Venus has a 385 day cycle in which it appears as the Morning Star for 251 days, disappears from the night sky and then reappears as the evening Star for another 251 days.

When Venus is in its “Morning Star” phase, it rises shortly before dawn, while when it is in its “evening star” phase, it rises shortly after sunset.

Because of its orbit, Venus and the Sun are never far away from each other.

What does this have to do with Rengoku Kyojuro?

The song Akeboshi offers some clues: it alludes to a brilliant star that guides the protagonist to his final destination.

Venus is the brightest celestial body in the night sky. The protagonist Tanjiro, whose symbol is the Sun, is led by the planet Venus, who rises before dawn and then disappears.

In Buddhist philosophy all things are considered illusory and transient. That includes things that mortals make a big deal out of, such as power, wealth and social status. I believe that Gotouge had Tanjiro and Kyojuro reincarnated as the same age for a reason.

Japanese society is very hierarchical, age determines seniority and juniors have to show deference to elders. When they are transformed into Toujuro and Sumihiko at the end, I think that ultimately, that is the way that she intended them to be, or perhaps that is the way that they saw each other. As equals, not master and disciple, junior and senior or elder and younger brother but as kindred spirits. They definitely saw something familiar in each other; twin lights in the darkness that reached out for their missing halves.

Objectively speaking, Rengoku and Tanjiro have the potential to be one of the couples with the healthiest relationship dynamics. They are both honest and fine upstanding young men, they don’t lie and keep harmful secrets. They support and trust each other. They don’t have a history of using each other as punching bags. (Like PLS if it weren’t for the stupid age gap thing that t would be relationship goals)

I mean, it’s practically one of the least toxic couples I’ve ever shipped? (Lmao, I don’t know what this says about me, but AT LEAST they haven’t tried to kill each other yet 🤣)