Kikyo
Kikyo (桔梗, Kikyō) is a character in the manga and anime series InuYasha.
Shrine Maiden Kikyo
Kikyo was the shinto preistess entrusted by the Yōkai Taijiya(Demon Slayers) to guard and purify the fabled Jewel of the Four Souls (Shikon no Tama).
Kikyo slew many yōkai that tried to gain possession of the jewel; however, she could not force herself to kill Inuyasha, a han'yō who is half-human and half-Inu yōkai/Dog Demon. She felt as though InuYasha was idled from his kind, as she was with hers. On several occasions she would immoblize Inuyasha when he attempted to steal the jewel, and had brief conversations with him. Inuyasha had followed her for a long period of time. Soon they spent more time together, and the two of them began to have feelings of love and compassion for each other. Kikyo told Inuyasha that the Shikon Jewel could be used to make him completely human, as opposed to his original intention of becoming a full yōkai. Kikyo speculated that if the jewel were used to turn Inuyasha into a human, it would be purified and vanish, which would free Kikyo from her duty to protect the jewel and she could then live as a normal woman with Inuyasha. He agreed, believing this was the better option.
The following day, Kikyo arrived at the area where they had agreed to meet, but Inuyasha was not present. When she went out into a field to attempt to find him, she was attacked by Naraku, disguised as Inuyasha. She collapsed to the ground as he escaped with the jewel, proclaiming that he had "absolutely no intention of becoming human" and that the jewel needed to "absorb even more bitter blood", thus effectively framing Inuyasha for the evil deed. Kikyo limped back to the village in pain, only to find that the real Inuyasha, who was also tricked by Naraku in thinking that Kikyo wanted to kill him, had attacked the village and was escaping with the Shikon jewel.
Drawing on her last strength, Kikyo fired a sealing arrow (Fūin no Ya) at Inuyasha to seal him to the Sacred Time Tree (Goshinboku). She collapsed the instant after Inuyasha was sealed, and instructed her younger sister Kaede to burn the Shikon no Tama with her body to assure that none can exploit the terrible powers the jewel holds. With that, she died. In the anime (but not in the manga), this tragic fate of Kikyou was foretold through a curse laid by Tsubaki,(A powerful Miko) when she told Kikyo that "a priestess must abandon her heart to achieve power ... this includes love as well" and "You must extinguish love. You must never hold a man dear," or else she would "suffer an untimely death."
Re-incarnation in Kagome
In present day Tokyo, the Higurashi family now resides in a shrine compound that houses the Tree of Ages and the ancient well. Kagome Higurashi, a Jr. High-school student who just turned 15, has to retrieve their family cat Buyo from the well. She was ready to leave the well with the cat when a centipede yōkai Mistress Centipede (Mukade Jōrō) emerged from the well, dragging a very confused Kagome through the time slip and back to the Sengoku period (Feudal Era of Japan) approximately 500 years ago.
Kagome was proven to be Kikyo's reincarnation, not only from her distinct resemblance to Kikyo (far more evident in the manga; the character designer for the anime chose to make Kikyo and Kagome different in appearance in order to emphasize they are not the same person), when the Shikon no Tama was revealed to be concealed within her body, due to the fact that Kikyo was burned with the jewel after she died, and the fact she was able to release Inuyasha from the arrow Kikyo used to bind InuYasha to the Tree of Ages.
It has been seen more than once Kagome is not an ordinary reincarnation. She possesses an unusually strong soul, which proved to be too much for Kanna's mirror to contain. Furthermore, Kagome was able to part with a portion of her soul so that Kikyo could be sustained in the world of the living. Kagome's actions have often unwittingly echoed that of Kikyo's in the past, and she has often been called upon to perform tasks that Kikyo herself can only instruct Inuyasha or Kagome in performing.
After Resurrection
Kikyo had been dead for fifty years already until the yōkai Kijo Urasue attacked her village and stole Kikyo's ashes along with some burial soil from her grave. Using her powerful magic, she re-created Kikyo's body in the hopes that Kikyo would find and retrieve the shards of the Shikon Jewel (which was incidentally shattered by Kagome) but, to the old yōkai's dismay, Kikyo's soul had not returned to her body.
