In the first episode of Demon Slayer, Tanjiro returns home to find his family dead. He senses an odd smell, indicating someone has killed his family. Moreover, his sister Nezuko had been turned into a demon. Later in the series, Tanjiro finds the same smell while strolling through the crowded streets of Asakusa, Tokyo. This is when the story reveals that Muzan Kibutsuji, the Demon King, killed the protagonist’s family.
However, the mystery behind why Muzan killed Tanjiro’s family, the Kamados, remains. Was the Tanjiro family massacre a matter of coincidence, or was there more to the tragedy? A Reddit fan theory discusses the reasons why Muzan killed Tanjiro’s family.
Why did Muzan kill the Kamados?
Although neither the manga nor the anime reveals why Muzan killed Tanjiro’s family, there are various theories that the fandom has come up with. A dive into the theories suggests that most of them are debatable. However, they come close to being potential reasons behind the tragic Kamado family massacre.
One of the theories states that the Kamado family massacre could have been a chance occurrence. Muzan might have been walking past the Kamado household and spotted them. It might have been their poor fate that upon spotting them, he might have attacked them to satiate his hunger.
However, this theory is critiqued with the idea that Muzan, the Demon King, would not walk around in the middle of nowhere, much less a remote mountain. Besides, even if he turned Nezuko into a demon as one of his experimental subjects, he would not consider doing so far away from the city.
Muzan Kibutsuji, despite being the formidable Demon King, usually camouflages with the general crowd. Not only that, he sends his underlings to kill the “boy with the Hanafuda earrings” instead of confronting him himself.
Another theory suggests that Muzan might have attacked Tanjiro’s family due to their connection to Yoriichi, who almost killed Muzan years ago. Given his petty disposition, it makes sense for the Demon King to hold a grudge against Sun Breathing users. Hence, he might have decided to kill them as revenge.
However, it is a long shot to assume that Muzan would know that Yoriichi was once friends with the Kamado family’s ancestors. Yoriichi almost killed Muzan using Sun Breathing, but to idealize that the Demon King was aware of Yoriichi passing down Sun Breathing as “Hinokami Kagura” to the Kamados is a remote possibility.
Moreover, Tanjiro was the only one who wore the Hanafuda earrings resembling Yoriichi’s. He was not at home when Muzan attacked his family. Muzan recognizes the earrings when he sees Tanjiro in Tokyo and sends his demons to finish the protagonist. This is because he possibly did not want to confront another potential Sun Breather and risk death.
Muzan and his search for the rare Blue Spider Lily
Finally, the theory that makes the most sense is that Muzan went to the mountain to look for Blue Spider Lily. The rare flower has medicinal properties crucial for Muzan Kibutsuji’s treatment.
Tanjiro’s mother, Kie Kamado, showed him the flower when he was a child. The flower only blooms for about 2-3 days a year during the daytime. Since Muzan is not immune to sunlight, he may not have found the flower when he attacked the Kamados. However, he might not know that the flower blooms in daylight. This explains why Akaza could not find it despite Muzan’s relentless threats.
Whether the Kamados had a bad fate or Muzan had clear intentions while attacking them, the tragic Kamado family massacre gave an intriguing kickstart to the narrative. Searching for the Blue Spider Lily is the safest bet that Muzan went to the mountain and stumbled upon the Kamados, only to kill them brutally.
