The past of the Pillars in Demon Slayer is tragic and sad. However, they overcame their traumas and grew into heroes who protect the community. They persistently try to prevent the tragedies they experienced from happening to others.
Demon Slayer Animanga: Kimetsu no Yaiba tells the story of the Demon Slayer Corps’ struggle to hunt down demons that eat humans. Pilar is the strongest member of the organization and although there are only nine of them, they spearhead the effort to eradicate the demons.
As it turns out, these Pillar members also had a tragic past before they joined the Demon Slayer Corps. This even became the main motivation for them to protect society.
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The Tragic Past Stories of the Pillars in Demon Slayer
9. Shinobu Kocho, The Sister Killed by the Devil
Demon Slayer Pillar Shinobu Kocho’s past involves losing his family to a demon massacre. Luckily, Shinobu and his sister, Kanae, were saved by Gyomei Himejima, a Stone Pillar.
They joined the Demon Hunter Corps and Kanae succeeded in becoming the Pillar, while Shinobu became her successor.
However, bad luck befell them again when Kanae was killed by Doma, an Upper Moon demon. This death sparked hatred in Shinobu towards the demons.
He trained hard and eventually became a Pillar. Shinobu’s main goal now is to avenge Kanae’s death by killing Doma.
8. Mitsuri Kanroji Failed to Marry Many Times Due to Her Physical Condition
Mitsuri Kanroji is a unique Pillar of Love who has created a unique breathing technique.
The Love Breathing Technique she created can only be used by individuals with physical strength that exceeds normal limits, including herself. However, this uniqueness has actually been the cause of suffering for Mitsuri in the past.
Mitsuri often fails in finding a life partner because he is often underestimated by others.
His excess physical strength, unique hair color, and incredible appetite made him shunned by the surrounding community.
However, after meeting Kagaya Ubuyashiki, Mitsuri slowly began to accept her advantages and use her powers to protect society.
7. Demon Attacks Muichiro Tokito’s Twin Brother to Death
Furthermore, the past is a pillar of fog in Demon Slayer. Before becoming a member of the Demon Hunter Corps, Muichiro Tokito had a twin brother named Yuichiro Tokito. They both lived in a cabin at the top of a mountain.
Their mother died of illness, while their father died while searching for a cure for his mother’s illness. One night, their cabin was attacked by a demon. Yuichiro was attacked to the point of losing an arm.
An angry Muichiro finally used his powers and managed to kill the demon. But unfortunately, when he returned, Yuichiro was already lifeless.
After that, Muichiro was recruited by Amane Ubuyashiki to join the Demon Hunter Corps. In addition, Muichiro also experienced amnesia which made him forget all the traumatic tragedies he experienced.
6. Obanai Iguro, Hails from a Devil Worshiping Family and Was Once a Sacrifice
It was only revealed at the end of the manga Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, that the past of Obanai Iguro, a member of the snake pillar, is very dark. He came from a demon-worshipping family and made his fortune by eating victims.
He was born to be a demon victim in order to keep his family rich. However, with incredible courage, Obanai managed to escape and was eventually saved by the Pillar of Fire, Shinjuro Rengoku.
However, as a result of his actions, the demon slaughtered Obanai’s entire family. This left only one cousin who blamed Obanai for his actions.
Feeling guilty and angry for living in a cursed family, Obanai finally decided to join the Demon Hunter Corps.
5. Tengen Uzui, Forced to Kill His Brothers
Before becoming one of the Pillars, Tengen Uzui was a shinobi from the Uzui clan. From childhood, he and his eight siblings were forced to undergo extremely strenuous and inhumane training.
They are even required to kill each other, with the aim of leaving only one person who will be the successor to the Uzui clan. Tengen himself didn’t want to kill his remaining brother, so he decided to leave the ninja village.
He later joined the Demon Slayer Corps along with his three wives. The story of Tengen Uzui’s life journey takes center stage in the second season of the Demon Slayer anime series: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Entertainment District Arc (2021).
4. Rengoku Kyojuro Endures Physical and Mental Wounds with a Smile
After his mother died of a chronic illness, Kyojuro’s father, Shinjuro Rengoku, became cruel and neglected his two children.
Kyojuro had to struggle alone to train his younger brother, Senjuro, while taking care of him. His mother’s death also dealt a heavy blow to Kyojuro. However, he always puts on a cheerful face to hide his feelings.
Kyojuro’s past story is revealed in the movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train (2020).
At the end of the movie, Kyojuro is finally reunited with his mother as she is on the brink of death. This is one of the saddest moments in the series that brought many to tears.
3. The Dark Story Behind Giyu Tomioka’s Haori Motifs
Haori is a traditional Japanese outerwear used to protect the kimono. Apparently, there are two unique Giyu motifs on this haori that have a sad story.
This haori is a combination of the haori of Giyu’s sister and her best friend, Sabito. Sabito was a classmate who died during the final selection to become a Demon Hunter for protecting Giyu from the Hand Demon.
Giyu felt inferior and felt that she was weak and unable to compete. This made Giyu feel that Sabito should still be alive.
Giyu also thinks that Sabito has extraordinary abilities and is more worthy of being a Pillar of Water than himself. Because of these feelings, Giyu always stayed away from the rest of the Pillars. However, this led to a misunderstanding and made everyone hate Giyu.
2. Sanemi Shinazugawa was forced to kill her mother who turned into a demon
Sanemi Shinazugawa, the Wind Pillar, can be said to have a very tragic past. She was forced to end the life of her own mother who had turned into a demon.
Previously, her mother had also killed Sanemi’s five siblings. When her mother tried to kill Genya, Sanemi arrived and engaged in a fierce fight with her mother who had turned into a demon.
Sanemi managed to defeat her mother after fighting all night. Genya, who didn’t understand her mother’s transformation into a demon, blamed Sanemi as the murderer.
As a result, Sanemi decided to leave Genya and go alone on her hunt for demons. One day, she met Masachika Kumeno, a Demon Hunter, who invited her to join the Demon Hunter Corps.
1. Nine of Gyomei Himejima’s Foster Children Killed by Demons
Before becoming a Pillar, Gyomei Himejima was in charge of taking care of nine children in an old temple. Since childhood, Himejima had lost his eyesight, making it difficult for him to look after all the children alone.
He always reminded the children to go inside the shrine before nightfall. He did this because the incense he burned from wisteria flowers could protect them from demon attacks.
One day, one of the children did not heed Himejima’s warning and ended up being attacked by a demon. To save his life, Himejima let the demon into the shrine.
However, this action was fatal as the demon slaughtered all the children. Despite successfully killing the demon, Himejima was eventually arrested for being the accused killer of the children.
Later, Kagaya Ubuyashiki rescued and elevated Gyomei to one of Kagaya’s trusted Demon Hunters.
