All 14 Sword Colors from Demon Slayer (& Their Meanings)
The world of Demon Slayer is truly fascinating and interesting. Although it is based on actual history, it added a supernatural element to an old Japan, where specialized “warriors” called Demon Slayers had to locate and slay human-eating demons for a job. The Demon Slayers fight using Breathing Styles, but not every Demon Slayer can use a Breathing Style.
All the others and Breathing Style users use blades (katanas) to fight against the demons. The blades are called Nichirin Blades, a Demon Slayer’s most trusted weapon. While a katana is always just a katana when it comes into contact with its user, it can change color, resulting in the “creation” of 14 unique Nichirin Blade colors. In this article, we have decided to explain the symbolism and meaning behind these colors.
Demon Slayer sword colors and their meanings
In this section, we will go through the main colors of each of the Nichirin Blades, and we will tell you what they mean.
1. White
White is the color associated with Mist Breathing, so it makes sense that Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira, had it. The attacks are based on swift movements and apparent illusions, as we can see when observing Muichito Tokito’s skills in battle. It is a relatively rare color, as we grew to understand, and it is inherently one of the more beautiful ones in the series.
2. Gray
Gray Nichirin Swords are associated with Stone Breathing, which is why Gyomei Himejima’s Nichirin Chained Flail and Axe are associated with that color. Stone Breathing focuses on sturdiness and endurance, combining them with raw power, which is why it is so powerful. The color makes a lot of sense, seeing how gray is usually associated with stones.
3. Yellow
As expected, the yellow Nichirin Blade is associated with Thunder Breathing, which makes great sense. Of course, the best-known user is Zenitsu, but his mentors, Jigoro Kuwajima and Kaigaku, probably had yellow Nichirin Blades at one point. Of course, the color is associated with a swift attacking style, and yellow blades commonly have some thunder-like patterns on them.
4. Indigo-Grey
As far as the colors are concerned, we can confirm that indigo-grey is a completely unique color that no one save for Inosuke Hashibara has. Why? Well, Beast Breathing, with which this color is associated, is wholly unique and is a creation by Inosuke himself, so no one else had it, which also means that no one else had this color.
5. Dark Pink
Two shades of pink are seen among Demon Slayers, and the darker shade is associated with Love Breathing, so it makes sense that Mitsuri Kanroji is the one who had it. Her blade was special in more ways than one, and we’re more than certain that the dark pink color is one of the more special ones.
6. Light Pink
The lighter shade of pink is associated with Flower Breathing, which fits the gentle tone of the two known users, Kanae Kocho and Kanao Tsuyuri. The blades are focused on gentle and elegant attacks, which fits the color.
7. Green
The green Nichirin Blade is associated with Wind Breathing, which is why Sanemi’s blade was green. It also has strange patterns and is associated with powerful, destructive attacks.
8. Red
As you’d expect, Flame Breathing results in the blade turning red, which is why the members of the Rengoku family had it. Although elegant, it is mostly focused and associated with powerful attacks.
9. Blue
Giyu Tomioka and Sakonji Urokodaki had a blue blade, which is associated with Water Breathing. It embodies elegance and combines it with swift and precise movements.
10. Light Purple
Light purple is associated with Kokushibo’s Moon Breathing. There is no other known wielder of a light purple blade. It is one of the most beautiful colors, and it made Kokushibo’s blade very special.
11. Amber
Associated with Sound Breathing, amber was the color of Tengen Uzui’s Nichirin Cleavers. It is associated with extreme speed and swift movements, giving Tengen a significant advantage.
12. Lavender-Blue
This color is a shade of several other colors and is associated with Shinobu’s Insect Breathing. It is befitting of her character and her appearance, and since her primary motif was a butterfly, the color also fits.
13. Lavender
Lavender is associated with Serpent Breathing, which is why Obanai Iguro’s special blade was of that color. Lavender is usually associated with specific movements and “slithering” attacks, which is how Obanai was fighting.
14. Black
The rarest color, black, is technically associated with Sun Breathing, but since Yoriichi and Tanjiro are the only known users of this style, it has been seen only twice in the series. It is said to bring bad luck to the user, but that is a myth.
What is the rarest sword color in Demon Slayer?
Regarding the rarity of the colors, readers might want to know what the rarest Nichirin Sword color is. This is a very difficult question to answer, as each blade is unique, but if we had to pick a color that will not appear very often, we’d have to go with black.
Why? Well, the swordsmiths themselves say that due to it appearing very rarely, black is a relatively unknown color and not much is known about it, and it is even said that it brings bad luck. Since the swordsmiths haven’t had time to properly analyze it, we assume that it is the rarest of colors.
Why do the swords take on different colors?
The exact mechanism has not been explained, as far as the canon is concerned, but it is known that each Nichirin Sword changes colors based on the user and the Breathing Style. It is probably because the user manages to form a special bond with the blade, so they transfer some of their energy (or essence) into the sword, which changes color accordingly. As we said, the author never properly explained how and why, but it does fit the lore well.
Have all of the sword colors been identified?
Well, based on the fact that we know that the Nichirin Swords change color based on the user and their Breathing Style, meaning that each sword is unique, we assume that not all colors have been identified in the series.
The main ones have, and with the Corps disbanded after Muzan’s downfall, no new colors were shown, but the Corps has a centuries-old history, and it is silly to expect that there are only 14 colors, so we assume that there are more colors there, but we’ll probably never see all of them.
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