'Demon Slayer': Who is Muzan's "Mother" & Why Did He Kill Her? (2025)

Muzan Kibutsuji is the main antagonist of Demon Slayer. And while he has done numerous horrible deeds during his lifetime, Muzan is not important simply because he is a ruthless, narcissistic murderer, but also because he has a great story behind him, and in this article, we are going to talk about that story. Namely, fans of the series will know that one of Muzan’s most pronounced abilities is his ability to transform; so far, we have seen him as a woman, as a child, and in his regular form, but Muzan is probably capable of more transformations. In light of that fact, the series has also shown us that a transformed Muzan can lead false human lives, and in the Swordsmith Village Arc, we saw him as a child with a “mother” and a maid. This article will tell you everything about Muzan’s “mother” from the series.

At one point, during his search for the blue spider lily, Muzan turned himself into a boy and became the son of an unknown family under the name Toshikuni. The family he was living with was obviously wealthy, with a large library, as it had a maid. His “mother,” whose name was not revealed, was an older woman who seemed to care for her boy, not knowing who he was. When he found out about Nezuko’s ability, he murdered his “mother” in cold blood and the made who originally witnessed the attack.

The rest of this article is, of course, going to be dedicated to Muzan and one of his fake lives. Muzan’s notoriety is well-known to fans of the series, and it makes sense that they want to know more. In light of the most recent facts shown in the Swordsmith Village Arc, we will tell you about Muzan’s “mother” and some other facts that relate to the events depicted at the end of the arc. Be careful, though, as there will be spoilers in this article.

Muzan turned into a child to search for the blue spider lily, and as a child, he, of course, needed a “mother”

While he was the villain, Muzan was at the center of many dealings in the Demon Slayer series. The Demon King was the instigator of many events in the series, and his role in the whole plot cannot be overstated, even though he is the series’ main villain. As you might assume, this article is dedicated to Muzan and his ability to transform into, well, basically, whatever he wants; we’re not going to focus on the ability itself as much as we are going to focus on the repercussions of this ability.

Namely, we know that Muzan is a character with many amazing skills and abilities. But, while we have already talked about his offensive and defensive skills, Muzan also possesses a very specific skill that is a result of this ability to manipulate his body, which is a skill that basically all demons possess; but, in Muzan’s case, this ability has been taken to an extraordinary level, a level that enables the Demon King to become a completely different person if he desires so.

So far, we’ve seen Muzan’s original human form, that of a younger adult male, but we’ve also seen him transformed into a woman (a geisha) and, more recently, as a young boy. And while he retained the menacing aura in his eye in every form, the rest of his body was completely different, and there was no way – especially in the boy’s case – you could tell it was actually Muzan.

But, on top of that, he was also an excellent actor. He could completely alter his physical traits and personality to effectively play a desired role. He is a caring husband and father at the beginning of the story, he is a geisha in the Entertainment District Arc, and he is a darling, adorable son in the Swordsmith Village Arc. Of course, as a boy, Muzan had to have a family, so what did he do? He simply “made” one for himself.

It is not known how Muzan did it, but he managed to convince a woman and her maid that he was the family’s son; we would’ve loved to see the story behind that, as we don’t know whether he killed the original boy and took his place or whether he simply manipulated them somehow, but we sadly don’t know how Muzan was able to become a convincing son. It is easier to create a family of adults, as you can always meet your wife somewhere, but convincing a woman that she gave birth to you seems like a pretty complex task. But, Muzan was able to do it.

Be that as it may, just as the process behind his feat is unknown, so is the history of his “family.” He obviously lived with a wealthy family, as the house we saw him in was quite large, with a rich library, and had a maid, which was a sign of wealth. We don’t really know anything else, but we have seen Muzan in the family library, looking for information on the rare blue spider lily. We know that his false name with the family was Toshikuni, as that was the name that his “mother” used when she entered the library.

His “mother” was, of course, not his real mother. It was an older woman who seemingly cared a lot about the boy she thought was her son; she seemed to be gentle, and when she saw that “Toshikuni” was in distress (this happened when Muzan got news of Nezuko being able to survive in the sunlight from the dying Hantengu, which both shocked him and thrilled him at the same time), she immediately asked if anything was wrong. At the same time, the maid was carrying his tea for him (even as Toshikuni, Muzan retained his keen intelligence).

So, what happened next? Well, Muzan Kibutsuji did not care for the woman that acted as his “mother”; she was basically nothing to him, and while she might have shown him kindness and while she might have been a good mother to him, he simply did not care for her.

So, when he got news of Nezuko being able to survive in the sunlight, he was so excited that he did not want to be disturbed. His “mother,” sadly, continued talking and was asking about the book he had been reading, which annoyed Muzan so much that she simply destroyed her head and killed her without even looking at her. He also started to revert back to his original demon form, happy, overjoyed in fact, with the job Hantengu had done providing him with the information about Nezuko’s ability.

The maid, who was also there, was shocked and started screaming, but we probably think that even she had no clue as to whether the death of her employer shocked her more than the fact that the boy was turning into a monster in front of her eyes. Be that as it may, Muzan, as expected, killed her as well and then concluded that all of his focus needed to be shifted towards Nezuko from this moment on. And that is the story of Muzan’s “mother,” as we’ve seen in the Swordsmith Village Arc.

Muzan’s real parents have not been revealed

But, before we conclude this story, we would also like to tell you about Muzan’s real parents. First, you must know that Muzan was born sometime during the Heian period of Japanese history. The Heian period began during the late 8th century and ended near the end of the 12th century, which is a solid time period. But why is that important? Well, the present timeline of the story takes place in the Taisho era. The Taishō era is the era that covers the period from July 30, 1912, to December 25, 1926, corresponding to Emperor Taishō’s reign.

