Those of you who are fans of the series might already know that Demon Slayer is filled with characters with grim backgrounds. After all, almost everybody in this series has lost their loved ones by a demon attack at some point in their life. And that is doubly true for every member of the Hashira.
From the snake hashira who was abused as a child to the stone hashira who was betrayed by his loved ones, it appears that even the strongest members of the Demon Slayer corps are not immune to tragedy. But there is one particular Hashira that never exudes any kind of sadness, gloom, or misery. On the contrary, he is by far the most menacing, threatening, and hot-headed member of the Hashira. His name is Sanemi Shinazugawa, the wind hashira, and unbeknownst to most people, his life is actually nothing but tragedy.
The Early Life of Sanemi Shinazugawa
Sanemi Shinazugawa comes from a relatively poor family. He lives together with his parents and four siblings. He has a very kind and loving mother, but his father, on the other hand, is a very abusive man. Sanemi’s father loves to drink and gamble, and whenever he loses a gamble or is in a bad mood, he will take it out on his sons. Their mother will come to shield them from the wrath of the father. Despite her small stature, she would always try her best to protect and take care of his sons. But when she’s not around, Sanemi has to take the beating to protect his younger siblings.
One day, his father gets in a fight with the wrong people, and gets killed. On one hand, his passing means the family will no longer have to suffer through his abuse, but on the other hand, it also means that their mother becomes the sole breadwinner for the family. So as the eldest son, Sanemi takes it upon himself to work and earn some money to help her mother and his siblings. And from time to time, his younger brother, Genya, will also come and work together with him. Life may be rather hard for them, but Sanemi, his mother, and his siblings finally get the chance to smile and be happy.
That is until one night, their mother doesn’t come home after work. Sanemi goes out to look for their mother, and tells Genya to look after their siblings for a while. A couple of hours passed, and suddenly a dark figure breaks into their house, tearing everything apart. This creature moves in such a strange and quick way that the siblings have no time to run or defend themselves. In a matter of minutes, the creatures manage to attack the siblings. Sanemi burst into the room with a cleaver in his hand, swinging at the intruder. The creature tries to jump out of the window, but Sanemi quickly comes after it and finishes the job. Once everything calms down, however, Sanemi and Genya finally get to clearly see this creature. It turns out to be their mother. Seeing her mother’s bleeding to death, Genya instinctively cries out and calls her brother a murderer.
Becoming A Demon Slayer And Leaving His Brother
That fateful night, Sanemi lost his beloved mother, and younger brothers and sister. He is also estranged from his brother, Genya, because he blames Sanemi for killing their mother. What Genya doesn’t realize at the time, however, is the fact that somebody turned their mother into a demon that night. Sanemi doesn’t have the heart to explain the truth to Genya. Instead, he decided to leave his brother, and walk on the path of vengeance. By being away from him, Sanemi hopes Genya can lead a peaceful and happy life.
So begins one of the most brutal chapters in Sanemi’s life. By using knives, hatchets, cleaver, or any other kind of tools that he can get his hands on, Sanemi begins to hunt demons. Needless to say, he suffers through so many terrible injuries, but through pure rage and determination, his hunts always resulted in a successful kill.
At this point in time, Sanemi doesn’t even know that there are people out there called the Demon Slayer Corps whose sole job is to hunt and kill demons. But the Demon Slayer Corps has certainly heard about his deeds. So one day, a demon slayer named Masachika Kumeno approaches Sanemi. He recruits Sanemi into the Demon Slayer Corps, and introduces him to the master that will teach him the Wind Breathing sword technique. It doesn’t take a long time for everybody to realize that Sanemi is an incredibly talented swordsman. Some even consider him to be the best wind breathing user in history.
Becoming A Hashira
Sanemi begins to make a name for himself within the Demon Slayer Corps with his partner, Masachika. But then, an encounter with a certain demon changes their lives forever. The mission looks just like any other demon extermination mission. But as it turns out, their enemy is actually Muzan Kibutsuji’s Lower Rank One demon. After such an intense and bloody battle, Sanami manages to win and slaughter the demon. Unfortunately, Masachika’s wound is too severe, and he loses his life not long after.
As an appreciation of his stellar achievement in killing one of the twelve Kizuki, the leader of Demon Slayer Corps, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, bestows the title of Wind Hashira to Sanemi Shinazugawa. He finds the title a bit distasteful at first, because it feels like a title that is given to him in exchange for his dear friend’s life. He even goes as far as insulting Kagaya, which leads to a minor confrontation with the other Hashiras. But after sincerely talking to Kagaya, and spending more time getting to know him, Sanemi finally acknowledged his kindness and wisdom. That is why despite his foul mouth and brazen attitude, Sanemi actually respects and cares about Kagaya’s wellbeing very much.
So after having to go through a physical abuse by his father, seeing her younger siblings died before his eyes, unknowingly kills his mother, parting ways with his only remaining brother, and seeing the death of his dear friend, Sanemi Shinazugawa finally able to lead a happy and quiet life. Except that’s not the case at all. In order to prevent unnecessary spoilers, the events mentioned in this article only goes as far as the current anime adaptation. Just know that life is not done with Sanemi yet. There will be more tragedy coming his way in the subsequent story arcs. Tragedies that will leave permanent wound on his body, break his heart, and take everything away from him.