‘Kimetsu no Yaiba’ has taken great care of creating its own mythology with some very attractive and recognizable characters at a glance. With a little glance we recognize the basic hunter uniform and also the signs that indicate that we have a demon in front of us. And also, thanks to his masks, when does a blacksmith appear on stage.
In the first seasons of the anime we have already seen some masked characters, but leaving Sakonji Urokodaki aside, the ones that stand out the most are undoubtedly the blacksmiths we have been seeing during the series. The third season has transported us to the Blacksmiths Villagethe only place where swords that can kill demons are made, and its location is a secret.
forged in fire
To protect their identities, all the blacksmiths in town wear a similar pale pink mask, with rosy cheeks and a long tube to mark where the mouth is.
The origin of these more faces is in the Japanese culture itself, and is known as hyottoko mask because it is based on a traditional character known as hyottoko that over the years became an archetype. These masks are often worn during ceremonial dances, and are also accompanied by a headscarf.
His name comes from hi (fire) and otoko (man) because this character is known for shooting fire through a bamboo tube, for which the elongated mouth comes in handy. Hyottoko is traditionally related to the god of fireand these types of masks are common for certain ceremonies in Iwate Prefecture, where there is a historical iron industry.
So we have the connections with iron and fire that make the hyotokko masks a perfect fit for the inhabitants of the Blacksmiths’ Village. Inside the world of ‘Kimetsu no Yaiba’, beyond the symbology blacksmiths wear these masks to protect their identities when traveling to deliver the Nichirin swords to the demon hunters.
Although since they are also the only characters we have seen wearing these masks… the idea is still a bit counterproductive, because they are very easy to identify. Especially since the blacksmiths also wear the hyottoko masks all the time when Tanjiro visits the place, but since there are different variations it is quite possible that it is also a symbol of status and of the blacksmithing tradition of the Aldea de los Herreros.
In Espinof | All the series with Spanish dubbing that we can see on Crunchyroll