#kyogo shinazugawa

[luxthestrange]

KNY Incorrect quotes#95 Trauma-

Modern Au!

Y/n: Kyogo tried to pick a fight with me today, But by "pure" coincidence I happened to know Sanemi, his eldest son on a first-name basis, I yelled his name and he looked at me and smiled...and after that I told him-

Y/n*Looking up at Kyogo with a grin of pure malice*Im gonna f*ck your son~

Y/n: I Gave that man MORE psychological damage than Anyone COULD or Have~

[zehl0w]

Hi I spent like three hours on this.

[xxlady-lunaxx]

sanemi and genya with ptsd from their father

both of them being able to handle it mostly & it’s all fine, right? really, it’s hardly there—and most of it is because they’re so used to their father being so much bigger, much more intimidating, and both of them aren’t, well, children anymore. anyone taller tends to be nothing more than, maybe, a foot. hardly comparing to the gut-wrenching feeling of being as small as an ant under their father’s gaze. so it was fine. they were fine.

but—

it wasn’t like it was a secret that gyomei was possibly the tallest—largest—in maybe the whole corps. gyomei was actually pretty (emotionally) close to both shinazugawa’s, always very kind. he might even be one of the closest people to sanemi now. definitely for genya. but what’s also not a secret is that both shinazugawa’s are also… prone to starting arguments. mostly sanemi, of course. but genya has had his times, too.

thinking about sanemi and gyomei getting in a (verbal) fight over genya (with genya present). shinobu’s there, unable to step in because they’re both too loud and she could hardly detain them this far into the argument. gyomei sort of losing his cool—he’s aghast at sanemi’s treatment towards his brother and he’s just had a shitty day, he’s riled up and can’t bother taking a breather—so he raises his hands, mostly to show his frustration. he’s about to say something but—for some reason—it’s really quiet.

sanemi was probably ranting and shouting the whole time, gritting his teeth and acting like a petulant child—genya was not his responsibility and he had no reason to be nice to him!—but then gyomei’s hands fly up and, without meaning to, sanemi flinches. he doesn’t know why, but he stiffens, arms raising half way up, already stepping towards genya. instinctively feeling the need to protect. it takes him a moment to come to his senses—this is gyomei, for fuck’s sake. he wouldn’t do anything! yet sanemi’s already backed away. he tenses, more, somehow, and his eyes are wide as he realizes what he’s done.

gyomei seems confused, a bit worried. most likely sensing sanemi’s sudden panic. genya and shinobu are different stories—they saw and neither are strangers to impulsive reactions. genya had almost ducked behind sanemi, forgetting himself. his mind had decided right then to trigger the little button that said ‘hide’ and, looking at sanemi and his defensive posture, ‘safety.’ but his movement wasn’t as quick as his brother’s and he stops, able to come to terms with what had happened faster than sanemi. shinobu, on the other hand, was already putting two and two together. placing both the shinazugawa’s behaviors—their inefficient, somewhat physical ways of dealing with things… and now this.

shinobu was the one who stepped in, in the end. sighing, she begins to direct genya inside. sanemi’s posture is slumped, he’s curled into himself, almost ashamed. gyomei’s confusion has morphed to worry and he’s asking something, tentatively, but shinobu quiets him with the promise to explain. she ushers sanemi away gently, speaking in a soft tone as he tries to avoid her.

the ptsd was just buried deep, snuffled out by sore attempts to forget the past. doesn’t mean it’s gone, though. sanemi gets let off from the conversations about genya for now and gyomei gets a little more careful around the shinazugawa’s, despite the reassurances that it wasn’t his fault.

(genya doesn’t mind and is mostly worried about sanemi… sanemi, on the other hand, probably agonizes about it for weeks on end :c)

[princeblue]

anyway. Here’s my dying thought before my phone inevitably goes poot again: I know there’s a canonical reason why Genya keeps his hair long, but there’s a part of me that likes to imagine he keeps it long to differentiate between Kyogo and himself

[miloxxt]

Shizu and Kyogo going through a hard divorce process after she couldn't stay with him any longer. Kyogo is winning because he makes more money than her and was able to get a better lawyer. Seeing how his soon to be ex-wife is struggling, he gives her an ultimatum. Give Genya to him, and he will let the other children stay with her. Shizu is crushed because she doesn't want to give her child away, but she neither wants to lose all her children. They both go back to arguing, not noticing Genya, who was listening to their conversation.

