Jakotsu

was one of the strongest of the Shichinintai and the third in command. His chief weapon, the snake sword or Jakotsutō, has segmented retractable blades that curve out across a great distance, making it difficult for an opponent to calculate his next move.

History
Jakotsu was a very close friend of Bankotsu and they traveled together long before the Band of Seven was formed. Soon they were joined by five other individuals to become the Band of Seven. Their mercenary skills soon became feared far across the land. Fifteen years before the series began, they took a job for a lord; only to be betrayed and forced into the snowy mountain. They were the captured and then executed soon after. Jakotsu and the other Band of Seven members would then be revived when Naraku would give Bankotsu seven Sacred Jewel shards.

During the story
Jakotsu was first seen after Kyōkotsu was killed at the hands of Kōga; he commented on how Kyōkotsu was the weakest among the Band of Seven. Soon after Kyōkotsu's death he encountered Inuyasha, Miroku and Kagome and began to do battle with Inuyasha. Inuyasha found Jakotsu to be a very strong opponent, due to his unique blade, the Jakotsutō. Jakotsu immediately was drawn to Inuyasha and made multiple advances towards Inuyasha, at one point claiming that he wanted to take Inuyasha's ears because of how "cute" they were. Their battle was cut short, however, because of the arrival of Mukotsu and his gaseous poisons.

Jakotsu is later seen with Renkotsu at the temple that he had taken over, where they discuss Inuyasha, Sesshōmaru and whether or not they can trust Naraku, whom none of the Band of Seven have met except for Bankotsu. Renkotsu notes that Inuyasha and his friends will be arriving at the temple soon, and sends Jakotsu off to complete a mission, much to the chagrin of Jakotsu who was very much looking forward to fighting Inuyasha again. Jakotsu is sent to fight with Kōga, and to steal his Scared jewel shards. They fight for a short period, before Kōga rushes off to save Kagome.

Jakotsu is present with the rest of the Band of Seven when they go off to retrieve Suikotsu, who had been living in a village as a doctor, with his kind personality. The group tells Suikotsu to snap out of it, and when Jakotsu slashes Suikotsu with his Jakotsutō, he suddenly reverts to his evil and more bloodthirsty form. Jakotsu moves to kill some children from the village, which is something that he has no taste for, but before he can Suikotsu's "good" side takes over momentarily, and begs Jakotsu not to kill them. The group surmises that the barrier of the nearby Mount Hakurei stops Suikotsu from becoming purely evil, so they decide to leave the area.

The Band of Seven goes to meet up with Bankotsu for the first time, and they then attack the castle that had executed them fifteen years prior. After they kill all of the castle's inhabitants, they wait for the arrival of Inuyasha. Kōga appears first, though, and he and Jakotsu resume their battle from before, though Jakotsu receives assistance from other members of the Band of Seven. The battle is cut short when Inuyasha finally arrives on the scene, and Jakotsu happily greets him, much to Inuyasha's annoyance. The Band of Seven escape soon after with the help from one of Naraku's demon puppets.

Later, when the Band of Seven are at Mount Hakurei, while there they meet Kohaku and Kanna who uses her mirror and reveals Sesshōmaru who he identifies to Bankotsu as the one that killed Mukotsu. Kohaku then informs Jakotsu of Sesshōmaru being Inuyasha's older brother as Jakotsu better understands his strength before he is assigned to fight him along with Suikotsu, to his annoyance.

