Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba refuses to end any time soon. It’ll be back in 2020 with the Demon Train Arc film and recently overtook One Piece and Shingeki no Kyojin as the top-selling manga in Japan. Demon Slayer has managed this unprecedented success despite the fact that the manga started only 3 years ago.
One of the elements of the show that sparks intrigue is the earrings that Tanjiro wears. Flashbacks have proven that his father wears them and Muzan’s fear of them clearly aligns its existence within a historical context. In this article, I’ll address what Tanjiro’s earrings are and it’s meaning.
1. What are Tanjiro’s Earrings?
Tanjiro’s Earrings are Hanafuda earrings that have traditionally been passed down through generations. The earrings have been sported by Tanjiro’s father Tanjuro and the first Breath of the Sun user in history, Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
It has been established that there is a connection between Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Tanjiro’s ancestor from the Sengoku Era – Sumiyoshi. None of the female members of the family are seen wearing these earrings but the reason for this can be understood as the lack of female Breath style users in the past or any reveal of female users by the author.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni’s older brother Michikatsu Tsugikuni did not wear these earrings. Nor do Michikatsu’s descendants – the Tokito family. The Tokito family practice the Breath of the Mist derived from the Breath of the Moon, that was first devised by Michikatsu Tsugikuni.
It is safe to assume that the inheritors of the Breath of the Sun style are handed these earrings as a secret mark of the clan. Although this has not been officially confirmed in the manga it is true that the Kamado Family and Yoriichi Tsugikuni have an important history unbeknownst to us.
The absence of a successor in Yoriichi’s life was also established in the manga. From Tanjiro’s flashback, it is seen that his father urges him to make sure that the Hinokami Kagura Dance (Dance of the Fire God) and the Hanafuda earrings are passed down. This further emphasizes the significance of the earrings and deepens its mystery.
Muzan even associates the earrings to something life-threatening as he sends two of his demon subordinates after Tanjiro. The earrings remind him of an encounter with a powerful demon Slayer that ingrained his fear of anyone associated with him. Interestingly, the man also has red hair like Tanjiro.
The direction of the story and the hints provided in the manga point toward the strong link between the Hanafuda earrings and the Breath of the Sun Users. The ambiguity surrounding the earrings are a heavy indicator that knowledge about it has been kept under wraps like the Breath of the Sun.
2. Design of the Earrings
The earrings look similar to paper talismans. It has a red circle in the top with several lines extending from the circle in different directions – taking the shape of a flower. Below these lines is a large grey semi-circle. The earrings also look like the sun with its rays extending from it but upon closer examination, the possibilities tilt more toward a flower.
It is interesting to note that the earrings have been altered in the Chinese streaming of the anime due to the similarity of the earrings’ design to that of the rising sun flag that has negative connotations and is unanimously associated with Japanese imperialism.
3. Hanafuda Earrings – Meaning
Even though we know that Tanjiro’s Earrings are called Hanafuda. To provide some greater clarity to this mystery, we can try to understand what Hanafuda actually means. Hanafuda are playing cards of Japanese origins similar to the Western-style playing cards such as Jack, King, Queen. These cards are used in a number of games.
The name “Hanafuda” denotes flower cards. It is also used to refer to games played with cards. The Hanafuda cards’ history can be traced back to the Tokugawa Shogunate when Catholic missionaries began entering Japan.
Playing cards brought in by them led to the popularity of playing cards in Japan and the impending gambling problems that came with it. Currently, Nintendo produces these cards in Japan that are widely used for games such as Koi-Koi and remains symbolic of the company’s history.
4. About Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotoge. Its publication in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump began in February 2016 and ended in May 2020 with 23 collected tankōbon volumes.
In a world filled with demons and demon slayers, Kimetsu no Yaiba follows the lives of two siblings Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado after— the murder of their family at the hands of a demon. Their hardship does not end there, as Nezuko’s life is spared only for her to live as a demon.
As the oldest sibling, Tanjiro vows to protect and cure his sister. The story traces the bond of this brother-sister or better yet, demon slayer and demon combo against the odds of an arch antagonist and the society.
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