the beauty of the breath of flower, a thread:

WARNING: contains spoilers and majority of the thread takes place during kanao’s fight with douma.

The Breath of Flower is derived from the Breath of Water, as a flower needs water to thrive. The user of this breathing style are Kanae Kocho and Kanao Tsuyuri.

Second form: Honorable Shadow Plum/Plum Spirit

the name of this form comes from a japanese folklore called the “dragon-shaped plum tree”. it’s about an old gardener who raises a dragon-shaped plum tree, passed down to him through generations. one day a samurai came to claim the tree, the gardener refused to sell the tree as-

-he feels connected to it like its his own flesh and blood. this angered the samurai and when he came back to take it and threatened the old mans life, the spirit of the plum tree blocked the samurai’s strike on the gardener. leaving the samurai in shock, he apologized to the-

-spirit and agrees to never come to the tree again. this attack form protects and blocks attacks heading towards the users just like the spirit did. this also works thematically as the spirit of shinobu inside of douma poisons him and allows kanao and inosuke to win the fight.

Fourth form: Crimson Hanagoromo/Safflower Dress Robe-

the name comes from the hanagoromo which is a fancy kimono made specifically for flower viewing. as the crimson is a reference to blood. so all together the terminology is a ‘blood stained flower viewing kimono’. the safflower plays a part as it is an upwards motion attack and-

-the safflower is a flower with petals that grow upwards towards the sky.

Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility/Typical Peony

a peony in japanese literature, represents of bravery but recklessness. which is found against multiple unknown strikes against an enemy (in the picture shown you see kanao making 9 consecutive attacks which one strike against douma) which is referred to as a ‘typical peony’.

Sixth Form: Whirling Peach

like the second form, this one also comes from another japanese folklore, “momotarō” or “peachy boy”. which is about a boy born from a peach who overcomes his adversary and defeats demons with the assistance of his animal friends. this folklore shares the same theme as the fight-

-as kanao was able to defeat an upper moon 2 with not only her skills but with the help of wild boar friend, inosuke.

Final Form: Equinoctial Vermillion Eyes/Scarlet Spider Lily Eyes-

this technique raises the users kinetic vision to its maximum and manipulates its blood vessels around their eyes causing them to focusing. making it seem as if its user is perceiving the world in slow motion. leaving the people that use the breath of flower with oddly empty and-

vacant eyes. the name of this technique is based of 2 things being the spider lily (also named the equinox flower), also referencing that this technique is so dangerous it should be used as rarely as an equinox. the vermilion and scarlet part of the name comes from the extreme-

colors of the spider lily and the sclera of the eyes turning red due to the amount of blood pressure in the eyes.

Explanation of the Final Form:

the saddest part about the final form is thematically tied around the spider lily and the lore around the flower. as the japanese lore, the spider lily represents sorrowful, abandonment, and never being able to be with someone again. this is based on a tragic story in japanese-

mythos about 2 spirits tasked with guarding 2 parts of a flower. the spirits being the body of the main flower, Mañju and the guardian of the leaves, Saka. the two were never supposed to meet and defied their fate. when they met with each other they fell madly in love. the gods

were upset by their defiance and banished them from each other forever. thus explaining why the plant is forced to grow separately with the leaves growing outwards from the body. it’s used at funerals and cemeteries for the passing of loved ones in hope that the spirits-

-will guide them to the after life. this being used in the manga represents kanao losing the last person she was closest to, that being shinobu. after the fight was over and kanao collected shinobu and kanae’s hair piece, she watches both the spirits of her sisters entering the-

after life, crying for the first time in years showing that kanao’s finally able to evolve beyond her childhood trauma.

THE END. lmao sorry it’s so long hope you enjoyed this thread :)