Tōkajin

Tokajin is a man who lives on top of a cliff in the Togenkyo region, where he watches over the Ninmenka (human-faced peach tree). He uses the Ninmenka to try and achieve immortality through the Fruit of Longevity.

Tokajin would 'save' soldiers who were lost and hungry from war, shrink them down to size and make them train to become sages in his minature village. When one of his apprentices would gain even minor spiritual stature, they would be put in Tokajin's gourd to dissolve and become nourishment for Ninmenka. In the manga, he uses a staff to shrink Inuyasha, instead of a gourd. As flowers spew from the staff, he told Inuyasha to "look closely", as they become bigger and as Inuyasha shrinks.

Differences between the Manga & Anime
In the Manga, the tree Ninmenka does not have the ability to speak, and Tokajin states that he learned all of his spells by reading forbidden scrolls, because even after a few years of training his hermit-master would not teach him anything more than minor sorcery. In the anime, however, there is a discussion of how the tree Ninmenka gained the ability to speak after recieving a sacred jewel shard, and that it was the demon tree who told Tokajin about the fruit of longevity and taught him spells. Though in both adaptations, Tokajin states that the reason he kept his master alive was because the hermit-master was the only person who knew the only true method to reach longevity, but would not divulge the information, saying Ninmenka's method is far inferior.

In the Anime, Tokajin meets his end as he starts to fall to his death during his battle with Inuyasha, and Ninmenka saves him, only to devour the "Sage" in order to gain precious nourishment. In the Manga, he simply falls to his death.

In the manga, this part of the story happens before Sango is introduced. In the Anime, it happens much later, after Sango's weapon is broken, and she leaves the group, going back to her village to repair it.