As you can see, Muzan’s real parents were actually born around a millennium ago, just as was Muzan himself. And while it makes sense that he, as a demon, has lived for such a long time, his parents died a long time ago. Who were they? We don’t really know. As far as his early life is concerned, we know the following.

RELATED:Demon Slayer’s Time Skip Explained! Spoiler, There Are Actually Two!

Muzan Kibutsuji was exceptionally frail during his childhood. While he was in his mother’s womb, his heart stopped more than once, and he was even deemed stillborn; it wasn’t until a few moments before being cremated that he actually started crying, showing all of them that he was alive. Muzan managed to survive, but constant medical problems scarred his life. He was always sick, and the constant issues resulted in him developing thanatophobia. He was willing to do anything to avoid death, but he was diagnosed with an unknown disease that would kill him before he reached 20.

He ultimately survived thanks to the cure of the unnamed doctor who took care of him, but that is all we know. We know nothing about his parents; we don’t know who they were; we don’t know if they were good or bad people; we don’t know if they cared for Muzan or not. This is one big enigma when Muzan is concerned, and we can only confirm that it is a shame that we never got more details about it.

'Demon Slayer': Who is Muzan's "Mother" & Why Did He Kill Her? (2025)

FAQs

Who is Muzan's mother? ›

Mizuki Kibutsuji is Muzan Kibutsuji's biological mother.

Why does Muzan want to kill Ubuyashiki? ›

The hatred between Muzan and Ubuyashiki family runs deep, and they want to eliminate each other. However, Kagaya reveals that Muzan is a blood relative of the Ubuyashiki family. Since they are the descendants, it makes sense for the Ubuyashiki family to want to destroy the stain of their clan.

Why did Muzan turn into a baby when he died? ›

During his final struggle, in an effort to protect himself from the dawn's light, Muzan adopts an enlarged demonic infant form, approximately as tall as a 3 story building when standing up. In this form he has very pronounced blood vessels across his body, small claws in his hands and fanged teeth in his mouth.

What made Muzan a demon? ›

Summary. Origin story reveals Muzan's accidental transformation into a demon due to experimental treatment with Blue Spider Lily. Muzan created demons by sharing his blood and seeks Blue Spider Lily to cure his sunlight aversion weakness.

Is Muzan's wife a human? ›

She was a human wife of Muzan Kibutsuji, who had assumed a false identity.

Did Muzan abuse his wife? ›

In his early years as a demon, Muzan settled down with five different women. However, because of his lack of empathy and sensitivity as a demon, he verbally abused all five of his wives to the point it drove them all to commit suicide.

Why did Muzan personally kill Tanjiro's family? ›

Another theory suggests that Muzan might have attacked Tanjiro's family due to their connection to Yoriichi, who almost killed Muzan years ago. Given his petty disposition, it makes sense for the Demon King to hold a grudge against Sun Breathing users. Hence, he might have decided to kill them as revenge.

Why did Muzan didn t kill Nezuko? ›

except Nezuko. As he knew that Kamado family. was practicing sun breathing, he believed that Nezuko could become an ideal demon. which he can devour later and become immune to sunlight.

Why is Muzan obsessed with Tanjiro? ›

As mentioned, it is revealed that Muzan's desire to destroy Tanjiro stemmed from his hatred towards his previous nemesis, Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

What disease did Muzan have? ›

Muzan from Demon Slayer always suffered from illness and thanatophobia. Muzan's illness is never explicitly named in the Demon Slayer manga or anime, but it is described as a rare and terminal disease that would have killed him before he reached the age of 20.

Is Muzan's daughter a demon? ›

The young girl might even be Muzan's biological child, a half-demon who gives off the scent of a human while having his essence in her. If so, Muzan may have fathered multiple half-demon children with various human women, all to create a demonic child who has humanity's immunity to sunlight.

Who killed Tanjiro? ›

To sum things up, Tanjiro died fighting Muzan and was revived within seconds due to the transfer of blood from the Demon King to Tanjiro. He turns into a Demon and Kanao injects a certain medicine made from Wisteria flowers that turns him back to a human.

Who turned Nezuko into a demon? ›

Nezuko and her older brother Tanjiro Kamado are the sole survivors of an incident through which they lost their entire family due to the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, with Nezuko being transformed into a demon, but unexpectedly still showing signs of human emotion and thought.

Why did Muzan become a woman? ›

Muzan Kibutsuji, the primary antagonist in the "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" series, undergoes a transformation into a woman during the storyline. This transformation occurs as a result of the effects of a powerful medicine that he consumes in an attempt to prolong his life and enhance his demonic powers.

Who was Muzan's first demon? ›

The first Demon that is said to have existed was Muzan Kibutsuji himself. The person who made him a Demon was a generous doctor from the Heian Period, who wanted to save him from death since he was diagnosed with a disease which would kill him before he turned twenty.

Are Muzan and Kagaya related? ›

It was then revealed in the anime that Muzan and Kagaya are from the same family which led to the Ubuyashiki family being cursed where every child born will be weak and die right away.

How is the master related to Muzan? ›

As revealed by Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the Ubuyashiki family themselves are in fact related to Muzan by blood, with them being the descendants of his relatives from a thousand years ago.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Clemencia Bogisich Ret

Last Updated:

Views: 5265

Rating: 5 / 5 (60 voted)

Reviews: 83% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Clemencia Bogisich Ret

Birthday: 2001-07-17

Address: Suite 794 53887 Geri Spring, West Cristentown, KY 54855

Phone: +5934435460663

Job: Central Hospitality Director

Hobby: Yoga, Electronics, Rafting, Lockpicking, Inline skating, Puzzles, scrapbook

Introduction: My name is Clemencia Bogisich Ret, I am a super, outstanding, graceful, friendly, vast, comfortable, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.