Angered for a while, until Kagome and Inuyasha, along with Shippō and Kaede, were attacked by Urasue's guards. With a quick attack, the yōkai had Kikyo's reincarnated soul and eventually (with Inuyasha's unknowing help) revived Kikyo, who immediately killed Urasue and went on to attack Inuyasha. Kagome however somehow managed to get most of her soul back after Kikyo's assault. With only one part of soul within her Kikyo fled, fueled by the bitter hatred she felt for Inuyasha at the moment of her death.
However, despite this hatred that she bears for him, she cannot deny her feelings of love and well being for him as well, for it is her wish to die with him and descend into hell, where they can be together forever. Kikyo attempted to do this once, yet upon remembering Kagome, Inuyasha interrupted the process.
Kikyo's body is not made of flesh and blood; she only has a bit of soul and strong, willful determination. As a result of this, she must find ways to sustain her "unlife" until she can kill Naraku. Kikyo fulfills this need by using Shinidamachu (dead soul insects, known as Soul Collectors in the dub of the anime) to collect the souls of deceased women, allowing her to move and continue her journey.
It is important to note that the Kikyo appearing after her death is very different from the one who had just died. She no longer smiles and hardly shows any emotion except pain or panic when being attacked by an opponent. She killed a priest who was trying to save her soul by releasing her from her desire to live, thus ending her life. However, this changes as the story progresses and Kikyo adapts more and more to her undead existence. A lot of this change can be attributed to the different characters she meets along the way.
Whenever she is not going after Naraku, she can be seen aiding the wounds of soldiers.
Personality
When Kikyo was alive, she was a calm priestess with a reserved manner. With her kindness, she had helped several people that she met along the path. Her intelligence was definitely one of her traits, and although she often smiled, it also showed her internal sadness as well. Her only wish was to become an ordinary woman, and thought she couldn't express any emotions from being a priestess with tremendous power.
When Kikyou was resurrected by Urasue, for a long time the only thing that she lived for was for revenge against Inuyasha. The hatred and anger that was inside of her soul before her death possibly caused her to become a cold, even cruel woman after she came back from hell. She still had some kindness towards humans and other living things and wonders if she could ever rest in peace. Though cold-hearted at first when she was resurrected, Kikyou learnt new lessons from others every day, and still cared for Inuyasha even when her main goal was killing Naraku to restore the balance in the world.
After Mt. Hakurei
After Mt. Hakurei collapses, Naraku nearly slays Kikyo again by infecting her with his powerful shoki, which neither Kikyo nor Kagome's holy powers were strong enough to purify. She survives the attack while still being infected by Naraku's shoki which was slowly killing her and later appears as Hijiri-sama (聖様, 'Her Holyness') with her two assistant shikigami, Kochō (胡蝶) and Asuka (飛鳥). They soon ask Kagome to help save Kikyo. Kagome agrees, and Kikyou is able to survive Naraku's shōki and continue on; the shoki infection was stopped for a small amount of time, but later resurfaced since Naraku's demonic powers went beyond the spiritual powers of both Kagome and Kikyo.
Since Kikyo is made of graveyard soil, in the manga she was able to visit Onigumo's grave and absorb some of the soil into her clay body. The soil in the cave had absorbed Onigumo's original love for Kikyo, and by empowering herself with it, she had effectively become untouchable by Naraku and his incarnations. When she first visited Naraku, and handed him a large portion of the Shikon Jewel, one of Naraku's incarnations escaped from her jar and touched Kikyo's legs; it was instantly destroyed by the new protection she had. However, this protection was gone after Naraku had become more powerful, as he was able to pierce her without being harmed since he had become more powerful than her.
Nonetheless, Kikyo found another way to use Naraku's vulnerability to Onigumo's soil against him. She gives Inuyasha an arrow coated with soil from Onigumo's cave for Kagome to use in the boundary between the living world and the underworld against Naraku that almost destroys him, after which Hakudōshi is charged with her destruction until his betrayal of Naraku.
Despite this, Naraku's shōki still remains and gets worse even though Kagome had purified it. Kikyo uses her Shinidamachū to recover the rest of Midoriko's soul to help her overcome the poison. However, Kikyo states that she doesn't know how long Midoriko's strength will last, since even Midoriko is weaker than Naraku, who is constantly increasing his power by absorbing other yokai. By seeing to it that Naraku would possess the full Jewel, Kikyo could purify both the Jewel and Naraku at once, destroying them both. Kohaku, Sango's brother who was kept alive by a shard of the Jewel that was embedded in his back, joined her in her quest when he overheard Kikyo talking about how the Shikon Jewel needed to be complete in order to destroy Naraku.
