What happened to Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado’s father before ‘Demon Slayer?’

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Demon Slayer.

In the very first episode of Demon Slayer, brother-and-sister duo Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado experience a profound tragedy when their mother and siblings are slaughtered in a mysterious demon attack. However, even before this heartbreaking event transpires, the surviving siblings were no strangers to this type of grief, having lost their father before the story told by Demon Slayer unfolds. However, although some questions about him are eventually answered, his identity remains ambiguous for a while as other plot elements dominate the scene.

So, why is Tanjiro and Nezuko’s father absent by the start of Demon Slayer, anyway? Did he leave or is he dead?

What happened to Tanjiro and Nezuko’s father?

Before the events of Demon Slayer, the two demon-slaying siblings lived happily with their hard-working family of coal burners, which included their father, Tanjuro Kamado (not to be confused with his eldest son and the story’s protagonist, Tanjiro). He and his wife Kie had six children, with the four youngest named Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru, and Rokuta.

Unsurprisingly, Tanjuro had many traits in common with his son Tanjiro, such as his unusual red hair and eyes. Perhaps most notably, they shared The Demon-Slayer Mark, which appears to be a crimson forehead scar or birthmark. Their style was similiar, too, with the father having worn an orange-and-black haori that closely resembles his son’s turquoise-and-black version in Demon Slayer. He also wore a pair of Hanafuda earrings, an heirloom he passed on to the boy.

In Demon Slayer, Tanjiro is shown to have fond memories of his father. During his life, Tanjuro was a quiet, modest, peaceful, and loving family man, who was willing to do anything to protect and support his loved ones. He was also quite strong, having once killed a bear with a sword in the blink of an eye. Equipped with impressive speed and endurance, he could anticipate an enemy’s moves by watching their muscles, blood flow, and joint movements, and knew how to perform The Hinokami Kagura Sun-Breathing Technique, a ritual that he practiced with Tanjiro.

Unfortunately, Tanjuro suffered from a strange illness that made his skin look pale and weak. Sadly, this disease prematurely ended his life before the start of Demon Slayer, leaving his family vulnerable to attack.