‘Demon Slayer’: Is Kokushibo Tanjiro’s Father? How Are They Related?

The family trees of Demon Slayer characters are somewhat complex and intricate. And while those who’ve read the manga have it easier as they can connect all the dots, those who’ve just seen the anime series might have some trouble grasping who is related to whom in this great anime series. As far as the characters’ families are concerned, Tanjiro Kamado is one of the most often talked-about characters, as fans have often commented on the similarities between him and Yoriichi. But, while we know that Yoriichi is not Tanjiro’s father, could it be Kokushibo? Could Tanjiro indeed be related to the Tsugikuni family? We shall explore that in this article.

No, Kokushibo is not Tanjiro’s father. In fact, he is not related to Tanjiro at all. Since Tanjiro has absolutely no blood relation to Yoriichi, he can’t be related to Kokusibo as well. Tanjiro’s father is known as the late Tanjuro Kamado, and the Kamado family is not related to the Tsugikuni family. On the other hand, Kokushibo is an ancestor of Muichito Tokito, the Mist Hashira.

The rest of this article will explain the exact relation between Kokushibo and the Kamado family, i.e., Tanjiro Kamado. You’re going to find out some historical details about the characters, the history of Tanjiro’s family and how Sumiyoshi is related to Yoriichi, and why they both profoundly influenced all future events related to the Demon Slayer narrative, but also why Tanjiro is not related to Kokushibo in any way. The article might contain some mild spoilers, so we just wanted to inform you.

Tanjiro has a strong connection to Yoriichi, but he is not related to him, which means that he is not related to Kokushibo either

In order to fully and properly explain this answer, we first have to explore the family histories of both Tanjiro and Kokushibo.

As fans of the series know, Kokushibo was actually born under the name Michikatsu Tsugikuni, and he was the twin brother of Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Twins were regarded as a particularly bad omen during the Sengoku period when Yoriichi and his twin brother Michikatsu were born into the Tsugikuni clan.

Yoriichi’s father threatened to kill him because of a peculiar birthmark on his son’s forehead, but their mother, Akeno, became enraged and detained him. It was ultimately decided that Yoriichi would be sent to a temple at the age of ten to become a monk.

When their mother passed away when Yoriichi was ten years old, Yoriichi visited Michikatsu and told him that he was leaving the family as was arranged. He thanked his brother, told him that he would always keep thinking of him, and took a small wooden flute Michikatsu had given him earlier as a memory.

He then left; Michikatsu would later find out, through his mother’s diary, that Yoriichi knew all about their mother’s illness and that he helped her, but also that he knew that their father planned on making Yoriichi his heir and sending Michikatsu to a temple, which is why he ran away to spare him. Despite these acts of kindness, Michikatsu still hated and envied Yoriichi, and that would prove to be a stepping stone in their relationship later on.

In the meantime, Michikatsu, before becoming a Demon Slayer, had a wife and two children, and he was a samurai. One day, a Demon attacked his camp and killed everyone but he, but the problem was this – Yoriichi came and killed the Demon, thus saving his brother’s life.

Instead of being grateful, Michikatsu was furious with his brother, and in order to surpass him, he left his family and became a Demon Slayer and, soon, the Moon Hashira. Now, Michikatsu would soon betray the Corps and become the Demon Kokushibo, while his family would later become the Tokito family, establishing a family tie between Kokushibo and the Mist Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.

As far as Tanjiro’s family is concerned, we all know about the tragedy that struck the Kamado family at the beginning of the series. That tragedy left Tanjiro and Nezuko as the only survivors of the family, while the rest of them (their mother and their siblings) were killed by Muzan.

Tanjiro’s father, Tanjuro Kamado, had already been dead at the time, as he was a sick and frail man who died from a disease before the series’ plot began. He was a caring person, and Tanjiro loved him very much, which is why he has fond memories of him while he was alive.

So, we know that Tanjiro’s father was not Kokushibo, but wasn’t Tanjuro related to Yoriichi? No, he was not. How? The answer to this question lies in the story of a character named Sumiyoshi.

The Demon Slayer franchise fans will be aware that Yoriichi Tsugikuni thought of Sumiyoshi as his sole genuine friend. Yoriichi visited Sumiyoshi after being exiled to enjoy his and his family’s company and because he needed someone to talk to. Yoriichi became upset as he considered the calamities that had befallen him and voiced regret for leaving Muzan alive when they first met and the many deaths that would occur.

He was also concerned with the fate of his brother, Michikatsu, who was – by his own free will – turned into the ruthless Demon Kokushibo by none other than Muzan Kibutsuji himself, as we have said above.

After being expelled, Yoriichi visited Sumiyoshi and his family and had a very pleasant chat with them. He ultimately left him, and it is implied that the two of them never saw each other again, as Yoriichi lived in seclusion as a lone Demon Slayer. Still, Sumiyoshi kept the memory of Yoriichi alive, and he taught his descendants the Hinokami Kagura dance, which was actually Yoriichi’s Sun Breathing.

And that is basically the gist of it. Yoriichi Tsugikuni was a friend of Tanjiro’s distant relative, Sumiyoshi, and that’s it. They were not related by blood, and if you look at it, Tanjiro actually looks like Sumiyoshi more than he looks like Yoriichi, but there are some similarities between Tanjiro and Yoriichi as well, which is why people often think that they are related.

They have very similar hair, and if you add to that the fact that Tanjiro wore Yoriichi’s earrings, received his blade at one point, and even used his special Breathing Style, it makes sense that the two of them are perceived to be similar in many ways. But no, they are not related, and from what we could actually gather, story-wise, the similarities are purely coincidental.

And this answers our question. As Tanjiro was not related to Yoriichi, there is no way he could be related to Kokushibo, as Kokushibo is Yoriichi’s twin brother. This would also mean that Tanjiro is somehow related to Muichiro Tokito, and since we know that the two of them aren’t really related, we can also confirm that there is no direct blood relation between Kokushibo and Tanjiro Kamado in Demon Slayer.