Kagome Higurashi
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{{IY Character|
Name=Kagome Higurashi JapaneseName=日暮かごめ RomajiName=Higurashi Kagome AlternateName=(usually) Kikyo Age=15 Birthday=June 3rd Height=152 cm Weight=109 lbs Race=Human Weapon=Bow and Arrow, Spiritual Powers
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Plot
Kagome is the grand daughter of the keeper of Higurashi Shrine, a shintō shrine near Tokyo. On her fifteenth birthday, she is pulled into a well (The Bone Eater's Well) by a centipede yōkai (demon), known as the Mudake Jōrō (Mistress Centipede), and is taken into feudal Japan, specifically the Sengoku period. In the past, she finds a sleeping half demon who is pinned to a tree by an arrow. She is captured and taken into the nearby village and is confronted by Kaede, the shrine maiden of the village. Kaede at first thinks that Kagome is a demon, due to her strange-looking modern clothing, but she changes her mind when she notices that Kagome bears an uncanny resemblance to her long dead sister, Kikyō.
That night, the centipede demon attacks the village, and Kagome flees into the forest where Inuyasha is pinned. This time, however, he is awake and calls her "Kikyo". When the centipede demon catches up to Kagome, the villagers unsuccessfully try to defeat it. When the centipede bites Kagome, the Shikon no Tama (The Jewel of the Four Souls) falls from her wound and is eaten by the centipede. Kaede realizes that Kagome is Kikyo's reincarnation, as the Shikon no Tama was burned with Kikyō's body 50 years ago. Inuyasha, the hanyō, then asks Kagome to remove the arrow so that he can slay the demon and recover the Jewel for himself. She does so, and Inuyasha defeats the demon, but then demands that she hand over the Jewel to him, for the Shikon no Tama has the power to grant anything that the user desires.
As Inuyasha advances on Kagome, Kaede magically summons kotodama no nenju (rosary beads; lit. "power of the spoken word" or "prayer beads", as some people call them) around his neck that binds him so that whenever Kagome says a certain command, Inuyasha is instantly forced to the ground. The strength of this force seems to be tied to Kagome's emotional state-when she is concerned about his actions it will merely hold him to the ground with enough force to prevent movement, and if she is angry with him it will force him into an impact crater in an example of cartoon physics. In the Japanese version the word is 'osuwari' (お座り, sit), and in the English versions "sit" or "sit, boy" are used. This is an intentional joke as Inuyasha is an inugami, and 'osuwari' in Japanese is a command that is generally given to domesticated dogs to make them sit. However, it should be noted that, in some cases, she has used the command in order to save his life (such as making him hit the ground to avoid an incoming attack. It's usually used to stop Inuyasha from charging or if he is unaware, though both will cause Inuyasha a certain amount of grief). She uses "Sit, boy!" more often in the anime, though.
The day after their chance meeting, a demon-crow attacks and swallows the Jewel, forcing Kagome and Inuyasha to attempt to retrieve it together. During the battle, Kagome shoots an arrow at the crow, using a piece of its flesh (it's foot) to assure accuracy, as the body parts are attracted to each other when severed. The arrow strikes and shatters the Shikon no Tama into many shards ("Shikon no Kakera") that are scattered across Japan and even to worlds beyond.
Kagome then sets out with Inuyasha to recover the shards so that other demons cannot use it for malice (though Inuyasha consistently claims his true intention has always been to become a full demon using the Jewel), occasionally returning to the modern era for supplies or because she and Inuyasha get angry at each other. On their journey they meet many people and pick up many friends and companions along the way.
The focus of the journeys of Kagome and her companions changes slightly as they learn about the presence of Naraku, an evil half demon that has not only greatly disrupted the lives of each of Kagome's friends but also seeks the Shikon Jewel for himself.
Personality
Generally, Kagome is a kind and good person to everyone. The exception is Inuyasha with whom she tends to be quite sharp. Understandably, she tends to get pangs of jealousy when Inuyasha is with Kikyo (I mean what woman would want another woman stealing her man?) but she herself shamelessly strings two other boys, Kouga and Hojo. Considering how sharp she often is with Inuyasha, she is very gentle and spineless towards Hojo and Kouga, never telling them clearly that she wants to break up with them.
