InuYasha (character)

InuYasha
InuYasha character
File:InuYasha.jpg InuYasha in the anime, Kagome peeks behind him.
First appearance	"The Girl Who Overcame Time... and the Boy Who Was Just Overcome"
Created by	Rumiko Takahashi
In-universe information
Species	Inugami Hanyō
Relatives	Inu no Taishou (father, deceased) Izayoi (mother, deceased) Sesshomaru (half brother)

InuYasha (犬夜叉, also romanized as Inuyasha) is a fictional character in the manga and anime series InuYasha created by Rumiko Takahashi as the hero and title character of the franchise. Inu means dog and Yasha means demon, so InuYasha literally translates to "dog demon". He is the love interest of the protagonist Kagome Higurashi.

InuYasha is a brave but naive Hanyō (half demon), the result of a relationship between a powerful inu yōkai (dog demon) general and a beautiful human woman. Orphaned at a young age, InuYasha is rejected by humans because of his yōkai side and looked down upon by yōkai because his human blood supposedly taints his superior yōkai blood. Thus, before InuYasha met, and consequently fell in love with, the powerful miko, Kikyo, he found it very difficult to trust anyone else, and even more to find anyone who accepted him as a hanyō.

Since the Jewel of Four Souls (Shikon No Tama or Sacred Jewel) was powerful enough for InuYasha to become a full demon and Kikyo was the protector of the jewel, InuYasha had a legitimate reason to follow Kikyo. However, the two fell in love, and eventually, Kikyo talked InuYasha into becoming human, instead. A human, named Onigumo, plotted to take the jewel for himself. He was once a bandit who was obsessed with Kikyo and became jealous that she had fallen in love with InuYasha. His anger got to the point that he traded his body with many yokai (and changed his name to Naraku) to obtain power. After falling for Naraku's schemes, and their own lack of trust in each other, InuYasha broke into Kikyo's village and stole the sacred jewel. To defend the village and to keep him from escaping with the jewel, Kikyo shot InuYasha with a sacred arrow pinning him to Goshinboku. Moments later, Kikyo collapses from a wound she received from Naraku and gives final instructions to Kaede, her sister, to burn the jewel with her body so it would travel to the afterworld with her.

Fifty years later, InuYasha was released from the Goshinboku by Kagome Higurashi. Kagome is Kikyo reincarnated in modern Tokyo, 500 years after the time of the story. She unknowingly carried the Jewel of the Four Souls within the left side of her torso. A centipede called Mistress Centipede from the Bone Eater's Well attacked Kagome for the jewel so she could obtain more power and invulnerability, dragging her into the well which transported her back to the time of the story. After InuYasha kills Mistress Centipede, he tries to steal the Jewel but ends up with the Beads of Subjugation around his neck. When Kagome says "sit" (お座り) the necklace plunges to the ground taking InuYasha with it.

InuYasha becomes more civil as time progresses, losing some of his more childish qualities and becoming much more mature. He always tries to take the most direct route possible in solving any problem, which usually involves violence. He maintains a crass, rude attitude towards everyone except Kagome and Kikyo, and to a lesser degree the rest of his companions except Shippo.

InuYasha speaks with pretty harsh Japanese. He never uses honorifics and when talking to people he does not like, he uses "temee" and "kisama", both of which is often translated as "you bastard". He does, however, stick with the standard "omae". He uses the tough masculine pronoun "ore", which suits his personality and strength. He also does not show respect to his elders, often calling them "-baba" or "-jiji", which translates as "old hag" or "old geezer", respectively.

InuYasha is offended when someone calls him a mangy mutt, puppy, half breed, or otherwise suggests that he is inferior to yōkai, due to his human parentage. Although InuYasha should be weaker than full demons since he is a hanyō, he tends to remain the victor in fights largely due to the fact he wields Tessaiga, and his being a humanoid demon like Sesshomaru, Naraku and Koga which gives him a great deal of power.

Being a half-demon, InuYasha loses his demonic powers periodically and is turned into a normal human boy with black hair. For him, this "time of weakness" occurs during the first night of a new moon. His team members try their best to protect him at that time, and keep this vulnerability secret from others. Despite their efforts, however, some of InuYasha's adversaries, including Kagura, learn of this weakness. However, Kagura does not use it against him.

