Gyomei Himejima

Gyomei Himejima is a major secondary character in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a Demon Slayer of the Demon Slayer Army and the current Pillar of the Rock. Gyomei is also the mentor of Genya Shinazugawa.

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Apparence

Gyomei is an imposing figure among the demon killers. He is one of the greatest characters in the series. He is powerfully built and extremely muscular. This makes him the most powerful of the pillars. He has spiky black hair and a prominent scar that runs horizontally across his forehead. Blind since childhood, he has white eyes without visible irises or pupils.

Gyomei wears the typical black and white uniform of a Demon Slayer, with an olive green happi draped over his shoulders. He also wears a necklace of large pearls around his neck and wears ojuzu when he is not engaged in battle.

His left leg was later severed during his fight with Muzan.

Personality

Gyomei embodies the gentle giant archetype, being surprisingly gentle and sensitive, despite his intimidating appearance. He is also very devout, carrying his prayer beads at all times and offering prayers in poignant situations.

Although he is quite reserved, Gyomei has a very objective and somewhat suspicious view of the people around him, due to the experiences he had before becoming a demon slayer. He is always aware of what others, especially children or younger people, are capable of if given the opportunity. Due to his dubious nature, it can take some time for Gyomei to fully accept and trust others. When he opens up and lets others in, he is unwavering in his commitment to them.

History

Past

Before Gyomei was a demon slayer and a Pillar, he lived with nine other orphaned children and raised them in a temple. The area was well known for demon attacks, so Gyomei had always burned wisteria incense to ward off demons that might harm him and the children.

One night, one of the nine children disobeyed the temple's rules and traveled beyond its borders. He was immediately accosted by a demon, and in order to save his own life, he told the demon to eat the other children, including Gyomei. After nightfall, the child invited the demon into the temple after extinguishing the wisteria incense.

Four children were immediately killed by the demon and the remaining children insisted on escaping from the temple, ignoring Gyomei's orders. His frail stature and blindness fueled the children's distrust in Gyomei's ability to protect them, leading them to abandon him and eventually be killed by the demon.

In the end, only one child-the youngest, Sayo-listened and stayed for fear of the demon.

Although it is not known how the exchange went, Gyomei was cut on the forehead by the demon, but quickly reversed the situation and began to attack the demon mercilessly after realizing that he had a "scary power". He continued and hit the demon's head until the sun came up.

Soon after, people came to the scene of the incident to help, but because of a misunderstanding with Sayo saying "This man is a monster! Everyone... he... killed everyone!" the villagers thought she was talking about Gyomei and not the demon.

He was then imprisoned and accused of the murder of the seven children, but Kagaya Ubuyashiki, aka "Oyakata-sama", intervened and released him before he was executed for his false crimes.

Later, Gyomei became a Demon Slayer and after only two months, the Pillar of the Rock.

Synopsis

Mount Natagumo Arch

Gyomei was present with the other Pillars when Tanjiro Kamado woke up.

Bow Recovery Training

As the Hashira discuss what to do with Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado, Gyomei feels sorry for Nezuko's form and calls it bad, saying that it was a pity that she was born into the world. Hearing Tanjiro's determination, he says that it is a pity how obsessed Tanjiro is and that they should kill him to free him from his suffering.

When Kagaya Ubuyashiki arrives, Gyomei kneels down to greet him alongside the rest of the Pillars and is the first to speak after the Oyakata announces that he has given his approval to Tanjiro and Nezuko. Gyomei says that despite the oyakata's wishes, he was reluctant to accept the couple. He was shocked when his boss revealed that Tanjiro had made contact with Muzan Kibutsuji. He and his fellow Pillars are then prevented from debating further by a simple gesture from their leader, with the Rock Pillar remaining silent as Kagaya further explains his reasoning for forgiving Tanjiro and Nezuko.

Gyomei watched as Sanemi tried to test Nezuko with her blood and took pity on Tanjiro, who was being held back by Obanai Iguro for being a weak child. After Nezuko refused to drink Sanemi's blood and Kagaya declared that the couple could leave in peace, he started the Pillar meeting with Gyomei also present.

Arc Train de l'Infini

Gyomei appears at the very end of the arc, where it shows him receiving the news of the death of the Pillar of Flame, Kyojuro Rengoku. Gyomei is visibly saddened, in tears, and offers a prayer.

Bow Pillar Training

Gyomei was present at the meeting held at Ubuyashiki estate after the attack of the blacksmith village. He prevents Sanemi Shinazugawa from fighting with Giyu Tomioka over Tomioka's refusal to participate in the great training of the entire demon slayer army to find as many people who can manifest the mark of demon slayers as possible.

When Tanjiro Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma arrive at Gyomei's training camp in the mountains, they are shocked to find all the trainees, including Inosuke Hashibira meditating under a waterfall. They turn around as Gyomei greets them and are shocked to see him standing on tiptoe on the hot ground while balancing logs and rocks on his shoulders.

