Demon Slayer - What is "炎 Homura" (Title ver.)

Have you already watched Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train? I did, in Japanese; it was awesome, especially the latter half. If this movie has already arrived in your country, I highly recommend watching it including the closing music "炎 Homura".

Official Trailer

First off, below is the official English trailer. I am so moved to imagine how each voice actor dubbed the character. If you are not familiar with the dubbing process, check this post as well! This shows how Zenitsu's voice actor records his voice to make Zenitsu vividly alive.

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I have a lot of things that I want to tell you about this movie, but in this post, I will focus on the closing song named "炎 (Homura)." It signifies Tanjiro's emotion, and it's definitely amplifying the movie's value.

To be honest, I hadn't known that the song "炎 (Homura)" means that much before I watched this movie. (Because I didn't have the manga at that time.) So, at the last of the movie when the song started, I was again very moved and my tears and emotions welled up.

Now, let's get down to the main topic: 炎 (Homura).

炎 (Homura)

Melodic Star — Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie - Mugen Train Ending Full『LiSA - Homura』
Small corrections for Japanese learners
Firstly, I appreciate the editor of this music clip. Just in case (for Japanese learners), I'd like to leave a memo about some Japanese pronunciations and one translation. Though all of them are trivial.
  • 1:13 "te wo toorikoshite" >>> "te wo torisoshite"
  • 1:33 "You left your resolve to me(who stays)" >>> "My resolve will be with you(who leaves)"
  • 1:54 "torawaretai" >>> "torawaretari"

Let me walk you through the deep meaning behind the title and some basic Japanese phrases so that the song would touch your heart.

Meaning & Origin of 炎

You may already know that the title「炎」means flame. But, we don't usually pronounce it "Homura" as this song's name. Instead, "Honoo" is the common pronunciation. In fact, I had been thinking the title was "Honoo" for a long time.

LiSA, the singer, might have had a specific reason to name this song "Homura" not "Honoo."

The Era

classic japan

"Homura" sounds old-fashion and classic. And Demon Slayer is set in the Taisho period which ranged from 1912 to 1926. At that time, people used a bit different Japanese language and writing system (e.g. They wrote from right to left like some Demon Slayer's scenes depict. Currently, we write from left to right for the horizontal sentences.)

This might be one reason why this song is named with a classic pronunciation.

Assembled Fires

The origin of "炎 (homura)" is supposed to be "火(ho) 群ら(mura)" which means a group of fires. That's why "炎 (homura)" has two "火 (fire)".

So, this song's title "炎 (Homura)" might mean "assembled fires" that indicating the characters' all sorts of emotions: hatred, antagonism, despair, chagrin, grief, determination, etc.

Light The "Homura" in My Heart

homura candles

At the very last of the song, there is a line that says "心に炎を灯して (kokoro ni homura wo tomoshite)" meaning "light a Homura in my heart."

The context is "I promise that I won't look back but move forward with a Homura in my heart." In this case, "炎 Homura" might mean determination more than other feelings stated above.

Gone Souls

Another thing has come up to my mind. Japanese have an expression using "火" to describe a soul of whom passed away: 火の玉 (hi no tama).

So, "炎 (Homura)" might be indicating that Tanjiro and other demon slayers keep thinking about the souls taken away by demons and keep fighting to have a peaceful world back.

Rengoku

The protagonist of this movie is Kyojuro Rengoku who is a Flame Hashira. His family name "獄 (Rengoku)" means purgatory, which is obviously related to fire. This is probably why this song's title "炎 Homura" is supposed to be associated with fire.

What happens to Rengoku? That is what you should go check out at the theater! Or, you can read it in Demon Slayer vol.7 & 8 (out of 23 volumes). They are where this movie describes. Either way, my only hope is that you fully enjoy Demon Slayer.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment:) Next, I'll introduce some lyrics of "炎 (Homura)" because it's also really good.

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