공감으로 읽는 <귀멸의 칼날>- 돌봄은 어디에서 시작하는가? -

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a story about the protagonist, Kamado Tanjiro, who lost his family and joins forces with his fellow members of the Demon Slayer Corps to fight demons in order to turn his only surviving sister, Nezuko, back into a human. This article examines the entire story of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba using empathy as a keyword, which also answers the question of where care begins. There are two main points of contention regarding empathy. First, is empathy a kind of partiality? There is no doubt that Tanjiro joined the Demon Slayer Corps because he believed it was the only way to turn Nezuko back into a human. But did Tanjiro save only Nezuko? Even if his love for his sister was the beginning, his empathy doesn’t simply stop there. We know that Tanjiro ultimately made the choice to leave his “sister” behind and save the “villagers.” Even after Nezuko overcomes the sun and returns to being human, Tanjiro continues to fight demons. Second, another point is whether there is “excessive” empathy, and whether it is good or bad. This relates to the issue of subjectivity. In the final stage of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, a showdown with the demon boss, Kibutsuji Muzan, takes place. At the moment when everyone is faced with a desperate situation and is about to give up, Tanjiro chooses to merge with Muzan. Demons are “outside” and “people,” that is, others. Tanjiro goes through a process of merging with and separating from Muzan, and then regains his identity as a subject. There is no such thing as excessive empathy. It was Tanjiro’s exceptional empathy that moves the demon’s heart and enables them to vanish from this world ultimately. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba reminds us that empathy is the most important starting point for building a community of interdependence and care. This signifies the creation and beginning of a new subject and community, embracing within themselves those who were driven to extreme circumstances, and forced to choose demons.