Jakotsu battles with Sesshōmaru, and comments that he knows that Sesshōmaru is related to Inuyasha, which isn't something that Sesshōmaru cares to hear. Sesshōmaru instructs Jaken to take Rin away from there, but Suikotsu appears and abducts Rin. Jakotsu and Sesshōmaru continue to fight and Sesshōmaru eventually overwhelms Jakotsu, and leaves to rescue Rin. Jakotsu follows Suikotsu as he takes Rin back to the village he lived in before, now apparently back in his "good" form, which irritates Jakotsu who moves to get him back to his self. Soon after, though, Suikotsu slaughters a group of villagers, showing his evil side once again; Jakotsu is overjoyed by this turn of events as Suikotsu uses a mixture of both personalities. Rin tries to escape from Suikotsu, but is this time taken by Jakotsu. As Suikotsu is about to slaughter more children from the village, a Saimyōshō appears and tells Jakotsu that Sesshōmaru is coming, and they flee the scene. They take Rin to Mount Hakurei, where they hope that the barrier will weaken Sesshōmaru. Sesshōmaru appears, and Jakotsu battles him again. He swings his Jakotsutō at Sesshōmaru and is able to injure the demon, much to the delight of Jakotsu. Jakotsu, now confident, taunts Sesshōmaru, saying that he will kill Rin if he makes a wrong move. Sesshōmaru smirks at this, angering Jakotsu, who swings his sword at his opponent once more. Sesshōmaru then throws his Tōkijin aside, impaling Suikotsu, and slashes Jakotsu with his claws. As an injured Suikotsu is about to kill Rin, a sacred arrow flies through the air, striking him in the throat; Jakotsu flees the scene. As a dying Suikotsu speaks with Kikyō one last time, Jakotsu swings his sword at Suikotsu, brutally slashing his throat; his Shikon Jewel shard pops out of his throat, and Jakotsu eagerly escapes with it.

Soon after this incident, Jakotsu, walking alone, shivers due to his clothes being tattered from the previous battle. He soon encounters a group of traveling merchants and slaughters the lot of them, taking some of their clothes. Bankotsu soon arrives on the scene and the two friends converse; Jakotsu presents the Shikon Jewel shard that he had just taken from Suikotsu, stating that this is what Bankotsu instructed them to do. Bankotsu is overjoyed by this, saying that Jakotsu is such a good friend, the only person he can trust.

Jakotsu encounters Inuyasha again, which he is very happy about. Jakotsu notices that Inuyasha is in his human form, because of the barrier of Mount Hakurei, and comments that he is just as cute as a human as he is as a demon. Since Inuyasha is a mere human at this point, he struggles greatly against the might of Jakotsu and his Jakotsutō. Thanks to Kikyō aiding Hakushin, which enabled him to peacefully pass on the barrier was dispelled and Inuyasha regained his demon powers.

After a lengthy battle, Jakotsu loses to Inuyasha and is badly wounded, Inuyasha then spares him as he was in no condition to fight again. Jakotsu lays defeated and states he was happy because he got to fight the battle he wanted and that he had fun with his second chance in life.

As he comes to terms with his fate, this gave Renkotsu the opportunity to steal his Shikon shard though he asked for the latter's forgiveness. As he dies from the shard's removal, Jakotsu smiles he turns back to a skeleton. Bankotsu later avenges his friend's death by killing Renkotsu.

Personality
Jakotsu was depicted as a stereotypically flamboyant homosexual; examples of which would be his admiration of Kōga's loincloth, his advances towards Miroku and Inuyasha upon meeting them caused them to shudder, and his admiration of Sesshōmaru's appearance during battle. But he was undoubtedly as sadistic as his comrades; a merciless sociopath, who enjoyed butchering others, even helpless children, just for the sheer excitement of it. Though he claimed to "love" Inuyasha, he actually meant to kill him and claim his dog-ears, which he considered "adorable".

He was very honest and loyal though, never harboring any greed to obtain power or position, since he easily handed Suikotsu's jewel shard over to Bankotsu. His simple-mindedness, which Renkotsu seemed mostly to have despised, can also be noted in his interactions with the other members of the band. He did harbor a cruel streak, having no regard whatsoever for his opponent's life. He took particular pleasure in killing the men he fancied, by cutting them slowly and making them bleed, until he later on eventually would behead them or cut them into pieces. In the same manner, he tried to torture Inuyasha by cutting him repeatedly, saying that Inuyasha would eventually beg to 'hold him in his arms for a while' if he tortured him long enough.

Jakotsu also seemed to be very repulsed towards women and had no interest in fighting them either, probably due to his own homosexual orientation. He became furious when Sango intervened in his first confrontation with Inuyasha, warning her not to interfere and remarking her as a 'vile, despicable woman'. He angrily complained when he had to fight against Sango again, saying, "So, is this all that's left for me?" and told her to die quickly. He also had no interest in fighting Kagome or Kikyō either, though he seemed to become uneasy of the latter, stating that she scares him more than anyone else.

Physical description
Jakotsu is a lean young man of average height. His black hair is kept pinned in a feminine style with a butterfly patterned hairpin. His eyes are large, with small, dark irises and have blue tattoos resembling snake fangs underneath them. He also wears red lip coloring, making him appear more feminine. He also speaks with a female voice.

