Upper-Ranks are some of the most mysterious and interesting characters in Demon Slayer, so here’s everything we know about Upper-Rank One.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Koyoharu Gotouge’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga, available in English via Viz Media.
The upper ranks of the Twelve Kizuki are the most powerful demons in all Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. However, Upper-Rank One stands head and shoulders above the rest, its power in a class of its own. In the penultimate story of the manga, the “Infinity Castle” arc, it took the combined strength of Gyomei Himejima, Sanemi Shinazugawa, Muichiro Tokito, and Genya Shinazugawa to defeat Kokushibo in a fight in which both Muichiro and Genya lost their lives to him. almost unstoppable demon. . then who is Kokushibo, the most powerful demon in Muzan and the only one the Progenitor of Demons seems to have any real respect for?
Kokushibo never moved from his position as High Rank One, and with Muzan’s permission, he would consume any demon that challenged him to Blood Match to replace him. Akaza, who challenged Kokushibo three times, was the only one whom Kokushibo spared after defeating him as a sign of respect for the Upper Three as a fellow warrior. Muichiro Tokito previously defeated Upper-Rank Five single-handedly, but Kokushibo literally single-handedly ran him through with his own sword before Muichiro knew what happened. Even Himejima, whom Kokushibo called the most powerful Hashira in 300 years, was almost helpless against Kokushibo once the moon-breathing demon got serious.
Kokushibo can use breathing techniques because, like every other demon Muzan has ever created, he was once human. However, unlike most demons, he was also a Demon Slayer. When he was human, his name was Michikatsu Tsugikuni, the twin brother of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the first Sun-Breather and creator of Breathing Styles. Unlike Yoriichi, Michikatsu was no a child prodigy as a swordsman. All Michikatsu ever wanted was to be the greatest samurai in all of Japan, and the fact that his brother was not only prodigiously talented but had no interest in swordsmanship drove Michikatsu mad with envy.
Once Michikatsu and Yoriichi parted ways as children, Michikatsu eventually settled into a happy life as a husband and father. However, when Yoriichi suddenly appeared one day as an adult and saved Michikatsu from a demon, he remembered his childhood dream and abandoned his wife and children to become a Demon Slayer. When Yoriichi joined the Demon Slayer Corps, none of them used or even knew about breathing styles, so Yoriichi taught them. Unfortunately, none of them, including Michikatsu, were able to master solar breathing. Michikatsu was the closest with his moon breath, but his extraordinary skill was still nothing compared to his brother’s.
Michikatsu even manifested his Mark, thus increasing his strength and abilities even further, but it was not the Mark of a chosen Sun-Breather. Desperate to become a better swordsman before his mark prematurely robbed him of his life, Michikatsu accepted Muzan Kibutsuji’s offer to become the first Breathing Styles user to become a demon. After Muzan’s near-death experience at Yoriichi’s hands, he and Michikatsu, now officially known as Kokushibo, traveled around Japan eliminating anyone who knew of Sun-Breathing. While they somehow missed the Kamado family, they actively avoided Yoriichi, knowing that none of them stood a chance against him.
Those who manifest his Mark must die at 25, but Yoriichi lived to be 85, and even as a decrepit old man, he almost killed Kokushibo when the two met for the first time since Michikatsu became a demon. When Yoriichi died of old age standing in front of Kokushibo, the moon-breathing demon angrily destroyed his brother’s body, yelling that he hated him for making him feel so embarrassingly inferior. In the “Infinity Castle” arc, as Kokushibo’s body withered from the wound a dying Muichiro Tokito inflicted on him with a burning red katana, he agonized over why Yoriichi always made him feel so bad. In his last moments, Kokushibo recognized that all he wanted was to be as strong as Yoriichi.
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