Sakonji Urokodaki, a master swordsman and the main cultivator of the water breathing technique is known to have trained powerful swordsman such as Giyu Tomioka and Tanjiro Kamado. Sakonji is no mere swordsman but a retired member of the demon slayer corps,previously holding onto titlessuch as the Water Hashira.
What’s fascinating about Sakonji’s character is that he is never seen with his mask off, read on to find out the possible reasons why he prefers to keep his mask always on.
RELATED:Demon Slayer: Every Major Character’s Age, Height, And Birthday
Master Swordsman
Known to be one of the most powerful swordsmans in the Demon Slayer series and as a former Water Hashira, Sakonji is most famously known for apprehending and imprisoning theHand Demon on Mt. Fujikasaneon his own. As an educated swordsman specialized in water breathing, he has taught many students and is remarkably fit for someone who appears to be rather old, even with the mask on. He was also able to keep up and teach Tanjiro the ways of water breathing despite his old age.
After serving the demon slayer corps for 47 years he decided it was time that he retired and then chose to reside in the mountains, so he could train the upcoming generation of demon slayer corps the ways of the water breathing technique. Unfortunately all the students he trained were killed by the hands of the monster which he imprisoned.
Even throughout the Manga, Sakonji never reveals his face and is always seen wearing the notable tengu mask and a light blue kimono with clouds on them, he is also sometimes seen wearing a white cloth to cover his head and ears while also wrapping it around his neck.Since Sakonji’s face has neverbeen revealed, it is speculated that Sakonji was never given a face in the first place and rather writers may have kept the tengu mask a symbol of identity to represent Sakonji as it carries a definitive meaning.
As a teacher he is seen to be a strict and ruthless instructor as he pushes Tanjiro to his limits when teaching him the ways of water breathing, however he is also seen to be kind and compassionate towards Nezuko and fully trusting her to never harm humans.
The Mask
The Tengu mask that Sakonji wears has deep symbolistic meaning in Japanese mythology and is often connected to mountains. It is said that wearing a tengumask brings good luck to the wearerand protects him/her from evil spirits. Another common explanation of the tengu masks are that they represent knowledge and wisdom, this shows that the mask was fitting for Sakonji’s character as he lived a lifestyle in the mountains and was also a teacher who taught those worthy the water breathing technique.
A couple of common fan theories also speculate that the reason he wears this mask is that behind the mask Sankonji has a pleasant face that demons used to make fun of when he used to battle them, another reason could be that Sankonji has seen many students die during his time as a teacher and in order to hide his feelings from others hewears the mask ashe is known to be a respected swordsman.
Apart from being a master swordsman, Sankonji has a pastime activity, which is creating masks which he gifts his favorite students, these masks are however not just regular masks but ones that have a warding protection spells on them, most of these masks are in the shape of foxes (otherwise known as kitsune masks).
These masks were given to his best students, as we see inthe series these masksare given to Sabito, Makomo, Gaiyu and finally Tanjiro, after he defeated the monster.
MORE:Demon Slayer: Every Member Of The Hashira, Ranked In Terms Of Strength
