Highlights
- Gyomei Himejima commands respect as the strongest Hashira with a tragic past that shaped him into a kind man.
- Born blind, Gyomei protected orphans from Demons, but tragedy struck when one child betrayed them.
- Despite imprisonment and false accusations, Gyomei rose to become the Stone Hashira and a key player in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Demon Slayer is a story that is filled to the brim with sympathetic characters. Almost all the heroes find solace in each other due to their understanding of one another’s suffering, as they all have at least one tragedy that has befallen them in their lives. Despite this, however, they persevere to fight against those who took everything from them. One of the best examples of this is the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima.
Gyomei has left quite an indelible mark on the Demon Slayer story. As the strongest Hashira both in terms of physicality and skill as a fighter, he commands tremendous respect within the Corps with his stern but gentle personality. However, this is also emblematic of his tragic past, which has shaped him into the kind man he is today, so let’s take a look at how he got his beginning as a Demon Slayer.
The Tragic Tale Of The Stone Hashira
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First Appearance |
Demon Slayer, Episode 21, “Against Corps Rules” |
|---|---|
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Debut Date |
August 24, 2019 |
Born to the Himejima Clan on Mount Hinode, Gyomei was a hulking and powerful figure who stood as a beacon of strength in the Demon Slayer Corps. However, his journey to realizing his power was an incredibly difficult one. Firstly, he was born blind and has been unable to use his sense of sight for his entire life, which makes his occupation of someone who kills Demons an even more impressive one.
When he was a teenager, Gyomei lived in a temple with nine children whom he loved deeply as his own, despite them all being orphans. Though this life was poor, it was a happy one, since he essentially raised the children and they thought of him as an older brother who loved them. However, due to the lack of food, Gyomei would barely get any sustenance because he would distribute his share to the children, due to which he grew up very skinny and weak.
We are proud to live and die as human beings.
Since the temple where they all lived was notorious for having a lot of Demons around, Gyomei lit Wisteria Incense every night to draw them off the scent of everyone in the temple. However, one night, one of the children traveled beyond the grounds despite Gyomei’s rules forbidding anyone to do so, and during this journey, he encountered a Demon. In an effort to save his own life, the child betrayed the location of the others and put out the Wisteria Incense, allowing the Demon upon the temple grounds.
A Demon Slayer Born Out of Tragedy:
After the child put out the Wisteria, the Demon attacked the temple and immediately killed 4 other children. The remaining children tried to leave the temple in the commotion despite Gyomei’s orders to stay within its borders, which led to their deaths as well. At the end of it all, only one girl named Sayo remained alive, who Gyomei protected with his life by keeping her behind him at all costs.
Though Gyomei suspected that his blindness and weak stature made the remaining children lose trust in his ability to protect them, he was determined to protect Sayo, no matter what. As the Demon finally made its appearance, the future Stone Hashira was consumed by fury and found an innate strength within himself that even he didn’t know he had, battering the Demon for hours. Gyomei repeatedly beat the Demon’s head until the sun came up, burning its body for good.
However, once a rescue team arrived, they asked the young Sayo what happened. Although Sayo stated that the Demon killed everyone, her words seemed to imply that it was Gyomei who was guilty of the crime, which led to his imprisonment. However, it was here that Kagaya Ubuyashiki made an appearance and recruited Gyomei into the Corps after realizing he was not the one at fault.
The Strongest Hashira
Upon his recruitment into the Demon Slayer Corps, Gyomei made quite a name for himself as he became the Stone Hashira in only 2 months. He was the one charged with hunting the Demon that killed Kanae and Shinobu’s parents, after which the sisters would stay with him and eventually, would also join the Corps after being trained by him.
Gyomei was one of the most important people in the entirety of the Infinity Castle arc, where only due to his and Sanemi’s strength were they able to kill the most powerful Demon after Muzan himself; Upper Moon Rank 1, Kokushibo. Even after this grueling battle, he managed to save some strength in the final battle against Muzan, after which the Stone Hashira perished, surrounded by the souls of the children who loved him.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime.
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