Miroku

was a hōshi who traveled with Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippō, and Sango. His paternal grandfather was cursed fifty years ago by Naraku, leading to the creation of the Kazaana, which was destined to be passed down to all of his male descendants, including Miroku himself.

History
Miroku was raised and trained by his father's friend, Mushin, who became his guardian when his father was swallowed by his Wind Tunnel, an event Miroku witnessed alongside Mushin.

His paternal grandfather was cursed by Naraku who, in the past, had fought together many times and each time Naraku appeared to him in a different form. Though Miyatsu was a powerful monk, he was also a lecherous man; which Naraku used to his advantage. Naraku took the form of a beautiful maiden in order to catch Miyatsu off guard. When Naraku revealed himself, the battle between the two foes began. Whilst battling Naraku, Miyatsu was pierced though the hand - creating the Wind Tunnel. The wind tunnel would grow bigger as time passes, and eventually will overgrow the victim's hand, which will suck in the victim and tear them apart. This curse has been passed down from father to son, and thus eventually to Miroku. Miroku is able to control the wind tunnel by sealing it with prayer beads.

Prior to meeting Inuyasha and Kagome, Miroku traveled the countryside performing (as he viewed it) his Buddhist duties towards the people he meets on his journey. This includes praying for any who ask, comforting the sick and dying, and (his particular specialty) exorcising unwanted spirits and yōkai, sometimes destroying them in the process. These exorcisms should not be confused with the work done by the yōkai taijiya Sango. If his clients are rich, Miroku rips them off and/or steals anything of value he can get his hands on.

As a Buddhist monk, one of his main concerns is that the spirit or soul of the individual (Including that of a yōkai) should "find rest" and pass peacefully into the "next world". Without this, the spirit is doomed to wander this world, often in a malicious or malevolent form, and further can be taken over by other yōkai to cause more trouble.

In addition to these duties, Miroku is constantly searching for Naraku, the being that cursed his family with the Kazaana; for if he does not find and destroy Naraku, then he will be consumed by the curse as his father and grandfather were before him. Near the end of the series, his Kazaana reaches its limit and Naraku plans on forcing him use it one final time so that he will suffer his father and grandfather's tragic fates. However, as Naraku meets his gradual defeat, his Wind Tunnel begins to close before vanishing altogether.

Finding Allies
After pawning off the spoils of one of his exorcism/robberies, Miroku decide to relax in a hot spring. He spied on Kagome at the time, noticing she carried a large shard of the Shikon Jewel with her. Because of Inuyasha's presence, Miroku saw he had no chance of stealing the jewel. He forced his friend, a racoon-dog who often served him, into helping him create a distraction the next day, successfully stealing the shard. When Inuyasha followed him to take it back, Miroku threatened him with the Wind Tunnel. However, Kagome, who remembered Miroku alerting the villagers in advance of his using the Wind Tunnel, threw herself at him as he had it open, risking being consumed by it, forcing him to close it. Regaining consciousness, Miroku groped Kagome, making her order Inuyasha to kill him. He explained his situation to Inuyasha, at the same time revealing the truth of the trap Naraku had successfully sprung upon Kikyō and Inuyasha. He decided to travel with them, but not before trying to persuade Kagome into having his child to carry on his family mission to destroy Naraku. She is stunned by this offer, followed by Inuyasha threatening Miroku to never make advances towards her again.

Soon afterwards, Miroku collected three more shards of the jewel when he temporarily left the group. He reunited with Inuyasha and Kagome when he was, to his surprise, actually performing an exorcism. Learning of a painter who drew the yōkai of Hell as his personal minions, Miroku accompanied his friends to battle the painter and, using his Wind Tunnel, sucked up all the yōkai at the cost of being severely weakened. He watched as Inuyasha destroyed the ink pot with a jewel shard in it and the painter be consumed by the very paint he desired. Knowing the shard was tainted by the painter's evil, Miroku watched in amazement as Kagome purified it with a simple touch.

First Encounter with Naraku
During one of his fake exorcisms, Miroku joined Inuyasha in a fight against Sesshōmaru. Using the Wind Tunnel to suck in Sesshōmaru's minion, Miroku was poisoned for the first time by saimyōshō. Suffering from the poison, Miroku beat Jaken to a pulp to learn Naraku gave Sesshōmaru the insects to seal the Wind Tunnel. Kagome gave him modern medicine to counteract the poison.

After Inuyasha won the battle, Miroku teamed up with Kaede to seal him in a hut until he recovered after he forced Kagome back to her era. At the same time, Rōyakan had become violent thanks to Naraku implanting shards in him. Miroku was forced to break concentration on a barrier hiding Inuyasha's hut to keep Kaede from being harmed by a spear Naraku sent flying at them. Without the use of his Wind Tunnel, Miroku had a hard time fighting until Inuyasha regained strength and easily knocked Rōyakan out. He watched in amazement as Kagome returned, who told them of someone nearby with several jewel shards. It was at this time, Miroku encountered Naraku, his family enemy and the one who cursed him with the Wind Tunnel. Naraku released a Cloud of Destruction, forcing him to evacuate Kagome and Kaede from the area. After Inuyasha failed to kill Naraku, Miroku learned of a spider-shaped burn mark on Naraku's back that would serve as his calling card.

Soon afterwards, the group heard about the souls of deceased maidens that were being stolen by yōkai. This was later revealed to have been caused by the still-alive Kikyō, who needed souls of the dead to sustain herself. Miroku questioned Inuyasha whether he cared for Kagome or Kikyō more; however, Inuyasha didn't know himself and wondered if he could care about both of them. Miroku sympathized with Inuyasha as it was a typical male problem with choosing which girl they love; however, he did warn that if either Kagome or Kikyō found out, Inuyasha would get a "Sit" command. No sooner had he said this, Inuyasha received an angry "Sit" command from Kagome.