Without even realizing it, Shizu lost her second oldest to Kyogo.

[d3monslay3rmemes]

Demon Slayer Twitter Pt. 49

[burntbiscuitswithcheese]

Shinazugawa Parents!

Yay! I finally posted the drawings I made for Kyogo and Shizu. I've been keeping these in my gallery all week. My lazy bum finally got to sharing it.

They look a little wonky, but it's my first time drawing them so I hope you guys don't mind.

[wrongmentalstate]

Sanemi should have died during the final battle.

Look I love Sanemi.

He's my favorite hashira but for his mental sake and mine, he should have died.

The man legit had nobody left.

His mother, dead.

Masachika (One of his best friends), dead.

Kanae (It was proven that Sanemi enjoyed talking to her), dead.

Rengoku (Everybody likes the dude), dead.

Ubuyashiki (parental figure), dead.

Shinobu (He checked on her from time to time), dead.

Iguro (his besto friendo), dead.

Genya (No explanation needed), dead.

the only one remotely close to him that is alive was Uzui. (Sanemi saw him as an older brother.)

but still.

HE SHOULD HAVE REUNITED WITH EVERYBODY!?!?

reason 362 of why I hate Kyogo:

NOOOO DON'T!???!????

PLEASE DONT!???!????!?!

DONT BE TOUGH!!???!?!??!

MOTHER FUCKER STAY DEAD PLEASE!???!?!?!?

sources so people dont think im fucking myself over:

also some sanemi & genya to heal your heart <3

[fantasyheartswithyoustuffs]

I already read Shinazuagawa family tree from KnY Fanbook and it says:

Although that solves which is the youngest child which is Koto (the kid that sleeps in Genya's arms and the smallest one among the other siblings).

I'm still confuse who's who among the siblings, because when I'm searching the name didn't match up the character. Like which one is Sumi, is it the red one or the green one? Because I search her name and she ends up with two pictures. In website A she's the red one, but in website B she's the green one.

All I know is:

Shizu [mother]

Kyogo [father]

Sanemi [1st child/1st son]

Genya [2nd child/2nd son]

Koto [7th child/5th son]

The rest is Sumi, Teiko, Shuya, and Hiroshi. I don't know who's who here. I hope someone tell me the correct information.

[demonslayedher]

How large do you think the Shinazugawa dad was compared to their mom in size measurements?

Hmm...

I tell ya', Anon, I am really bad at eyeballing measurements. But as a point of reference, Sanemi is 179cm. So take it from there, I guess?

EDIT: Anon, please see the notes on this post for a helpful assessment by @nenesleepyhead !

[sirani-8927]

I kind of hate how it's considered controversial to write a bad parent as good and vise versa. I primarily talk about miraculous where the issue isn't as prevalent, but I've noticed how unpopular outside of Japanese and Korean fanarts it is to depict Kyogo as a good parent. The tag is non-existent on ao3. And while there is more content on Stella and Stolas being together, most of it is Stella and Stolas being divorced and having a past, or Stella being abusive, not them being happy and together. It just makes me sad since fandom space has always been a space for exploring new ideas for media we all love. But it seems that with the progression of the internet, shielding or gatekeeping certain subjects is also way more common, and it wasn't like this in the past. I understand how people who write these fangics are coping with their own situations by writing terrible people being terrible people, but the way I cope is completely different where I write those same characters being sweeter or loving. As bad people who are trying to make up for what they did, or people who weren't completely terrible to begin with. I don't know, I guess I'm an optimist like that. I'm not delusional or stupid. The people who hurt me will never be good, but I wish it didn't happen sometimes. Or that I least got an apology. So it's nice for me to see those characters have those nuances, but we don't see them for any of the explicitly bad characters in fandom spaces anymore. I'm not even looking for some complicated backstory or explanation, I genuinely want just the bare minimum. A bit of nuance. I'm reading this amazing fanfiction that centers the shinazugawa brothers in the aftermath of Kyogo killing everyone, and he genuinely gets some character and interest for him that I've found is really rare. Spoilers, but there's a few times where he has regret for allowing Genya to be hurt (because a different character hurts Genya when she shows up) in certain ways and doesn't want him to die before the opening of the story. It adds a lot to his characteristics my opinion that we don't get to see in a lot of other fanfiction with him in it and I live seeing it. It makes the character a bit more realistic to me.