Clothing

According to interviews with the author, the style for InuYasha's clothing was based on "priest's garb" of Japan's "Warring States" period. It is roughly similar in general appearance to the clothing worn by Kagome's grandfather, Kikyo, and Kaede; all Shinto clerics. The red garments are made of the legendary "Fire Rat (Hinezumi) hair" which is said to be fireproof and "stronger than poor armor". From canon, we read 「火鼠の毛で織った衣だ、下手な鎧より強いぜ」 "Hinezumi no ke de otta koromo da, heta na yoroi yori tsuyoi ze"; the literal translation is: "It is clothing woven from the fire rat's hair, stronger than poor armor." These claims are substantiated in numerous incidents throughout canon. The historical reference can be found in the ancient Japanese folk tale "Taketori Monogatari", or "The Bamboo Cutter's Tale." The "Robe of the Fire Rat" allows InuYasha to resist fire and to some extent, blades. It also works on others to whom he lends it if they need it more than he does. The robe loses its armor-like qualities during the new moon, just as InuYasha loses his yōkai powers.

Originally, InuYasha's fire-rat kimono was not red; in the first color picture of him drawn by Rumiko Takahashi, it was pink. The bright red color is now the accepted standard. InuYasha's garments are a hakama (pants) bloused at the ankles, a jacket with "separated" sleeves, kosode (shirt), and obi (belt).

Pants: clearly Hakama, quite likely the Sashinuki style.

This is a style of the Heian Period (795-1192 CE). The show and manga take place in the Sengoku Period (1467-1615 CE). Of course, InuYasha does not span the entirety of the Sengoku Period, however, since InuYasha's outfit comes from his father, who was an ancient demon, it makes sense that it has been matched up with the "Hitoe" (below). His Hakama and Hitoe are both made of the Cloth of the Fire Rat.

Jacket: Hitoe

Often mistaken for a common Kimono it is clearly not long enough. Some believe that InuYasha's jacket is Hitatare but since the jacket is shorter than this, and his jacket is tucked into the pants, it appears to be a Hitoe with the sleeves modified to the kariginu style, commonly called "bell sleeves". The Hitoe is an unlined robe, traditionally it is either a kurenai (orange-red) or rarely a pale green color. The sides are not sewn shut, and the sleeves are only partially sewn to the body. The collar is long and open. It is two panels wide, and so is very large; a double fold, like darts, made in the back at the time of donning, enable one to wear the garment. It is worn tucked into the pants (whether ōguchi or sashinuki). The red-orange color and the mention of the partially attached sleeves reinforce this theory. The partially attached sleeves allows the white shirt (Kosode) worn underneath to be seen clearly. (Jackets worn by the characters Jaken, Kikyō, Kaede, and "Grandpa" all have the same feature.) The sleeves are extremely full at the wrist, as wide as the shoulders of the garment, and have a ribbon or cord sewn through the hem of the wrist. This can serve at least two purposes: it allows the sleeve to be gathered at the wrist (like the Hakama at the ankle) and it is often used to gather the material for easy folding for storage. Neither of these features is seen in canon. The jacket falls to at least InuYasha's shins (as apparent when he uses it as a blanket in the episode "The Wild Thief:Onigumo's Secret"), however his undershirt(Kosode) shows through the side Hakama slits instead of the jacket. It is likely that, when on the body, the front of the jacket is tucked back to allow more freedom of movement. Interestingly, InuYasha wears a black cord across the chest from the right shoulder to the left hip, tied in a simple bow. It is not a sword cord, but appears to be holding the excess fold of the jacket in place. In the Anime/Manga, this particular Jacket is also known as 'The Robe of the Fire Rat' also known as a type of cloth stronger than any armor. InuYasha mainly uses this to either protect himself from hot surfaces, or to protect his traveling partner Kagome from any danger.