Falling in Love
Miroku may be lecherous at times, but that doesn't stop him from finding true love. Upon hearing about a village of demon slayers who were also collecting shards of the Shikon Jewel from yōkai that they felled, the group traveled to find their village. However, they found the village completely destroyed and all the residents dead. At that time, Miroku met Myōga the flea yōkai. It was also revealed some of the slayers had been called away to the Hitomi clan castle to slay a yōkai. Hoping to find them, they encountered Sango, the sole survivor of the group that had been slaughtered by a yōkai manipulating her younger brother. She mistook Inuyasha for the village's attacker due to Naraku manipulating her. Miroku tricked him into revealing he told the yōkai that the village lacked the best slayers at the time, and thus was vulnerable to attack. However, upon Naraku's defeat, they discovered that he was no more than a demon puppet, controlled by the real Naraku.

As Sango recovered from her wounds, Miroku restrained himself and kept all lecherous actions from occurring, showing that even he has self-restraint when it comes to being a lecher. During Sango's recuperation, the group learned of the Shikon Jewel's origin in a cave in the village. When Sango recovered from her injuries and emotionally healed from her family and comrades deaths, Miroku resumed his lecherous attitude and continuously tried groping her. However, he received painful slaps and other beatings for doing such; however, he didn't seem to mind.

Arriving at a village home to a Water God demanding human sacrifices, the group exposed the Water God as a fake that stole the Trident of Amakoi from the real Water Goddess. Miroku helped rescue her and resisted his natural lecherous tendencies out of fear of divine punishment. When the fake Water God was destroyed, Miroku sucked its remains into the Wind Tunnel.

While the group was slaying a rat yōkai, Miroku pursued a beautiful woman to the outside of a village. The woman revealed herself to be a mantis yōkai, who wished to eat him. Miroku quickly sucked it into the Wind Tunnel, but the mantis nicked the sides on the way in, making the Wind Tunnel dangerous to use again as it could spread from the nicks and shorten his life more. Seeking help, Miroku went to Master Mushin's temple to get the old drunk's help in repairing the damage; here Miroku revises the "grave" of the father, a chasm caused by the suction of Kazaana that killed him. While waiting for him to mend his wound, Miroku didn't notice a Worm Charmer's, Tsubo Tsukai presence as he possessed Mushin with a Kokochu; Naraku hired this yōkai to kill Miroku with a jewel shard as payment for the yōkai. Miroku escaped to his father's grave and put up a barrier. When the barrier fell, Inuyasha and the others showed up to save him.

However, the possessed Mushin prevented Inuyasha from slaying the yōkai, forcing Miroku to use his Wind Tunnel; it spread from the nicks, shortening his life. All the yōkai were destroyed for the first time by the Wind Scar, unknown to Inuyasha, and Mushin was freed from the charmer's control. Upon awakening after Mushin mending his Wind Tunnel, Miroku couldn't help but fake out Sango to grope her. Afterwards Miroku while to gain time to Sango, for his brother Kohaku, found, without memory, it sucks the ranks of yōkai of Kagura among them the saimyōshō's poison. This gesture is very much appreciated by Sango. Miroku is helped from Sango to defeat a Coyote yōkai who had taken possession of the body of the princess of mist; on this occasion, Miroku gives an amulet to Sango making it invisible to the yōkai. Furthermore, Sango now seems in love with him.

Upon being accused of visiting villages and performing fake exorcisms, Miroku ended up being chased out of them; however, he claimed to be innocent of all wrongdoing (on this occasion). When the next village revealed that "he" had sold outrageously expensive sutras that turned into leaves, Miroku immediately realized Hachi had been posing as him. Finding Hachi in a cave, Miroku rescued him from a Unnamed weasel yōkai by threatening to suck the weasel into the Wind Tunnel. When questioning Hachi about how he got girls to go crazy for him while in disguise, Miroku learned indifference is the key. When Sango got angry at them for whispering to each other, Hachi turned into Miroku, and both ran in a circle to confuse her and ran off. Sango gave chase, but both pretended not to be him, insisting that the other was Miroku. Hachi reminded Miroku of his advice, but Miroku knew it wouldn't work for him.

Mount Hakurei
Following the Sarugami's clue that Naraku had fled in the direction of the Ox-Tiger, Miroku and his companions arrived at Mount Hakurei, a mountain with a purifying barrier so strong, it knocked out weak, evil yōkai and turned a hanyō mortal. After encountering the Shichinintai who were resurrected by Naraku through shards of the sacred jewel, Miroku came to believe that Naraku was hiding inside of Mount Hakurei as it was the perfect place to recover as most of those after him could not get inside without consequence. Despite initially having some trouble entering himself, only he, Sango and Kagome could enter the barrier without trouble; whereas Inuyasha, Shippō, Kirara, Sesshōmaru, Kōga (due to being yōkai) and Kikyō and her shinidamachūs would be attacked by the barrier.

He and Sango decide to explore the mountain, leaving Kagome with Inuyasha, Shippō, and Kirara. They end up finding Kagura and a horde of Naraku's yōkai inside. Sango was knocked unconscious by her own weapon, forcing Miroku to carry it and her to safety. Though Kagura taunted him by saying he could save himself by abandoning Sango, Miroku declared that he is willing to sacrifice himself for the woman he loves, and opened the Wind Tunnel and sucking in the poisonous insects, surprising Kagura. Managing to, unknowingly, reenter the barrier after suffering from poisoned badly, Miroku had the saimyōshō venom purified from his body. While thinking they were going to die, Miroku heard Sango confess her feelings to him, but was shocked when she forgot moments later. They meet the reanimated Hakushin, and Miroku decides to suck him into the Wind Tunnel as he would not let the barrier down. With great effort, Miroku manages to deform the sacred barrier, and to weaken drastically with Wind Tunnel, forcing Hakushin to retire. Unknown to him, Kikyō later helped Hakushin's soul ascend.

With the barrier gone, Inuyasha, Shippō, Kirara, and Kagome could enter Mount Hakurei. Miroku and Sango succeed in finding Naraku temporarily, but lose sight of him when Kagura attacks. Sent plummeting below into a pit thanks to Kagura's Dance of Blades destroying their footing, Miroku and Sango discover the remains of yōkai Naraku tossed out to make himself stronger. Even more strange, the remains began turning into infant-like clumps of flesh. Hearing Kagome and Shippō's voices below them, Miroku and Sango cleared some of the clumps away to see them in an abyss below. Suddenly all the clumps of flesh began falling down into the darkness with Miroku and Sango following, but Kirara caught them.