On the other hand, Kagome is beautiful, kind and powerful in her own way. She's very empathetic towards people in distress and she has a wonderful way of making their hurt go away by her talk or her actions. She always watches out for everyone on the Inuyasha gang. Some fans consider her incessant high-pitched squealing of "Inuyasha!!! Inuyasha!!!" to be annoying and repetitive but it is only born out of love and concern for the boy and not spite.
Despite these admirable qualities, Kagome also has flaws, like any normal human. She loves Iniyasha and gets jealous when he's with Kikyo. But she doesn't realize that if anyone has any right to Inuyasha, it should be Kikyo, as she was there first. Kagome feels insecure when Inuyasha runs off to find Kikyo, but she never feels that what she's doing might be wrong. She never catches on that it might be wrong of her to not only replace another woman's place in history, but to also claim her soul and her man as her own. The woman in question is, of course, Kikyo.
Relationships
- Inuyasha - Initially, the relationship between Inuyasha and Kagome was a rocky one, due to the fact that Kagome is a reincarnation of Inuyasha's former lover, Kikyo. Kikyo was the powerful priestess who not only guarded the village Inuyasha haunted, but also protected the Shikon Jewel, top of the wishlist of every demon. The two met through Inuyasha's desire to steal the Jewel, and Kikyo's equally strong desire to protect it. Unsuprisingly, cut off from their respective races as they were (Inuyasha being a HALF-demon and Kikyo being a woman with unusual spiritual powers) they fell in love with each other. Kikyo resolved to give the jewel to Inuyasha to make him a full-human. But the factor they didn't consider was the show's main villain, Naraku. With Naraku pulling strings behind the scenes, what was a loving relationship escalates into Naraku's deception, in which Kikyo and her entire village are destroyed by Inuyasha in a rage (he thinks Kikyo betrayed him, but it was actually Naraku tweaking fate AGAIN). In revenge for her people, the priestess bind him to a tree with her sacred arrow and then dies, leaving Inuyasha in a deep trance, until he is woken by Kagome.
At the start, angry as he is at Kikyo for binding him (not realizing that the entire thing is Naraku's fault) Inuyasha projects his anger onto her reincarnation, Kagome. As time passes, though, he begins to love her as he loved Kikyo once.
- Kouga - Kagome likes Koga as a friend and trusts him. However, his claims that they are in love have caused a strain between her and Inuyasha, even though she really isn't interested in Koga. Kagome doesn't like Kouga sexually, but she's too spineless to forcibly tell him that she wants nothing lover-like from him. Odd considering, how assertive she acts around her true love, Inuyasha.
- Kikyo - Kikyo is the origin of Kagome's powers, her soul and arguably, Kagome's relationship with Kikyo's lover Inuyasha. Therefore, the rocky relationship between the two is understandable. Kagome is bitter that Inuyasha still has ties to his past and Kikyo. Kikyo is bitter that, even though everything that happened to her and Inuyasha's relationship is Naraku's fault it is her (Kikyo) that has been punished, by being stripped of her powers and her soul and having them given to another woman, Kagome. She is especially bitter that Kagome uses this to her advantage to snag Inuyasha for herself, disregarding the deep love between Kikyo and Inuyasha that formed before she was even born. In the end though, Kikyo dies, leaving Kagome free to pursue her relatioship with Inuyasha.
- Hojo - He is one of Kagome's male classmates, and often brings herbal medicines and similar items to treat her 'sicknesses'. Kagome likes him as a friend, but again, she's too weak and unassertive to change her relationship with him into a less "loverly" one.
- Shippo - She treats Shippo almost like a little brother, bringing him candy and toys from the modern era and forcing Inuyasha to "Sit" whenever he bullies Shippo, although one must note that in the manga, she rarely uses "Sit" on him merely for bullying Shippo. He is a kitsune (demon-fox) and they love to play tricks. Some also see Kagome as a surrogate mother to him rather than a sister. Shippo has never stated how he sees Kagome.
