Flower Breathing

Flower Breathing imitates both perennial flowers and fruit blossoms, translating them into the user's movements and attacks. Its forms favor elegance and agility, weaving cuts that twist and curve rather than overpowering an opponent by force. The style also heightens the wielder's eyesight, an advantage that can come at the cost of the eyes themselves. As they fight, practitioners picture themselves scattering petals and conjuring flowers in the wake of their blade.

Exactly when the art was founded is unclear, but it predates the Taisho Era and likely the Meiji period before it. The single recorded detail about whoever founded it is that they set a cherry tree in the garden of what would later become the Butterfly Mansion.

At least seven techniques exist, five of which are demonstrated, including the Final Form. The Second Form, Honorable Shadow Plum (Chapter 158), spins out several rotating cuts that turn aside incoming attacks. The Fourth Form, Crimson Hanagoromo (Chapter 143), is a single slash that bends and curls with grace, while the Fifth strings together nine flowing strikes and the Sixth pivots on the user's own weight to attack while evading.

The Final Form, Equinoctial Vermilion Eye (Chapter 162), is a focusing technique used as a last resort. It drives the user's kinetic vision to its absolute peak, turning the whites of their eyes red and making the world appear to crawl in slow motion. The strain is dangerous enough to rupture blood vessels and cause partial or permanent blindness, yet it remains usable even with only one working eye (Chapter 202).

Flower Breathing is practiced by Kanae Kocho and her adopted sister Kanao Tsuyuri. According to Kanao, the cherry tree in the Butterfly Mansion garden, named Victory, was planted there by the very first user of the style (Chapter 204). Alongside Mist Breathing, it is one of only two branching styles outside the five fundamentals that no Taisho Era Hashira personally invented.