To their shock, Naraku reappeared, albeit just a head, with Inuyasha captured in his tentacles; Mount Hakurei had become the hanyō's own body. After Naraku stole all the jewel shards, he then united them to allow a more powerful body to be constructed. Miroku warned Inuyasha that Naraku's power had grown significantly since their last battle, but was ignored. Naraku escaped to the outside while making Mount Hakurei begin to collapse. Miroku sucked the resulting miasma into the Kazaana to save them while Inuyasha went to save Kōga after he fell from Naraku's grasp below. Once outside, Miroku watched as the mountain crumbled into nothing.

Following the discovery Kikyō had been slain by Naraku, Miroku explained to Kōga that her spiritual powers were what Naraku feared the most, hence why he went to all the trouble of taking control of Mount Hakurei. While passing by a village that had been devastated by yōkai Naraku allowed to escape the mountain, a wandering priest mentioned he came across a wounded priestess one mountain over who may have died of her wounds. When Inuyasha took off to investigate, Miroku, Sango and Kagome were captured by soldiers under the orders of a lady. Kagome was taken to see her while Sango, Miroku, and other captives were ordered to be executed. Sango managed to cut the ropes tied around her with a hidden blade in her sleeve. She retrieved her and Miroku's weapons and freed him also. They knew that these men were being ordered by someone else to kill them. As they did not wish to kill humans, Miroku and Sango found themselves having trouble, knocking them out.

They later discovered that the lady and the priest were in fact being controlled by Kagura's Dance of the Dead. Rescuing Kagome from Naraku's latest trap, Miroku quickly deduced Naraku's newest incarnation, an Infant, was born of Onigumo's heart; however, it was not Onigumo himself, he was left behind in Mount Hakurei. Kagura and the Infant were forced to retreat, but not before warning that they would keep trying to use Kagome's eyes to find the remaining Shikon Jewel shards.

The Most Dangerous Confession
Hearing about a village of oni women who skinned their victims, Miroku was delighted to come across a village of women who had lost their loved ones in war. Having not sensed any demonic aura, Miroku began flirting with any woman he could find; however, he instantly detected the "scent of death" from Sango, who wanted to leave and continue the search. However, they were invited to stay the night and Miroku happily agreed, but found himself rooming solely with Inuyasha, Shippō and a man they met previously who was searching for his wife because they had separated from war. He doesn't want to stay in the village anymore because he had hoped to spend some time with the women. He's left gloomy and disappointed for a while. Shippō questions him about what happened in Mt. Hakurei, with him and Sango. Miroku remembers how he planned to risk himself to save her life, and her confessing her feelings, but he tells Shippō that nothing happened. Later on, much to his joy, a woman offered to spend her time with him, leading Miroku to a hall with a Kannon hanging scroll. Noticing a demonic vapor coming out of the woman's mouth, Miroku lamented that his luck sucks when it comes to being with a woman and turned his attention to the scroll, which held the spirit of a yōkai in it. It has a Salamander yōkai that ruled the marsh, but was exorcised and skinned; it ate the skin of men to prepare for its resurrection.

Miroku dealt damage to the yōkai, forcing it to flee. Realizing something was in the woman's stomach controlling her, Miroku punched her stomach with a sutra wrapped around his fist, making her spit up a salamander egg. He headed for the marsh, where the yōkai had partially resurrected itself, and was facing Inuyasha while Kagome and Shippō tried to fight the other possessed women. Miroku hands them sutras and tells them how to break the women out of their trance. Inuyasha destroyed the yōkai with ease, but the women remained possessed so long as the yōkai's eggs remained in their stomachs. He then learned Sango had vanished after going after the women on her own; he found Kirara, completely soaked. Miroku gave sutras to Kagome, tasking her with saving the other women and rode Kirara into the marsh underneath the water. Much to his surprise, he was attacked by Hiraikotsu; Sango had been forced to swallow a salamander egg. Miroku fought the possessed Sango, getting lightly injured in his successful attempt to purge the yōkai from her belly. He admitted she was a "fearsome opponent" and thought he was going to die. When everyone else learned what happened to Sango, they scolded him as it was his own fault due to his flirting.

Miroku later told Sango of his feelings; he valued her as the companion he fights with, but because of that he feels he can't love her as a woman. Though a tearful Sango was ready to leave, Miroku asks her live with him and to bear his children (10, maybe 20) if they live through their battle with Naraku and the curse of the Wind Tunnel is broken. Sango, tearfully but, happily agrees, and asks Miroku to promise not to flirt with other women. Miroku could only laugh nervously; it takes a lot to break bad habits.

Battle for the Final Shikon Jewel Shard
Upon hearing from Hachi that Mushin was dying, Miroku and the others visit and fulfill his final requests which was doing all the cleaning chores, even getting a special brew, the Kasumi Sennin from the Sake Sages. However, he later learns in disbelief that Mushin believed he was going to be one of the priests of high spiritual power slain; many others had been killed, leading to the release of yōkai under seals. They all yell at Mushin that he will be completely safe, for he doesn't exactly have high spiritual power. Coming across in temple of Master Shinsen that had recently been attacked, the attacker's identity was revealed to be Kagura and the Infant; however, the Infant had been split in half. Miroku quickly surmised that the Infant was vital to Naraku. Chasing the horse yōkai, which had escaped its seal thanks to the death of the priest who sealed it, they came face to face with Naraku's newest incarnation.

Hakudōshi taunted them, revealing where the final shard of the Shikon Jewel lay; in the Borderland between this world and the next. Soon afterwards, they were lead to the Realm of Fire, where the only gate to the Next World existed; however, it was a trap set by Hakudōshi: one would need to be killed by the gatekeepers in order to pass. Miroku helped save Inuyasha by using the Wind Tunnel to pull their weapons off target. Inuyasha forced the gate open, allowing them to discover the light from behind it will petrify anything it touches (for Kagura had tried to enter with her army of yōkai); Kagome confirmed the Shikon Jewel shard was in the next world.

