The story takes place in Taishō era Japan, where a secret society, known as the Demon Slayer Corps, has been waging a secret war against demons for centuries. The demons are former humans who were turned into demons by Muzan Kibutsuji injecting them with his own blood, and they feed on humans and possess supernatural abilities such as super strength, powers that demons can obtain called "Blood Demon Art", and regeneration. Demons can only be killed if they are decapitated with weapons crafted from an alloy known as Nichirin, injected with poison extracted from wisteria flowers, or exposed to sunlight. The Demon Slayers, on the other hand, are entirely human. However, they employ special elemental breathing techniques, known as "Breathing Styles", which grant them superhuman strength and increased resistance, helping them fight against demons. The strongest Demon Slayers are known as the Hashira, and gain this rank through either killing a member of the Twelve Kizuki (the twelve strongest demons under Muzan) or killing fifty demons after ranking up multiple times.