If you plan on reading the fanfic, please please PLEASE read the tags before you do, especially if you have triggers to: child Sexual assault, child murder, or child physical abuse as these themes come up a lot in the story

[anqelically]

જ⁀➴ LOVE ME, LOVE ME NOT

SUMMARY. with the knowledge of your relationship on his mind, sanemi takes it upon himself to gauge giyuu’s true feelings

WARNINGS. 1.5k words, platonic sanemi x older sister!reader, giyuu x shinazugawa!reader, brief depictions of abuse and injury (from kyogo, their father), giyuu feels slightly ooc towards the end to me 😣

a diary entry of the “mono no aware” series !

sanemi shinazugawa was not heartless. he might’ve been ruthless when need be, but deep inside there was a certain side of his behind closed doors. his late mother and siblings, masachika, genya, you— he cared for all of you behind his rough exterior.

in your case, there was a specific promise he made to himself because he cared. you were bruised after one of your father’s wraths when your mother, shizu, tended to your wounds. her small hands pressed a cold cloth to your arm as stray tears fell down your cheeks.

in a hurry, you wiped them away in the hopes your younger siblings weren’t looking. you were the eldest among them all, so you felt as if you couldn’t show them the pain you felt. your father’s hits hurt, but seeing them writhing in pain hurt more.

it wasn’t the first time you took a beating for your younger siblings, but it was the first time that instead of sanemi being hurt himself, it was you in his place. as you hugged his and genya’s smaller frames, your father, kyogo, repeatedly kicked your back during his drunken fit.

“why’d you jump in front of me?” sanemi asked, staring at the newly formed bruise. despite how recent it was, it was already turning into a deep shade of purple. “how will you heal if you keep getting new injuries?”

you merely smiled at him, “the pain from these go away eventually, but the memory of seeing you guys in pain won’t. as long as you’re my little brother, i’ll protect you from anything thrown our way.”

it was after kyogo’s death that sanemi made his promise to you. he was going back home after delivering materials with genya for money when they stumbled upon you being scolded in front of a vendor’s stall.

someone had run into you, causing you to bump into one of the displays. the man’s fruits had fallen to the ground, and the blame was placed upon you because he never saw the person who was running. this man knew your father, and just like everyone else, hated him. you were only half-listening to his angry rambles when he struck you in the face.

you supposed he hated your father so much that it extended to you, his child.

genya called out for you in worry, and you took that as your cue to leave. you rushed towards your brothers, taking a thrown apple to the back before ushering them away from the scene. sanemi said nothing as you placed your hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly.

you asked them if they were okay, but all he could think about was you. were you okay after everything? how were you okay at all? you always took it upon yourself to keep them safe and comfortable when you could, but besides your mother, who was there to look out for you? 

so sanemi made a promise to himself— he wouldn’t let anyone hurt you anymore. if he ever saw you getting yelled at, he stepped in and argued back. if someone tried laying a hand on you, he took it upon himself to smack their hand away. and when a boy your age was obviously hitting on you, he’d keep his eye out for you. he might’ve been younger than you, but he sure did act like a protective older brother.

even after growing up, his protective disposition remained.

so when he thought giyuu tomioka had taken advantage of you, he was beyond angry. his older sister, one of the kindest people he knew, was being harassed by someone he already disliked— in his eyes, that was reasonable enough to beat up the water hashira beyond saving.

but then you revealed your relationship to him before it could go that far, leaving him at a loss. although he did suspect your feelings, he didn’t expect them to be reciprocated. sanemi knew you got along with the black-haired hashira but not to that extent.

your relationship crossed sanemi’s mind a few times for the next 2 days. sanemi wanted you to be happy, but if it meant being happy because of giyuu’s ill intentions, then forget it. with that in mind, he invited the water hashira to his estate.

giyuu entered the grounds of sanemi’s estate with quiet steps. it wasn’t like the wind hashira to invite him over, and after the events that took place at your estate, it was especially odd. he took a quick look around before the sound of rushed footsteps reached his ears.