- Miroku - While he is at times a lecherous nuisance, she respects his knowledge and actions and knows that he would gladly give his life for his friends if the need arose. She is also constantly trying to get him and Sango together and confess their love for one another.
- Sango - She and Sango quickly become close friends, as she is the only other female character in the group. Unlike Inuyasha, she never has fights with Sango. Often, in many times, they consult and confide with each other upon love interests and other important topics, like the Shards of the Shikon Jewel's whereabouts, and they often gang up upon both the main male characters of their group, Inuyasha and Miroku, if they do something insulting or reviling, like sexual advances or going astray on trivial matters. In a word, they are almost like foster sisters, with Sango being the older one and Kagome the younger (In fact, they call each other's name with the honourific of -Chan, as the sign of close affections between Girls/Women and children).
- Ayame- Kagome becomes a bit of a rival for Ayame for Koga's affection in the anime and animanga series. Though Kagome tries to befriend Ayame, honestly and clearly asserts that she does not like Kagome. This is understandable considering Kagome is clearly the object of Kouga's affections, and Ayame loves Kouga. Ayame doesn't dislike Kagome so much for the fact that Kouga loves her (because that's Kouga's fault, not Kagome's) than that Kagome is just stringing him along instead of breaking it off, even after she hears Kouga is engaged to Ayame, (or rather, was engaged to her since they were mere children, by the wish of Kouga himself).
Ayame only appears in the anime, however; in the manga, Kagome is the only female interest of Koga's.
- Yuka, Eri and Ayumi - In the modern era, they are her three friends although they tend to be more than a little nosy about Kagome's "boyfriend" and why she isn't interested in Hojo. Kagome's value for these three girls seems to stem from her desire to borrow their notes when she's away from class.
- Akitoki Hojo Hojo's ancestor (Who looks like Hojo with longer hair), who was in love with Kagome. Kagome was totally indifferent, though he convinces a woman (future wife) to change her name from Suzaku to Kagome, seeing how his run-in with the demon ninja Suzaku was rather unpleasant.
- Jinenji - Kagome, who throughout the series has an affinity for male half demons, found it easy to bond with him. She pitied him because of all the scars she saw on his body, caused by humans who feared him. He also gave her medicine to cure the poisoned Kirara, and managed to save her life from the Demon Larvae Mother who was trying to eat her.
Outfit
When traveling to the past, and in general, Kagome is almost always seen in her school uniform, a traditional sailor fuku, albeit with a much shorter skirt than is typical. The first theatrical adaption of the series suggests this is intentional on her part, or perhaps the animators consider it her official costume.
On other rare occasions, Kagome wears a simple skirt and sweater combination. She has also once worn Inuyasha's haori (red cloak) as a dress. She once received a gift of shrine maiden clothes from Kaede, consisting of a red hakama and a white blouse. However, both Kagome and InuYasha disliked the clothes because they only strengthened her resemblance to Kikyo. To date, she has only worn them when her modern clothing was not available (either after it had been destroyed, or while it was drying after being washed). She is also seen wearing a pink dress during one of the later episodes, when doing a school play.
She is also seen in other clothes when at home in the modern era. It is most likely because she is not at school and all her uniforms are in the wash from getting dirty in the feudal era. She also once wore a different uniform called "civvies" (informal civilian clothing, distinguished from military uniforms) given to her by her friends when her uniform got stained with Inuyasha's blood.
Special attacks and abilities
- Purification/Miko Powers (Hama no reiryoku) - Anything she touches is purified. By gathering an enormous amount of concentrated powers into her right palm, she can direct it at her opponents. She only did this when the jewel was inside her body. This was used on the Mukade Jōrō and Urasue to some effect. She also uses this to purify the Jewel.
- Spiritual Powers - Can easily get through some barriers, spells, or illusions including those created by Kikyo (because she and Kikyo share one soul). Can sense evil auras and is unaffected by them and, if possible, is able to surround herself with her own spiritual powers to ward of any evil or make a giant spiritual orb that Kikyō once made.