Travelling with Kohaku
Naraku stated how the shard in Kohaku's back radiated such "dreadful purity" and if that shard were taken and combined with the nearly completed Shikon jewel, then both Naraku and the Shikon Jewel would be purified at once. It is for this reason that Naraku returned to Mount Hakurei to reclaim his negative heart as a countermeasure to Kikyo's plan.
Naraku uses his human heart's power to send webs after Kikyo that would corrupt her. Kikyo was eventually overpowered by Naraku's malice and, to protect Kohaku, she sent him away with Asuka and Kochō; however, they were easily dispatched as their powers proved useless against Byakuya. Sesshoumaru interferes, however, and Byakuya is unable to capture Kohaku.
When Inuyasha and Kagome arrive, she discovers Naraku has also corrupted Kagome with his webs in order to render them both unable to purify the Shikon Jewel and Kagome unable to purify Kikyo, as the girl had been able to do in the past. To rectify this, she sends Kagome to recover a sacred bow from Mt. Asuza that can be used to purify her shouki wound, but while Kagome and InuYasha are gone, Naraku reappears and captures Kikyo along with Kōga, Miroku, Sango, Shippou and Kirara. However, Kikyo notices that the Shikon shards in Kōga's legs were purified as part of Midoriko's will, meaning that she could use his shards to purify the Shikon Jewel just as she had attempted to do so with Kohaku's shard.
Final Moments
At the end of chapter 462, Kagome is shocked to find that the Jewel is now inside of Kikyo's body. In chapter 463, with the help of Kagome's sacred arrow, Kikyo purifies the Jewel, and fires the arrow out of her body and at Naraku. His shouki is only able to corrupt half of the Jewel, and Kikyo's spiritual power and Naraku's jyaki begin to battle within the Jewel.
However, Naraku's darkness proves too powerful and overcomes Kikyo's power, completely corrupting the Jewel. Seeing that her life is practically over, Kikyo weakly tells Kagome that the rest is up to her, and that the bow from Mt. Asuza now belongs to Kagome. Shocked, Kagome asks what Kikyo means, but before the miko can continue, Naraku claims that Kikyo has lost to his jyaki and he strikes out at her with one of his tentacles. Inuyasha slashes through it before it reaches Kikyo and Kagome, but Naraku merely laughs and tells Inuyasha that he'll need to start thinking of how to defeat him without Kikyo, and leaves.
Sesshoumaru, in an overgrown field with Kohaku and Rin, comments that the scent on the wind has changed, and that it is too late. Kaede also notices some sort of change, noting that the sunset is the color of blood.
With Naraku gone, a crushed Inuyasha holds the dying Kikyo in his arms. Inuyasha then asks the others to leave them in private. Before leaving, Kagome has her face in her hands, attempting to hide her tears as she laments over being unable to save Kikyo. In thought, Kikyo wishes for Kagome not to cry, for she feels her soul has finally been saved.
Alone together, Kikyo tells Inuyasha of how she wished to become an ordinary woman when the Jewel vanished. Inuyasha tells her that ever since he was born, Kikyo was his first love. His tears splatter on Kikyo's cheek, and she comments that this is the first time she's seen him make such a face and cry.
At that, Inuyasha cries that he was unable to save her. But Kikyo continues to smile at him, saying that he came for her and that was good enough. He then looks at her smiling face tearfully, and it's her first real smile in a long while. After Inuyasha kisses Kikyo one final time, Kikyo calls his name in her thoughts as she looks at him with tear-filled eyes.
Finally in peace, Kikyo dies and disappears into a bright cluster of souls and light, which the Shinidamachuu whirl around as it glows among the group. Shippo says that it looks as if her soul is bidding farewell to them all, and Kagome notices how warm it is. The Shinidamachuu then carrys Kikyo's soul into the sky.
Inuyasha is mournful as he looks into the sky, but says that Kikyo will not suffer anymore, and that her soul doesn't want them to mourn. Kikyo's last departing words are a promise that she'll always protect Inuyasha.