Shirt: Kosode

Kosode were commonly worn as underwear during the Kamakura era, at which time they became legitimate garments in their own right and became more dressy and full, with less sculpted sleeves. The undergarment kosode of Heian and Kamakura Periods was invariably white. An important point that must be made is that kosode (lit: “little sleeve”) weren’t just so called because the sleeve was small; they were given the name because the sleeve opening was small (especially when compared to other garments of the period, which were often termed ōsode, or “large sleeves”). The slits in the side of the Hakama show the white Kosode (shirt), and the openings at the sleeves and shoulders of the jacket show it as well. This is a deliberate fashion effect.

Belt: Obi

The belt appears to be a standard Obi, through which the Saya (sword sheath) is thrust. The Obi as worn by a swordsman is positioned just over the hips so the sword is "low" in the sash in order to make drawing the sword much easier. The Obi knot is normally a very tight square affair. However, we can see that InuYasha wears his Obi and his Hakama much higher up around his waist, nearly to his ribs. InuYasha's knot is more of a slightly floppy bow knot.

Baseball Cap

The Cap he wears in the present day Japan. Kagome makes him wear the Cap to hide his "Dog Ears" so not to get too much attention. He has taken off the cap plenty of times but is seen with it on most of the time he spends in the present day Japan.

Bandana

Once, InuYasha worked at the Higurashi Shrine while waiting for Kagome. He wore a bandana while working and afterward. It is also used to hide his dog ears when he is with Kagome's friends, or out in public.

Beads of Subjugation

The Beads of Subjugation (言霊の念誦, Kotodama no Nenju) are the beads around InuYasha's neck. They are activated when Kagome says "Sit!" (おすわり, Osuwari). Kagome is the only person who can activate the Beads of Subjugation, as Kaede intended them for Kagome's use when she first put them around InuYasha's neck. The force of the spell is so great that upon activation InuYasha plunges face first into the ground. Although originally made by Kikyo for this purpose, she decided against giving it to Inuyasha and never used it.

The Kotodama no Nenju is introduced in the very first manga as a spiritual device to control InuYasha. It was originally intended to keep InuYasha from killing or hurting Kagome. It is not used often anymore due to change in InuYasha's personality and is only used as comic relief, to save his life, or to reverse his demonic transformation.

It consists of a number of round beads and a few magatama which are often mistaken as claws. The magatama is an ancient comma-shaped bead imbued with great spiritual and mystical powers.

Abilities and techniques

See also: Tessaiga

, for a list of Tessaiga's special attacks, transformations, and abilities.

Physical abilities

Strength

InuYasha's yōkai blood gives him superhuman strength. No upper limit has yet been shown in the canon, but he is at least strong enough to easily lift a boulder with a diameter greater than the height of his body over his head with one hand, and then run many miles with it. Such a boulder would weigh perhaps eight to ten tons. He is strong enough to punch through solid steel with his bare hands, as seen in the manga version of the battle with the Noh Mask.

Speed

InuYasha's speed has been shown to easily exceed that of a normal horse; Faster than any normal land or water animal. Due to the speed he can accumulate in his runs, added with his incredible strength, he is able to cross great distances with a single jump. Altogether, this creates the illusion that he is flying every time he leaps. The Ōgikaiden says he can reach the top of tall cliffs with a single leap as well.

Stamina

InuYasha's stamina likewise far exceeds human standards, possibly derived from the fact that his yokai blood is that of a dog, dogs naturally having great stamina. He is shown to be able to run tremendous distances at tremendous speeds with minimal effort, and is often seen complaining about how his comparatively weaker human companions always slow him down by needing to rest so much every day. He is also able to endure a great deal of physical pain, as was once demonstrated in an early battle with his brother Sesshomaru, when he continued to fight even after being impaled in the stomach.

