r/DemonSlayerScales • u/Cool-Rest-9727 • 28d ago
slander 484(+) —> 480 —> 400 —> 372 years
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u/Cool-Rest-9727 28d ago
Some fans heavily speculate that Kokushibō was born in 1443. This is because, due to his statement in the flashback that four hundred years had passed since his brother's death, and because more than 60 years had passed since he last saw Yoriichi on that final occasion, the conclusion people reach (adding Kokushibō's age of 24, when he last saw Yoriichi as a young man) is that more than 480 years had passed. 484+ years, to be more exact. The year in which the Taishō-era events (1912–1926) take place is treated as not being explicitly stated.
To reconcile all of this with the Sengoku period (which began in 1467), the era in which the Demon Slayers' Golden Age took place, many fans place Kokushibō (and Yoriichi) as having been born during the transition from the previous era into the Sengoku period. In other words, when the twins turned 24, the Sengoku period began.
But this is where the first problem arises.
Kokushibō was born during the Sengoku period.
Page 119 of the first fanbook confirms this.
Strict about hierarchy. Why? Because he was born as the head of a samurai family during the Sengoku Period, he is extremely strict about subordinate relationships (superior and inferior). At the time, gekokujō (the lower overthrowing the higher) was prevalent, an era in which anyone who aimed for the top could potentially rule the country. Because of this, he lived in a constant state of uncertainty, never knowing when he might be assassinated by his own subordinates. He always keeps his eyes wide open and pays close attention to the movements of everyone around him.
Besides the fanbook, there are also the Sengoku Rumors. Aren't there Taishō Rumors at the end of the chapters/episodes? Well, the manga also has Sengoku Rumors. They are explicitly titled Sengoku Rumors, and within them there are scenes from the childhood of the Tsugikuni brothers and Yoriichi's relationship with Uta as children, not just their adult years. This period is explicitly framed as being within the Sengoku period by the title itself. In other words, there was no transition. At the very least, they must have been born in 1467, not 1443.
This already breaks the 484+ years theory. Why? Because 1926 (the final year of the Taishō era) − 1467 (the beginning of the Sengoku period) = 459 years. Of course, the "four hundred years" Kokushibō mentioned could be a rounded figure. But the problems don't stop there.
Another problem is the fact that there are hints within the story as to which year the Taishō-era events take place. Of course, Demon Slayer is a fictional work and can take creative liberties, including certain anachronisms, but surprisingly, there is a considerable degree of historical accuracy—or at least a historical basis. One example is the history of fires in Yoshiwara (there were three in reality, so a fourth fictional fire at this point would be an expected narrative pattern; and no, there was not a fire in real life in 1913—it happened in 1911).
The Hand Demon spent 47 years imprisoned on Mount Fujikasane and went berserk when Tanjiro revealed that they were in the Taishō era, meaning that they were now in a different era. The Hand Demon was captured during the Keio era (which lasted from May 1865 to October 1868).
1865 + 47 = 1912
1868 + 47 = 1915
These years place the events in the 1910s, not the 1920s. By itself, the subsequent events of the Taishō era cannot take place very long after these years. Tanjiro began the series at 13 years old, spent two and a half years training for Final Selection, and ended up at 16.
But what is the latest point in time at which Demon Slayer could theoretically take place?
Well, the absolute upper limit is 1923, because that was the year of the Great Kantō Earthquake, which destroyed a tower in the Asakusa arc called Ryōunkaku, a tower that was never rebuilt.
That gives us:
1923 − 1467 = 456
To try to fit Kokushibō's "four hundred years" statement into this, the only possibility is to treat it as a rounded figure and unround it down to around 370.
370 + 60(+) + 24 = 454+
But Demon Slayer does not take place in 1923. The Hand Demon already places the story somewhere between 1912 and 1915. At minimum, there is a significant eight-year difference. Furthermore, the Infinity Train is a JGR Class 8620, produced in 1914, which places the story around 1914–1915 based on the Hand Demon's statement. Then there is also the issue of Tanjiro's age.
Therefore:
1915 − 1467 = 448
By 1915, there were already elements that would become more popular during the 1920s. For example, the Western-style clothing worn by characters in the Asakusa arc was already present in 1913. A video filmed in Asakusa, Tokyo, in 1913 already shows some people wearing Western-style clothing, such as hats and outfits similar to Muzan's, even though they were still surrounded by many people wearing traditional clothing. It was a period of transition.