‘wind breathing fifth form: cold mountain wind’

‘water breathing seventh form: drop ripple thrust’

giyuu stared at sanemi, whose sword he blocked using his own. a sudden attack was the last thing he was expecting upon arriving at the estate. the white-haired hashira jumped back before scoffing at giyuu’s distant expression. his face alone made him ticked off.

“what was that for?”

sanemi sheathed his nichirin sword and after watching him do so, giyuu did the same. sanemi elaborated, “hurt y/n in any way and i’ll cut your head clean off.”

the noirette blinked, “does she know you’re making threats?”

“it’s a warning, not a threat. listen up, tomioka, if your feelings for y/n are superficial, end it now and don’t show your face to hers. neither of you will end up unscathed-“

“that sure sounded like a threat.”

“i’ll turn it into one.”

they stood in silence for a moment before giyuu took it upon himself to speak, “i don’t know where you got the idea, but i have no intention of hurting y/n. she’s the most important person to me, so i wouldn’t dare to lay a hand on her.”

“and how do i know you’re not just saying that to save your own ass?” the wind hashira raised a brow.

“you don’t, since you only have my word, but don’t you think it’s an insult to y/n? she is no fool. if anyone were to find me in a lie, y/n would be one of the first to. i wouldn’t waste my time in a relationship if it were for a superficial purpose.”

at his words, sanemi couldn’t help but wonder, “do you love her?”

“what?”

“you heard me, tomioka. do you love y/n?”

it was a question he couldn’t immediately answer. as silence draped over the pair, the blue-eyed man found himself deep in thought. giyuu was sure that he liked you romantically, but was his feelings, as deep as they were, considered love? he suddenly thought of the night the two of you confessed.

“this nearly feels like a dream,” you murmured.

“i hope not,” a faint smile adorned his lips. “when i dream of something, it doesn’t last very long. i don’t want this,” he intertwined his fingers with yours, “to end.”

“well then, we best not let it.” you fought back your own smile as you rested your head in the crook of his neck, “i don’t want this to end either. so, if you allow me, i’d love to be yours.”

giyuu’s lips then curled further as he stared at you in adoration, “yeah, i like the sound of that.”

he remembered how fast his heart raced against his chest that night, and the feeling of relief when he got to hold you in his arms. as endearing as it was, it didn’t seem like love.

the past few days, however, there was a shift in the air.

everything was already routine. missions, rest, training— all of it was on an endless loop, and although it was always a repetitive bore, it wasn’t so boring with you. giyuu looked forward to coming back from missions for a different reason other than the fact that he could rest.

everything mundane that he had no reason to look forward to now made him excited to spend time with you because with you, nothing in the world could be a bore.

giyuu tomioka wasn’t familiar with love, but finding joy in such a simple moment with you— that seemed like love to him.

sanemi, watching closely, noticed the slight curve of the water hashira’s lips. a warmth spread throughout giyuu’s chest before he met your brother’s eyes, and that was enough for sanemi to know how he felt.

as much as he disliked giyuu, knowing that you were happy with him and that his feelings were also true, the wind pillar turned his head away. he waved his hand, “nevermind. you can leave.”

giyuu tilted his head in confusion, “do you not want my answer anymore?”

“i don’t need it.”

“you were pressed for it moments ago.”

“leave before i kick your ass.”

giyuu blinked twice before he also turned around. he knew better than to bicker with sanemi when he was in any sort of mood. without a word, the water pillar left the grounds of the wind estate and headed for yours.

when he showed up at your door, you greeted him with a smile and a peck on the lips. and even though the two of you shared a meal in silence, he was sure that in his heart, all he had was love for you.

this entry’s taisho secret— without you knowing, sanemi showed up to the fruit seller’s stall the next day, knocked everything over, and ran away. though, he made sure to take a few fruits for your family to have for lunch, and as much as he hates to admit it, they were tasty

signed on 11/01/2024 | other diary entries

• have any questions? feel free to write a letter to my inbox !