Defensive ability

While his fire-rat robe provides additional protection, a power afforded to anyone wearing it (such as whenever InuYasha gives his robe to Kagome for protection), InuYasha's physique is capable of taking a lot of damage, more than the average human, or even most yōkai. He appears unaffected by severe blunt force trauma, able to withstand a direct blow from a wooden log that broke on contact, and unfazed by the tremendous impact of being thrown hard enough to shatter solid rock. He also possesses tremendous resistance to sharp weapons, able to withstand attacks that slice through trees. While he can be injured by more powerful yōkai and holy weapons, he appears invulnerable to most human ones, able to catch normal arrows out of the air and break steel swords with his bare hands.
Even without his fire-rat robe, he has shown the ability to withstand direct contact with fire and tremendous heat, as well as corrosive substances like acid. When injured, he heals far more rapidly than a human, so much so that attacks powerful enough to severely injure him are rarely fatal, as they would be to humans, if they sustained an equivalent injury. For example, he recovered quickly from numerous serious attacks, including a large fist-sized hole punched through his gut. Similarly, it seems that his internal physiology is probably significantly different from a normal human's, considering that he has been able to get up and fight despite having been impaled in places that should have resulted in his spine being severed, heart shredded and lungs destroyed had he been built anything like a human - occasionally all at the same time. Unfortunately for InuYasha, his tongue is still susceptible to being burned by curry. He also appears weak against strong smells, as was the case with the ink from the episode "Cursed Ink of the Hell Painter".

Senses

InuYasha's senses are highly developed, and in some ways, appear to be super-canine rather than superhuman. His senses of hearing and smell are quite likely his most powerful — he is shown to be able to hear what people are whispering from great distances, as was the case when, while perched on a tree, he overheard Akitoki Hojo hiding in a bush and quietly praising Kagome under his breath. His ability to hear is sometimes used for comic relief, as when he overhears Shippo whispering insults about him to Kagome. Likewise, his sense of smell is shown to be extremely sensitive - he can smell hints of blood from miles away and can detect the presence of people by smell long before they can be seen. This is also sometimes used for comical purposes, such as in the episode "The Cursed Ink of the Hell-Painter" where he could be temporarily knocked out by the strong smell of the black ink. His nose is also his method of detecting yoki, and thus he uses it in several of his techniques, such as locating the Kaze no Kizu (before he was able to throw it at will, of course), finding youketsu to slash and, recently, using the scent of the outside world to pierce Sesshomaru's final Meido. He has been also able to catch a whiff of Naraku's power from many miles away as soon as he lets down his barrier, with at least as much accuracy as Koga, despite the latter being a full yokai. On the other hand, his sense of smell seems to be notably inferior to Sesshomaru who, as a full-blooded daiyokai, had much greater ease detecting the Kaze no Kizu and was even able to tell the events of InuYasha's entire battle with Goshinki just by sniffing the battle field at least several hours, if not days, after the fact.
Not much is explicitly said about his other senses. One can however speculate that his eyesight is somewhat enhanced at night, due to the fact that his eyes sometimes are shown to glow, and appear to share some characteristics with cat eyes. The fact that his robes are bright red (one of the colors dogs cannot see) suggest that InuYasha's visual spectrum is at least similar to that of humans. His sense of taste may also be heightened, considering how affected he is by curry.

Techniques

Besides wielding Tessaiga, which neither Sesshomaru nor most other full-demons can do, InuYasha can perform the following techniques:

Iron Reaver Soul Stealer (散魂鉄爪, Sankon Tessō, Soul-Scattering Iron Claws)

InuYasha's basic attack, which channels his yokai powers through his claws, and is powerful enough to tear apart iron, making it easy for him to rip his enemies in half.

Blades of Blood (飛刃血爪, Hijin Kessō)

InuYasha's blood, when combined with the "Soul-Scattering Iron Claws", does damage when thrown. With this attack, he is able to attack his enemies from afar instead of in close combat. InuYasha splashes his own or other's blood on the end of his claws and flings them like multiple shuriken to cleave his foes in two.

Time Travel

This technique basically involves InuYasha jumping down the Bone Eater's Well and traveling back and forth 500 years from the future. How this is done has not been explained and is one of the series most talked about plot-holes. In episode 4 among others, InuYasha traveled to Kagome's time without the aid of a jewel shard. Others besides Kagome and InuYasha have been unable to travel through the well. Specifically, in one episode, Shippo attempts to go through the well but fails. In another episode, Sota (Kagome's younger brother) attempts to go down the well to call InuYasha for help, he also fails.

Transformations

Human

Like all hanyō, InuYasha turns completely human once a month. During the new moon his hair turns black, and he loses his supernatural powers, speed and defensive abilities as well as his demonic characteristics, such as his dog ears, claws, fangs, amber eyes and so on. In this form InuYasha can only use Tessaiga in its rusty form. Only InuYasha's friends and a few others know his secret as InuYasha tries to stay hidden during the new moon. He returns to his regular form when the sun comes out — he regains all of his powers: claws, fangs, strength, speed, and defensive abilities.

