#kny reference

When we think of a samurai, we often envision a fierce warrior prepared for battle. While this is partly true, we often tend to forget the internal heirarchy among them. Like any military group, samurai had a clear chain of command for smooth operations. However, it's important to note that samurai were a social class rather than a military one. 

These "ranks," or more so, distinctions within the samurai were closely tied to hereditary social status, the extent of land ownership, and titles within the clan, rather than personal skills, which could vary depending on the era.  

In this discussion, we will concentrate on the Sengoku era, as it is relevant to our topic. I will examine Michikatsu's role based on the available canonical information. 

⚠ SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠ | Masterlist

⨳ Where His Father stood   

In the image above, Michikatsu talks about his father having a "vassal." A lot could be inferred from this, but it is likely that his father either might be a samurai lord [Sengoku daimyo] or a wealthy, high-ranking samurai who supports smaller samurai. 

[Daimyo (大名): military lords who controlled small, unified areas in which all the land either belonged to themselves or was held in fief by their vassals] [Vassals: subordinates who pledged their loyalty and obligations towards powerful lords] 

So essentially, he was not just an ordinary samurai but rather a figure of considerable importance. His possession of vassals and land suggests that he must be exercising some form of governance, implying that he is possibly some sort of lord having an independent clan. 

As you can see, he seemed to have personal servants:   

And also personal messengers:     

Though it is rather difficult to tell whether he was a powerful lord or not—an actual daimyo who was the direct vassal of the shogun, or just a lesser lord having a smaller land—possibly a heir to the family head or a landowner with a fief.

⨳ Was The Tsugikuni Clan Powerful? 

First, let us understand what was going on during that time:  

"This was the 'Age of Warring States', when scores of minor daimyo seized power for themselves in their immediate localities and fought each other until, during the mid-16th century, a comparative handful of 'super-daimyo' competed with each other on a grand scale before Japan was finally reunified" [source]

From this, it seems logical to assume that the Tsugikuni clan was a smaller one rather than a grand one—also considering Michikatsu's father's rather obsessive nature and his intense determination on getting better heirs, even to the point of being willing to harm his own family due to superstitious beliefs. Better heirs: more likely the clan gets to thrive and gain power.

Also, if we consider these words from Kokushibou:  

Notice how he says this—he doesn't seem to be very surprised to know that his clan's name has died out, which would only solidify the fact that his clan must not be very powerful to begin with. [Considering that many direct descendants of the major clans today still seem to be thriving, with many carrying out their clan names. Muichiro seems to be an exception here]   

So now that we know that his clan was likely not a powerful one, we could also assume that his father was a local lord rather than a full on daimyo for obvious reasons. Not only that, but this would also suggest that their clan must be a retainer family—they would be under a much stronger lord—a powerful daimyo, whom they would had to serve.

⨳ MICHIKATSU'S POSIBBLE RANK [DISTINCTION]  

Before moving on, I would just like to point out that holding a high-ranking position as a samurai—such as leading troops— was a result of personal achievement rather than mere familial ties. If a family did not meet the necessary standards of talent and capability, their members would be assigned to lesser roles based on who they served.

With that being said, let us now try fitting in Michikatsu into all of this and find out what military rank he should have based on his family background:

Initailly, I was rather confused and wondered if Michikatsu could be a Hatamoto. They were the highest ranking samurai, considered the most loyal and skilled, who acted as bodyguards towards their lord. Sounds familiar, right? However, there was one piece of canon information that completely debunked this idea:

Samurai usually had to chop off their enemy’s head as proof of their kills; typically that shouldn't be done by the hatamoto, as they typically stayed close to their lords as a last resort instead of fighting on the front lines like the others. 