Soon afterward, word spread of villagers being drained of their blood by yōkai. Miroku offered to protect a village in exchange for food and boarding. No sooner had he finished his usual line, demon birds descended upon the village and they met Princess Abi, the demon birds' master. She fled soon after escaping the Wind Scar. Because of the demon birds' attacks, word soon spread of Saint Hijiri, who could protect others from the birds. They set off and ran into an old couple and two kids who survived an attack from Abi's birds. Following a trail up the mountain, Kagura and Hakudōshi appear with the demon birds. While the demon birds attack, everyone protects the crowd of people trying to reach what they believe was a safe settlement. Sango found it strange how Kagura and Hakudōshi weren't attacking, and Miroku assumes it's because they must be buying time. Hakudōshi confirms it a second later, that Abi is probably killing the settlement of humans at that moment. Hijiri's arrow proved powerful enough to break Hakudōshi's barrier, leading to speculation that Kikyō may have survived Naraku's attack at Mount Hakurei. Their original goal was to track down the demon birds' nests, yet they ended up searching for Saint Hijiri.

They hear a rumor about this place in the forest where Hijiri may be, and they set off towards it. Miroku and the rest separate from Inuyasha, going on ahead anxiously and leaving him to deal with a bunch of Naraku's weak yōkai. They run into more yōkai up ahead and had to stop and fight. Sango, Kirara, and Miroku were the ones fighting the yōkai, meaning to protect Kagome and Shippō. Seeing Kagome run off on her own, Miroku stops fighting to chase after her, intending to stop her. He lost her once she passed a barrier he couldn't, and disappeared. Later, they find out Kikyō was alive, but she needed Kagome to purify the miasma in her body.

When Princess Abi attacked a castle, it was revealed Kohaku had been there under Naraku's orders. Miroku and the others fought the demon birds, letting Sango leave to find her younger brother. Later, Sango revealed she saw Kohaku trying to take a Lady's baby, which looked just like Hakudōshi; this meant Hakudōshi was a distraction to keep attention away from his other half, which must be more important. That night, Miroku comforts a distressed Sango by simply being next to her.

Eventually, Naraku beheaded Abi's mother, creating a River of Blood that took them all to the Borderland. There the yōkai in possession of the last shard warned them away because the shard did not want to be reassembled into the jewel. After corrupting Hōsenki's shard to make him fight and become weakened, Naraku took his prize, and confirms to Miroku, that once again he has them exploited. At that point Inuyasha intervenes, and Miroku understands that wants to drag Naraku outside the barrier with Red Tessaiga, without success, also notes that the Naraku's barrier rejects the Wind Scar just as had happened on Mt. Hakurei.

Miroku was prevented from sucking Naraku in by the threat of the saimyōshō hive. With Sesshōmaru's arrival, the battle took a turn for the better as Inuyasha gained the Adamant Barrage from Hōsenki, successfully crippling Naraku. When Inuyasha was trying to break open Hōsenki's invincible diamond skull to learn Adamant Barrage, Miroku and Kagome were trying to get Inuyasha to stop since the sharp pieces flying off of Hōsenki were making him bleed immensely. In the end, Naraku vanished back to the World of the Living, along with an arrow from Kikyō that Kagome fired. The shard was retrieved and taken back with them.

The Fuyōheki
Upon meeting a mountain yōkai, it is revealed Naraku stole his Fuyōheki, a stone that hides demonic auras; no doubt it was for hiding the Infant from them and the rest of Naraku's enemies. The Mountain Man, after being convinced and calmed by the good words of Miroku, and the "good" actions of Inuyasha, gave them shards of his crystallized yōki to find and retrieve the Fuyōheki. During the search for the Fuyōheki, they came across yōkai, patched-together from corpses and animated by haku; these were experiments created by Hakudōshi, to create his masterpiece. Miroku was ashamed of himself, because he was attacked by Mōryōmaru, losing the shards of demonic energy, and thus their only lead to Naraku.

Mistakes of the Past
Lamenting his losing of the shards of demonic energy, Miroku happily embraced Sango when she tried cheering him up; she even didn't protest to him groping her. Feeling an earthquake and demonic presence, they raced to a nearby lake, offering assistance. However, Miroku, much to his own surprise, was recognized by one of the men, who asked if he had come back to honor his promise to marry his daughter. Questioned persistently, Miroku immediately recognized Shima, who, three years ago, agreed to marry him once she recovered from her illness. Miroku was pummeled by Sango and continued to fear her wrath when Shima got close to him. Learning the Master of the Lake wanted Shima as his bride, Miroku offered to help prevent it; however, this was misinterpreted as his willingness to marry Shima. Shima's father explained the Master of the Lake wants a virgin as his bride, so if she is married to someone else, he'll give up. When the Master of the Lake arrived, Shima lied, saying she slept with Miroku when they met. Miroku, having trouble remembering what exactly happened, was shocked at this accusation though he didn't say anything; at the same time, this only angered Sango further. Enraged at being tricked, the Master of the Lake transformed and prepared to destroy Shima's house.

Miroku tried getting Sango to help, but she was too hurt by what Shima had said to listen to him, and she ran off. Feeling equally hurt, Miroku said she didn't even give him time to explain the truth; Shippō was confused as Miroku is usually guilty when it comes to something perverted. The Master of the Lake kidnapped Shima, deciding to take her after all; Miroku chased them to the lake, where Sango saved Shima at the cost of being captured in her place. Enraged that the yōkai would try taking "his woman," Miroku drained the lake with his Wind Tunnel and gave the Master of the Former Lake a sound beating. After that, Miroku asked if Sango was alright. She was still stunned over Miroku's protectiveness over her and his previous words, but then she looks away to the side, remembering she was irritated with him about Shima. His expression turns apologetic and sheepish, and she turns away from him abruptly, walking quickly in the opposite direction. He throws Master to the side and chases after her, trying to get her attention. She continued to ignore him, but was secretly happy that he cared for her and she let out a sigh and then a smile. Sango was now relieved that he had proven his feelings. Miroku knew she understood his feelings now and playfully chased her around.

