Kikyo

Naraku is the man who tricked Kikyo into betraying Inuyasha. While Kikyo feels obvious hatred and disgust toward him, Naraku experiences a mixture of hatred and love for her because of her human heart, which once belonged to a bandit named Onigumo. Onigumo was in love with Kikyo when she cared for him out of compassion. Kikyo and Naraku interact on several occasions. At one point, Kikyo gives Naraku shards of the Shikon Jewel. At that time, it was misinterpreted that Kikyo had formed an alliance with Naraku; however, in reality, she planned to purify the Shikon Jewel together with Naraku once it was complete. Naraku also attempts to kill Kikyo on many occasions, as she is one of his greatest weaknesses, and he eventually succeeds. It is revealed that Naraku's true desire with the Sacred Pearl was to obtain Kikyō's love, but it was not granted to him.

Immense Spiritual Power: Kikyō is a highly respected priestess with strong, innate spiritual powers. Kikyō has received formal training as a priestess, and the average demon is no match for her. [5] Even her sister Kaede has noted that Kikyō is exceptionally powerful, even for a priestess. So great were her spiritual powers that the demon slayers entrusted Kikyō with the task of guarding and purifying the Shikon Jewel. Through her vast spiritual powers, she is able to perform various powerful mystical spells or incantations (e.g., the high-level mayonnaise spell). Kikyō can also combine fragments of the Sacred Jewel through prayer. Even after her resurrection, Kikyō retained her immense spiritual powers, and in death, her power allowed Kohaku to survive the extraction of her piece of the Shikon Jewel. Kikyō's spiritual powers manifest as a light lavender glow, although on some occasions it is light blue.
Kikyō using her spiritual powers offensively.
Kikyō using her spiritual powers offensively.

Spiritual Energy Projection: Kikyō can perform a technique in which her enemy is directly touched and destroyed with spiritual power. Kikyō can expel an average demon with a single blow, as seen when she swiftly defeated Urasue without even being fully conscious. At close range, she can even attack with spiritual power from her fingertips. Kikyō demonstrated this when she used her finger to break wood with her spiritual power, intimidating Kagome. On another occasion, when Kikyō and Kagome were trapped alone in a cave, Kikyō concentrated spiritual power in her palms to destroy demonic insects that were attacking them.

Kikyo was a beautiful woman with pale skin and long, black hair, which she usually wore tied in a loose, low ponytail with a white ribbon, with bangs that fell over her forehead, and brown eyes. She was 169 cm (5'6") tall, one centimeter taller than Inuyasha. Originally, she had a normal human body, but after her resurrection, her body was composed of a mixture of clay, soil from her own grave, and cremated bones. However, visually, her undead body was identical to her previous one, except that she did not bleed when wounded.

Kikyō wore the traditional miko outfit, which has remained virtually unchanged to this day, except for the absence of the shoulder opening. She wore a white hakui (tunic) with red sode-kukuri (cords) running through the sleeves and across her bare shoulders (similar to Inuyasha and Jaken's). Cords called muna-himo were attached to each lapel and tied in front to keep the garment closed. Kikyō's kosode closely resembled a modern kendo or naginata keikogi, with sleeves fitted like a modern loose-fitting shirt and extending slightly past the wrist. The side slits in her hakama and the openings in the sleeves and shoulders of her hitoe (jacket) revealed the white kosode beneath. This was a deliberate fashion effect. Kikyō wore a bright red nagabakama (a very long hakama), which included the small panel at the lower back. Like most of the other characters, she also went barefoot throughout the series; however, this changed in the anime, where Kikyō wore tabi (socks) and straw sandals. Kikyō wore a red obi, or sash, over the rest of her clothing.

