5 Things You Should Know About Giyu’s Sword

Ever since Kimetsu no Yaiba emerged as the hottest shonen anime of the 2020s, fans have been cosplaying its hashiras and carrying replica katanas to cons. Among the most popular characters is Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira who wields a nichirin blade and uses it in combination with his Water Breathing style.

While he’s definitely the quiet type compared to the likes of Rengoku Kyojuro, Inosuke Hashibira, and Agatsuma Zenitsu, Tomioka Giyu and his sword still have a lot to say about themselves and the world of Demon Slayer. 

1. Giyu’s Sword Is Called the Blue Nichirin Blade

The Tomioka Giyu sword is simply called the Blue Nichirin Blade. This follows the blade color based naming convention that the hashira use for their swords. Though we don’t see how Giyu acquired his sword in the anime the way Tanjirou does, we can assume that the process is the same for him and other hashiras like Shinazugawa Sanemi and Kanroji Mitsuri.

2. Giyu’s Sword Has a Special Engraving 

As fans like you may have noticed, there are kanji characters written on Giyu’s sword that seem to match the ones we see on other hashira’s swords. These symbols translate roughly to “Destroy all evil demons” as explained by the village swordsmith in the manga. All of the demon slayers have this written into their blades.

Shinobu Kochou’s sword is a strange exception to this because it’s modified to be smaller, thereby leaving less space for the characters to be written, so Kochou’s sword says a shortened version of the phrase. 

3. Giyu’s Sword Was Made From A Special Metal

Giyu’s Blue Nichirin Blade is imbued with the power to kill demons by cutting off their heads. This is because all of the nichirin blades are made through a special process using special materials called Scarlet Crimson Ore and Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand. 

These materials can only be found at the tops of mountains where the altitude ensures that they’re always exposed to the sun, giving them the chance to absorb the power of sunlight.

4. Giyu’s Nichirin Sword Is Real (Kind Of)

One Piece’s Zoro may be known for his plethora of anime swords that are based on the katana, but the Demon Slayer swords pay their own respects to Japan’s culture of samurai sword making.

Like real-life katanas, the nichirin blades are said to be hand forged, full tang blades made out of special ores that require a laborious process to be made. Similarly, katanas in real life are mostly, if not entirely handmade by master artisans from tamahagane, a special type of high carbon steel that can be folded multiple times to create a strong durable blade that keeps its edge with ease. 

5. You Can Get Your Own Blue Nichirin Sword

If you’re planning to cosplay Giyu or you just want something to remember your favorite anime demon slayer with, there are cosplay swords on the market that perfectly copy Giyu’s blade.

This Blue Nichirin Blade replica features a stainless steel blade, a hand-painted tsuba, and a synthetic leather scabbard that looks exactly like the sword Giyu uses in the anime. All there’s left is to figure out how to do the Water Breathing style and buying a costume that makes you look like Giyu.

• Material: Stainless steel
• Length: 102 cm

Conclusion

Giyu Tomioka may have a reserved demeanor, but if Naruto and Sasuke have taught us anything, it’s that anime fans love that about a character. The fact that Giyu has a badass nichirin sword to go with it is just icing on the cake.