Demon Slayer: Why did Tamayo cry when Nezuko hugged her? Explained

In episode 10 of Demon Slayer season 1, after a very heated fight, Tanjiro finally beats two strong demons with the assistance of Nezuko and Tamayo. After the fight, Nezuko and Tamayo share an intimate moment as they hug, and Tamayo starts to cry.

Although this moment was pretty wholesome, it was also confusing because there is no connection between the families of Tamayo and Nezuko. The context of this scenario relates to Tamayo's origin, which is revealed later in the manga series.

Tamayo is a demon who spent hundreds of years working to create a remedy that can turn demons back into humans. This relates to her past revealed during the Infinity Castle Arc and the scenario where she cries after hugging Nezuko.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Demon Slayer manga series.

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Demon Slayer: Tamayo's origin and the reason she cried

Tamayo fighting Muzan (left), Tamayo using her Demon Art (right) (Images via Viz Media and Ufotable)

In chapter 138 of the Demon Slayer manga series, Tamayo enters the battle out of nowhere during the Infinity Castle Arc as the Hashiras fight to weaken Muzan. She stabs her fist inside Muzan's torso, immobilizing him using her Blood Demon Art and inserting the antidote inside him to convert Muzan back into a human.

As their conversation continues, Muzan reveals Tamayo's origin pretty harshly. Tamayo was blessed with kids and a loving husband when she was a human. But sadly, she fell prey to a terminal illness and was about to die until Muzan was introduced to her.

He offered to cure her illness, not revealing his plan to transform her into a demon. Tamayo, who desperately wanted to see her children grow, could not help but agree to this offer and was transformed into a demon. After that, she killed her husband and her beloved children in hunger for human flesh, just like every demon.

When Nezuko hugs Tamayo in episode 12 of Demon Slayer, Lady Tamayo cries because she is not used to such kindness, reminding her of her family.

All in all, Tamayo believed she didn't deserve such kind treatment because she considered herself a senseless demon who couldn't even protect her own family. But she returns the favor by hugging Nezuko back, thanking her for such a kind act.

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Yoriichi, the man who encouraged Tamayo to defeat Muzan one day

Yoriichii calming Tamayo down in Demon Slayer manga (Image via Shueisha)

After turning into a demon and killing her family, Tamayo tried to kill Muzan, too, in the hopes of avenging her family. But no one stands in Muzan's way, so she gets utterly defeated and starts serving him as his servant.

In chapter 186 of the Demon Slayer manga, while crossing a bamboo forest alongside Muzan, Tamayo encountered Yoriichi (the first demon slayer). Muzan declared Yoriichi a weak man in his arrogance and tried to kill him, only for Yoriichi to not only dodge his attack but also sever his body into little pieces. Unfortunately, Muzan had to leave Tamayo behind and make an emergency escape.

Tamayo later repented over the fact that Muzan could not be killed even when his head was chopped off. Yoriichi took a moment to calm her down and encouraged her that she could one day defeat Muzan. Later, she modified her body to stay alive without eating human beings and kept remembering Yoriichi's words of confidence.

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Final thoughts

After defeating the demons, Lady Tamayo and Tanjiro part ways as Tanjiro offers her some of Nezuko's blood for research. He also agrees to send the blood of some members of the Twelve Kizuki, which will aid her in finding the cure for demonism.

Lady Tamayo spent hundreds of years looking for a way to turn demons back into humans while resisting the urge to devour humans. When she corners Muzan during her last moments, the only thing she can think of is avenging her family who were killed because Muzan transformed her into a demon.