- Jewel Detecting - Senses/feels and knows the exact location and how many shards of the Jewel there are in an area or direction. While other characters have shown a vague ability to see Shikon shards, only Kagome and Kikyō are able to sense the shards remotely.
- Time Travel - Can travel back and forth 500 years from the future. The circumstances in which this can be done differ in anime and manga. In the anime, at first it seems that she can only travel when she has a Shikon Jewel shard with her. Inuyasha isn't bound by this restriction and can travel back and forth without a Jewel shard. It is assumed that Kagome uses Midoriko's power to do this which is inside the Jewel just as Naraku and other demons use the power of the demons souls inside the Jewel to enhance their own powers.
In the manga, however, this restriction was never defined. Even when Kagome had no shards at all, she was able to travel back and forth. The anime seemed to have dropped the fabricated restriction later in its production.
- Rosary/"SIT" (Osuwari) Power: The string of beads placed around Inuyasha's neck by Kaede is empowered to "subdue" him at a word from Kagome. The first word which came to mind was "Osuwari" - Japanese for "sit", the word one would use to tell a pet dog to sit down. Whenever Kagome says the word, the beads slam Inuyasha to the ground.
Weapons and Weapon's Techniques
- Bow - A basic bow that she uses as a melee weapon and to release the arrow. Once she infuses her powers with the bow, she can reflect an enemy's attack. Kagome uses a shortbow, while Kikyō uses a longbow.
- Arrows - A basic arrow imbued with her holy powers.
- Hama no Ya (literally "arrow of exorcism") - Infuses her powers within the arrow to penetrate any demonic force and purify any object. Note: The spiritual powers of a shrine maiden are from her own soul.
- Hama-Bakuryūha (literally "exorcising exploding current blast", in English "Sacred Backlash Wave") - This isn't really an attack as much as it is a combined effort between Inuyasha and Kagome, which is only used in the movies and episode 140. Basically consists of Kagome firing one of her Hama no Ya in the center of InuYasha's Bakuryūha before it connects.
Voice actress
- Japanese Seiyū: Satsuki Yukino (credited as Satsuki Yukino)
- English Voice Actress: Moneca Stori
- Italian Voice Actress: Federica de Bortoli (ep 1-26); Maria Letizia Scifoni (ep 27-167)
- German Voice Actress: Ulrike Jennie
- Hungarian Voice Actress: Molnár Ilona
- Spanish Voice Actresses: Ana Lobo (normal), Leyla Rangel (some eposides)
- Catalan Voice Actress: Gemma Ibáñez
- Filipino Voice Actress: Donna Alcantara
Trivia
- Kagome's given name, because it is written in hiragana, has the least defined meaning of the characters in InuYasha. "Kagome" is a meaningless phrase; it is a children's song. "Kagome" is also a homophone for a "woven bamboo pattern", leading some people to believe her first name means "basket".
- In the Spanish dubbed version of the anime, Kagome's name is changed to "Aome" since "Kagome" resembles the vulgar Spanish word "cago," which is the conjugated 'yo' form of the Spanish verb 'cagar', which means "to shit".
- In the official manga and anime, Rumiko Takahashi made sure that Kagome's skirt was always in place and never revealed her underwear no matter how windy or extreme the environment. But in "The Last Banquet of Miroku's Master," when 'The Three Kagomes' were dancing, the side of her leg was shown.
- Although she is the reincarnation of Kikyo, and many characters repeatedly remind her of her resemblance, Kikyo and Kagome have very little in common, including hair, face, voice, and even how they use a bow and arrow. The few things they do however is their hair color, but seeing as they are both Japanese this can be said for most characters in the series. (Actually, Kikyo and Kagome did look like twins when the manga debuted, but Rumiko later changed the look of Kikyo to reflect the anime-style Kikyo, as she did with changing Inuyasha's clothes from a pinkish-purple-red to pure red to reflect the anime-style Inuyasha.)