Outfits
Jakotsu is always seen wearing a combination of a kosode, obi, and scarf over his armor, along with rice-grain sandals. He is originally depicted wearing a purple kosode with leaf-like patterns on it, a purple striped obi, and a purple scarf. Later, after this outfit is destroyed by Sesshōmaru, Jakotsu slaughters a caravan of merchants and takes some of the clothes they were likely going to trade. He can then be seen wearing a yellow kosode with blue flower patters on it, a pink obi, and a greyish green scarf.

Sticking with the snake theme of his character, Jakotsu's armor consists of a purple breastplate, which seems to be patterned with scales and a single strap going over his left shoulder. He nearly always has his Jakotsutō strapped to his back, and its sheath bares the same scale pattern as his armor.

Powers & Abilities

 * Superb Speed & Reflexes: Jakotsu is pretty nimble as he could open the gap between him and his opponent, and possessed a strong amount of agility, as he was able to dodge incoming or surprise attacks, a trait that allowed him to keep up with Inuyasha, Kōga, and even Sesshōmaru (though the latter was weakened by the barrier of Mt. Hakurei).
 * Acrobat: Another trait that Jakotsu is known for, is that he usually catches himself from falling or knocked back (with quick back-flips or ninja-like backward jumps).

Weapons

 * Jakotsutō: The Jakotsutō was a broad sword made up of at least 50 chain linked blades held together by pins. When deployed or swung, these blades zig-zagged back and forth unpredictably as they moved forward, resembling the movements of a snake moving in for the strike, which is why its name translated as Snake Skill Sword. This trait and Jakotsu's skill with the sword made him one of the deadliest opponents in the series.

Band of Seven
Even before the Band of Seven was formed, the two shared a very close bond, and were traveling partners. News of Jakotsu's second death upset Bankotsu enough to kill Renkotsu and avenge his fallen friend. The two shared a peaceful moment together, during which Bankotsu confessed that Jakotsu was a true friend and the only one he could trust.
 * Bankotsu

As the second-in-command, Jakotsu tends to follows Renkotsu's orders for the most part and they seem to get along. Renkotsu constantly rebukes Jakotsu for his dim intelligence and immaturity. Whenever Jakotsu begins to fawn over the men he is interested in, Renkotsu becomes frustrated and forces Jakotsu to concentrate on the task at hand. Although tolerant of Jakotsu's flamboyant behavior up to a point, after denying Jakotsu the opportunity to fight Inuyasha, Jakotsu suggests that Renkotsu himself fancies Inuyasha, an idea which disgusts Renkotsu to the point that he actually threatens Jakotsu. After Inuyasha mortally wounded Jakotsu, the latter appeared and revealed his treachery, though he did ask for forgiveness while Jakotsu held no grudge and gave a light smile as his sacred jewel shard was taken and he died.
 * Renkotsu

Jakotsu had a mixed relationship with Suikotsu: while irritated by his good side, he attempts to awaken the evil side by killing the villagers (including children). He was later intrigued by Suikotsu's mixture of both his evil and good sides, feeling that he's truly a member of the Band of Seven. Despite that, Jakotsu had no qualms killing Suikotsu before Kikyō could remove his shard and showed no concern for his decaying ally.
 * Suikotsu

Enemies
Since their first encounter, Jakotsu was strongly infatuated with Inuyasha, and takes delight in the idea of killing him and keeping his dog ears as a "cute souvenir". Jakotsu tends to get upset whenever he doesn't get a chance to fight Inuyasha, especially if someone else from the Band of Seven is selected to fight the hanyō instead. Inuyasha on the other hand was disturbed by Jakotsu's behavior but recognized him as a deadly opponent in their battles. The two had their final battle at Mt. Hakurei, where he admits that regardless of Inuyasha's form, he still finds him attractive. Jakotsu didn't mind dying by Inuyasha's hands and gladly offered him the chance but Inuyasha simply left Jakotsu wounded promising to kill him if he tried to attack him again.
 * Inuyasha

