#I haven't heard bincho charcoal but that's especially known for its twinkly sound AND I WANNA HEAR IT

[demonslayedher]

Thoughts on Charcoal Lore in KnY

I really love Japanese charcoal. I give myself full permission to think into it too deeply. Kikuzumi, made with kunugi oak trees that take about 6~10 years to mature, is especially beautiful, and noted for this chrysanthemum-like pattern. They're used in the tea ceremony because they don't give off smoke or fragrance, and it has a sound so kind and gentle it makes you want to cry. It's also generally thought among the Japanese fandom that the hand guard of Tanjiro's charcoal-black sword is based on this appearance.

Due to bug infestations, as well as a lack of charcoal farmers, kunugi charcoal is getting more and more precious and expensive. I have said it many times over the course of this blog, but I am upset that Kamado Kanata and Kamado Sumihiko are not charcoal farmers. Granted, Tanjiro and his forefathers weren't necessarily artisanal charcoal farmers, they just made a good quality product, even if it didn't have the same pretty design. But, to borrow from a longer post about how this may have contributed to Hinokami Kagura:

Maybe lesser known, but very deeply entrenched in Japanese culture, is the purification element of charcoal. While it may be known around the world for soaking up undesirable elements and therefore used in everything from fish tank filters to treating food poisoning, in Japan, there’s a bit of a spiritual side to it as well. For something so closely tied to the way of life for citizens throughout hundreds of years of history for everything from cooking to heating the home, it’s unsurprising that quality charcoal would receive as much emphasis as good water and rice. Japanese charcoal is especially known for not producing undesirable smoke or odor, making it appropriate for use in a lot of settings. Charcoal farmers have often not just been that; they’ve been caretakers of the forest. Keeping the right trees, at the right sizes (both for use as charcoal and for how you pack it together when making charcoal), and in the right numbers to ensure you have stock for coming years, requires management of the forest.

That means the Kamado family not only had careful management of fire in the actual days of charcoal production, but of a wide variety of natural resources to ensure the trees were healthy. Natural weather phenomena, clean water, pest control, minerals from rocks getting into the soil, hmm, so many elements to pay attention to. Hmm. These sure sound a lot like other Breaths. And Breaths all stem from Sun Breathing. That means there may be certain elements of Sun Breathing that have been emphasized in each of them, but none of them encompass so many qualities of the natural world. The natural world which Yoriichi saw with such clarity that nature accepted him with open arms, practically, in how well animals took to him. Sun Breathing, while especially using that all-important purification aspect of sunlight which burns evil demons, is like an all encompassing embrace of nature. While being closely tied with fire is hugely important, there’s more to it than just flames.

This may also play into why Sumiyoshi was so quickly able to grasp the essential of Sun Breathing.

Back to real life, in arranging charcoal in a hearth, you consider different sizes and shapes, and the air flow between them, almost like breath. You want to arrange it for the right strength, but also for how long you want it to burn. After all, once one piece of charcoal is lit, it will spread quickly to other pieces very close to it, like someone who has attained a mark lighting the same fever in swordsmen around them. I've also gushed more than a little about how beautiful the glowing red of charcoal is, as well as all the different symbolism behind the color red in KnY. I feel that the red of Red Blades is the same glowing red that charcoal gives off. But, what struck me the other day was how fragile a piece of charcoal is when burning its brightest. At the beginning of Chapter 193, Muzan reflects on how, although they don't bite quite like Yoriichi's did, Tanjiro and various Pillars attained Red Blades. Of Tanjiro, Muzan thinks that in order to have achieved this without borrowing his sister's power, Tanjiro must be on death's door. Muichiro and Iguro likewise achieved it in the same state of desperation, and Giyuu was in a similar state when he and Tanjiro both used what was left of their grips to attain that burn again in Chapter 199. While the same temperature of the blade can be attained by applying the precise amount of pressure or by using Nezuko's flames, to achieve it through one's will and physicality alone, it may be like an even more pronounced effect of the mark, which likely works by borrowing against a swordsman's lifespan for a temporary increased in power.

The Red Blade may be like the last burst of strength a candle emits right before it goes out. It takes that last reserve of strength, and for a piece of charcoal to get to that brightest glow, it has to have already undergone enough burning that it's about to crumble to ash.