Gyomei says that the most important thing is the core of the body, the limbs, and that his training was aimed at strengthening the limbs. He explains that his training consists of only three things: training under the waterfall, carrying three logs on his shoulders and pushing a big rock through a nearby town. Inosuke, who had passed out under the waterfall and was revived by Tanjiro, noted that he could smell Gyomei as the strongest demon slayer and Tanjiro agreed with this, stating that the Pillar of Rock was the only one who smelled different from the others.

He is later seen pushing a giant rock, larger than the one the trainees had to use across the mountain. The training was quite difficult but not mandatory either, which meant that many of the trainees would give up halfway up, flabbergasted by the effort required. Genya then reveals to Tanjiro that the chant Gyomei often repeated was actually a series of repetitive actions designed to maximize his concentration and which enabled him to perform feats such as pushing rocks.

Meanwhile, Gyomei watched the two from a distance as Genya continued to explain that by singing, he and Gyomei would recall their anger and painful memories that caused their heart rates and temperatures to rise. Later, when Tanjiro successfully completes the Rock Pillar training but remains severely dehydrated, Gyomei pours water on him to save the boy.

He then goes on to say that because of his completion of training and his actions in the sword smith village by prioritizing the villagers over his sister, he believes Tanjiro to be a true swordsman. However, Tanjiro states that the choice was made by Nezuko and not by himself and therefore he could not accept Gyomei's acceptance and seeing this, Stone Hashira is even more impressed by Tanjiro's honesty.

Saying that all his doubts are now gone, Gyomei declares that he has fully accepted Tanjiro, no matter what the other Pillar may say. He goes on to reveal that when he was younger, he raised nine orphaned children in a temple and that one day, one of the children broke curfew and stayed out until after sunset, which led to the child being chased by a demon.

However, the child tried to save himself and told the demon to eat all the children and Gyomei at the temple instead of himself, even going so far as to extinguish the wisteria incense that Gyomei would burn outside the temple at night to keep the demons away. The demon snuck in and immediately killed four of the eight children, Gyomei, who at the time was thin and weak with a soft voice, tried to protect the other four but three of them disobeyed his orders, believing that their blind guardian would be of no use. All three were also killed, leaving only the youngest, Sayo, alive while hiding behind Gyomei.

Determined to protect Sayo at all costs, Gyomei fought the demon and managed to corner it and beat its head with his bare fists until dawn. He didn't like the experience of hitting another living being at all but persevered to protect Sayo.

As the sun finally rose, the demon died and Gyomei, who had lost a lot that night, had at least managed to protect her. However, when people arrived and were shocked by the carnage, they asked Sayo what had happened and said that the man was a monster who killed all the children and since the demon's corpse had disintegrated in the sun, everyone assumed that she was talking about Gyomei and he was sentenced to death.

It was heartbreaking for Gyomei who had wanted Sayo to be grateful to him for fighting for her, but he understood that the child would have been completely confused because of all the chaos and would not have wanted to unwittingly frame him. He was saved from execution by an intervention from Kagaya Ubuyashiki and had been deeply paranoid of everyone since then, but he said that Tanjiro had now proven himself and would do everything he could to make sure Tanjiro didn't make any missteps in his life and patted the young demon slayer on the head, proud of him.

Infinite Dimensional Fortress Bow

As he rushed to Ubuyashiki's residence, Sanemi thought back to when the Hashira had held another meeting among themselves, Sanemi stating that they should have at least two Hashira guarding the Oyakata at all times and asked Gyomei if there was anything he could do to make that possible.

The Pillar of Rock had responded by saying that it was impossible, before telling the others that he had become a Pillar at the age of nineteen and had questioned the Oyakata about it for eight years in a row, with the Oyakata flatly refusing each time saying that someone as strong as a Pillar should not be wasted on him.

After the explosion of Ubuyashiki's residence, Gyomei is there to support Tamayo after successfully injecting his medicine to Muzan Kibutsuji and cutting off the demon's head. Gyomei sadly remembers the first time he met Kagaya, when he was only eighteen and the Oyakata fourteen, when Kagaya told him that he knew Gyomei was not a murderer but that he had fought to protect the other children in his monastery. He then recalls when the Oyakata asked that he be used as a decoy to allow Gyomei to behead Muzan, also telling the Pillar of Rock that he believed that the sun was the only way to defeat the demon.

Relations

Kagaya Ubuyashiki

Kagaya was the one who asked that Gyomei be spared from execution after he was wrongly presumed to have been the killer of the children he was caring for in their temple. Soon after, Gyomei became a member of the army and became the Pillar of the Rock in only two months.

Gyomei is grateful to Kagaya and respects him when he spends time getting to know him a little more personally.

It can also be inferred that Kagaya trusted Gyomei and Gyomei was Kagaya's confidant. Kagaya only shared with Gyomei his plans to sacrifice himself.