The next day when Shima revealed she lied, Miroku explained to Sango that he was foolish to think she would trust him and not what someone else said. Although, the two made up rather quickly. While walking on to their next adventure, Miroku was questioned as to why he didn't speak up sooner about Shima losing her virginity to him falsely. Earlier, Miroku had told Sango that he supposes he was "naive" because he thought Sango would know and trust he wouldn't do those things, without him having to tell her. That didn't appear to be the case. Shippō accurately guesses he must've taken a while to remember the truth. Miroku freezes and starts to sweat nervously at being caught. He then faced a possible beating from Sango for lying again, and he nervously tells her, "It was so long ago..."

In Search of Naraku's Heart
Upon hearing Gakusanjin had been slain by the Gyōja, Inuyasha's sense of smell was used to take them to a temple run by a priest named Goryōmaru; Goryōmaru had a demonic arm thanks to a yōkai trying to eat him, but he turned the tables and sealed him into his body. Miroku tries to figure out with some smart questions if he is a follower of Naraku, but the ascetic does not seem to have anything to do. Kagura attacked the temple, believing the Infant was hidden inside; unknown to Miroku and the others, it was. Come daybreak, they investigated the nearby cave, where the corpses of demons were put under a spell that turned them into Rakan's statues (rakanzo) that attracted other demons. Kagura returned to the temple, but with Hakudōshi this time; Goryōmaru was decapitated while Hakudōshi picked up the Infant and Kanna, taking them away. The group was then lead to a stone ogre by Kagura, where the Infant supposedly was; however, it was another of Naraku's traps as he, himself, was there in place of his own heart. Miroku ended up poisoned by saimyōshō in an attempt to permanently kill Naraku that with the Jewel has revived the ogre, and consequently a river of acid inside. Miroku, before losing consciousness for the poison, protect Sango, Kagome and Shippō with a spiritual barrier, while Inuyasha managed to free them from the ogre.

A Second Enemy
Soon afterwards, Mōryōmaru betrayed Naraku, having become the vessel for the Infant, along with Hakudōshi and Kagura. They stole the Shikon Shard from Kagome (in the manga Mōryōmaru takes it himself while Miroku deals with robbers with Goryo's urns, in the anime instead the shard takes it Hakudōshi, and Miroku desists from suck him for poisonous insects) while trying to take Kōga and Kohaku's shards; both attempts ended in failure. Miroku attempted to suck Hakudōshi into his Wind Tunnel after Naraku disabled Hakudōshi's barrier, but the saimyōshō prevented him from doing so. Much to everyone's surprise, the saimyōshō abandoned Hakudōshi, allowing him to be sucked in; Miroku does not feel satisfied with this, because it is conscious of being just been tapped by Naraku. Kagura was offered a place in their group by Kagome, but decided to take off on her own.

Kohaku was rescued from Mōryōmaru, who was forced to flee due to lacking enough power to fight on his own. Kohaku took off on his own again, afraid of bringing harm to others. They soon followed after Kagura when Inuyasha caught the scent of blood and miasma. They arrived in a field of flowers just as Kagura died, learning from Sesshōmaru that she was smiling. Mōryōmaru continued growing in power, becoming just as much as a threat as Naraku. At the same time, a new incarnation appeared to replace Naraku's fallen minions (in the manga Byakuya appears during the battle with Mizuchi, where Miroku remains poisoned for a while, after inhaling the poison of the snake yōkai); he observed as both Inuyasha and Mōryōmaru grew stronger, never fighting the other once. Naraku made a sudden move by bringing back to life a tree yōkai, named Yōmeiju, able to break through barriers, and ate it.

A foolish tactic
Eventually, Naraku and Mōryōmaru faced off in a duel to absorb the other; Mōryōmaru succeeded and ate Naraku. However, it was later revealed to be a farce; Naraku needed to get inside of Mōryōmaru to use the tree yōkai's ability to break through barriers in order to reclaim and absorb the Infant back into himself. When Naraku attempted to flee, Miroku opened the Wind Tunnel, sucking in tons of Naraku's miasma to the point of bleeding out of his eyes and mouth. However, he managed to succeed in sucking in the Fuyōheki before Inuyasha forced him to close it. As Naraku taunted Miroku for almost getting him, the villain fled. An examination revealed Naraku's miasma had left a scar on Miroku's body that almost reached his heart; the scar resembled spider legs. Kikyō healed Miroku by pouring her own life energy into him to reverse the damage; however, if Miroku still uses the Wind Tunnel, the scars of miasma indelibly branched too deep in his corp, spread until they reach his heart and kill him, even before the curse on his right hand. Miroku asks Kikyō not to reveal anything to his friends.

The group faces a bunch of demons porcupine Yama-Arashi, reanimated by Kongōsōha's flakes, which had fallen to Naraku after his retreat. Sango and Miroku in a valley, are forced to fight two huge demons porcupine, that put out fighting Sango who was trying in every way to defeat them, in order not to open at Miroku the Wind Tunnel, which he had used earlier, that has under his look of shock, spread scars branched into his body (Miroku however prefer not to say anything to Sango). The monk to save his beloved, comes close to reuse it, with all the risks, but fortunately Inuyasha, Kagome and Kōga rescue them, killing the demons porcupine (this part is present only in the manga).

After being saved from Bone Demons by Sango, Miroku found that his sucking in Naraku's miasma had left him extremely vulnerable to poison, not even being able to handle weaker versions of miasma. It was a constant pain when he would suck in any kinds of miasma. When Sango took her Hiraikotsu to be fixed by the Master of Potions, Miroku was offered a poisonous elixir that would prevent him from feeling pain from sucking in miasma, but it would not actually heal him. He told Inuyasha not to tell the others, especially Sango, and Inuyasha agreed as long as Miroku did not use his Wind Tunnel unnecessarily. To fight by Sango's side, Miroku took the potion, allowing the yōkai spirits that formed Hiraikotsu to be quelled and reforged.

The Final Battle
As the fight over Kohaku's shard to complete the jewel continued, Miroku found using the Wind Tunnel did not hurt anymore thanks to the Master of Potions' medicine, as the occasion on which sucks obstacles of Byakuya, who served in gaining time to Naraku as he tried to take the fragment of Kohaku. However, the scar began to spread from his hand again. When Magatsuhi tried to take a possessed Kohaku to Naraku, Miroku sucked in his main spiritual body, becoming badly poisoned by its evil spirit. However, he has also pushed the Wind Tunnel to the point of tearing, only to have two usages before being killed by it. Kohaku is taken and Miroku ends up badly hurt with a badly injured Sango. Inuyasha and Kagome rush over to them and Inuyasha scolds Miroku for using Wind Tunnel. All of them are taken off guard when they can actually start to hear the sound of the Wind Tunnel and it's not even open. Inuyasha continues to scold Miroku, when he cuts him off, saying that it's no time for accusations and that he and Kagome should hurry after Kohaku. Sango continues to look at Miroku, with wide eyes.