However...even though she is dead, she still has Naraku in a difficult position. There is a tiny bit of purity in the Jewel that even Naraku can't corrupt. This has led many on fan sites to believe that Kikyou's soul is really inside the shikon no tama somehow in an attempt to protect Inuyasha just like her "final" words. Or it could be a target for Kagome to aim her sacred arrow at the point to purify the jewel which will destroy both Naraku and the Jewel as Kanna hinted before her death. Takahashi has said she is aiming for at least 500 chapters in the manga, however the manga is close to an end . Its proberly unlikely of her return but only time will tell.
Relationships
Inuyasha - Kikyo met Inuyasha while guarding the Shikon Jewel. The two of them bonded quickly because both of them felt like outsiders who could not live normal lives, Inuyasha because he was a hanyou, Kikyo because she was duty-bound to guard the Shikon Jewel. They fell in love, but Naraku was able to exploit their lack of trust in one another, turning them against each other in the hopes of causing the Jewel to be corrupted. When Kikyo was brought back by Urasue, she returned filled with the anger with which she had died; Inuyasha, meanwhile, was torn between his past with Kikyo and his newfound feelings for Kagome, causing a great deal of turbulence between the three of them. Kikyo gradually puts her anger behind her and became more like the priestess she was before her death, seeming to focus on defeating Naraku rather than renewing her past relationship with Inuyasha.
Naraku - Naraku set Kikyo and Inuyasha against one another hoping that, after she sealed Inuyasha, Kikyo would use the power of the Shikon Jewel selfishly to heal herself, which would corrupt her and the Jewel. However, probably as the result of knowing the nature of the Jewel and her inherent selflessness as a priestess, Kikyo instead chose to let herself die, asking that the Jewel be burned with her body to keep it out of evil hands. Naraku remains obsessed with Kikyo as a result of Onigumo's love for her and her continued efforts to thwart him; Kikyo, meanwhile, committed herself to desroying Naraku, but was ultimately unable to do so.
Kagome Higurashi - As she's resurrected by Urasue and her confusion fuels her anger, Kikyo isn't in good terms with Kagome for a long time, and at times she kinda puts Inuyasha and Kagome in different situaitons that test the strength of both girls' bonds with Inuyasha. Kagome, a kind person whose major flaw is her insecurity, often feels inferior to Kikyou and is admittedly jealous of the miko's position in Inuyasha's life. When Kikyou manages to gradually let go of her hatred, her rage on Kagome fades over time, and Kagome comes to understand her (and herself) better as well; when told that only she would be able to save Kikyo's life, Kagome did so without hesitation, and as Kikyo was dying, Kagome wept over her inability to help the other woman.
Onigumo - Kikyo supposedly met Onigumo when he came to her village to rest on his travels. Finding him badly burned and injured so that he was unable to move, she took him in, concealing him in a cave near her village and tending to his injuries. Onigumo developed feelings for Kikyo, and talked about how he would like to see her corrupted. Kikyo, however, seemed only to pity Onigumo, who she said would probably never be able to move again. Ultimately, in order to regain the ability to move, Onigumo sacrificed himself to a multitude of yōkai, creating Naraku.
Kohaku - Kohaku started travelling with Kikyo when he heard from her that his pure Shikon Jewel shard in his back can be used to destroy Naraku. At the beginning it seemed that he was just another pawn in her game of revenge against Naraku, however, it has been shown that he and Kikyo have been getting closer and closer. Thanks to Kikyo's influence, Kohaku has started healing from the emotional trauma inflicted upon him by Naraku.
Seikai - Kikyo had been living in a small village after slipping out of InuYasha's grasp after her resurrection. Seikai, a monk who she'd noticed watching her, believes that Kikyo is some sort of yokai, and purposely drops a scroll before her, asking Kikyo to pick it up for him. He tells her that the scroll contains a sutra that will instantly reveal a yokai's true form should a yokai touch it. He is shocked to find that when Kikyo touches the scroll, nothing happens. When she returns it to him, however, he feels an enormous amount of energy shoot through his body, and discovers shortly thereafter that the sutra was erased.
Later, Seikai confronts Kikyo and tries to save her soul by exorcising her, and she reacts with what proves to be lethal force. Realizing that the event was witnessed by Sayo, a young girl from the village, Kikyo showed remorse, apologizing to Sayo for giving her a bad memory, and leaving the village behind.
