Yoriichi Tsugikuni was one of the main protagonists in the manga series known as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, which lasted from 2016-2020.
He also had some minor mentions in the 2019 anime adaptation. For the uninitiated, Yoriichi is by far the most powerful and skilled demon slayer in all of the manga/anime series and we are here to tell you all about him and his powers.
MyAnimeGuru brings you an article on Yoriichi Demon Slayer and all of his various powers and abilities. In this article, we will talk about Yoriichi’s character, early life, powers, abilities, and more. So, keep on reading to find out more about the infamous Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
Who is Yoriichi Tsugikuni in Demon Slayer?
| Name | Yoriichi Tsugikuni |
| Age | 85 |
| Height | 190 cm |
| Weight | 93 KG |
| Gender | Male |
| Status | Deceased |
| Occupation | Demon Slayer |
| Breathing Style | Sun Breathing |
Yoriich was a member of the demon slayer corps and he was also the inventor of the Sun Breathing style from which all the other breathing styles in demon slayer are derived.
This includes water, moon, flame, thunder, stone, and wind. Yoriichi was a gifted individual with the strength, speed, agility, and prowess over breathing techniques that far surpassed even the most vicious and dangerous demons during that time.
He is also the person who defeated Muzan Kibutsuji with a single strike, overpowering him completely. Muzan was barely able to escape this, however, it did leave scars on his body that lasted for hundreds of years.
Related:
Demon Slayer: Every Main Character Age, Height, & Birthdays
Yoriichi Demon Slayer Early Life
To say that Yoriichi had a troublesome childhood would be a gross understatement. Let’s start from the very beginning.
When Yoriichi was born as the younger twin to his brother Michikatsu, their father decided that he would kill Yoriichi since he had an ‘unlucky’ birthmark on his head.
Moreover, these twins were born during the middle of the Sengoku period during which twins were considered to be a bad omen that did nothing but add fuel to the flame.
However, Yoriichi’s mother intervened and saved the boy from certain death at the hands of his own father. It was then decided that Yoriichi would live in a temple as a monk until he turned ten.
Throughout his early life, he lived pretty differently from his older brother, he lived in a smaller house, ate poorer food and in general his quality of life was vastly different from that of his brother.
Despite his father’s remark that the mark on his forehead was unlucky, on the contrary, it granted him physical prowess beyond comparison and also gave him the ability to see other people and things with a sort of transparency that could only be described as an extrasensory perception.
Yoriichi remained quiet and didn’t utter a single word till he was seven, when he broke his silence he did it to announce that he too wanted to be a samurai like his older brother. Michikatsu was quick to dismiss this remark as he used to pity Yoriichi and didn’t think that he was capable of doing it.
One of the men who was training Michikatsu decided to humor Yoriichi and showed him a basic stance. To everyone’s surprise, Yoriichi leaped into the stance with the practiced ease of someone who’s done it countless times and landed multiple blows against the man.
This shocked his brother the most because despite all of his training he wasn’t able to land a single blow.
Yoriichi’s personality
Yoriichi had a very nonchalant and subtle personality, he was a stoic and serious person who never lost control and let his feelings get the better of him. Despite his tremendous power, he was extremely humble and considered himself to be equal to every other human being.
There is only one mention of Yoriichi displaying rampant emotions, it was when his wife and unborn child were killed by a demon.
Yoriichi’s Demon Slayer Powers & Abilities
We know this is the part everyone must be looking for, but worry not, we’re going to cover all of his powers and abilities in detail so you won’t miss a thing.
Yoriichi’s Birth Mark: The very mark due to which he was about to be killed is one of his main sources of power. Also known as the Demon Slayer mark, this mark can also be seen emerging on the forehead of Tanjiro Kamado when he’s fighting.
This mark granted him power and abilities that were beyond what any normal demon slayer could achieve even after years of practice.
Red Nichirin Sword: Yoriichi was the only demon slayer with the ability to consciously change the color of his Nichirin sword to a bright red color.