@aureatchi @piichuu @queenof3ferrets @todorokies @staygoldsquatchling02 @luffy0s @egoistars @soleelia @kazunish @gwendolyngonzalez @zoaqttz @ravencrow1995 @koraarchives

[xxlady-lunaxx]

WHAT IF GENYA SPOKE TO GYOMEI ABOUT HOW SANEMI TREATS HIM AND GYOMEI LATER TALKING TO SANEMI ABOUT IT AND REFERRING IT TO ABUSE.

(flashbacks to kyogo)

[princeblue]

I fully believe Shizu could decimate Sanemi, Genya and Kyogo in a drinking competition

[demonslayerunhinged]

Unhinged theory

Okay so this theory is complete bullshit and doesn't have any merit but I just wanted to get it out of my system.

I wonder why Shizu didn't eat the kids the moment she killed them. Like we know that when you're turned into a demon you're overcome by a hunger so great that you won't be able to think straight.

Like okay, maybe she wanted to finish off Genya before she started feasting but she could have just eaten them, it's not like Genya posed any actual danger and her movements were too calculated like oneshotting all 4 kids including Koto and breaking the lights right before attacking Genya.

So here's my theory, I think Shizu deliberately killed her kids. Why? Because she was tired of them. Y'know how becoming a demon brings out the twisted version of your soul like Akaza's fighting, Dakis obsession with beauty and Gyutaros hatred of humanity, and Hantengu's entire existence? What if Shizu deep down was tired of being a mom? And she low-key resented her kids? What if she was tired of seeing them suffer?

Genya said she was very small but what if in reality she was just very young? Like in her late teens? It's not so out there after all Tamayo is 19 biologically and she had a husband and kids. Shizu could have been 14 or 15 when she had Sanemi.

So this is a young girl, married this older man, probably out of necessity or against her will, and given Kyogo's violence there's a chance that some of the kids were a product of rape.

She's living in poverty, married to an absolute dick of a husband who beats her all while trying to make ends meet and take care of SEVEN kids!

Even for the Taisho era, seven kids is a lot and other people seem to think so too, in the light novel Genya remembers how their landlord's son used to taunt them as 'the poor people with a lot of kids'.

The thing that really cemented this theory for me is the afterlife scene with Sanemi. Her shame. Not sadness or despair but shame. Shame so strong she doesn't even want to alert her kids to her existence and she covers her face and hides when she sees Sanemi. What if that shame stems from guilty? Guilt over her resentment towards her kids?

I'm not saying that Shizu hated her kids, but what if she was just...tired? Tired of being used as a punching bag? Tired of seeing her babies get hurt and go hungry every night? Tired of being treated like dirt and having people make fun of her family? Tired of being judged for circumstances that were out of her control? Tired of struggling? Tired of her life? Tired of everything?

Regarding Sanemi and Genya, I feel like they both have an idealized image of their mother and that's probably why Sanemi refused to accept the knowledge that Nezuko could resist attacking humans by thinking about her family, because then he would have to face the truth that maybe their mother never really loved them? Or that her love wasn't as strong as he thought?

It's a really hard pill to swallow for a lot of us because we don't want to think about the fact that our moms, even if they love us or at least tolerate us, may not have wanted us or may have thought their lives would've been better if they hadn't had us.

This isn't uncommon in real life either. The subreddit r/regretfulparents has over 120k members, then there's this insightful thread where parents who regret having kids share their feelings, there's also experiences from women here and here.

Something to think about. I'm sorry but I feel like the Shinazugawa kids, all they truly had was each other and they didn't know it. They never really stood a chance.

Yea so...

[pompomchihuahua]

Shizu Shinazugawa: What Makes a Good Mother?

We know very little about Shizu as a character; what little information we are given about her is through the lens of her children, who adore her. We are, however, able to infer a lot about how her life may have been based on time period and location and the few snippets from the light novels and show that we are given.

