みなさん、おはこんばんちは！In today’s article, I am going to talk about all the Flame Breathing forms that appeared in Demon Slayer (鬼滅の刃 Kimetsu No Yaiba)! By the time you finish reading this article, you will have understood…
🔹How each form is called in English and in original Japanese
🔹What kanji is used in the name of each form
🔹The meaning of the kanji characters used, and how you can use them in other contexts
First Form : Unknowing Fire
First form of Flame Breathing is called Unknowing Fire. In Japanese, this is
不知火
shiranui
This is a technique where the user launches forward to get within the reach of the opponent and performs a high speed horizontal slash.
Breathing down the kanji in this form…
不 – Reading: ふ / Meaning: Not
This kanji is used as a prefix. Examples include 不便 (fuben : inconvenience), 不可能 (fukanou : impossible), 不自然(fushizen : unnatural)
知 – Reading: ち、し / Meaning: Know
This kanji is mostly used as part of the verb 知ります・知る (shirimasu・shiru : to know)
火 –Reading: ひ、か / Meaning: Fire
Common words that have this kanji include 火曜日 (kayoubi : Tuesday), 火事 (kaji : conflagration), and 火星 (kasei : Mars)
不知火 is an example of what is called 熟字訓 (jukujikun), which is a reading assigned to a kanji compound by its meaning. Therefore, the reading of the word「不知火」as a whole is shiranui, and the reading of this word is not made up by combining the reading of individual kanji character.
不知火 is actually an existing expression in Japan. It refers to a mirage observed on Yashiro Sea in Kyūshū: Lights from fishing boats gets refracted on the horizon.
Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun
Second form of Flame Breathing is called Rising Scorching Sun. In Japanese, this is
昇り炎天
nobori en ten
This is an upward arching slash.
Breathing down the kanji in this form…
昇 – Reading: のぼ、しょう / Meaning: Ascend
This is used for the verb 昇ります・昇る. 「のぼる」 can be written in different kanji characters (登る or 上る) but 「昇る」is used for something that can ascend as a natural process such as the sun.
炎 – Reading: ほのお、えん / Meaning: Flame
This is the kanji character for this breathing style! The Flame Hashira in Japanese is actually 炎柱 (en bashira). Interestingly, 炎上 (en jou) can mean either ‘going up in flames’ or ‘stirring up a storm of criticism online’. The unusual reading of 炎 is ほむら, and this is a theme song of the Demon Slayer movie.
天 – Reading: あま、てん / Meaning: Heaven, Sky
This kanji is often used when referring to something about the sky, such as 天気 (tenki : weatehr), 天候 (tenkou: climate). This is also used when referring to something about heaven. For example, 天国 (tengoku) or 天使 (tenshi: angel)
Third Form: Blazing Universe
Third form of Flame Breathing is called Blazing Universe. In Japanese, this is
気炎万象
kienbanshou
This is an downward arching slash. This technique did not appear in the original manga series, however it was added in the battle to Azaka in the Mugen Train movie.
気 – Reading: き/ Meaning: Energy
This kanji refers to ‘energy’ or ‘spirit’. You can find 「気」in various idiomatic expressions such as 「気を付ける」(ki o tsukeru: to pay attention) ,「気が合う」(ki ga au: to get along well)「気が小さい」(ki ga chiisai: chicken-hearted),「気が散る」(to get distracted).
万 – Reading: まん/ Meaning: Ten thousand
Most commonly, you see this kanji as a number unit that means 10,000. 一万 is 10,000. Remember, you don’t need to say 一十 or 一百 for ten and one hundred, but simply say 十 or 百. For one thousand, you can either say 一千 or 千, but for ten thousand, you must say 一万 and not just 万.
象 – Reading: ぞう・しょう / Meaning: Elephant ・Phenomenon
When this kanji is on it’s own, it means ‘elephant’, but when this kanji is used in compounds, it can mean various things. Examples include 「現象」(gen shou: phenomenon),「対象」(tai shou: target), 「象徴」(shou chou: symbol).
Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation
Fourth form of Flame Breathing is called Blooming Flame Undulation. In Japanese, this is
盛炎のうねり
sei en no uneri
This can be either defensive or offensive technique. The user swings his sword in a circular motion to defend incoming attacks or to attack multiple enemies at once.
盛 – Reading: せい・も / Meaning: Pile, Prosperous
This kanji is used in the verb 「盛る・盛ります」. It is often used in an expression 「盛り上げる」(moriageru: to liven up).
Fifth Form: Flame Tiger
Fifth form of Flame Breathing is called Flame Tiger. In Japanese, this is
炎虎
enko
The user performs a slash that takes a form of a rampaging flame tiger. This is like a flame and tiger version of the tenth form of Water Breathing, 生生流転 (sei sei ruten / Constant Flux).
虎 – Reading: とら・こ / Meaning: Tiger
You see this kanji mostly used on it’s own. There is a common expression: 虎の威を借る狐 (tora no i o karu kitsune), which translates to ‘a fox that borrows the authority of a tiger’. This expression refers to a person acts arrogantly under borrowed authority.
Ninth Form: Rengoku
Ninth form of Flame Breathing is called Rengoku. In Japanese, this is
煉獄
rengoku
Fire Breathing forms only exists up to Eighth Form. This form is a personal creation of the current Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyojuro. This is a powerful dashing slash Rengoku uses to cut a large area accurately.
煉 –Reading: れん / Meaning: Refine metal
This kanji is not listed in 常用漢字 (jouyou kanji), therefore, you normally don’t see this kanji being used. You see a similar kanji 「練」in compounds such as 練習 (ren shū: practice)、試練 (shi ren: trial)、洗練 (sen ren: polish)
獄 – Reading: ごく / Meaning: Prison
煉獄 (rengoku) actually is a Japanese word ‘purgatory’. This kanji is also used for 地獄 (jigoku), which means ‘hell’
Summary – まとめ
In summary, this article covered all the Flame Breathing forms appeared inDemon Slayer (鬼滅の刃 Kimetsu No Yaiba). You should now have a better understanding of…
🔹How each form is called in English and in original Japanese
🔹What kanji is used in the name of each form
🔹The meaning of the kanji characters used, and how you can use them in other contexts
ありがとうございました！See you next time!
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