All Thunder Breathing Forms Explained – What Is The Secret of Zenitsu’s Techniques?

Welcome to Sakura Neko’s Japanese Study Room, where you can learn Japanese from anime quotes! Today’s topic is Demon Slayer (鬼滅の刃 / Kimetsu No Yaiba).

We will look at all Thunder Breathing forms (雷かみなりの呼吸こきゅう Kaminari No Kokyū). By the time you finish reading this article, you will have understood…

✅ Characters that useThunder Breathing

✅ How each form is called both in Japanese and in English

✅What kanji is used

✅The meaning of kanji characters used, and how you can use them in other contexts

Who Uses Thunder Breathing?

There are 3 characters who use Thunder Breathing inDemon Slayer (鬼滅の刃 / Kimetsu No Yaiba).

我妻善逸あがつまぜんいつ (Agatsuma Zenitsu)

Here is some information about 善逸ぜんいつ (Zenitsu)

• In Japanese, his name is written as ぜんいつ (ze n i tsu). As ん and い are two different sounds they must be sounded out separately (cannot be pronounced as に (ni)). So, in English, his name is often spelled as Zen’itsu.
• He is a supporting character and a travel companion of Tanjiro
• Normally, he acts annoyingly cowardly but shows his actual combat strength while sleeping
• He can only uses First form of Thunder Breathing, but he hones it into ‘sixfold’, ‘eightfold’ and ‘god-speed’ through battles. 
• He creates Seventh form and with it, beats Upper Rank 6 Demon and his ex senior fellow disciple, Kaigaku.

獪岳かいがく (Kaigaku)

Here is some information about 獪岳かいがく (Kaigaku)

• He was an orphan and used to live in a temple with Himejima and other kids before Himejima became Stone Hashira. Kaigaku was chased away from the temple as other kids found out he stole money.
• Kaigaku was a former member of Demon Slayer Corp
• Kaigaku turned into a demon after encountering Upper Rank 1, 黒死牟こくしぼう (Kokushibō), overwhelmed by the Upper Rank’s immense power. 
• He can use all forms of Thunder Breathing Techniques except First Form (and Seventh Form, which is Zen’itsu’s original creation).

桑島くわじま治五郎じごろう (Kuwajima Jigorō)

Here is some information about桑島治五郎くわじまじごろう (Kuwajima Jigorō)

• He was the former Thunder Hashira and the trainor of Zen’itsu and Kaigaku.
• He committed seppuku after hearing that his former protege, Kaigaku turned into a demon.

First Form / 壱ノ型 Ichi No Kata

雷の呼吸 壱ノ型いちのかた is 霹靂一閃へきれきいっせん (Hekireki Issen) and in English it’s called Thunderclap and Flash.

霹靂 (hekireki) refers to thunderclap.

一閃 (issen) means ‘one flash’.

When Japanese people hear the word霹靂 (hekireki), normally they imagine the idiom 「晴天せいてんの霹靂 (seiten no hekireki) 」. 晴天 refers to a clear sky, so this phrase means ‘a bolt out of the blue / a totally unexpected thing’. Therefore,壱ノ型 is the only form in雷の呼吸 that is associated with the sun, which creates a contrast between Good (善逸ぜんいつ, the user of this form) and Evil (獪岳かいがく, the user of all other forms).

霹靂一閃 (Hekireki Issen) is a 抜刀術ばっとうじゅつ (Battōjutsu) in that the user leans forward his upper body while still keeping his katana in the sheath, dashes forward at blinding speed as he unleashes his katana and slashes the opponent’s head. 

六連ろくれん and 八連はちれん are extensions of this technique where the user performs the first form six times or height times in succession.

神速しんそく is also an extension of the first form where the user greatly augments the speed and then performs霹靂一閃 (Hekireki Issen).

Second Form / 弐ノ型 Ni No Kata

善逸ぜんいつ is unable to use any Thunder Breathing forms but First Form, but we see 獪岳かいがく use this form in manga.

雷の呼吸弐ノ型にのかた is 稲魂いなだま (Inadama / Rice Spirit)

While 稲いな on it’s own refers to ‘rice’, it is the first kanji used in the word 稲妻 (lightning). In old days, they observed lots of lightnings during rice farming seasons, so 稲 (Ina / Rice) and 妻つま (Tsuma / Wife) make up the word 稲妻いなずま (Inazuma / Lightning).

When performing this form, the user releases five arched slashes with lightning effects in quick succession.

Third Form / 参ノ型 San No Kata

雷の呼吸参ノ型ざんのかた is 聚蚊成雷しゅうぶんせんらい (Shūbun Seirai / Thunder Swarm). The user releases slashes with lightning effects from all directions while spinning.

Fourth Form / 肆ノ型 Shi No Kata

雷の呼吸肆ノ型しのかた is 遠雷えんらい (Enrai / Distant Thunder). The user creates an electric ball that releases slashes in all directions afar.

Fifth Form / 伍ノ型 Go No Kata

雷の呼吸伍ノ型ごのかた is 熱界雷ねつかいらい (Netsu Kai Rai / Heat Lightning). The user performs long-ranged upward slashes with lightning effects.

Sixth Form / 陸ノ型 Roku No Kata

雷の呼吸陸ノ型ろくのかた is 電轟雷轟でんごうらいごう (Den Gō Rai Gō / Rumble and Flash). The user releases long-ranged slashes in various directions afar with lightning effects.

Seventh Form / 漆ノ型 Shichi No Kata

雷の呼吸漆ノ型しちのかた is 火雷神ほのいかずちのかみ Honoikazuchi No Kami / Flaming Thunder God. This is 善逸ぜんいつ‘s personal creation and is a variation of First Form. The user dashes forward with a lightning dragon effect at a blinding speed, andunleashes his katana and slashes the opponent’s head.

火雷神 is one of 8 gods that were created by 伊弉冉尊いざなみのみこと (Izanami No Mikoto) in Japanese Mythology. 火雷神 rules fire and thunder.

まとめ – Summary

This article explained all the Thunder Breathing forms! If you have any suggestions about what I should write about, please leave comments.

I hope you found this article helpful! じゃ、さようなら！