Tanjiro Kamado

At first, Gyomei finds Tanjiro weak and pitiful, even suggesting that he should be killed to be lost because of his obsession with a demon.

However, after Tanjiro continues to impress with his exploits, Gyomei comes to hold him in higher regard. It is not until Hashira training that Gyomei sees Tanjiro's character for himself and is impressed by the boy's honesty and character. He comes to fully accept Tanjiro and declares that he would be there to prevent Tanjiro from making any wrong moves, no matter what anyone else says.

Kaigaku

Kaigaku was one of the children that Gyomei kept in his temple. After being caught by the other children for stealing money from the temple, he was chased away at night and met a demon, which he then let into the temple in exchange for having his life spared.

Gyomei eventually killed the demon after beating it in the face until dawn, but he ended up being blamed for the death of the children as the demon disintegrated in the sunlight that left no trace.

This incident as a whole was responsible for Gyomei becoming highly paranoid of others. However, Gyomei also stated that without this incident, he would never have learned that he was strong, showing that he accepted it at least in part.

Shinobu Kocho

Gyomei saved Shinobu and his older sister Kanae from a demon when she was quite young, and, although she doesn't remember much about it, Shinobu has immense respect for Gyomei as a result. Shinobu used to remind Gyomei of the children from the temple where he grew up.

Skills & Competencies

Sword skills

Breath of the Rock

First Move: Serpentinite - Polarized Pincers
(壱いちノ型かた 蛇じゃ紋もん岩がん・双そう極きょく Ichi no Kata: Jamongan - Sôkyoku) Gyomei throws both the spiked flail and the axe of his weapon towards his target and manipulates the chain that holds them by spinning it, which also spins the axe and flail in order to pierce and crush his target.

Movement Two: Smashing the Vault of Heaven
(弐にノ型かた 天てん面めん砕くだき Ni no Kata: Tenmen Kudaki) Gyomei throws both his axe and spiked flail to form a pincer movement before crashing into the chain to bounce the flail and crush his target from afar.

Third Move: Stone Skin
(参さんノ型かた 岩がん軀くの膚はだえ San no Kata: Ganku no Hadae) Himejima unleashes a series of blows with his axe deflecting nearby attacks.

Fourth Move: Rhyolite - Quick Conquest
(肆しノ型かた 流りゅう紋もん岩がん・速そく征せい Shi no Kata: Ryûmongan - Sokusei) Gyomei manipulates his axe and spiked flail from both ends of the chain and swings the chain from both sides in order to strike his opponents using a two-pronged attack from a wide distance.

Fifth Move: The Stone Wheel of Justice
(伍ごノ型かた 瓦が輪りん刑ぎょう部ぶ Go no Kata: Garin Gyôbu) Gyomei performs a powerful rampage with his flail and axe, doing a lot of damage. The axe is meant to strike first with the trajectory of the flail following on the opposite side and hitting the opponent.

Anecdotes

• Gyomei is blind, explaining the reason for the lack of pupils in his eyes.
  
  • According to the second fan book, he was blinded because of a fever he had as a child.
• According to Tengen Uzui, Gyomei was one of two people who became Pillars only two months after picking up a sword, the other being Muichiro Tokito.
• Even after turning 14, Sayo still wants to apologize to Gyomei for the misunderstanding.
• Gyomei is the only known Pillar who does not use a sword of the sun, favoring instead a set of chained axes.
• "Namu Amida Butsu", also known as Nembutsu, is a Shin Buddhist chant. A common translation is, "I trust in the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life.''
• Gyomei is the only Pillar, besides Muichiro and Shinobu, to have a personal connection to a Higher Rank, namely the Higher Rank Six, Kaigaku. Kaigaku was one of the orphaned children taken in by Himejima at the temple, and would later be directly responsible for a demon attack that resulted in the death of all the children except Sayo.
• Gyomei is often depicted with tears streaming down his face. It is later revealed in an additional chapter that he cries extremely easily over almost everything, crying even over something as minor as when the garbage is messed up. He was taught by another monk.
• Gyomei loves cats, a trait he has in common with the Pillar of Love, Mitsuri Kanroji.
• One of Gyomei's hobbies is playing the shakuhachi, a kind of flute. Once, when he played too long, his grandmother hit him with a broom.
• Gyomei shares his Japanese and English doubles with Kyon from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
• Gyomei's opening level has been rated at 90%.
• Gyomei's father died of an illness while his mother died giving birth to him. Some time later, he became blind due to fever. Despite this blindness, Gyomei had a keen sense of "sight" and was able to avoid the malicious actions that some people around him did (trying to trip him, throwing things at him etc.).
• This caused people around him to call him a liar, stating that no blind person would be able to do what he does.
• Gyomei once beat Inosuke head first into the ground. This happened because Inosuke unilaterally decided to challenge Gyomei to a match.