Inuyasha and Kagome continue after Kohaku. Sango's getting dressed to go after Kohaku also, even though Shippō asks and worries about her serious wounds. She's determined to put an end to Naraku, lifting the curse of Miroku's Wind Tunnel. Miroku's lying down in a storage shed with Kaede watching over him, for he had fallen asleep. Jaken's watching an unconscious Rin (she was poisoned by Magatsuhi's miasma too). Sango enters the storage shed and Jaken apologized while repeatedly bowing, thinking it was Sesshōmaru. He realized it was just Sango and stoped. By now, Sango knew what Miroku did, just to fight by her side. Saddened by it, she asks to be alone with him for a moment. Kaede carries Rin out, and Jaken follows after. Looking at Miroku, Sango thinks about how he always risked his life to save her and Kohaku. Tears falling, she kisses him as he sleeps, hoping he won't die. She then leaves to fight. Later during the night, Miroku's awake. Kaede informs him that she felt an ominous energy leaving his body, which they assumed was the part of Magatsuhi he absorbed. They hoped the others had defeated him. Unfortunately, they realize the real form of Magatsuhi was sucked into Miroku's body and had escaped. Magatsuhi later possesses Rin and takes her to Naraku as a hostage.

Everyone except for Shippō, Jaken, and Kohaku (they were ordered to stay behind) confronted Naraku's huge spider body. Sesshōmaru didn't hesitate to enter Naraku's body, with Kagome and Inuyasha going in right after. Miroku, Sango, and Kirara follow after them, but not before Miroku tells Sango, "Once this is over, let's have our wedding." Once inside, they realize that the whole body is completely Naraku. No matter how many parts of Naraku's flesh they attack, tentacles and clones keep coming back. Eventually, Naraku splits their group up by moving Kagome and Inuyasha to another location. Miroku and Sango continue, trying to find a way to get deeper into Naraku's body since that's where Kagome sensed the jewel was. They're caught in an illusion and Miroku watches as Naraku presents the scene of the day his father was sucked into the Wind Tunnel; seeing this unnerves Sango, who doesn't want him to share the same fate.

After the illusion is done, Miroku tries to calm Sango down. Kirara retrieves them so they can get out, but tentacles knock them down. Miroku ends up landing on a higher level ground than Sango. Dazed, Sango tries to get her Hiraikotsu to attack tentacles coming at her, but it was going to be too late, and Miroku is forced to use his Wind Tunnel to protect Sango. Much to her protests, she tries to climb up to where he is so he'll stop, but he doesn't until all the tentacles are gone. His Wind Tunnel whirs, but when it finally calms down, he smiles sadly at Sango, saying they have to part ways. Then he distances himself from her to avoid sucking her in. He finds it would be more painful than death. When light returns to the Shikon Jewel thanks to Magatsuhi's death, Miroku follows the light to an illusion of Naraku, who tries to persuade him into using the Wind Tunnel. However, Inuyasha and Kagome prevent him from doing so. When being separated again from Inuyasha and Kagome when going after an unconscious and falling Sango, who had been knocked out from the miasma, the two end up alone in another part of Naraku's body. After she wakes up, he asks for forgiveness for abandoning her. However, she instead begs him to let her die alongside him when the Wind Tunnel sucks him in, refusing to be without him in life. Despite not wanting to, he relents and the two embrace and cling to each other, waiting for death.

When Sesshōmaru's Bakusaiga begins destroying Naraku, the Wind Tunnel curse begins fading, allowing Miroku to suck in all of the poisonous miasma spilling out of it. Escaping Naraku's body, Miroku watches as the Meidō Zangetsuha sends Naraku's remains to Hell; however, Naraku's head gets to the Bone-Eater's Well before vanishing with the Shikon Jewel. To confirm Naraku's death, Miroku discovers the Wind Tunnel in his palm is gone, thus the Wind Tunnel curse has been lifted. At that time, Kagome is sucked into a Meidō and Inuyasha goes after her in another. While Inuyasha and Kagome were gone, Shippō, Sango, and Miroku often switched roles throughout the days, waiting for the Well and the other two to come back. Three days later, the Well reappears with just Inuyasha who tells them Kagome is safe on the other side of the well.

Epilogue
At the end of the series, Miroku no longer bears the Kazaana and marries Sango. They live in their own home in Kaede's village where they go on to have three children: twin girls and a recently newborn boy. He supports his family by exorcising yōkai with Inuyasha. However, he hasn't given up on swindling people; he takes three bales of rice, claiming that he has a family to provide for, as an excuse. It was seen that there were times when he actually misses the Kazaana, as there have been instances wherein Miroku was backed to a corner, with the odds pitted against him, but could no longer rely on the said curse following its nullification by Naraku's death.

Hanyō no Yashahime
2 years ago, Miroku returned to being a wandering monk to undergo one thousand days of intensive spiritual and holy training, to achieve divine power and enlightenment as a top-level Buddhist monk to compensate for the loss of the Wind Tunnel. He met Sesshōmaru's youngest twin daughter in his travels when he chased the moth yōkai Gaga Gozen who came to attack the Hanyō Hidden Village led by Shiori during a solar eclipse, and placed a seal on her to not go berserk again. At one point, he left Takechiyo under the care of Jyūbei. On the 800th day of his training, he is visited by Gyokuto and then a displeased Hisui together with Setsuna (whom he recognizes from his travels) and her sister to be guarded at the request of Kohaku, for due to this high spirituality and virtue, he becomes targeted by Tōtetsu of the Four Perils, who has been devouring high monks and priests, but he undoes a strong seal he himself had cast on Setsuna to unlock her inner dog-demon abilities to defeat the beast although he couldn't preclude him from running away. After restoring Setsuna's seal, Miroku returns to his training. He encounters Kirinmaru's sister Zero disguised as Otsuyu who steals his sealing powers.