Okay.. so he probably isn't a hatamoto. If his first instinct was to bring the head of Ubuyashiki to Muzan, then it suggests he must have done this before. if that's the case, then he must have ranked lower than a hatamoto, more so in a class where he might have been around collecting heads. After looking into what the manga could offer, I reached two conclusions:

1. He was a Taisho (大将)[general]: These ranked officials were the generals in the Daimyo's army, leading groups of soldiers called kumi. Depending on the troops they commanded, they were either referred to as Samurai-taisho or Ashigaru-taisho. They usually oversaw multiple kumi, each consisting of around 50 to 100 men. 

2. He was a Kumigashira (組頭) [captain/platoon commander]: These officers controlled and led a single kumi of troops and were called samurai-kumigashira or ashigaru-kumigashira based on the type of troops in their kumi; which, often consisted upto 15-30 men each.

-> By those conical hats (jingasa) those men are wearing, I'm pretty sure they are depicted as Ashigaru foot soldiers. [This explains why he refers to them as his subordinates, as ashigaru were considered lower than samurai.]

Looking at the image, I doubt there are 50-100 men present there, and it seems more likely there are about 15-30. Therefore, we can conclude that he must be an Ashigaru-kumigashira.   

Also, when people talk about Ashigaru, they usually think of peasants taken out of their farms. This is a misconception. Even though they were lower in class, ashigaru were generally treated as full on warriors. Not only were they as capable as their samurai counterparts, some were even stronger than them.The men under Michikatsu's command were fully capable and skilled swordsmen.

⨳ Michikatsu's Troops and His Role:    

A general overview of the make up of the sengoku era army

—In short, the troops were reorganised in Sonae, which had between 300 to 800 men. Each Sonae included various types of troops. They were split into smaller units called Kumi, based on their weapons. These included archers, gun squads, cavalry, spear squads, and standard bearers.

By looking at these images, I see no one holding weapons, just a few casual swords thrown in here and there, which I find to be very odd.. 

Perhaps Michikatsu had set up his base further from his soldiers and gathered them up for a speech about the next day's plans just before they went to sleep? This could explain why they were caught off guard by the demon and didn’t have their weapons ready. After all, it’s strange not to have your weapons out when you are being attacked.   

Regardless of the situation, his troops should be either a spear unit [Yari-gumi (長柄組)] or an archer unit [Yumi-gumi (弓組)].

These troops Consisted of: 1 samurai commander/katana samurai, 2-4 servants, ~20-30 foot soldiers, 3 labourers, 1 cavalry horse, and 2 packhorses.

Why you ask? This is because, firstly; guns weren't introduced until the mid sengoku period in 1543 [Michikatsu is theorised to be born around 1432] In the cavalry unit, the troops consisted of samurai rather than ashigaru, and bannermen did not engage in battle. 

MICHIKATSU'S ROLE: Although there is not much provided anywhere about these commanders, from everything I have gathered: These commanding officers used to lead a unit of ashigaru soldiers. They were ranked below the sodaisho and samurai daisho (commanders) and an ashigaru taisho.

He would be assigned to train them, discipline the foot soldiers, and turn uneducated common men into reliable warriors. He would command and lead them, ensuring everyone followed his commands and maintained order within the ranks, and not disrupt the hierarchy. Hmm that sounds familiar doesn't it?

[I might actually make a detailed post about the military formation with Michikatsu if any of you are interested.]   

Final thoughts: 

[A/n: Hello everyone! It's been a while since my last post. No, I haven't abandoned my blogs. I just took a short break last week. Now I'm back and eager to share a theory with you all! Which I will be posting more of, both here and on my other blog, @gilded-sunrays. Please feel free to share your insights!]  

And if you've made it through all of this, then I thank you wholeheartedly!

“What’s the shape of that cloud?” Not something that seems very important at a Hashira meeting, but perhaps something Muichiro used to know and pay close attention to. After all, not taking nature seriously enough can have dire consequences when you live and work in the mountains.

I’d like to dive a little into what it meant for the Tokito twins to have grown up in the mountains, keeping to themselves. These sorts of people, who were not integrated into society and may not have kept up with newfangled Meiji and Taisho societal regulations, were often called “sanka” by the people who lived in mountain villages and knew of them. The kanji used might vary from region to region, and their relationships to the sanka might vary depending on location and time period. After all, it was often people ostracized from society who had no choice but to live apart from it.

