Who is Kanao Tsuyuri in ‘Demon Slayer?’

As we’re nearing the eleventh episode of Demon Slayer Season 3 (full schedule here), we see the aftermath of Muichiro’s face-off against Gyokko, meanwhile the battle of Zohakuten intensifies as Mitsuri notices a demon slayer mark on her neck that bestows tremendous power upon her, allowing her to overpower Zohakuten briefly. We won’t get into spoiler territory, considering the latest episode, “Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji,” only aired a few days ago.

Of course, across three seasons, we’ve become familiar with Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado, but a little less is known about other pivotal Demon Slayer characters, including Kanao Tsuyuri. She is a Demon Slayer for the Demon Slayer Corps and the adopted daughter of Shinobu and Kanae Kocho. Tsuyuri made her manga debut in Chapter 6, whereas she appears for the first time in Episode 4 of the anime, “Final Selection.”

Due to the abuse she suffered during childhood, Kanao is shy and reserved upon meeting the Kocho sisters. She often struggled making decisions for herself, so in order to rectify this, Kanae Kocho gave Kanao a coin to flip whenever she felt unsure of what to do or which path to choose. For many years, Kanao continued to show little remorse, but developed a strong hatred towards Demons, especially for what they did to Aoi and Kiyo. By watching Kanae, Kanao was able to learn the Flower Breathing technique to become a Demon Slayer.

After Kanae’s death, Kanao continue to withdraw from human interaction, dismissing others quite rudely. For example, she repeatedly says “goodbye” to Tanjiro when he attempts to converse with her. However, with Tanjiro’s persistence, Kanao was able to speak unambiguously and gain her own sense of morality, no longer relying on her coin to make decisions.

It should be noted that Flower Breathing is extremely detrimental to the eyes, specifically the blood vessels, which can rupture and cause partial or full blindness. Later, in the battle against Muzan Kibutsuji, she proved to genuinely care for both Tanjiro and Nezuko. When Tanjiro is demonized during the fight, Nezuko’s desperate attempts to get through to her brother are in vain, but Kanao sacrifices her one remaining eye to inject Tanjiro with Tamayo’s humanization drug.

Kanao and Tanjiro would eventually marry and start a family, having between them two great-great-grandchildren named Kanata Kamado and Sumihiko Kamado.