Demon Slayer: The Reaseon Why Swordsmith Residents Wear Masks

In the story Kimetsu no Yaiba: Demon Slayer it is shown that the residents in the Swordsmith village all wear masks, but what then is the reason for them doing this?

Since the first time the Demon Slayer series appeared, it immediately received attention from manga and anime lovers.

The popularity of the manga is the reason for the series being adapted into an anime version.

So far, the anime of Demon Slayer itself has been running for three seasons. And most recently, the anime presents the Swordsmith Village arc, one of the most popular arcs in the manga.

This arc shows how Tanjiro repairs his sword and trains to get stronger. If geeks pay attention, all the villagers are wearing masks. it turns out that this is the reason the Swordsmith residents wear masks.

Get to know the Swordsmith Village

In the Demon Slayer world, the Swordsmith village is a sacred and very popular place especially for Hashira or demon hunters.

This is the only place where these demon slayers can get very powerful weapons to finish off their targets.

Apart from being famous for being a village where you make swords or weapons against demons, the Swordsmith village is also famous for other things.

For example, there were many armor craftsmen who could repair broken Hashira armor. They are also able to repair demon slayer weapons or swords, as shown by Tanjiro Kamado.

This village also has a hot spring that can restore stamina or heal wounds. However, getting to this village is not easy.

The Swordsmith Village is known as a very secret place or village. To be able to reach this village one needs to be specially escorted by a group called Kakushi.

They wear special uniforms that cover their identities. Potential guests in the Swordsmith village must also cover their eyes, ears, and even their noses.

This is for the sake of preventing the devil in disguise from knowing the location.

Because of the secret of the Swordsmith village, besides the Kakushi, the residents of the village are also seen wearing the same mask.

They appear to be wearing red masks with unique facial expressions. What then made the Swordsmith villagers wear masks? Why do they do this?

The Origins of the Mask of the Swordsmith Village

As mentioned above, every resident in the Swordsmith village wears the same mask. The mask is pink in color with red dots on the cheeks and a unique mouth shape.

Apparently, the masks worn by these residents are not only presented or only exist in the anime.

However, this is a part of Japanese culture where the name of this mask is Hyotto Mask.

In real life, the Hyotto Mask is a mask based on the face and expressions of a cute character named Hyottoko. Usually, this mask is used in parties or celebrations accompanied by a scarf.

The user of this mask will dance while usually doing funny moves or dances to entertain the people at the party or celebration.

Hyottoko itself can be interpreted as a "fire man" or "fire man." In some areas, especially the northern part of Japan, it is known that Hyottoko is often considered the God of Fire.

In Iwate prefecture, which is known as an area with industrial history, this mask does have a close connection.

The residents there are known to often wear this mask for parties.

Even though Koyoharu Gotoge hasn't confirmed yet, many think that the creator was inspired from that region.

On the other hand, the masks and also the work of the residents in Swordsmith Village, who are mostly blacksmiths, fit well with Iwate Prefecture's long history with the iron industry.

Reasons to Use a Mask

Then, what is the reason for the Swordsmith Villagers to wear the mask? One of the main reasons is to protect their identity.

The Swordsmith villagers are the only group of people capable of creating the sword Nichirin, which is a weapon against demons.

If later their identity is known, then automatically Muzan and his troops will attack the village.

The blacksmiths in the village could also become targets for Muzan or other troops and demons, if they were discovered later.

When that happened, it was not impossible that the blacksmiths would be attacked wherever they were.

Another reason might be that Gotouge wants to present cultural appreciation as well as introduce Hyottoko masks to the world.

The mask also seems to have become a status symbol in their society and is part of the tradition in the village.

The next big question is whether wearing a mask effectively hides their identity?

Considering how the Swordsmith village has been running for 300 years, the difficulty of accessing the village, and there is no information about the villagers being victims of demonic attacks means that what they have been doing so far has been very effective.