The "satoyama" areas

To back up a bit, many people lived in mountains. Depending on how you define it, two-thirds to three-fourths of Japan’s land is mountainous. Many of those mountains are too steep or treacherous to be hospitable to humans, but wherever they could, people made do.

Thus, you often found the rural areas split up into different zones: the villages people inhabited (hitozato), the deep mountains (okuyama), and the crossover zone between them, the satoyama. Literally, “village mountain.” These were the areas where people would venture into the mountains to collect from the bounty of the mountain.

Nowadays, “satoyama” is an important term when it comes to both retaining traditional culture and managing natural resources (and many, many organizations throughout Japan are dedicated to helping people learn about and experience satoyama practices). The Japanese Ministry of the Environment defines satoyama as areas consisting of farmlands, irrigation ponds, secondary forest, plantation forest, and grasslands around human settlements, but that does not quite capture the human element. Like in other places around the world, people who rely on mountains have developed knowledge of the natural world and used that to collect supplies like food, medicine, and timber, and they have managed the forest to maximize these benefits. There are entire habitats that other species would lose if humans were to stop managing those places now.

To place it in perspective, the Kamado family lived in, relied on, and managed the forest so that they could have a steady supply of their livelihood: charcoal. They fed themselves with fish from the river and edible mountain plants, but they also relied on the village below, whom they were economically and socially intertwined with. They lived a satoyama lifestyle.

But would we call them sanka?

Who were sanka, and how many were there?

Because sanka removed themselves from society, they did not impact a lot of Japanese history and culture. Hence, there is not much information to go on.

Way back in history, there were always people relegated to the mountains because they did not accept the rule of the Yamato clan (aka, the source of the imperial lineage). Many of these people became the sources of oni legends too, demonized by those who left a more tangible impact on Japanese culture. However, as the centuries went on, there were also rumors about, say, samurai who lost big wars, or who left their samurai lives behind and had nowhere to go but the mountains if they wanted to be left in peace.

There are even rumors that after the fall of the samurai in the Meiji Restoration, many of them became sanka. This was well over three decades before Yuichiro and Muichiro were born, so it’s possible that their grandfather was the most recent samurai of their family. If we consider generational trauma, it’s not a far stretch that this urgency to hide away from society might have led Yuichiro to be especially worried for their safety and disillusioned with the expectations of warriors.

However, it is hard to say for sure. Because they did not register themselves and their families like law-abiding citizens did, and because they were not a big topic of cultural study, it is hard to say anything for sure, but according to Professor Owada’s estimate in “Japanese History of Demon Slayers” (a book that is not officially tied to Kimetsu no Yaiba but rode on the tails of its success), there were maybe 200,000 sanka throughout Japan in the Meiji period (1968-1912), and by about the 1940s, there may have been about 10,000. They almost entirely disappeared within about ten years after that.

If we compare those numbers back to the Kimetsu no Yaiba timeline (with the majority of the plot having most likely taken place in 1915), that means there were plenty of mountain-dwelling, not-exactly-following-all-the-newfangled-law characters, and if Tanjiro only lived until the age of 25, he could theoretically have not had any reason to leave his humble mountain abode the whole time. However, at some point his descendants quit making charcoal and moved to the city.

Among sanka, there was likely a lot of variety, both in terms of how much they interacted with human settlements and in what sort of work they specialized in. For example, many people are familiar with the term “matagi.” They are sometimes referred to as hunters, especially for bears (like Yae and her father in the Tomioka Gaiden, or Urokodaki’s friend who was mentioned in a fanbook for having found Giyuu and introduced him to Urokodaki), but matagi could be just as well-versed in plants and medicine. Other people, like “kijishi,” were skilled in making everyday ideas out of materials from the mountains, and they would exchange their wares for what they needed from people in settlements.