The question of what makes a good mother is a topic that's been debated both philosophically and scientifically. A good mother is wise and firm but soft; they are future-oriented, but they cannot prioritize the future over the now. They are present, but they are working; they must be in control without being controlling, and they must teach responsibility without putting pressure. It is a tightrope of expectations, a dichotomy, a job where the rules are changing constantly as society changes and we continue to evolve.

Everyone has a different answer when asked what makes a good mother. However, I feel that saying Shizu was a good or bad mother neglects the nuance of her situation. I have seen multiple people assert whether Shizu falls into the good mother or bad mother category, and I wanted to explore that topic in this essay and explain why the answer is much more complicated than "good" or "bad" or yes or no.

It is important to remember that, at the end of the day, our mothers are human and are prone to mistakes, and sometimes, circumstances can force our hands to make choices we otherwise wouldn't make.

One major circumstance would be her economic position in society; there is much evidence to suggest that the Shinazugawas were considered hinmin or, simply put, extremely poor. From the descriptions and depictions of their home to the light novels outright calling them poor to Genya's comment about sleeping when he gets hungry, Gotouge does not shy away from their economic situation.

Not only that, but as I've discussed before, she functioned as essentially a single mother. Kyogo is repeatedly referred to as "unreliable" and is described as "this man who walked around, breath stinking of alcohol from morning until night, who hit Mom whenever he got the chance." From that line, we can infer that he was also an alcoholic. Now, this is speculation, but it is unlikely he was able to hold down a job, and he probably blew through any money he did bring in on buying alcohol. The beatings, judging by what little we're shown, look to be particularly brutal.

Divorce wasn't entirely uncommon in the Meiji and Taisho eras of Japan however, it often was in the husband's favor. Shizu had few options for recourse that wouldn't completely abandon her children.

Now, we know that Kyogo was a contemptible man who beat his wife and children, hated not just by his family but the people around him. The wiki (I can't find the exact source) states he was stabbed to death in the street due to other people's resentment of him.

We also know that Kyogo died while Sanemi was very young, mid-teens at the latest. While this would bring relief from the beatings, Shizu would still have to face the challenges of being a single mother in Japan with seven children.

(I highly recommend watching this documentary)

The Meiji period is often considered the low point in Japan's history of women's rights. It saw the institutionalization of the patriarchal family system (ie seido) and a sharp uptick in the mistreatment of women.

In Japan (and indeed, in many nations), women are expected to manage the household. This is perhaps best exemplified by a common saying in post-World War I Japan: "Good wife; Wise mother." Many women of the time internalized this saying. With it came strict expectations of what defined womanhood for Meiji-era Japan and beyond.

This one phrase shifted the entire division of labor amongst the sexes: women became entirely responsible for domestic labor, and with it came societal expectations. It was the woman's job to uphold the household, please her husband, and raise the children. Thus, any failure of the above would mark her as a failure as a woman.

Single mothers are often viewed through this highly critical lens. Even if they are the ones to initiate the divorce, the blame for the marriage not working is often laid at their feet.

"But Shizu didn't divorce Kyogo!"

Setting aside the fact that society at large wouldn't have the full context of Shizu's situation, widows also did not receive much sympathy. The late Meiji saw the rise of the term Mibojin (Or "the not-yet-dead-one"). The intended connotation of this word is that the woman should have died with her husband and that it is somehow shameful that she didn't.

There was a high level of discrimination against widows and very little in the way of safety nets for them. While I'm unable to find the exact wage gap between women and men in Taisho Japan, the modern wage gap is about 30.2%, so for every 100 yen a man makes, women make about 70 yen.

Not only that, but single mothers are often forced to take part-time or low-paying jobs. The poverty rate of single-parent homes in Japan is 56%, which is staggering. (For reference, America, another country with poor social safety nets for struggling mothers, has a single-parent poverty rate of 33.5%.) Now, while these are modern statistics, it is important to note that many of the societal issues that caused these numbers arose during the Meiji and Taisho eras—when Shizu would have been alive.

This is to say that Shizu faced many societal pressures at the time, which led to her most likely having little to no support networks or reliable income. Genya himself says this: "My mother was always working, from morning until night. Not once did I ever see her sleeping."