Kikyo was known as a compassionate, kind, caring, and considerate woman before her death. She showed great sympathy toward everyone, even her enemies. This was evident when she worried about Onigumo's well-being despite him being a bandit. She also felt compassion for Kansuke and sympathy for Inuyasha. Kikyo was also very good with children during her life; no matter which village she went to, children always adored her. In life, Kikyo was also very devoted to her duties as a priestess and completely incorruptible. She didn't even use the Shikon Jewel to save her life when she could have, but instead ordered Kaede to cremate it along with her body to prevent it from falling into the hands of those who would abuse her. Despite her compassion, before meeting Inuyasha, she rarely showed emotions openly, always maintaining a calm and seemingly apathetic composure, similar to Sesshomaru's. However, unlike him, Kikyō did not hide the fact that she cared about others, especially her younger sister, Kaede.

Fifty years later, an oni witch named Urasue stole Kikyō's ashes and some soil from the cemetery to create a new humanoid artificial body for herself using clay and bones. However, Urasue was troubled to discover that the body she had created would not fully come to life without Kikyō's spirit and soul. She soon realized that this was because Kikyō's spirit and soul had already been reincarnated into another body, and that Kagome's soul, being Kikyō's reincarnation, was necessary to fully animate Kikyō's clay body. When the lifeless body was infused with Kagome's soul, Kikyō revived, immediately turning on Urasue and burning her alive. Still unaware of what had truly happened fifty years prior, her immediate priority was to kill Inuyasha. She nearly succeeded until Kagome's body began to regain its soul, preventing Kikyō from completing her objective. Kikyō managed to retain part of her soul and thus escaped into the mist, where she was pursued by Inuyasha. Shortly after, Kikyō fell off a nearby cliff, and the group presumed her dead. Kikyō survived the fall and moved to a small village, where she cared for the injured and healed the sick. The children loved her, and the villagers respected her. However, she struggled with what she had become: neither a living woman nor a dead one, but an undead being. She longed to live peacefully in the village, but was tormented by the thought that even such a simple existence might be forbidden. A curious monk sensed something unusual about the resurrected priestess and decided to discover her true nature. He saw her absorbing the souls of deceased women to maintain her clay body.

An offer he accepted. Had this plan worked, Kikyō could have lived a normal life with Inuyasha, and he would finally have felt like he belonged somewhere as a human. She promised to give the Shikon Jewel to Inuyasha on a specific date. However, Naraku desired a corrupted Sacred Jewel and wanted Kikyō to kill Inuyasha, so he resorted to manipulation to thwart her plan. Naraku disguised himself as Inuyasha and attacked Kikyō, and then attacked Inuyasha disguised as Kikyō, turning them against each other.

Believing Inuyasha had betrayed her, Kikyo gathered every last ounce of her strength and spiritual power to stop him, as he had attacked the village in search of the Shikon Jewel. However, unable to kill the man she loved with her sacred arrow, Kikyo shot a sealing arrow into Inuyasha, immobilizing him in the Goshinboku, where he remained asleep for fifty years. She then ordered Kaede to cremate his body along with the Shikon Jewel so that its immeasurable power could never again be used for evil. However, due to the deep hatred Kikyo felt for Inuyasha upon dying, the Shikon Jewel became corrupted. Even so, driven by her love, Kikyo longed to see Inuyasha again, and the Shikon Jewel used this wish to return to the world of the living five centuries later through Kagome Higurashi, its modern-day reincarnation.

Later, Kikyō was asked to kill a demon from another country and sought Inuyasha's help. Together, they defeated the demon and returned home. Kaede revealed to Kikyō the disturbing things Onigumo had said about her during her mission with Inuyasha, but Kikyō felt sorry for him and dismissed the incident. Some time later, Tsubaki sensed Kikyō's spiritual powers weakening after falling in love with Inuyasha and attempted to steal the Sacred Jewel. However, Kikyō turned the curse on Tsubaki and spared the humiliated Tsubaki's life. Meanwhile, Onigumo encountered a small spider demon who offered to grant him his dreams of mobility, obtain the Sacred Jewel, and win the heart of the enchanting Kikyō. Accepting the terms, Onigumo offered his body to a horde of demons, and thus the shapeshifting demon Naraku was born.

