Kikyo

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Kikyo (桔梗)

Name: Kikyo (桔梗)
Translation: Literally "Chinese Bellflower" which in Japanese, symbolizes "Unchanging Love"

Gender: Female

Race: Human

Age: 17 (At time of original death)

Occupation: Miko/Priestess

Personality/History

Kikyo was the Shinto priestess entrusted by the Yōkai Taijiya (Demon Slayers) to guard and purify the fabled Jewel of the Four Souls (Shikon no Tama).

Kikyo had slain many yōkai that tried to gain possession of the jewel; however, she could not force herself to kill InuYasha, a hanyō who is half-human and half-yōkai. She felt as though InuYasha was isolated from his kind, as she was from hers. On several occasions she would immobilize 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 Kikyo was foretold through a curse laid by Tsubaki, (a powerful Miko and Kikyo's rival) 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."

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 middle 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 (this is more evident in the manga than the anime; 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 that she was able to release InuYasha from the arrow Kikyo used to bind him to the Tree of Ages.

It has been seen more than once that 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 tiny portion of her soul so that Kikyo could be sustained in the world of the living.

Kikyo had been dead for fifty years when the yōkai Kijo (Demon Witch[?]) Urasue attacked her village and stole Kikyo's ashes along with some burial soil from her grave. Using her powerful magic, Urasue re-created Kikyo's body in the hopes that Kikyo would find and retrieve the shards of the Shikon Jewel (which was accidentally shattered by Kagome) but, to the old yōkai's dismay, Kikyo's soul did not return to her body.

Urasue was angry for a while, until Kagome and InuYasha, along with Shippo and Kaede, were attacked by Urasue's guards. With a quick attack, Urasue had Kikyo's reincarnated soul and eventually (with InuYasha's unknowing help) revived Kikyo, who immediately killed Urasue and went on to attack InuYasha. Most of the soul returned to Kagome's body after Kikyo's assault on InuYasha failed — he denied responsibility for her death and affirmed his continuing love for her (in the manga). Kikyo fled with only a tiny part of Kagome's soul within her, fueled by the bitter hatred and anger she felt for InuYasha at the moment of her death.

However, despite this hatred that she bears for him, the confused Kikyo cannot deny her feelings of love and well being for him, 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 seeing Kagome trapped to a tree, InuYasha interrupted the process. Though at a later point in the series, InuYasha tells Kaede that he would "gladly leap into Hell with Kikyo, if that is her wish."

Kikyo's body is not made of flesh and blood; she only has a small bit of soul and strong, willful determination. As a result of this, she must find ways to sustain her life after death 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.

The Kikyo appearing after her death is very different from the one who had just died. At first, Kikyo no longer smiled and hardly showed any real 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 new condition of existence. A lot of these changes can be attributed to the different characters she meets and the lessons she learns from them along the way.

Whenever she is not going after Naraku, she can be seen aiding the wounds of soldiers or taking care of children, helping to rebuild the villages destroyed by the war or monsters.

After Mt. Hakurei collapses, Naraku nearly slays Kikyo again by infecting her with his powerful shōki ("miasma" in English), which neither Kikyo nor Kagome's holy powers were strong enough to purify. Because her body was made from sacred bones and soil, she survives the attack while still being infected by Naraku's shōki which was slowly killing her and later appears as the priestess Hijiri-sama (聖様, 'Her Holiness') with her two assistant shikigami, Kochō and Asuka. They soon ask Kagome to help save Kikyo. Kagome agrees, and Kikyo is able to survive Naraku's shōki and continue on; the shōki 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.

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Brown

Height: Around 5'2"

Weight: 111 lbs.

Allies: Saint Hijiri, Kochō and Asuka. Other than the Shikigami she created, Kikyo has no real allies, however InuYasha and the others are usually there to assist her.

Enemies: Naraku, Kagura, Kanna, Hakudoshi, InuYasha, Kagome(?), Tsubaki (During the time when Kikyo was still alive)

Weapons/Abilities

Sacred arrow (Hama no Ya) (破魔の矢)

The magic arrow of a shrine maiden, though Kikyo is actually an exception — her purifying powers (like Midoriko's) are unique to her and Kagome (her reincarnation) — other mikos do not have the same extent of purifying ability to destroy demons. Kikyo can slay demons using her arrows enchanted with her spiritual powers. Usually demons are completely obliterated when struck.

Arrow of sealing (Fūin no Ya) (封印の矢)

She used this arrow to seal InuYasha to the Sacred Tree (Goshinboku) after Naraku tricks her into believing that InuYasha attacked her, sending him into a deep coma-like sleep until Kagome had woken him up.

Kyūdō (literally "Way of the Bow")

A master of the bow, Kikyo uses a long bow as her primary weapon.

Paralyze

With a simple touch, Kikyo is able to paralyze her victims (e.g. Kagome).

Pit of Hell

Kikyo once attempted to bring InuYasha to hell with her as her souls and soul collectors, were drawn into a hole that she was creating, possibly meaning she is connected with the afterlife by bringing enemies to hell, as she is a spirit.

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, Return of the Tragic Priestess, Kikyo. This ability is shown again later on in the series when she destroys an emissary of the afterlife who was crawling over a wounded soldier by touching it.

Shikigami

Kikyo created two girls named Kochō and Asuka. They 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. Another shikigami created by Kikyo was St. Hijiri, who served as a distraction for Naraku while Kikyo recovered from being poisoned by Naraku's miasma at Mt. Hakurai.

Soul Collectors (Shinidamachu)

While not weapons, the Shinidamachu or Soul Collectors collect souls of dead women and bring them to Kikyo to absorb into her for energy.

Mayose

A spell requiring enormous spiritual power; it lures and purifies (destroys) demons of a specified type. For example, Kikyo used a twig to channel her spiritual powers as she drew a pentagram and planted the twig inside of it. In a matter of seconds, the twig grew into a tree reaching the clouds. A horde of rat-demons were lured to it where they climbed to the top and were purified.

Miko Powers (Hama no reiryoku)

In the episode/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 this attack.

Spiritual barrier or shield (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 miasma that Naraku inserted into her body back at Mount Hakurei, it erodes away to the point of exposing her even to those with little to no spiritual fortitude.

Reflection powers

Kikyo used these against the dark priestess Tsubaki. It bears a slight resemblance to InuYasha's backlash wave. Kikyo traps the opponent's power in a barrier created by her bow, and then sends their own demonic power back at them.

Voice Actor

Willow Johnson

Noriko Hidaka