Jakotsu is initially frightened by Sesshōmaru's entrance into the battles around Mt. Hakurei, as he notes Sesshōmaru's cold demeanor and the ease with which he dispatched Mukotsu. When Kanna used her mirror and showed Sesshōmaru's image, Jakotsu identified him as the killer of Mukotsu. He then learns from Kohaku about Sesshōmaru being Inuyasha's older brother before being assigned to go after him, much to his dismay. After brief battle, Jakotsu concedes that Sesshōmaru is handsome, but states his preference of Inuyasha. Jakotsu is surprised and amused by how reckless Sesshōmaru's behavior becomes as he attempts to rescue Rin, with Sesshōmaru turning his back to Jakotsu, leaving himself completely vulnerable. Nevertheless, after his attempt to exploit this opportunity to kill Sesshōmaru is easily reversed and Jakotsu himself nearly dies, Jakotsu comments with awe on how deadly Inuyasha's older brother really is. He is, however, irritated by how little the barrier around Mt. Hakurei affects Sesshōmaru and is also annoyed by Sesshōmaru's haughty disdain for his human opponents. After being pierced through the chest by Sesshōmaru's hand, Jakotsu has time to reflect on Sesshōmaru's attractiveness up close, and remarks that he really is handsome, but taunts the demon for underestimating him.
 * Sesshōmaru

Jakotsu had a slight crush on Kōga and admired Kōga's loincloth. In the end, however, as with his attraction toward Sesshōmaru, Jakotsu decided that he still preferred Inuyasha. Kōga and Jakotsu fight several times, with Kōga finding Jakotsu's behavior rather odd but saw him as a deadly opponent.
 * Kōga

When the two first met, Jakotsu thought of the Monk as sexy, but like Inuyasha, Miroku was repulsed and was told by the hanyō to just use his Wind Tunnel on him.
 * Miroku

Although Jakotsu never really interacts with Kikyō, Jakotsu is intimidated by her strong spiritual powers, likely because Kikyō almost killed Jakotsu while trying to rescue Suikotsu. Jakotsu even retreats after obtaining the jewel shard from Suikotsu's dead body because of his apparent fear of Kikyō. In fact, before leaving, Jakotsu makes a remark saying "That priestess scares me more than anyone".
 * Kikyō

Manga vs. Anime

 * In Chapter 271, after Inuyasha has attacked Jakotsu with his Kaze no Kizu, it can be seen that Jakotsu's left arm got cut off as he's defeated. In the anime, Jakotsu didn't lose his arm during the fight against Inuyasha.
 * The flashback of Jakotsu traveling with Bankotsu before the formation of the Shichinintai in Episode 121 is not in the manga.

Trivia

 * Rumiko Takahashi originally intended to make Jakotsu female, but did not like not like the idea of Inuyasha fighting and defeating a female human, deciding instead to make him gay.
 * This does get some criticism as Inuyasha has fought Kagura and Princess Abi.
 * Because of Jakotsu's cross-dressing, some English fans mistook him for a female.
 * Jakotsis one of a few characters to change clothes, the others include Kagome, Kagura, Sango and Naraku.
 * Jakotsu's Theme-Music from the InuYasha Official Soundtrack, Vol. 3 is entitled.
 * His seiyū, Ai Orikasa, voiced several characters from Rumiko Takahashi's anthology series . They include Matsuko Kogure, and Mrs. Shinonome. She also provided voiceover work for Mermaid Forest, which was based on Takahashi's series.

Media appearances
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Manga

 * Chapter 235
 * Chapter 236
 * Chapter 237
 * Chapter 238
 * Chapter 240
 * Chapter 241
 * Chapter 243
 * Chapter 244
 * Chapter 245
 * Chapter 246
 * Chapter 247
 * Chapter 248
 * Chapter 249
 * Chapter 250
 * Chapter 251
 * Chapter 252
 * Chapter 253
 * Chapter 254
 * Chapter 259
 * Chapter 260
 * Chapter 261
 * Chapter 262
 * Chapter 263
 * Chapter 267
 * Chapter 268
 * Chapter 269
 * Chapter 270
 * Chapter 271
 * Chapter 276

Anime
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 * Episode 102
 * Episode 103
 * Episode 104
 * Episode 105
 * Episode 106
 * Episode 107
 * Episode 108
 * Episode 109
 * Episode 110
 * Episode 111
 * Episode 114
 * Episode 115
 * Episode 116
 * Episode 118
 * Episode 119
 * Episode 120
 * Episode 121
 * Episode 122
 * Episode 123
 * Episode 163