The Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji: Pink and lime green hair comes from rice cakes

The Love Hashira Mitsuji Kanroji is one of the main characters in the Swordsmith Village Arc. She already appeared once in Tanjiro Kamado Unwavering Resolve Arc during the Hashira meeting (Anime Episode 23). Some people might have thought that she was acting cutesy, but actually Mitsuri is really honest and simply a nice girl. The Love Breathing is the branch of the Flame Breathing. This comes from the fact that Mitsuri Kanroji was trained by Kyojuro Rengoku.

The Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji

Personal Data

Let’s first look at the personal data of Mitsuri Kanroji.

When she appears, Mitsuri Kanroji is 19 years old.

Relation with Kyojuro Rengoku

Mitsuri Kanroji has a close relation with Kyojuro Rengoku. It is not just because both of them are Hashira. Kyojuro was the trainer “Sodate (育手)” of Mitsuri. “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba–Stories of Water and Flame”  (by Ryoji Hirano) , which is a supplementary book of the original, describes the story of how Kyojuro Rengoku became the Flame Hashira. The book also describes the story of how Mitsuri Kanroji developed the Love Breathing. 

Mitsuri was in a mission led by Kyojuro. She could not use the Flame breathing which she had learned from Kyojuro yet and was thinking that maybe she was not suited for working as a demon slayer. However, when she tried to protect a mother and a child from the wolves created by the Blood Demon Art of Twelve Kizuki, Mitsuri recalls the words of Kyojuro that she has the skill of loving people which is most important. She remembers Kyojuro protecting people and her heart starts beating fast from awakening of love. She put the burning emotion into the blade and beat the wolves. Mitsuri developed her own breathing, the Love Breathing, from the Flame Breathing.

The white Haori of Mitsuri Kanroji

One day at Rengoku House Kyojuro Rengoku in rank Kinoe trains Mitsuri Kanroji in rank Mizunoto. During the break, Kyojuro tells his younger brother Senjuro to bring something. A white jacket “Haori (羽織)” specially made for Mitsuri was in the box. It was a present from Kyojuro to Mitsuri for passing the final selection to become a demon slayer. Mitsuri took good care of it and she still wears the same white Haori after becoming a Hashira. Obviously this is a treasure of Mitsuri. 

Hair color of cherry blossom rice cake “Sakuramochi“

Kanto-style Sakuramochi “Chomeiji“

Kanto-style Sakuramochi is a kind of crepe made typically of wheat flour dough filled with strained red bean paste originated in Tokyo. It is also called “Chomeiji (長命寺)“, when it needs to be distinguished from Kansai-style Sakuramochi. It is named after a temple which was located next to the shop which first sold Sakuramochi.

The first Sakuramochi shop which was founded in 1717 still exists:
“In 1717, our founder, Shinroku Yamamoto, thought of an idea to soak cherry leaves, found on river banks, in salt to preserve them and wrap crêpe-like cakes with them. He sold the cakes in front of the gate of Chomeiji temple, a historic temple in Mukojima.
The Sumida river banks (Bokutei Dori) were famous for cherry blossoms, and our “Chomeiji SAKURAMOCHI” became quite popular among cherry blossom viewers. This is how sakuramochi were created in the Edo period.” (From the official website of Chomeiji SAKURAMOCHI shop)

Currently the majority of Sakuramochi is colored in pink using red food coloring. But the original one seems to be natural white.

Kansai-style Sakuramochi “Domyoji”

Should we eat the leaf of Sakuramochi? 

Some people eat the leaf and others not. Here is the view of Chomeiji Sakuramochi Shop:

Before eating sakuramochi, peel the leaves off. Enjoy the scent of the cherry leaves and the flavor of anko (red bean paste). The leaves are used to add scent and prevent the cake from drying out.

The official website of Chomeiji SAKURAMOCHI Shop

In the 18th Century there was no food preservation techniques which we have now. So pickled leaves of cherry blossoms were used to prevent the cake from drying out. There are also shops which use the pickled leaves to enhance the sweetness of red bean paste.

Mitsuri, a woman with great physical strength

I went off the track a little bit, but getting back to the subject, Mitsuri is a big eater, as we see in the fact that she can eat 170 Sakuramochi per day. How is it possible? Mitsuri looks slender, but her muscles have higher density than ordinary people by 8 times. When she was 4 years old, Mitsuri wanted to help her mother who was pregnant and lifted up a stone used to make Japanese pickles which weighed 15kg. In surprise, her mother couldn’t stand up.

Mitsuri is not only strong but also flexible. Making the most of the flexibility, she uses acrobatic techniques in the battle. 

The Demon Slayer Corps for Mitsuri Kanroji

Mitsuri is strong by nature, but in Japan, in general fragile and delicate women tend to be preferred by men. Since she was dumped by a man, she pretended to be someone she is not, by eating little and dyeing her hair in black. Kyojuro Rengoku was the one who told her to be proud of herself. The Demon Slayer Corps is the place where her skills are appreciated and feels safe.