At some unknown time, Kikyō and Inuyasha sailed to an island that appeared only once every fifty years. The pair encountered a group of half-demons, but were attacked by the Shitōshin. During the fight, the demon Gōra used Kikyō's blood to create a double of her, unbeknownst to her, and Inuyasha received the Mark of the Four Gods of War. With the island once again hidden and out of their reach, Kikyō and Inuyasha decided to return home. Eventually, Kikyō's village was attacked by a horde of demons sent by Naraku. With her spiritual powers weakened by her love for Inuyasha, Kikyō failed to perceive the collective aura of the demons and accidentally injured Kaede during the battle, resulting in the permanent loss of her eye. After the battle, a guilt-ridden Kikyo suggested using the Shikon Jewel to turn Inuyasha back into a human, an offer he accepted. Had this plan worked, Kikyo could have lived a normal life with Inuyasha, and he would have finally felt like he belonged somewhere as a human.

She deduced that he wanted the Shikon Jewel to become a pureblood demon and ultimately decided to spare his life. Inuyasha noticed that Kikyo reeked of demon blood before they parted, so she began cleansing herself daily to rid herself of the scent. Later, Inuyasha made a second attempt to obtain the Shikon Jewel, and Kikyo easily subdued him again, but not before learning his name. Feeling great empathy for Inuyasha, Kikyo spared his life once more and warned him against pursuing the Sacred Jewel.

After Inuyasha killed Lady Centipede to save Kaede, Kikyo sensed that Lady Centipede's corpse still contained demonic power and decided to place her remains in the Bone-Eater's Well as a precaution. During their first non-violent encounter after Lady Centipede's death, Kikyo thanked Inuyasha for saving Kaede's life and confided in him about her personal feelings of loneliness and similarities to his. Inuyasha took pity on her and asked Kikyo to meet again the next day so he could give her a gift. That night, Kikyo enchanted some beads to help her subdue Inuyasha and prevent him from doing further harm. The next day, after Inuyasha gave her the shell rouge from his late human mother, Kikyo decided not to place the Beads of Subjugation on him and instead claimed she had forgotten his gift and apologized. At that time, she was secretly hiding and caring for Onigumo, a paralyzed bandit with burn scars all over his body. Believing that Inuyasha would overreact out of jealousy, Kikyō asked Kaede not to tell him that she was healing the injured Onigumo.

Kikyō was born in Japan during the Feudal Era. Her parents died shortly after the birth of her younger sister, Kaede. Sometime in her youth, Kikyō decided to dedicate herself to the life of a priestess and cared for Kaede, who was also training to become one. As part of their training, Kikyō and Kaede wandered the countryside and slew many demons. During their travels, they encountered Tsubaki, a woman who would later become a dark priestess, and they fought demons together for a short time. Upon parting ways, Tsubaki cursed Kikyō: if she ever fell in love, she would inevitably die a violent death. Although Kikyō was aware of Tsubaki's curse, she was not troubled by it, believing she would never fall in love. [Note 1]

Upon returning to her village, one of the villagers revealed to Kikyō that a demon hunter had sought her out that morning. The demon hunter returned that night with his companions and entrusted her with the task of purifying the Jewel of Four Souls, much to Tsubaki's dismay. After Kikyō took charge of the Sacred Jewel, she dedicated her life to protecting it from the wicked humans and demons who sought it for their own selfish purposes. However, her duty as the Jewel's protector also meant that she could not show any sign of weakness, lest demons or evil men take advantage of her, and thus she was unable to enjoy the everyday pleasures of her youth (such as burning incense, painting her lips and cheeks, etc.).

One new moon night, Kikyo unknowingly encountered Inuyasha shortly after a grueling battle to protect the Shikon Jewel. After collapsing from exhaustion, she was helped by her sister and several villagers. She was relieved that Inuyasha, who had remained hidden, hadn't killed her. Eventually, Inuyasha revealed himself to Kikyo and attempted to steal the Shikon Jewel. Kikyo sensed that Inuyasha was only a half-demon.