Black Pearl



The Black Pearl (黒真珠, Kuroshinju) is a demon relic in the InuYasha universe which provides its bearer with a gateway to "the other side".

Background and Purpose
Knowing that his elder son Sesshomaru would actively seek the Tessaiga following his death, Inu no Taisho decided to keep the sword with his remains in the other world—where his firstborn could not follow—until Inuyasha was able to use it himself. In order to provide Inuyasha with access to the other world, and thus the sword, he commissioned the demon Hosenki to create a jewel that could open a gateway there. Once forged, Inu no Taisho had Myoga hide the pearl within/behind Inuyasha's right eye.

Some 200 years later, Sesshomaru finally tracked down the pearl's location after decades of searching and claimed it forcibly from his youger brother's eye. He used it to open the portal to his father's resting place and passed through it, with Inuyasha, Myoga and Kagome following him. Once the sword was claimed, the characters returned to the world of the living through the same portal. After closing the way, the Pearl returned to Inuyasha's eye and became a permanent part of him.

In later seasons/chapters, the characters discovered that a jewel shard had somehow made its way to the Netherworld. After asking how to use the pearl to reach the graveyard again, Totosai and Myoga informed Inuyasha that by providing him access to his inheritance, the Pearl had served its function and could no longer link them to the Netherworld.

Trivia

 * The Black Pearl looks much like a tainted Jewel of Four Souls