Suikotsu - This man was a doctor who enjoyed playing with children, a trait that Kikyo could relate to since she too had an affinity for children when she was alive. Suikotsu had two personalities; one personality was that of a peace-loving doctor who disliked even the sight of blood, while the other personality was that of a member of the Shichinintai, a merciless killer. Like all members of the Shichinintai, Suikotsu was kept alive by a shard of the Shikon Jewel in his neck, which remained untainted while his doctor personality was dominant due to his pure heart. However, this shard was removed by Jakotsu. Kikyo bid him a sad farewell, but took joy in the fact that death meant a well deserved release for this tragic soul.
Rasetsu - In the anime, this man was tricked by Naraku into thinking that paradise awaited him on the path of Mount Hakurei. He met with Kikyo and told her that he was the one who burned Onigumo and threw him off a cliff into her hands. Before he died he gave her a lock of his hair so that she may deliver it to Mount Hakurei. Surprisingly, Kikyo did indeed put aside her hunt for Naraku and her desire for Inuyasha in order to serve his dying wish. However, in the manga, he had no such connection to Kikyo and Naraku and simply gave Kikyo his hair. Since Rasetsu regretted the villainous life he lived, it is quite likely that his desire for paradise was met even though all Kikyo found when she arrived at Mount Hakurei was a trap set by Naraku.
Saint Hakushin - Saint Hakushin was a man of immense spiritual power, and when he died, he became a living Buddha. He was tricked by Naraku into creating a holy barrier (which was the most powerful barrier in the Inuyasha series as its reach extended across the perimeter of an entire mountain) that protected him from his enemies.
In life, he was meant to become a living Buddha whose death would bring prosperity across the land, but just before his death he started longing for life and developed a hatred for the people who desired his death. Out of all the characters in the entire series, this was the person whom Kikyo could relate to the most, as she too was once a holy being who had fallen from grace. She told him that it wasn't wrong for him to have desired life, and that it was better to live as a saint as he had done than to die a martyr. Thanks to Kikyo, his soul was finally able to find peace.
Special attacks
- Hama no Ya (破魔の矢) - The magic arrow of a shrine maiden, though Kikyo is actually an exception–her purifying powers (that are similar to Midoriko's) are unique to her and Kagome, being her reincarnation–other mikos do not have the same extent of purifying ability to destroy demons. Kikyo can slay yōkai using her arrows enchanted with her spiritual powers. Usually yōkai are completely obliterated when struck.
- Fūin no Ya (封印の矢) - Arrow of sealing. She used this arrow to seal Inuyasha to the Sacred Tree (Goshinboku) after Naraku tricks her into believing that InuYasha attacked her.
- Purification: Being the powerful shrine maiden that she is, Kikyo has the ability to purify anything she touches (i.e. the Shikon no Tama, minor yōkai, or possibly spirits). In the case of minor yōkai, Kikyo is capable of annihilating them with a touch, as shown in episode 15 (The Resurrection of the Tragic Shrine Maiden, Kikyo / Dub: Return of the Tragic Priestess Kikyo). The ability is shown again later on in the series when she destroys a demon (who resembles Jaken) crawling over a wounded soldier by touching it.
- Shikigami- creates two girls that usually hold her bow and arrows. She created these due to being weakened by Naraku's Miasma. They also carry messages and perform other tasks.
- My O Sas - Uses a twig to channel her spiritual powers as she draws a pentagram using her bow and places the twig inside of it. The twig becomes a tree that grows in a matter of seconds and lures minor demons to it where they go to the top and are purifed.
- Miko Powers (Hama no reiryoku) - In the chapter where Kikyo is resurrected, she uses some type of power. It is different from the purification, as it is used as an attack. Kikyo killed Urasue and hurt Inuyasha with that attack.
- Barrier (kekkai) - Kikyo is able to create a barrier, which aids her in hiding her aura. Sometimes in periods of weakness, e.g. when her life was being threatened by the shoiki that Naraku inserted into her body back at Hakureizan, it erodes away to the point of exposing her even to those with little to no spiritual fortitude.
Name
- Kikyo's name (Kikyō) means "Chinese bellflower" in Japanese.
Voice actors
- Japanese Seiyū: Noriko Nagai (credited as Noriko Hidaka)
- English voice actor: Willow Johnson
- Italian voice actors: Barbara De Bortoli (ep. 1-26); Francesca Guadagno (ep. 27-167)
- Hungarian voice actor: Szabó Gertrúd
- Latin American Spanish voice actor: Georgina "Gina" Sánchez (debut role)
- Filipino Voice Actress: Sherwin Revestir
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