The Nichirin Sword is the staple weapon carried by Demon Slayers, warriors tasked with the impossible task of eradicating human-eating demons from the face of the world.
These blades are quite adept at the task since they are made of Scarlet Ore and Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand, a substances that absorb sunlight for a millenia without intervention, imbibing them with the ability to absorb the light of the sun wherever they go. A katana made of such material is the only existing antidote to the scourge of the demons.
Additionally, the blade changes color based on its individual wielder, reflecting the character of its user; both their personality and breathing style. So let’s dive deep into Demon Slayer lore and decipher the meaning behind each Demon Slayer Sword Color.
Black Nichirin Blade
The most mysterious of all blade colors, our protagonist Tanjiro carries with him a black sword. Historically, this color represents the Sun and is considered the absorber of all other colors.
This reflects Tanjiro’s rare Sun Breathing Technique and his ability to navigate through different breathing styles, allowing him to hone all the special powers a demon slayer can possibly hold. This color is also associated with death, and bar Tanjiro, most of its users lived a very short life.
Gray Nichirin Blade
Subversion of the blade is symbolized by the color Gray. The wielder of this Nichirin most usually does not carry a sword, and is therefore considered representative of difference and breaking a pattern.
Gyomei, the Stone Hashira, for instance, carries with him an axe attached to a chain, and his weapon is colored gray. Unlike the usual traits of the Stone Hashira, however, Gyomei is incredibly calm and compassionate, signaling that the color may not completely represent the personality of its user.
Red Nichirin Blade
The color red, in Demon Slayer as in real life, is an expression of passion and intensity. It is a color donned mostly by the Fire Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku. Representing fire, the sword indicates the expansive, fiery, and eccentric powers of its wielder.
Also, the beautiful patterns of its attacks- like the famous dance of the fire god- is indicative of Rengoku’s own ambitious and eccentric character.
Blue Nichirin Blade
Giyu Tomioka wields a Blue colored Nichirin Sword, and this is because of his incredible skill of Water Breathing.
The color Blue represents Water, fluidity, the sea; something expansive and peaceful, yet vast and unknown. It fits perfectly with Giyu’s silky fighting style and stoic personality, and is made manifest through the fluid movements of his attacks.
Indigo-Gray Nichirin Blade
The color of the beasts, this blade color represents the wild, the unpredictable, and the predator. Fittingly, this color is wielded by Inosuke, a man who wears a giant hogs head to hide his face.
Carrying with him two swords with jagged edges resembling the teeth of a predator, Inosuke’s fighting style is rowdy, messy, and downright chaotic. His twin blades are an unfortunate sight for Demons who are not only in danger of their lives, but also of an excruciatingly painful and slow death.
Amber Nichirin Blade
The Amber colored blade is wielded by Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui. Appropriately, this color represents sound; the hypnotic beauty of it and the confusing and chaotic effect it can have on enemies.
Those who use it have an exceptional sense of hearing and the blade- like the Gray colored swords- can also be used with different colors. For instance, Tengen uses a hand-like weapon called the Kusarigama, which is a deadly and hypnotizing weapon that can be used for a variety of fighting purposes.
Green Nichirin Blade
The Wind Breathing Style inspired many other breathing styles in the Demon Slayer universe. For this reason, the color Green which is associated with the blade of its user, is considered worthy of respect and awe.
Green evokes a picture of nature, the wind, the untamed, and the uncontrollable. It is wielded by the twisted Wind Hashira, Sanemi, whose presence, like the wind, suggests something incredibly ominous, bold, direct, and aggressive.
Yellow Nichirin blade
Zenitsu is one of the most flawed, yet most lovable, characters in the Demon Slayer franchise. Despite his vast potential, his cowardice forces him to remain afraid and always on the edge, even when confronted by his own shadow.
However, his blade is painted the color yellow, which represents lightning and thunder. It reflects the fact that when needed, Zenitsu can- in a quick flash-use his lightning breathing style to wreak absolute havoc and change the tide of battles through his quick-witted and sharp personality.
Lavender Nichirin Blade
Obanai Iguro’s sword bears a strong resemblance to a serpent and that is exactly what this color represents: the ominous, frightening, and unsettling picture of a serpent props up every time Obanai enters combat mode. From her movements to her attacks, everything mirrors the poisonous fangs of a starved serpent.
Pink Nichirin Blade
The pink blade was created by Mitsuri, the Love Hashira after her training with Rengoku. Representing Love, it has a very peculiar-almost soft and non-violent- nature. The sword it dons is so thin it is difficult to mistake it for a whip, but in the hands of the passions of love, it can provide quite deadly as well.
White Nichirin Blade
It's difficult to fully understand what a color as abstract and empty as White could symbolize in the colorful world of Demon Slayer. In the hands of Muichiro, it is the symbol of mist; foggy, confusing, easy to overestimate.
It is also associated with its users' calculating and rational nature. Setting aside emotional judgment, the Mist Hashira’s White Color Blade is the sword of cold, hard reality.
Purple Nichirin Blade
Finally, we have the purple colored blade. We started with Black, the symbol of the Sun and now end with the color that symbolizes its exact opposite in this series: the Moon.
Unsurprisingly, it is wielded by Kokushibo, one of the main antagonists of the series and the strongest Demon aside from Muzan. His blade represents darkness, the absence of hope, and death!