File:Demon Inu-Yasha.jpg

Yōkai InuYasha as portrayed in the anime series

Yōkai (Demon)

InuYasha's yokai blood takes over anytime his life is in danger and the Tessaiga is out of reach. InuYasha first transformed when Naraku's detachment, Goshinki, broke the Tessaiga with its fangs. When transformed (pictured right), InuYasha's eyes turn red, stripes appear on the sides of his face, and his fangs and claws lengthen. Once transformed, he gains a massive boost in all of his physical abilities, such as strength and durability, and becomes impervious to pain. He cannot, however, distinguish between friend and foe. If left in this state, InuYasha will continue killing until he is killed. Repeated transformations will eat away at his sanity, and possibly the human part of his soul. Myōga reveals the reason InuYasha's father had the Tessaiga forged was to prevent his son's yōkai blood from taking him over since his hanyō mind cannot functionally handle the power he inherited from his father without being overwhelmed. In the more recent chapters on the manga, InuYasha reverted to his yokai state once again while fighting a mirror yokai. He did not lose control and fall into an altered state like he has in prior situations, because his yoki flowed into the Tessaiga, that was stripped of its power at the time. In chapter 503, Sesshomaru launched his Meidou Zangetsuha attack directly at InuYasha who was currently in his yokai form, engulfing him in the Meidou's vortex. While trapped inside the Meidou, InuYasha's yokai power (youketsu) continued to increase, overwhelming the Meidou causing it to erode. In the newest chapter, Inuyasha has unwillingly reverted into his yokai state due to being exposed to the corrupted Shikon no tama's miasmic aura, and briefly attacks Kagome. He appears to return to his senses a few minutes later, but quickly reverts again due to Naraku's taunts.

Purified

While trapped in the Stone Ogre's belly, InuYasha used a shard of the Jewel of the Four Souls to strengthen Tessaiga's power, an effort which backfired when the impure powers of the shard flowed through Tessaiga, causing InuYasha to transform. Kagome, seeing InuYasha's predicament, ran to him and her embrace purified the shard, leaving InuYasha in a purified version of his yōkai form. In this form, he retained some of the aspects of his yōkai form, such as the purple stripes on his face and the black patch under his eyes, but his eyes remained clear and he retained his sanity instead of being subject to the berserker rage which ordinarily characterizes his yōkai form. His yōki was increased exponentially, allowing him to utilize the Tessaiga's Adamant Barrage (fused with the Wind Scar) with an intensity far superior to previous usage (Though that's also possible because of the shard being on the sword as well). After the shard was removed from the Tessaiga, InuYasha reverted to his normal hanyō self.

Relationships

Kagome

Although their interaction was initially very adversarial, Kagome and InuYasha's relationship gradually changes over the course of the series, and Kagome's kindness and acceptance of InuYasha has had a noticeable effect on his attitude, much like Kikyo. Although the two are often seen fighting, they both have feelings for each other but are too proud to admit them. This doesn't change much throughout the series. He is portrayed as quite protective of Kagome, and often becomes confused when Kagome sees him protecting Kikyo. In many episodes InuYasha has been to Kagome's era, and once met Kagome's friends Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi when he entered her window while they were in her room. To Kagome's surprise, her 'boyfriend' wins them over.

Kagome and InuYasha had a rocky start. Being the reincarnation of Kikyo, Kagome has a very close resemblance to her. Consequently, the resentment InuYasha held for Kikyo at that time was carried over to Kagome. As the series progresses, however, the relationship between Kagome and InuYasha changes for the better. InuYasha’s tough guy facade slowly dissolves and he matures. They fall in love without realizing it. However, Kikyo, InuYasha’s former love, is revived from the grave (using part of Kagome's soul); and InuYasha finds that he still has strong feelings toward Kikyo. InuYasha encourages Kagome to stay in her time so that he may save and avenge Kikyo, but Kagome decides to stay with him anyway when she realizes that she loves him and cannot be happy without him. She believes that InuYasha loves Kikyo more. However, InuYasha's love for Kagome continues to grow while he still cares for Kikyo. This intense love triangle becomes one of the main conflicts within the manga/anime.

