The Hashira are among the strongest characters of the Demon Slayer franchise. They are very intriguing and individualistic characters with great backstories and some awesome symbolism behind them. In this article, we are going to focus on one of the Hashira, Tengen Uzui, who was the Sound Hashira during the main narrative of Demon Slayer. In this article, we are going to tell you and explain everything you need to know about Tengen Uzui.
Tengen Uzui is the Sound Hashira in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a major character in the Entertainment District Arc and one of the most powerful Hashira in the series. He is known for having a very extroverted personality and three wives. He participated in several important battles against Demons in the series.
The rest of this article is going to focus solely on the character of Tengen Uzui, as we bring you everything you need to know. We are going to tell you some information about him and his life, as well as his role in the whole story. We are also going to answer a series of relevant questions about Tengen.
Who is the Sound Hashira in Demon Slayer?
The Hashira are the nine most powerful swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps. As such, they are the soldiers with the highest level of organization, most elites who each play a pivotal role in their war against Muzan Kibutsuji. Currently, there are nine Hashira, each of them representing a specific Breathing Style that they have adopted to and developed. As for the Sound Hashira, the current and only known Sound Hashira is Tengen Uzui, who has developed the Sound Breathing Style himself.
Who is Tengen Uzui?
Tengen Uzui was born presumably in the Meiji period, in a family of shinobi (ninja). He had 8 brothers and sisters, all were shinobi, but by Tengen’s 15th birthday, seven of them were already dead. Since the family was in decline and Uzuya’s father, panic-stricken, forced the children to train intensively. The only survivors were Tengen and his second younger brother.
He mentioned that his brother was a copy of his father and thought as inhumane as he himself. As a consequence, Tengen left the path of a shinobi, and along with Suma, Makio and Hinatsuru, who would become his future wives, became a demon hunter, under the direct influence of Kagai Ubuyashiki. He later became the Pillar of Sound.
After the arc in the red light district, Uzui Tengen left the ranks of the demon hunters. Despite this, he took part in “pillar training” as one of the coaches. Later, during the battle with Muzan Kibutsuji, he, along with the former pillar of flame Shinjuro Rengoku, protected the new head of the Ubuyashiki clan, Kiriya and his sisters, Kuina and Kanata.
Sometimes Tengen comes before us as a rude character. He is confident in himself and knows all his virtues. Despite this, he is kind at heart and feels responsible for his actions. While protecting the people during the battle with Upper Moon Six, he shows a stubborn adherence to the code of the demon hunters, though it hindered him in battle. Tengen has three wives, whom he always treats with love and tenderness, he appreciates them very much. As Tengen himself said, he is a “ladies’ man”. Likes everything bright: murders, explosions. Self-critical at times.
Why does Tengen Uzui have three wives?
If you’ve read the manga or seen the most recent episodes of the anime, you’re probably wondering why Tengen Uzui has three wives in the first place. Well, the answer is… we don’t actually know. The manga showed that he had three wives and it is even suggested that all of them married Tengen at the same time (probably when he turned 15), but the details have never been revealed, actually.
When asked, Tengen simply replied that it was because he was flamboyant, but that tells us nothing. There is a theory, based on some statements from the manga, that it is an Uzui family tradition (to marry three women when the male turns 15 years old), but that hasn’t been officially confirmed.
Is Tengen Uzui dead?
Whatever the producers of the Entertainment Disctrict Arc wanted you to believe, Tengen Uzui is not dead. He survived the clash with Gyutaro and eventually retired, surviving until the very end of the story. He is, thus, among the characters (especially the Hashira) that outlived Muzan and saw the disbandment of the Demon Slayer Corps and the disappearance of Demons.
Why did Tengen Uzui retire?
At the end of the battle against Gyutaro, Gyutaro’s poison had spread throughout Tengen’s body, preventing him from speaking. As he asw dying from the poison, Nezuko Kamado stepped in and used her Blood Power to burn the poison out of his system, successfully saving him. Once Obanai arrived on the scene, he told him that he was officially retiring from the Demon Slayer Corps and assures him that the trainee he hates so much has grown strong enough to fill the void his absence will leave, alluding to Tanjiro. As the Kakushi rush to clean up the scene, Tengen is then accompanied by his wives as he walks away to begin his retirement. Although he is seen in late chapters, it was in a very minor capacity.
How does Sound Breathing work in Demon Slayer?
