
* After Tanjiro had witnessed Yoriichi perform all twelve Sun Breathing forms through Sumiyoshi's memories, he noted his own current Hinokami Kagura forms contained wasted movements, and then proceeded to fix those movements once he resumed his battle with Muzan Kibutsuji. Only thereafter does Tanjiro begin referring to his Breathing Style as "Sun Breathing" instead of "Hinokami Kagura."
* According to the second databook, the Kamado Family has preserved the Hinokami Kagura as a ceremonial practice all the way to present times. Tanjiro's great-great-grandchildren, Sumihiko and Kanata, are practitioners of it.
* In *Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles*, the Entertainment District variant of Tanjiro uses **Fake Rainbow** as his parry.

## References

1. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 151 (Page 3).
2. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 40 (Page 4).
3. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 178 (Page 7).
4. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 192 (Pages 1-15).
5. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga and Anime: Chapter 40 (Page 6) and Episode 19.
6. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 125 (Page 21).
7. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 61 (Page 23).
8. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga and Anime: Chapter 77 (Page 14) and Episode 38.
9. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 81 (Page 16).
10. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 152 (Pages 22-23).
11. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 149 (Page 11).
12. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 191 (Page 18).
13. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 106 (Pages 9-10).
14. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 139 (Page 14).
15. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 113 (Pages 8-9).
16. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga and Anime: Chapter 147 (Page 9) and Episode 38.
17. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga and Anime: Chapter 77 (Page 18) and Episode 38.
18. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 77 (Page 18).
19. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga and Anime: Chapter 77 (Page 16) and Episode 38.
20. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 193.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Game: *The Hinokami Chronicles*.
22. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 77 (Page 16).