[angstandhappiness]

INTERESTING

Thoughts on Charcoal Lore in KnY

I really love Japanese charcoal. I give myself full permission to think into it too deeply. Kikuzumi, made with kunugi oak trees that take about 6~10 years to mature, is especially beautiful, and noted for this chrysanthemum-like pattern. They're used in the tea ceremony because they don't give off smoke or fragrance, and it has a sound so kind and gentle it makes you want to cry. It's also generally thought among the Japanese fandom that the hand guard of Tanjiro's charcoal-black sword is based on this appearance.

Due to bug infestations, as well as a lack of charcoal farmers, kunugi charcoal is getting more and more precious and expensive. I have said it many times over the course of this blog, but I am upset that Kamado Kanata and Kamado Sumihiko are not charcoal farmers. Granted, Tanjiro and his forefathers weren't necessarily artisanal charcoal farmers, they just made a good quality product, even if it didn't have the same pretty design. But, to borrow from a longer post about how this may have contributed to Hinokami Kagura:

Maybe lesser known, but very deeply entrenched in Japanese culture, is the purification element of charcoal. While it may be known around the world for soaking up undesirable elements and therefore used in everything from fish tank filters to treating food poisoning, in Japan, there’s a bit of a spiritual side to it as well. For something so closely tied to the way of life for citizens throughout hundreds of years of history for everything from cooking to heating the home, it’s unsurprising that quality charcoal would receive as much emphasis as good water and rice. Japanese charcoal is especially known for not producing undesirable smoke or odor, making it appropriate for use in a lot of settings. Charcoal farmers have often not just been that; they’ve been caretakers of the forest. Keeping the right trees, at the right sizes (both for use as charcoal and for how you pack it together when making charcoal), and in the right numbers to ensure you have stock for coming years, requires management of the forest.

That means the Kamado family not only had careful management of fire in the actual days of charcoal production, but of a wide variety of natural resources to ensure the trees were healthy. Natural weather phenomena, clean water, pest control, minerals from rocks getting into the soil, hmm, so many elements to pay attention to. Hmm. These sure sound a lot like other Breaths. And Breaths all stem from Sun Breathing. That means there may be certain elements of Sun Breathing that have been emphasized in each of them, but none of them encompass so many qualities of the natural world. The natural world which Yoriichi saw with such clarity that nature accepted him with open arms, practically, in how well animals took to him. Sun Breathing, while especially using that all-important purification aspect of sunlight which burns evil demons, is like an all encompassing embrace of nature. While being closely tied with fire is hugely important, there’s more to it than just flames.

This may also play into why Sumiyoshi was so quickly able to grasp the essential of Sun Breathing.

Back to real life, in arranging charcoal in a hearth, you consider different sizes and shapes, and the air flow between them, almost like breath. You want to arrange it for the right strength, but also for how long you want it to burn. After all, once one piece of charcoal is lit, it will spread quickly to other pieces very close to it, like someone who has attained a mark lighting the same fever in swordsmen around them. I've also gushed more than a little about how beautiful the glowing red of charcoal is, as well as all the different symbolism behind the color red in KnY. I feel that the red of Red Blades is the same glowing red that charcoal gives off. But, what struck me the other day was how fragile a piece of charcoal is when burning its brightest. At the beginning of Chapter 193, Muzan reflects on how, although they don't bite quite like Yoriichi's did, Tanjiro and various Pillars attained Red Blades. Of Tanjiro, Muzan thinks that in order to have achieved this without borrowing his sister's power, Tanjiro must be on death's door. Muichiro and Iguro likewise achieved it in the same state of desperation, and Giyuu was in a similar state when he and Tanjiro both used what was left of their grips to attain that burn again in Chapter 199. While the same temperature of the blade can be attained by applying the precise amount of pressure or by using Nezuko's flames, to achieve it through one's will and physicality alone, it may be like an even more pronounced effect of the mark, which likely works by borrowing against a swordsman's lifespan for a temporary increased in power.

The Red Blade may be like the last burst of strength a candle emits right before it goes out. It takes that last reserve of strength, and for a piece of charcoal to get to that brightest glow, it has to have already undergone enough burning that it's about to crumble to ash.