Sound Breathing is a breath style unique to Tengen Uzui. This breath uses a combat strategy called “scoring”, which consists of reading the movements of its opponents and deconstructing them into sound by analyzing the rhythm of their movements. Thanks to this, he is able to take advantage of their openings to much greater effect by striking in a manner similar to interrupting the rhythm of a song. Along with this, he uses small but powerful Demon Bombs made with special gunpowder which are able to briefly subdue an Upper Moon.
Sound Breathing has a total of five forms, three of which have been revealed in the manga:
| First Form: Roar | Uzui raises his twin swords above his head and brings them down with great force while simultaneously creating an explosion with his bombs, causing a loud thunder-like sound. |
| Fourth Form: Constant Resounding Slashes | Uzui holds his swords aside and spins them rapidly along with his bombs, making this technique a combination attack and defense. |
| Fifth Form: String Performance | Uzui holds one of his swords with an inverted hilt and spins the other using the chain that connects them. He couples this by also throwing plenty of bombs to detonate. This technique was able to defeat an Upper Moon. |
How strong is Tengen Uzui?
As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Tengen is a very strong and skilled fighter. He has accomplished incredible physical feats in terms of strength and speed. He is the second strongest Hashira of the current generation and the fastest runner of all Hashira. In terms of skill, he was able to rival Daki and Gyutaro, both upper-ranking demons who have fought and killed numerous Hashira in the past.
Tengen was also able to effortlessly decapitate Daki without her noticing, so he did not consider her an upper-tier demon at all. Impressively, he was able to fend off the combined efforts of Daki and Gyutaro while infected with a poison that would kill someone instantly under normal circ*mstances, and even managed to protect bystanders in the process.
Tengen also demonstrated great skill and precision in the use of explosives, minimizing the damage to those around him and maximizing the damage to his opponents. Because of his shinobi training, Tengen has greater tactical skills and sharper senses, especially his sense of hearing, which helped him greatly during the course of the battle.
Even after losing his left hand to Gyutaro, Tengen was able to fight the high-ranking man on equal footing due to his musical score. Thus, he was able to fend off Gyutaro’s attacks, cut off his arm and pin him down, even though he lost his left eye in the process. But because of the deadly poison circulating in his body, he was unable to deliver a final blow.
As the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Tengen is one of the most powerful and skilled swordsmen in the entire organization. Unlike most Demon Slayers, Tengen chooses to use a dual-sword fighting style with his Nichirin Cleavers, reminiscent of nunchucks. In the fight against Gyutaro, Tengen shows his unique and extraordinary skills as a swordsman.
He manages to adapt to the superior’s “mantis-like” fighting style and stand up to him for a long period of time, even though the superior has over a century of fighting experience. Tengen can also use his sword handling skills in conjunction with his anti-demon bombs with great synergy, making him even more dangerous.
He also showed the ability to swing his Nichirin Cleavers with only one arm. In addition to the traditional slashes and swings, Tengen was also shown how to spin his blades on the chain. The whirling motion allows him to block blows and attack quickly in return, with the blades in constant rapid motion.
Is Tengen Uzui weak?
Absolutely not! Tengen Uzui is one of the strongest characters in the whole franchise and he is one of the toughest Hashira in the series. In fact, we believe that Tengen is one of the small number of Hashira whom Tanjiro had not surpassed, even when he was able to defeat Muzan. Tenegen has great physical powers, and he is likewise a skilled swordsman with excellent skills. His Breathing Style is also powerful to kill an Upper Moon.
What type of sword does Tengen Uzui use?
In keeping with Tengen’s flamboyant personality, he carries an equally flamboyant arsenal of weapons. As his main weapons, he uses two gigantic amber Nichirin blades, each with a notch in the sharp ends of its blade and held together at the hilt by a metal chain, so that they strongly resemble nunchakus.
It is said that his swords have great explosive power, and it is said that until Tengen’s fight against Upper Rank 6, no one had ever survived a blow from them. His hilt is circular with 4 slight indentations and is golden in color, with a maroon ring in the center outlined in green on the outside. His blades are engraved with the words Destroyer of Demons. Due to the enormous size of his sword, Tengen does not use a scabbard and instead wears it wrapped in cloth on his back.
Who voices Tengen Uzui?
The voice behind Tengen Uzui is that of Katsuyuki Konishi. Katsuyuki Konishi was born on April 21, 1973 in Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture. He is a Japanese voice actor (Seiyū). He belongs to the agency Ken Productions and is a member of Tomokazu Seki’s acting troupe Herohero Q Company. His most famous roles include Kyōshirō Mibu from Samurai Deeper Kyo, Kamina from Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, Amidamaru from Shaman King, Haji from Blood+ and Ren Tsuruga from Skip Beat!.
