Who is Tsutako Tomioka in Demon Slayer? Giyuu's sister and her importance, explained

Modified May 21, 2024 00:00 GMT

Who is Tsutako Tomioka in Demon Slayer? Giyuu's sister and her importance, explained (Image via Ufotable)

With the beginning of the fourth season of the Demon Slayer anime series earlier this month, fans saw the start of the highly anticipated Hashira Training arc section of the story. As it’s name would suggest, the arc largely focuses on the Hashira themselves, both in their training of those beneath them and in expanding on their characterizations and backstories.

Arguably no Demon Slayer character will get a larger focus in this context than Giyuu Tomioka, with the latest episode of the series beginning this focus in an exciting fashion. Likewise, during this expansion on Giyuu’s origins, fans heard of and briefly saw an image of his late elder sister Tsutako Tomioka, who was said to have died while protecting Giyuu.

Given that this is mentioned in passing, many Demon Slayer fans are understandably confused regarding who Tsutako is, and the full context of the role she plays in Giyuu’s life. While there isn’t much additional context shared throughout the rest of the season’s coming events, the implicit reveals from this latest episode can be broken down to get the idea.

Demon Slayer: The fate of Giyuu’s sister, Tsutako Tomioka

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As mentioned above, the latest episode of the Demon Slayer anime series formally introduced Tsutako Tomioka, said to be Giyuu’s older sister. Her official age isn’t given, but it’s suspected that she was significantly older than Giyuu was given her having an impending marriage at the time of her death, and Giyuu’s apparent age in his flashback with Sabito.

Likewise, her fiance is unnamed in the series, suggesting that he plays no significant role in her story as it relates to Giyuu. That being said, little is known about Tsutako overall, with the above information being the most concrete of facts fans have. Beyond this, she had a very similar appearance to Giyuu, and wore a dark red kimono and hakama tied below her chest.

The day before her wedding, Tsutako sacrificed herself to protect him from a demon, which led to Giyuu harboring an intense guilt for her death. He even began thinking that dying would be better for him, not recognizing the gift of life Tsutako gave him via her sacrifice. Given this deep level of guilt Giyuu expresses, it’s suspected that she was a courageous and loving sister, willing to sacrifice her own life and imminent future in order to guarantee his own.

Unfortunately, not much else is known about Tsutako herself beyond this. One additional role she plays in the series, albeit indirectly, is via Sabito’s words to Giyuu as seen in the Demon Slayer anime’s latest episode. By reminding him of her sacrifice and how his behavior is an insult to that choice, Sabito is able to show him the significance of her actions, in turn leading to Giyuu changing his outlook for the better.

Giyuu’s sister and his half-half haori

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Likewise, Sabito’s role in helping Giyuu to recognize the significance of his sister’s sacrifice is one of the most important and consequential in Demon Slayer. It directly leads to the start of the series by nature of Giyuu being inspired enough to continue his training as one of the series’ titular soldiers. However, this also led to even more heartbreak, with Sabito dying and leaving Giyuu behind during the pair’s Final Selection exam.

This, in turn, led to the creation of his half and half haori, which is one of the most iconic aspects of his character. The maroon half is meant to represent and honor, and originally belonged to Giyuu's sister Tsutako, while the geometrically patterned half represents, honors, and originally belonged to Sabito. By nature of this half and half haori, he reminds himself of why he needs to keep living, and the sacrifices made by friends and family who showed him this path.