Demon Slayer Season 3: Who is Nakime? Exploring one of Muzan's most loyal subordinates

Nakime is not a well-known name among the Demon Slayer fanbase, especially among those who haven’t read the manga yet. However, fans will be able to recognize her based on her appearance. She is a demon who plays the Biwa, a traditional Japanese string instrument resembling a lute.

One structure that has been shown in the anime repeatedly is Infinity Castle. Whenever Muzan summons his Lower or Upper Moon demons, they report to the castle. From what little screen time she has received in the anime so far, we can tell that one of her abilities is to manipulate the layout of the Infinity Castle by striking her Biwa.

Aside from this, what other abilities does Nakime possess, and what is her ranking among the plethora of demons that exist in the series? The answer to these questions lies in the Demon Slayer manga.

Disclaimer: This article contains massive spoilers from the manga series.

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Demon Slayer: Nakime, the replacement Upper Moon 4 demon

Nakime, the Biwa-playing demon in the Demon Slayer series (Image via Ufotable)

One of the most important facts about Nakime is that she goes on to become an Upper Moon 4 demon.

In the Swordsmith Village arc, we see Mitsuri, Tanjiro, and Genya take on Hantengu. After persevering, the demon hunters succeed in killing the Upper Moon 4 demon. Naturally, Kibutsuji Muzan, the Demon King, was looking for a replacement and Nakime ended up becoming Hantengu’s replacement.

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Nakime’s backstory

While her backstory wasn’t particularly explored in the manga, a fan book was released by the official team that gave us insight into Nakime’s life as a human. She was a struggling artist who played the Biwa. Unfortunately, she was married to a gambling addict who squandered away the very small amount of money that she saved up.

On the night of an important performance, he even gambled her clothes away. In a fit of rage, she killed her husband and rushed to the stage in her tattered clothes.

Her nervousness had a positive effect on her ability to play the instrument and the crowd was pleased with her playing. Nakime continued to kill people every time she had to perform. One fateful day, she attempted to kill Kibutsuji Muzan himself.

Given the sheer difference in their abilities, she failed, and Muzan offered her the opportunity to become a demon. He was impressed with her ability to search and decided to spare her life.

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Nakime's abilities include manipulating the layout of the Infinity Castle by striking her Biwa

Nakime's primary ability as a demon is to have complete control of the space in which the Infinity Castle exists. In the Demon Slayer series, we have seen her manipulate the layout of the building, which served both offensive and defensive purposes.

In the Infinity Castle arc, she controlled the space in a manner that created difficulty for the demon hunters to navigate. She also had the ability to create portals in the form of her Tatami sliding doors.

These portals not only transport people from one point to another but was also used to negate Mitsuri Karoji’s attacks. Nakime had impressive recon abilities since she could detach her eyeballs.

Not only did she accurately track the demon hunters, but she also happened to find out Kagaya Ubuyashiki’s location. This was an impressive feat since the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps had gone to extreme lengths to hide his location from Muzan.