As a comic relief, the two argue frequently throughout the anime, in some cases about Kikyo, which sometimes ends with Kagome saying osuwari ("sit" in the English dub) and InuYasha splatting to the ground. However, as both characters mature the arguments slowly dissipate, something especially evident in the later chapters of the manga. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo realize that Kagome and InuYasha are in love before the principles do. Indications of the intimacy between them include: holding hands, frequent physical contact below the shoulder, and Kagome allowing InuYasha to rest his head on her lap (as well as Kagome in his). In Japanese culture, such gestures represent obvious feelings of love between two people. It's more evident how InuYasha's concern over Kagome is shown a few chapters after Kikyo's death (chapter 465). InuYasha asked Kagome to stay in modern Tokyo until Naraku was defeated, fearing that she would suffer the same fate as Kikyo. Kagome says that she will stay with InuYasha. In response to this, he holds her hand and tells her that he will protect her with his life. At this moment, they almost kiss, but are interrupted when Sota walks into the room.

Kikyo

Lovers 50 years ago, until the evil fate that was stored for them. When Kikyo was brought back in a body of clay by the yōkai Urasue, she was filled with the anger and bitterness which had consumed her when she died, and she acted with hostility towards InuYasha. Once Kikyo learns that is was Naraku who was responsible for her death rather than InuYasha, her feelings of love for him resurface. Over the course of the series, Kikyo has gradually become more and more like the shrine maiden she was before her death. Kikyo's death in InuYasha's arms leaves him depressed and feeling lost, even crying. He has begun to move on but still avoids questions about her and gets upset when someone mentions her name. One of the reasons InuYasha wants to kill Naraku is to avenge her murder. In one of the episodes as they reunite again, InuYasha admits he still has feelings for Kikyo and was prepared to go to hell with her.

Shippo

InuYasha is continually annoyed by this yōkai-fox, or kitsune, who is rather smart for his age. Their interaction consists mostly of Shippo annoying InuYasha and the hanyō then hitting him and being scolded by Kagome for it. However, InuYasha does care for Shippo and encourages him when really necessary. Shippo once cried when he thought InuYasha had been killed, and then hugged him while still in tears when he found out that he was still alive. Shippo, like InuYasha, is an orphan, and the two often fight like siblings.

Miroku

Even though Miroku is a lecherous monk, InuYasha clearly respects Miroku for his skills, powers, and knowledge. Each knows he can trust the other with his life if need be. Also, Miroku is the only male companion of InuYasha with whom he does not always bicker. Whenever Miroku is sucking up Naraku's poisonous wasps (saimyōshō) into his Kazāna or otherwise putting himself in danger to help his friends, InuYasha forces him to stop these dangerous acts. Once he even promised to rip Miroku's arm off if he tried to open his Kazāna again (as doing so would have resulted in Miroku's death) — InuYasha's way of saying that he cares. More recently, in the manga, Miroku almost got himself killed trying to suck in Naraku but was stopped by InuYasha.

Sango

InuYasha respects Sango's strength as a fighter, to the point that he was actually the one to ask her to join them in their quest to defeat Naraku. He went out of his way (in his own fashion) to help take her mind off her troubles after she first joined them. After she initially joins, Sango proves to be a very worthy companion and often fights side by side with InuYasha, and her Yōkai hunting skills prove to be a valuable asset in hunting down Naraku. Sango really only fights with InuYasha when her brother Kohaku joins them for a bit with no memory of Naraku and InuYasha does not trust him and thinks it is all an act, while Sango takes on the defensive side and argues for her brother. InuYasha also stopped Sango from killing Kohaku and often comforts her when she starts feeling blue, assuring her that they will get him back. This has given hope to Sango and she now believes that she does not have to kill her brother to free him because of InuYasha's interference. Sango has stated that she does not have a preference for which form InuYasha is in and will stand by him no matter what.