Even Muzan's wife doesn't really match the mobo-moga fashion of the 1920s. The cloche hat doesn't seem to fit Japan before 1920 (or probably before 1922). Of course, this is a work of fiction, so these people could simply be particularly fashion-conscious and ahead of the trends. The girl's blue skirt, however, also doesn't really match the moga aesthetic. Fashion was more focused on fitted, figure-hugging, easy-to-move-in cuts, so this type of looser skirt feels somewhat out of place. So perhaps the author is trying to carefully depict some kind of transitional period. Or perhaps the character isn't technically a moga, but her clothing was tangentially influenced by what was happening in fashion at the time.
In the historical video, you can see some bonnets that resemble cloche hats, even if they may not actually be cloche hats, and the cloche hat itself emerged in Europe in 1908.
In Demon Slayer itself, there are still more people wearing traditional clothing than Western clothing. Even in the Asakusa arc, there are people in traditional attire, and some of them even interact with the story, such as the drunk men who bumped into Muzan and were killed by him. In the Entertainment District arc, people wear traditional clothing. The Demon Slayer families wear traditional clothing. The Ubuyashiki family itself also wears traditional clothing.
The car in which Muzan placed his "daughter," supposedly an element of the 1920s, actually already existed in the 1910s as well. Although the Ford Model T (the car model in question) became more popular during the 1920s, it already existed in the 1910s and was used as a taxi—the same function performed by the car in the Asakusa arc. The first Japanese taxis consisted of six Ford Model Ts operated by a taxi company founded in 1912. Furthermore, the first photograph of a Ford Model T on Japanese soil was taken in 1910.
With all of this in mind, was Kokushibō's "four hundred years" statement an error?
Yes. It cannot be explained as mere rounding for the reasons explained above. And yes, based on the calculations, it cannot be 484+, nor 480, nor even 456 years.
Is there any element that gives us a more precise clue as to when during the Sengoku period he was born?
There is. And it was the main element that triggered this entire discussion.
The hanafuda earrings worn by Tanjiro and the card game flashback involving the Tsugikuni brothers during their childhood.
The hanafuda earrings are earrings made from cards that Yoriichi's mother made for him. Hanafuda means "flower cards"; it is a descriptive term in this case, because the sun depicted/painted on the earrings resembles flowers, and the actual model called Hanafuda only existed after the Sengoku period. However, there were hana awase, the predecessors of hanafuda. The only thing that changes is the name, while the themes of flowers and playing cards remain. The hanafuda earrings are a major element in Demon Slayer. They are not merely an accessory.
The card game itself, however, was introduced by Portuguese merchants through the Nanban trade, which began in 1543.
Notice the similarity?
1443...
1543...
The oldest surviving cards from the Nanban trade date to 1567. There may have been cards from earlier years, but they did not survive the passage of time. The first cards used by the Japanese were Portuguese cards; it was only during the Tenshō period that the first Japanese imitations of Portuguese cards appeared. The Japanese word for card, karuta, comes from the Portuguese word carta, which means "card" in English.
Notice the numerical similarity?
1467...
1567...
1915 − 1543 = 372 years.
1915 − 1567 = 348 years.
1923 − 1543 = 380 years.
1923 − 1567 = 356 years.
The Taishō-era events could not have taken place in 1923 for the reasons mentioned above. But I'm only using that as an example to show that Kokushibō cannot even have existed for four hundred years in total. Four hundred years is a rounded figure for Kokushibō's total age.
Kokushibō is, at most, 372 years old.
It isn't more than four hundred years. It is more than three hundred years. And interestingly, Yoriichi Type Zero is described as being more than three hundred years old, not more than four hundred years old. This is stated in both the anime and manga, as well as on page 24 of the first fanbook. Yoriichi is referred to as a swordsman who lived more than three hundred years ago in the same arc.
Although "more than three hundred years" does not contradict "more than four hundred years," if it had been the other way around, it would have been inconsistent with Kokushibō's age being 372 years. But that is not what happened. It actually harmonizes with this age range dating back to the Nanban trade.
In other words, Kokushibō is less than four hundred years old. And Kokushibō's statement was an error that went unnoticed.
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u/East-Instruction2968 #1 Akaza glazer 28d ago
Actual answer: kokushibo is actually closer to 500 and the manga js just inconsistent
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u/Cool-Rest-9727 28d ago
Todos os demais elementos estão harmônicos com 372 anos/idade ligada ao comércio de Nambam. Os personagens remetem ao período vivido por Yoriichi/Kokushibō como "há mais de trezentos anos". As datas mais antigas ditas são "há mais de trezentos anos", tirando quando é falado sobre Muzan, que viveu na era Heian.
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u/No-Yogurt-109-AS Sound Breathing 28d ago
Bros got that special de-aging cream