This is not only for theatrics but this blade dampened the regenerative abilities of demons when they were cut with it. His sword was the only one that was able to scar Muzan for centuries.
Transparent World: Another ability granted by his demon slayer mark, using transparent world Yoriichi was able to see the world like an X-ray machine. He could see the blood flow, muscle, and joint movements of his opponents as if he was seeing through their bodies.
What is the Sun Breathing Technique?
The sun breathing technique was pioneered and perfected by Yoriichi and to date is the strongest breathing technique there is. However, this technique was long lost and only passed down to the Kamado family renamed the Hinokami Kagura.
It was Rengoku who revealed to Tanjiro Kamado that the Hinokami Kagura is the long-lost sun breathing technique.
This breathing style is very different as it doesn’t have any set movements and is extremely varied. Which, in turn, makes it unpredictable and almost impossible to dodge any attacks that stem from it. In total, there are twelve forms of this technique.
- Clear blue sky: This technique released a 360-degree slash when Yoriichi twist and turns his body in a circular motion.
- Dance: This technique involves a single vertical slash.
- Raging sun: This is a defensive technique in which Yoriichi releases two arcing slashes to protect himself from any oncoming attacks.
- Burning bones, summer sun: This is also a defensive technique in which Yoriichi spins his upper body in a circular motion which released a spiraling slash that prevents frontal attacks.
- Setting sun transformation: This technique involves Yoriichi jumping and doing a backflip while delivering a single slash that will decapitate his opponent.
- Solar heat maze: In this technique, Yoriichi is engulfed in a ball of heat and he rushes toward his opponent to deliver a single unpredictable strike.
- Beneficient Radiance: In this Yoriichi spirals up into the air and delivers swirling slashes on his target.
- Sunflower thrust: In this technique, Yoriichi rushes toward his opponent to deliver a single thrust using the tip of his blade.
- Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance: This technique is a barrage of frontal slashes that are very much capable of decapitating his opponents entirely.
- Fire Wheel: During this technique, Yoriichi would flip behind his opponent into the air and deliver a single vertical slash, powerful enough to cut his opponent in half.
- Fake rainbow: This technique is used to create illusions to confuse the enemy by creating after images using high-speed twists of the body.
- Flame Dance: This a combo technique that utilizes both a vertical and then a horizontal slash.
Thirteenth Form: The thirteenth form was designed solely to defeat Muzan by doing all twelve techniques in rapid succession to increase their power and accuracy. This was done to damage the twelve vital organs inside Muzan’s body which moved about freely.
Final Words
Yoriichi Tsugikuni is one of the most important characters in Demon Slayer, and his strength, speed, agility, and outlook on life were second to none. He is truly the epitome of what every demon slayer wishes to be.
That’s about it folks, we hope you liked this article on the legendary demon slayer Yoriichi. Be sure to check out other articles like this if you had a fun read.
Was Yoriichi the most powerful demon slayer?
Yes, he was indeed the most powerful demon slayer and even feared by Muzan himself.
What is the transparent world technique?
This technique allows users to have unparalleled clarity of the world around them. It also allowed Yoriichi to view his opponent’s blood flow, breath, and movement of joints.
Has anyone else mastered the Sun breathing technique?
Only Tanjiro Kamado can use the sun breathing technique after Yoriichi.
A bit of a correction along with Tanjiro and Yoriichi the entire Kamado family was able to perform Hinokami Kagura. During the fight with Rui, we saw Tanjiro recalling the time when his father used to perform Hinokami Kagura and it was because of it Tanjiro was able to use Sun Breathing and As seen in the final battle arc Tanjiro himself claimed he was nowhere near as Yoriichi or his Father Tanjuro Kamado when it comes to Sun Breathing
I have shared a detailed info related to the 4 known users of Sun Breathing here
I wanted to point out something. Tanjiro’s father, Tanjuro Kamado also mastered the Sun Breathing technique, the only difference is that he called it “Hinokami Kagura”.
Thank you.
Yes, I have shared detailed information related to the 4 known users of Sun Breathing here.