Jigorō Kuwajima

* Anime
* Manga

**Jigorō Kuwajima** (桑 (くわ) 島 (じま)  慈 (じ) 悟 (ご) 郎 (ろう) , *Kuwajima Jigorō*?) is the man who trained Zenitsu and Kaigaku. He was formerly the Thunder Hashira (鳴 (なり) 柱 (ばしら) , *Nari Bashira*?) in the Demon Slayer Corps.

## Appearance

Jigorō was a very short, elderly man with visible forehead wrinkles and large, slanted eyes, as well as a straight scar with even six prongs running along his right cheekbone. He had notably bushy eyebrows and a large moustache, as well as slick white hair that he wore smoothed down to puff out around the base of his head, with what would've been a fringe also swept back away from his face. Jigorō was also missing his right leg, with a wooden peg taking its place, this feature made more prominent in the anime than the manga.

Jigorō wore a jinbei kimono like the one worn by Sakonji, only with a yellow-brown base color and a pale triangle pattern in the stead of the blue and water-patterned theme Sakonji sports. He also carried a thick wooden cane with him to support his body due to age and his missing leg.

## Personality

Jigorō had a steadfast devotion to his students and strict training. Despite his status as a strong mentor and experience as a previous Hashira, he had a soft spot and unwavering dedication towards raising the next generation of students. Due to this passionate devotion, he was filled with grief after discovering that his former pupil, Kaigaku, betrayed the Demon Slayer Corps and joined the ranks of the Twelve Kizuki.

Zenitsu noted that, despite how often he whined and ran away, Jigorō never gave up on him once. He had saved Zenitsu from a lifetime of debt and taken him on as a student, and, showing unyielding patience, was happy just to see Zenitsu master the first form of his breathing technique. He had a great belief in training skills to perfect through repetition comparing it to forging and purifying the steel of their swords. This strong fatherly love for his students is further shown when he shown to be both flattered and touched by Zenitsu's declaration of his love and gratefulness for all of his efforts put into forcing Zenitsu to improve himself despite everyone else abandoning him and deeming him worthless.

## Abilities

**Overall Abilities:** As a former Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Jigorō is known to have been a very powerful and talented swordsman. His combat style was Thunder Breathing, which he was well-versed in. Throughout his active time in the organization, he faced various demons. After losing his leg in battle, he decided to abandon his position as a Hashira.

## Fighting Style

### Breathing Style

**Thunder Breathing:** It was a style that he seemed to have learned on his own. Later, he passed on his knowledge to his students. The styles he could perform were.

### Techniques

* **First Form: Thunderclap and Flash** (壱 (いち) ノ型 (かた)  霹 (へき) 靂 (れき) 一 (いっ) 閃 (せん) , *Ichi no kata: Hekireki Issen*?) - The user unsheathes their katana, dashes forward at blinding speeds and decapitates their opponent faster than they can react, before sheathing it back. This technique is extremely reminiscent of iaijutsu and its movements are described to be akin to "lightning ripping through the air".

* **Second Form: Rice Spirit** (弐 (に) ノ型 (かた)  稲 (いな) 魂 (だま) , *Ni no kata: Inadama*?) - The user releases five arched slashes accompanied by lightning in quick succession.

* **Third Form: Thunder Swarm** (参 (さん) ノ型 (かた)  聚 (しゅう) 蚊 (ぶん) 成 (せい) 雷 (らい) , *San no kata: Shūbun Seirai*?) - The user surrounds the enemy with waves of arched lightning and attacks them from all directions.

* **Fourth Form: Distant Thunder** (肆 (し) ノ型 (かた)  遠 (えん) 雷 (らい) , *Shi no kata: Enrai*?) - The user generates a ball of electricity that releases waves of strong multi-directional lightning bolts from afar.

* **Fifth Form: Heat Lightning** (伍 (ご) ノ型 (かた)  熱 (ねつ) 界 (かい) 雷 (らい) , *Go no kata: Netsu Kairai*?) - The user unleashes a long-ranged upward sword slash accompanied by lightning.

* **Sixth Form: Rumble and Flash** (陸 (ろく) ノ型 (かた)  電 (でん) 轟 (ごう) 雷 (らい) 轟 (ごう) , *Roku no kata: Dengō Raigō*?) - The user releases a series of powerful long-ranged lightning attacks that strike his opponent from afar.

## Trivia

* Jigorō's title as a Hashira was revealed to be unique, as he was not called the Thunder Hashira, instead bearing the name of the "Roaring Hashira". This title was derived from the Izumi old word for "thunder" (神鳴 (かみなり) , *kaminari*?), as in "God's Roaring", rather than the modern radical for "thunder" (雷 (かみなり) , *kaminari*?), which is used to write the current Thunder Breathing and its styles.
* Jigorō lost his right leg from the knee down in the middle of a battle when he was 35 years old, which is also the reason why he retired from being a Hashira.
* His given name contains the go-on pronunciation for "mercy, benevolent" (慈 (じ) , *ji*?), the kan-on reading for "enlightenment, realize" (悟 (ご) , *go*?), and the common male suffix of "male child, son" (郎 (ろう) , *rō*?). Meanwhile, his surname contains the kun reading for "mulberry" (桑 (くわ) , *kuwa*?) and "island" (島 (じま) , *jima*?).

## Quotes

* (About Zenitsu Agatsuma) "*That idiot disciple. I already said that you have talent that won't lose to anyone, why won’t you understand-*"
* (To Zenitsu Agatsuma) "*Compassion can make a person's heart infinitely tough. A sword that you swing for the sake of others can have power that is immense. You must become that kind of person.*"
* (To Zenitsu Agatsuma) "*Zenitsu, perfect it! It's all right to cry! It's all right to run away! Just don't ever give up! Just believe. You endured all that hellish training! You'll be rewarded for that without fail! Hone it to the utmost limit! Become the most **durable blade** of all! You must master a single thing!*"
* (To Zenitsu Agatsuma) "*Zenitsu, you are my pride and joy.*"