One of the main criticisms I've seen of Shizu is that she is overly reliant on Sanemi (and, to some extent, Genya, but mostly Sanemi) to the point that he was parentified. Now, for those that may not have heard this term before, parentification is a term that was coined in 1967 and is used to describe a sort of role reversal where a child or adolescent (teen) is made to support the family in ways that are developmentally inappropriate.

Think of this example: Your mother asks you to help her cook and gives you small, age-appropriate tasks, versus you are expected to cook and provide a meal for the family by yourself. The second example is parentification.

There are two types of parentification: instrumental and emotional. Instrumental parentification encompasses the physical tasks of cleaning, cooking, and working, whereas emotional parentification occurs when a child is made to be a confidant or mediator.

For Sanemi (and, to a lesser extent, Genya), we can surmise that he was at least instrumentally parentified as he worked to put food on the table. It is highly likely he was emotionally parentified, as he was described as Shizu's 'right-hand' and as taking care of his siblings as well. This role would have been incredibly burdensome for a child.

However, it's unlikely that Shizu has any other choice.

On a personal note, Shizu's situation reminds me of my Abuelita. While obviously not an exact one-to-one, I will admit to feeling a bit of a connection with her. A single mother living in poverty with too many children to possibly keep them all fed.

She often relied on my dad and his older brother to care for their little sisters, but only because she had to. She had to work day and night so they would have a roof over their heads and some food—so they could survive, first and foremost. If she had had a choice, she would have never placed that burden on them, and I see that reflected in how I personally view Shizu. From what little we are shown from the boy's POV, it paints the picture of a kind and caring woman who would lay down her life for her children.

It doesn't necessarily make it right or fair that Sanemi had to take on those burdens at such a young age; breadwinner, child-rearer, confidant. But, to lay the blame entirely at Shizu's feet is to imply that she had control.

Another criticism I've seen is that she neglected Sanemi and Genya. This likely comes from Genya's line: "I was the second oldest after Sanemi, and Mom was always too busy taking care of our little brothers and sisters, so she never really babied me."

We can guess from this that if she didn't baby Genya as the second eldest, she was unlikely to baby Sanemi, especially since Genya himself asks, "Who on earth was there to baby him?"

As tragic as it is, this is relatively common for parentified older siblings in large families. They are overlooked in favor of the youngest, who can't care for themselves as well as the older children can.

However, from the way Genya and Sanemi talk about her, it is undeniable that they adored her. Something my dad told me about my grandmother stuck out to me: "In all the years she raised us, she never told us she loved us. But we knew because she worked day and night for us. We didn't need her to tell us constantly."

It is clear that Shizu loved her children in her actions—the way she throws herself between them and Kyogo, the way she works day and night, and the overflowing affection Sanemi describes feeling from her.

While this doesn't change that she didn't give them the attention they needed, it wasn't from a lack of caring.

A third criticism I've seen is that Shizu should not have had so many children if she couldn't support them. Putting aside that this lays all of the blame for conception at the woman's feet, it also ignores other factors, like the anti-abortion laws of the Meiji period and with the popularized fukoku kyohei slogan of the time, contraceptives were heavily discouraged. And considering Kyogo's controlling and abusive disposition, abstinence may not have been an option.

The final criticism I have seen is that Shizu allowed her self-sacrificial nature to rub off on her children. To this, I ask, what would you have her do? Yes, she sacrificed everything for her children out of love, however, giving anything less could have meant the difference between life and death for her children.

Based on what little we see of her, I think it can be concluded that Shizu did the best she could with the few resources and graces afforded to her. While she certainly made mistakes, I do not think this qualifies her as a good or bad mother.

TLDR: Shizu's situation is very complicated, and she did the best that she could. She was certainly a flawed mother, but not necessarily an outright bad mother. Societal and economic pressures forced her to be overly reliant on her eldest children, but there is evidence that she truly loved and cared for them. While there are certainly valid criticisms to be made, it is important to consider all the circumstances that led her to make those decisions in the first place.

And now for some sources I didn't link in the above analysis: Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here.