Shinosuke

is a young traveler whose fiancée Wakana was possessed by a salamander's egg.

History
Three days before Shinosuke and Wakana were to be married, he was conscripted to go to war. Two years later, Shinosuke returned home after being injured in battle. Unfortunately, he found that his village had been completely burned down, and Wakana went missing. Shinosuke had since been searching for her. During his travels, Shinosuke heard rumors of a village that was inhabited by women that had lost their loved ones to war, and sought to go their with the hopes of finding Wakana.

During the story
When Shinosuke was searching for the village, he fell off the side of a cliff and plunged into a ravine. He was knocked unconscious and carried by the current until he was pulled out of a river by Inuyasha while he and his friends were out searching for Naraku. After regaining consciousness, Shinosuke told them his story and that he was looking for the village full of women in order to find Wakana. It was at that point that the women from the village approached them and led all of them to their home. After arriving at the village, one of the women, Matsu, claimed that Wakana was not among them, much to Shinosuke's disappointment. She then offered them to stay they night, which they accepted, after which they separated they men from the women. Shinosuke would room with Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippō, as a result. When Miroku left to go and flirt with one of the village women, Inuyasha and Shippō were arguing over how to deal with him. It was then that Shinosuke told them that he would be going to be early in order to resume his search for Wakana, to which Inuyasha obliged him. While he was asleep, Wakana suddenly appeared before Shinosuke, which Sooner's followed by Shinosuke waking up and being filled with joy at seeing his Fiancée once more (unaware that she was actually possessed by a yōkai). Wakana then lured to the village's shrine in order for him to be killed by the salamander that was possessing her, and to take his flesh. As he was about to enter the shrine, Shinosuke saw Miroku running towards him while attempting to warn him due to having previously escaped the shrine himself. Just as the salamder was about to kill him, Wakana briefly broke free from her control and pushed him out of its path. Miroku then managed to free Wakana's mind by punching her in the stomach with his sacred sutra and expelling the egg that the salamander was using to control all the women in the village. As Miroku headed off to free the rest of the women, Shinosuke stayed behind to look after Wakana.

After the salamander was killed and all of the women were freed from its control, Shinosuke and Wakana said their goodbyes to Inuyasha and his companions (except Miroku and Sango) before returning to their homeland. Shinosuke wanted to thank Miroku in particular, but Inuyasha told him that he was preoccupied with talking to Sango.

Personality
Shinosuke is very loyal and devoted to Wakana. He spends all his time and energy looking for her after returning from war, and refuses to give up until he finds her.

Physical description
Shinosuke is a young man with long black hair kept in a Japanese top-knot called a "chonmage", and gray eyes.

Outfit
Shinosuke wears a dark green yukata with lighter green horizontal stripes along the chest to the arms, and a beige hakama.

Manga vs. Anime

 * The scene of Shinosuke falling off a cliff is not shown in the manga.
 * In the anime, Shinosuke is given some instant ramen to eat after he is pulled out from the river.

Trivia

 * Shinosuke has the same name as a character from Rumiko Takahashi's previous work Ranma ½. Although they use different characters in their names.

Media appearances
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Manga

 * Chapter 288
 * Chapter 289
 * Chapter 290
 * Chapter 292

Anime
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 * Episode 131
 * Episode 132

Shinosuke Shinosuke 篠助 Shinosuke 筱助