Personality
If he failed to defeat Naraku, his life would be cut short by the Kazaana curse set upon by Naraku in his right hand. The threat of dying on his head, he forged under heaven's command in the face of his cruel destiny which was later reverted due to Naraku's death. He has a strong spirit that allows him to conduct himself in an easygoing manner, not showing his weaknesses and hiding his true feelings. As his body is in the service of Buddha, his soul is well-balanced.

Miroku is very brave, willing to sacrifice his own well-being in order to protect the lives of innocents and those he cares for, as seen when he willingly sucked up many yōkai and saimyōshō to allow Inuyasha to go rescue Kagome and Sango, even though he knew he would be badly poisoned by the saimyōshō. That being said, running away from someone he feels he's no match against is not something he's shameful about if he feels it's the most reasonable option (Unlike that of Inuyasha, whose pride and stubbornness often causes him to still fight even if the odds are against him). However, when it comes to protecting his friends and loved ones, he will risk his life without a second thought. Repeating such acts (which he had done many times over to almost all of his companions, especially to Sango) caused Miroku's life to be threatened even more so than usual. But he is not just being reckless, he's demonstrating his bravery and sense of justice.

Basically, he is kind and friendly, but he does not have a lot of patience and can be somewhat short-tempered if others think ill of him. He sometimes shows a completely different facial expression than his usual calm one. When he meets someone who is adverse in his advice or questions, he becomes a bad monk, verbally criticizing and becoming violent without hesitation. He'll punish anyone with his foul language, even if it's the first time he's met the person. Miroku's temper has been shown to arise in both the anime and manga, towards Inuyasha, especially Hachiemon, and on one occasion, he even violently beat up Jaken (An event that left Jaken being terrified of the monk).

He will not harm innocent people for his own convenience and dislikes pointless fighting. Miroku is a pacifist, and even if someone challenges him (like Inuyasha did when he first met him), he'll run if there is no need to fight. Even during battle, he thinks about the people around him first and has much compassion towards innocent people. Often, when simple villagers are put against him in battle, Miroku, though he defends himself, restrains his counterattacks and refuses to kill other people when he easily could. He treats even enemies with respect and consideration (excluding Naraku). When enemies lose their hostility (like Rōyakan for example), he believed it unnecessary and cruel to attack any further. His Buddhist heart is open to everyone.

Miroku has an open heart and thinks more about others than himself, naturally being very unselfish. He is sensitive to people's feelings and can be attentive on an individual basis. To make things well, he treats people gently or, when required, severely. He never adopts a pushy attitude, but instead is nonchalantly attentive such as when he acted towards Sango over Kohaku. Being warmhearted by nature, he cannot stand by and see innocent people suffer or grieve when he knows he could do something about it. His sympathy and consideration of others' feelings are always seen.

Miroku was constantly up against the memory of death and avoided relationships with people, for in the back of his mind, he always had an image of his father who died by being sucked into the Wind Tunnel. He was forced into a lonely, merciless life because of Naraku's curse. Even when he began to journey with Inuyasha's party, he could not relieve his torment and tried to solve things on his own. However, his heart began to heal through the strong bonds he formed with his companions, healing his loneliness as time passed. Despite having friends, Miroku still anguished over his Kazaana and condemned fate to die; his greatest fear being his Wind Tunnel sucking up his companions and then himself along with them. He often hid his true feelings with a carefree and easygoing exterior, but his fear of dying still showed through on occasion. Though once the Wind Tunnel was gone, Miroku was free to live his life.

In addition to his intense curiosity, he takes an objective view on things. Should a question arise, he would investigate it, even in the midst of battle. When suspicions or ambiguities arose, he would actively investigate, even if he was in a dangerous place. He tried to see clearly the actual conditions or truth in things. He also has a great ability for understanding and an excellent memory. Miroku also has knowledge on a variety of things, all of which he understands deeply. He has particular knowledge of gods, spirits and other such entities. From these things he gained clues to deciphering Naraku's actions and deceptions. Miroku is obviously the tactician of Inuyasha's party, due to being the most intelligent and wise out of all of them.

As he is capable of calm judgment in a variety of situations, he was able to fight and act cleverly. He can also perform analysis based on only scant information and make accurate guesses that become solid information. Miroku analyzes matters on the basis of his experience and leads with conviction. He is insightful and can sense changes in enemy movements. He speculated all possibilities and comes to the most likely answer. What's more, there are many cases in Miroku's analysis of tactical situation that gave his companions a strategic advantage.

Because nobody could predict the outcome of their journey, their daily life depended on unplanned circumstances. When there was no place to stay, Miroku finds the most magnificent premises around and performed fake exorcisms, thereby getting a place to sleep and eat by taking advantage of his position as a monk. Miroku employed blackmail and theft, making him manipulative and resourceful, but means no harm by it. He simply does all these actions to gain a favorable situation for him and his friends. He even believes it to be just dues (much to the annoyance of his companions). Also being the most responsible with managing, he was left in charge of the money. He has gotten used to telling lies without very little remorse, but is not above lying to simple and honest villagers or spirit monkeys.

Miroku, much like his father and grandfather, is a peerless womanizer. Unusual for a monk, he easily gives in to his desires and does nothing to hide them as he expresses them freely. As soon as he saw a beautiful woman, he wasted no time in pursuing her. No matter where he is, he takes pleasure in the company of beautiful women. He often staged palm readings to meet women. And once, an entire town of women found themselves captivated by his palm-reading skills. He took pleasure in shameless flirting with women during his journeys, but not just any women. If a woman was old or unattractive, he has been known to run away from these types of women out of fear (especially when these particular women were infatuated with him).

He has asked scores of women to bear his child and often tried to connect with them heart-to-heart through physical contact. His desire to have children was very serious but people around him did not seem to understand this. Women often viewed him with hostility or mistrust, thinking he was joking, but it is human instinct to want to leave descendants when one feels his life is growing shorter, like Miroku did. Given an opening and opportunity, he would touch any women's face. He has an obsession for women and has touched their faces even in the middle of serious conversation or suffering from injuries or poison. Miroku touched a woman's face in front of him almost as if it was an unconscious reflex. At one point when he is called possessed by the white and red priestesses he states that the hand is possessed by a yōkai. Being a true lady's man, he is unconcerned by being verbally insulted, slapped, or receiving scornful glares. Miroku has consistently thoughts. However, he cared about Sango and thus left her alone when she was distressed. He did eventually touch her face though, once Sango stopped being so sad.

