Demon Slayer: How Does Gyōmei Fight While Being Blind?

When one decides to talk about Demon Slayer, one usually talks about the demon slayers themselves or the demons. And while the series has offered us a variety of other intriguing characters, we are going to talk about one specific Demon Slayer – Gyōmei Himejima, the Stone Hashira – in this particular article. Gyōmei is a very interesting character mainly because of his powers but also because of his physical handicaps. Building on that fact, we have decided, in this article, to tell you how Gyōmei Himejima is able to fight so efficiently, despite being blind; prepare to find out about one of the most interesting characters from the Demon Slayer series.

Gyōmei Himejima was introduced as the Corps’ Stone Hashira and their most powerful member. Despite being blind, Gyōmei was able to fight efficiently, and even Kokushibō praised him. As a blind person, he ameliorated his other senses, especially his hearing, and he was, thanks to his Demon Slayer Mark, able to access the Transparent World, which allowed him to “see” his opponents naturally as if he were not blind.

This article will be the most informative guide on Gyōmei Himejima’s past and powers you’ll need. We will give you a full introduction to his story and some other related aspects of Gyōmei’s personality. We must warn you that the article will contain some spoilers, so be careful how you approach it.

Gyōmei Himejima’s blindness did not stop him from being the most powerful Hashira

Himejima was introduced to the story as the current Stone Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps and a former monk who cared for orphans. Like many other Hashira, his life was marked by a tragedy after he was falsely accused of murdering children, although he simply protected them from a Demon; after that, he became more ruthless but still caring. Due to his great compassion, he often happens to express his sorrow towards the misfortune of others and prays for them. At first, he hated Tanjirō because of Nezuko, his demon sister: however, he later recognized his worth after seeing how honest he was.

Gyōmei was a blind and frail monk who cared for nine orphans whom he cared for in a temple. Knowing how dangerous Demons could be, Gyōmei would light Wisteria Incense around the temple to drive them away. And while the children were usually obedient, one of them, Kaigaku, disobeyed the rules and traveled outside the temple, where a Demon met him.

To save himself, Kaigaku offered to lead the demon inside the temple and let it eat the remaining eight orphans and Gyōmei. Kaigaku did that by putting out the incense, after which the Demon began killing the children. Four of them were instantly killed, and while Gyōmei insisted that the others remained with him, three of them had no faith in him (as he was frail and blind), so they ran away, only to be killed by the demon. Only Sayo, the youngest one, stayed with Gyōmei.

Gyōmei eventually faced the Demon and defeated it, beating it until the sun rose. When people came, Sayo said: “That man is a monster! Everyone… he… killed everyone!” The villagers misinterpreted the boy’s words and thought he was referring to Gyōmei, not the Demon, so they arrested him and sentenced him to death. Kagaya Ubuyashiki intervened just before his execution and saved his life, which is why Gyōmei was so fiercely loyal to him. He was then accepted into the Demon Slayer Corps and, after only two months, a record, became the Stone Hashira, now much stronger and dependable than he was as a monk. So, how was Gyōmei able to do that, knowing that he was, in fact, blind?

Well, the first thing that obviously helped him was his other senses. Namely, as a blind person, Gyōmei’s other senses were more precise, especially his hearing. Similar to how Tanjirō is able to smell his enemies and their movements, Gyōmei is able to hear them, which enables him to fight effectively despite being blind. This is a very complex thing to do, but Gyōmei’s skills were truly impressive, and he was able to utilize his other senses in such a way that he became exceptionally powerful, the most powerful among the Hashira, in fact.

The other thing that helped him was his Demon Slayer Mark. Namely, Gyōmei managed to activate his Demon Slayer Mark early on, and it enabled him, in that aspect, to become stronger, but also to enter the Transparent World, which was exceptionally difficult, as only the best and most skilled Demon Slayers were able to do it. The Transparent World is a special ocular extrasensory perception ability that allows a Demon Slayer to perceive another person’s body or a Demon as being transparent, thus allowing them to see their organs and their weak spots.

Gyōmei overcame his limitations after seeing Kokushibō’s overpowering attacks and started entering the Transparent World, which allowed him to see the Upper Rank and its organs clearly while being blind. Gyōmei started using the Transparent World publicly while swinging his chain and flinging his Juzu Bead. It was utilized by the Transparent World to balance the Upper ranks and cause it to pass unnoticed.

Once more, taking advantage of the situation, he swung his flail and secretly snapped off a portion of Kokushibō’s midsection. It is revealed later that Gyōmei not only expertly employed the Transparent World to strike the higher rank but also carefully examined his eyes and controlled his own blood flow to deceive his senses and thwart his strikes.

And this is how Gyōmei was able to fight effectively despite being blind. He was an excellent fighter and could utilize his skills and other senses to his advantage, showing, thereby, just how powerful he was.