Flame Breathing

**Flame Breathing** (炎 (ほのお) の呼 (こ) 吸 (きゅう) , *Honō no kokyū*?) is one of the five main Breathing Styles directly derived from Sun Breathing.

## Overview

Flame Breathing is a Breathing Style that mimics flames and replicates it with the user's movements, techniques and abilities. Most, if not all, known techniques and forms involve extremely powerful singular strikes which 'burn' their opponents, with most attacks being initiated from a high stance. Users of Flame Breathing also visualize themselves seemingly creating and manipulating fire when unleashing its techniques.

This Breathing Style was created by one of the Demon Slayers during the Sengoku period, who was the head of the Rengoku family. Yoriichi Tsugikuni attempted to teach him and the other Demon Slayers Sun Breathing, but due to them not being as innately powerful as Yoriichi, they were instead taught an alternated personalized Breathing Style that focused on their individual strengths and weaknesses. In the case of the Rengoku ancestor, the technique evolved into Flame Breathing.

From then onwards, the Breathing Style has been passed down for generations and the Flame Hashira position was always fulfilled by someone from their lineage. Kyojuro Rengoku carried the tradition forward in the footsteps of his father and former Flame Hashira, Shinjuro Rengoku. However, after Kyojuro's death, Rengoku family's long-standing tradition of passing down the Flame Breathing technique has come to an end.

## Known Techniques

Flame Breathing has 9 techniques in total, with six known forms. Among these, the **Ninth Form: Rengoku** is an "Esoteric Art" exclusive to the Rengoku family.

* **First Form: Unknowing Fire** (壱 (いち) ノ型 (かた) 　不知火 (しらぬい) , *Ichi no kata: Shiranui*?) - The user dashes towards the target at tremendous speeds, before unleashing a singular horizontal slash directed at the targets neck for a decapitation.

* **Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun** (弐 (に) ノ型 (かた) 　昇 (のぼ) り炎 (えん) 天 (てん) , *Ni no kata: Nobori En Ten*?) - The user unleashes an arcing vertical slash in an upwards motion, often brought up from a tail guard.

* **Third Form: Blazing Universe** (参 (さん) ノ型 (かた) 　氣 (き) 炎 (えん) 万 (ばん) 象 (しょう) , *San no kata: Kien Banshō*?) - The user performs an arcing downwards vertical slash, often brought down from a high guard.

* **Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation** (肆 (し) ノ型 (かた) 　盛 (せい) 炎 (えん) のうねり, *Shi no kata: Sei En no Uneri*?) - The user performs a singular slash or multiple if needed, in a fluid circular motion to defend from incoming attacks and decapitate multiple targets.

* **Fifth Form: Flame Tiger** (伍 (ご) ノ型 (かた) 　炎 (えん) 虎 (こ) , *Go no kata: Enko*?) - The user dashes forth, bringing their blade into a high guard before performing a series of sword slashes which take the form of a flaming tiger enveloping the user.

* **Ninth Form: Rengoku** (玖 (く) ノ型 (かた) 　煉 (れん) 獄 (ごく) , *Ku no kata: Rengoku*?, lit. "Ninth Form: Purgatory") - The most powerful **Flame Breathing** technique. The user assumes a high stance before performing an extremely high-speed dash towards the target and unleashing a singular, devastating slash. The technique is powerful enough to completely carve out the ground in its wake. In the movie and anime adaptation, this technique seemingly took the form of a flaming Japanese dragon that envelopes the user as they are charging towards the target.

## Demonstrations

* Anime
* Manga

## Trivia

* 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*?).
* It is implied that **Ninth Form: Rengoku**  (玖 (く) ノ型 (かた) 　煉 (れん) 獄 (ごく) , *Ku no kata: Rengoku*?, lit. "Ninth Form: Purgatory") can only be performed by members of the Rengoku family since it was referred to as an "Esoteric Art" by Kyojuro Rengoku.
* **Third Form: Blazing Universe** (参 (さん) ノ型 (かた) 　氣 (き) 炎 (えん) 万 (ばん) 象 (しょう) , *San no kata: Kien Banshō*?) is an anime-original form, as it was never mentioned nor shown in the manga.

## References

1. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 178 (Page 7).
2. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 54 (Page 15).
3. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 63 (Page 5).
4. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Movie: Mugen Train.
5. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 63 (Page 17).
6. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 63 (Page 21).
7. ↑ *Kimetsu no Yaiba* Manga: Chapter 64 (Pages 8-9).