Cultivator

A Cultivator is a seasoned member of the Demon Slayer Corps whose work is to prepare hopefuls for a slayer's life. Young people from around the country are matched to a mentor suited to their particular gifts. Gyomei Himejima, for example, paired the Kocho sisters with different teachers according to their physiques, and Giyu Tomioka steered Tanjiro Kamado toward the retired Water Hashira Sakonji Urokodaki because the two shared an unusually sharp sense of smell.

Most Cultivators are former slayers who stepped back from active duty, often because of age, and devoted themselves to raising the next generation instead. They are few in number and scattered across the land, which makes them difficult to find. Mentors who once held the rank of Hashira tend to produce the most gifted pupils, but because so few Hashira survive long enough to retire, learning under one is exceptionally rare (Chapter 34).

Each Cultivator runs their own program, drilling the basics of swordsmanship and the all-important Total Concentration Breathing. There is no fixed curriculum, so methods vary widely from one teacher to the next. During training the student carries a temporary Nichirin Sword. When the mentor judges them ready, they are cleared to attempt the Final Selection. Survivors of that ordeal join the Corps and receive their own Nichirin blade, a uniform, and a Kasugai Crow to carry their orders.

The relationship often grows close to a parental one, as seen with Urokodaki, who regards his students as his own children. That closeness carries a heavy duty. If a pupil dies in training or turns against the Corps, the teacher answers for it. Jigoro Kuwajima took his own life after his student Kaigaku defected and became a demon (Chapter 144), and Urokodaki blamed himself so deeply for the deaths of Sabito, Makomo, and eleven other students that his grief held their spirits back from rest.

Sakonji Urokodaki, a former Water Hashira, taught Water Breathing to a long line of students that included Makomo, Sabito, Giyu Tomioka, and Tanjiro Kamado. Jigoro Kuwajima, once a Hashira himself, passed Thunder Breathing to Kaigaku and Zenitsu Agatsuma. Kyojuro Rengoku, while still an active slayer at the rank of Kinoe, instructed Mitsuri Kanroji in Flame Breathing before she rose to the Hashira.