Photo: Screenshot from Sina Weibo

A video showing two young women in kimonos with a prop samurai sword at Hunan Martyrs’ Park in Changsha, Central China’s Hunan Province, before being confronted by a passerby has drawn public attention. Local police later reprimanded the women, China Newsweek reported on Tuesday. 

In the video, one of the two young women, dressed as Tanjiro from Japanese anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, poses for photos on a park bridge with a prop samurai sword. A man confronts the pair, criticizing their costumes and props as inappropriate for the site. The two young women did not respond, covering their faces with umbrellas and ending the photo shoot before the video cut off. 

A park management office staff member told China Newsweek on Tuesday that both the sword and costumes were anime props. Park staff intervened after a complaint and asked them to leave, and local police later reprimanded them. 

Established in 1951 and opened in 1953, the Hunan Martyrs’ Park houses a memorial tower honoring 157 Hunan-born martyrs and a memorial hall displaying the stories and belongings of 90 revolutionary martyrs, including Yang Kaihui, Xia Minghan and Guo Liang. The site also preserves the names of more than 76,000 martyrs from across the province and is designated by the State Council as a major national martyrs' memorial site, Beijing Daily reported on Tuesday. 

The two women’s actions have drawn widespread online criticism, with many calling them disrespectful and describing the incident as a desecration of an important memorial site.

The staff member said park authorities would normally step in when visitors show up in “unusual costumes,” but monitoring is difficult in an open park – especially when visitors change into such outfits after entering, Hongxing News reported. 

Global Times