Then we have “somabito,” who collected and delivered wood. This is where the Tokito family found their niche.

It is probably thanks to these activities that they procured, say, the kitchen knife that Yuichiro used for cutting daikon. But as for how warmly the nearby village treated them, who knows. Yuichiro’s attitude was probably to go to the village, do only as much business as necessary, and then leave, for he may have felt that their family was distrusted because they were sanka.

Mt. Kagenobu: The Tokito family home

According to the first fanbook, Muichiro is from Mt. Kagenobu, a 727-meter mountain on the border of what would now be called Tokyo Prefecture and Kanagawa Prefecture. It is not a mountain I have been to, but as I understand, it’s not that bad of a climb for beginners (but you should still be adequately prepared). Depending on your course, it can take about 60-80 minutes to climb to the top. Even if they did live near the top, that’s not too bad of a trip for Amane-sama to take several times. However, even a satoyama area still has mountain dangers. Oni, for example. And places where you can slip and fall to your death, rain or no rain.

These are things that are probably engrained in Muichiro, whether he consciously remembers them or not. Plants, weather, animals, searching for and preparing food; somewhere inside of him, even at his foggiest, he probably still knew how to do all this.

And, maybe somewhere in how Yuichiro influenced him, he felt distanced from other people.

However, that’s not the only reason a warrior might wish to run away to the mountains, is it? After all, that is where they and their loved ones might live in peace and be happy.

Two more quick facts:

There is a tea house on Mt. Kagenobu that posts photos of the Mt. Kagenobu landscape, which might be very handy for fic writers, or just plain nice for Muichiro fans to check out! Yes, they are totally aware of Muichiro and love having that connection.

- monster energy drinks I would assign each hashira

- monster energy drinks I would assign each hashira p2

- monster energy drinks I would assign each upper moon p1

Oh boy Anon, this is the book you want to find:

It's got designs for all of the settings in Season 1, including layouts for a few of the small homes (not the mansions; in those cases only the relevant spaces are included). I am not a source for scans and prefer only taking samples from my book collection, so here are a few of what I think would be most useful to you:

The Kamado house (which, canonically, got its start in the Sengoku period, though perhaps it has been rebuilt a few times or piece by piece):

Old man Saburo's place (note the tools for making umbrellas, his trade. This one also shows futon in the closet):

Urokodaki's place:

As for other settings, Western-style architecture was in use to varying degrees in cities, mansions tended to be more comfortably updated versions of mansion used in Edo, and two-story "machiya" style townhouses with electricity were very common, even in the town Tanjiro sold charcoal in. Poor/common urban people tended to live in long housing complexes with shared facilities called "nagaya," which there are many examples of in flashbacks in later seasons.

I suggest looking for basic introductory books about the architecture of Japanese houses to learn the terminology (while looking for one highly technical example I couldn't remember the name of I found a whole bunch of ones originally written in English which are probably more accessible, though I haven't read them. Hopefully your library has a few).

That said, a lot of my experience with them comes from actively visiting a lot of them, as well as visiting museums. If you ever have the opportunity to travel in Japan, visit as many restored or retained historical houses (of all kinds) if you can! There are many examples from the Edo period and later, and a few places that reconstruct dwellings from earlier time periods.

Kimetsu no Yaiba’s first official fanbook gave us ages for the many of the main characters, but in a manga where calculating age can be crucial, why are these numbers not so straightforward? Because the Japanese calendar is a mess, and the Taisho period was an in-between stage in many ways. Many new changes were established in the Meiji period but not broadly enforced until the Showa period, including how to count one’s age.

This subject can be terribly complicated, but please follow me below for:

--Historical context for how methods of counting age could differ --Which method I choose to apply to Kimetsu no Yaiba and why --Based on that, a list of my calculations for dates of birth, zodiac signs (Chinese and Western), and because it’s handy, the date each of these characters would have turned 25