Sesshomaru

InuYasha's older half-brother, an immensely powerful full-demon who is also son of the Inu no Taishou. He does not like the fact that InuYasha wields Tessaiga and he was stuck with Tenseiga. The two openly hate each other. InuYasha loathes Sesshomaru because Sesshomaru tried to take his sword. Sesshomaru considers himself innately superior to InuYasha by merit of being a daiyōkai. However, Sesshomaru may have a begrudging respect for InuYasha as indicated by the fact that recently he gave up the offensive powers of his sword to InuYasha in accord with their fathers wishes. Another show of respect is him constantly referring to him as "little brother" meaning that he accepts InuYasha as a family member at the least. Also their fights, which were once epic, have seemed to take on a more rowdy flavor typical of sibling rivalry. Consequently, the other characters do not view their fights as seriously as they once did and often do not get involved. Although Sesshomaru has yet to show any outward sign of brotherly affection for InuYasha, InuYasha has often come to his brother's aid in recent manga chapters, InuYasha also shows some anger at the fact that Sesshomaru would rather die at Magatsuhi's hands than to be saved by the likes of him, a hanyō. Rin and Jaken seem to be the only two people Sesshomaru actually cares about, but in fact many times Sesshomaru shows compassion to Naraku's detachment Kagura. Many times he shows a trust and although he'd hate to admit it, a concern for her well-being.

Inu no Taishou

the Inu no Taishou ("Dog General") gave his younger son the Tessaiga for his protection, due to the sword's offensive powers and its ability to subdue his yokai blood. It is often suspected and stated that InuYasha is far more like his father than Sesshomaru due to him caring for humans and being compassionate whereas Sesshomaru took a while to even show care for others. InuYasha has never met nor even seen his father, except for a brief moment on the night of InuYasha's birth as depicted in the beginning of the third movie. Before his untimely death, however, he does name InuYasha and pass on the Robe of the Fire Rat, entrusting it to the care of Izayoi until their son is old enough to inherit it. It should be noted that Inu no Taishou, or Dog General, is merely the character's title; his actual name is never revealed in the series.

Koga

InuYasha and Koga have a very complex relationship. They are often seen bickering over Kagome, something that is often used for comical purposes in the series. However, they have aided each other in the battlefield on more than one occasion; InuYasha even saved him from Kagura by showing himself in human form and using his Wind Scar attack, which would have destroyed her had Naraku not intervened, and managed to bring him back to safety after he was almost melted by Naraku's shōki in liquid form. Koga and InuYasha also work together to protect Kagome. Koga has also never revealed to Naraku that InuYasha loses his powers once a month, because during that time it would be easy for Naraku to dispatch him since he is in human form and cannot use the Tessaiga. In a recent manga chapter following Kikyo's death, Koga helps to snap InuYasha out of his grieving, reminding him that he is not the only one suffering. An odd blend of friendship, respect, annoyance, and rivalry, the fate of their relationship remains to be seen.

Myōga

This yōkai-flea was a loyal servant of InuYasha's father. He now acts as InuYasha's retainer. He often provides InuYasha with information on his enemies and on ways to upgrade his sword in order to defeat them. However, he will often flee from battles, and mysteriously reappears in a safer place in the area, or after the danger has passed. Though useful, he is constantly getting squished and once Kagome even sprayed him with flea spray.

Tōtōsai

This is the sword smith who forged InuYasha's Tessaiga and Sesshomaru's Tenseiga. He often gives InuYasha advice on how to better use the power of his sword. Indeed, all of InuYasha's achievements in strength (other than physical) can be credited to Tōtōsai. He was also a servant of InuYasha's father, like Myōga. He, Myōga and Saya seem to have been best friends all serving under the great general. InuYasha tends to act less than appreciative of Tōtōsai's help, frequently smacking him over the head for one idiocy or another. Still, InuYasha has gone to Tōtōsai for aid several times, demonstrating that underneath all the irritation, he does respect the sword-smith.

Sota

Sota sees InuYasha as a role model, due to his father being deceased, and tries to spend time with him when he is in the modern age. Sota even calls InuYasha "Inu onii-chan" (dog brother). Sota and InuYasha seem to be getting closer and closer as once he and InuYasha even took a bath together; the deal being that Sota will wash InuYasha's back if he does the same for him. This ended with InuYasha running out of the bath tub naked (because he felt that the water was too hot) with Sota and landed in front of a horrified Kagome.