Although he continued in his flirtatious ways toward women, his feelings for Sango are not like that. She is shown to be very important to him and a reliable companion while pursuing Naraku. Though the attitude he showed Sango under normal circumstances was the same as he showed towards other women: lecherous. Even when he plied her with kindness, he showed no sense of romantic love which is shown to somewhat annoy Sango. He looked as if he had no feelings towards her as a woman. (Miroku stating in his confession to her that was the problem; his inability to see her as an ordinary woman and more of a comrade, a woman he fought alongside). Despite this, Miroku does proceed to fall deeply in love with Sango, repeatedly risking his life for her and always making sure she never puts herself in harm's way unnecessarily, admitting he loves her. He soon proposes to Sango, who accepts without hesitation, becoming his fiancée and probably the mother of his many children, maybe even 20 of them, which is a big number even for their time. This may show that Miroku really have more profound feelings for Sango than for other women, and may be his way to show to her that he wants to live forever with her and have a strong connection with her.

When first introduced, Miroku's desire was to gather all the shards of the Shikon no Tama to find and destroy Naraku, as well as keep it out of the hands of yōkai. However, after seeing Inuyasha's character, he was willing to let Inuyasha have the Shikon no Tama to became a full-blooded yōkai since he desired that power to protect Kagome. Although, he cautioned Inuyasha about no one person or yōkai have been recorded using the Shikon no Tama for good and voiced his theory anyone who uses its power ultimately becomes corrupted, not wanting Inuyasha's good character to be destroyed.

Miroku notably mellowed out with adulthood and his spiritual training. Being a father seemed to have purged some his pervertedness, as Hisui did not inherit Miroku's previous bad behavior. But it still remained, as seen when the Shogen Mamiana created illusionary women to distract him and Hachimon. It's implied the main reason why he resisted was because Sango was present and he feared her wrath.

Physical description
Miroku has black hair with thick bangs tied in a small ponytail on the back of his neck with a white hair tie, navy eyes, fair skin and wears golden earrings. He is called handsome by some people (usually women). He is of average height, though slightly shorter than Inuyasha. In the pilot episode of Hanyō no Yashahime, his ponytail is a few inches longer.

In his older years, Miroku appears largely the same, though his hair has grown longer, and his face appears more gaunt and tired due to the intensity of his spiritual training.

Outfit
The robes of most wandering monks are actually quite poor and ragged - often stitched together out of whatever pieces of cloth a person might give them on their travels. Miroku's robes are quite extravagant and expensive compared to those of most itinerant monks. However, this is consistent with his tendency to loot the wealth of greedy merchants whose homes he rids of yōkai and ghosts. During his intense training years later, Miroku adopted a more humble white robe to aid his spiritual development. In all those outfits, he also wears straw sandals.

Rosary
Miroku carries a string of beads used for Buddhist prayer and invocation. They are usually associated with a chant repeating "Amida Nyorai." The most common type has 108 beads. The nenju carried by Japanese Buddhist monks were typically made of 112 wooden beads.

Originally rare and made of semi-precious stones, the spread of Buddhism brought wider use of nenju from the Heian Period (8th-12th century) through the Kamakura Period (12th-14th century). By the Warring States era, most poor monks carried wooden beads. The number "108" (a sacred number in many Buddhist traditions) represents the number of earthly passions and desires that blind and delude us, entrapping us in the Six States of Existence (the wheel of life, the cycle of samsara, the cycle of suffering and reincarnation).

Miroku makes further use of his nenju to seal off the Wind Tunnel in his hand, though he ceased using it after the curse had been lifted.

Tekko
The arm protectors worn by both Miroku and Sango are called Tekko. Miroku normally wraps the Tekko over the Wind Tunnel, then seals it with his Nenju (rosary). However, he abandons it once the Wind Tunnel was removed. He now has donned another on his journey to achieve enlightenment and divine power.

Powers and Abilities

 * Immense Buddhist Power: Miroku has received great Buddhist power from his monk ancestry. His grandfather's power was potent enough to incur Naraku's fear and because of this, Naraku cursed his paternal line with the Wind Tunnel; with Naraku's demise, this curse has since been broken. Miroku is trained in the spiritual arts, and proficient in the use of his Buddhist power to exterminate malevolent demons and spirits. He has become accustomed to fighting demons and can normally eliminate the average demon with little difficulty. Miroku’s Buddhist power, have likely increased during his 1000-day training.
 * Spiritual Barriers: Miroku can concentrate his Buddhist power into spirit shields or barriers. His barriers allow him to avoid his enemies and mask his scent from demons, making demons unable to detect Miroku. However, his barriers cannot avoid physical assaults and are not as strong as Naraku's or Kikyō's. If the formation collapses or his concentration is broken, then Miroku's barrier dissolves.
 * Purification Abilities: Miroku can sweep away troublesome demons using his Buddhist powers as a monk. While he cannot repel demons by purification alone, this can serve as a charm and maintain his sutra's power.
 * World Reversal: Miroku has learned from rouge raccoon dog Shogen Mamiana as he use both hands as it turn from upside down back to right side up to make the attack back to him.
 * Spiritual Awareness: Miroku can perceive the auras surrounding the divine or demonic. He can also see a person's time of death in advance. Miroku also can see ghosts, and spirits.
 * Peak Physical Condition: Due to his monk training, Miroku's body and mind have been refined to the peak of human condition. He has displayed impressive speed, stamina, and endurance because of his dedication to his monk ancestry, even at a young age. In his later years, his physical capability has increased even further as a result of his intense 1000-day training.
 * Peak Human Speed: Miroku's natural ability to move is so extraordinary that he seems almost inhuman, consistently shown to be abnormally spry for a mere mortal. He can even move at speeds that rival that of demons such as Inuyasha and Kōga on foot. By this simple feat enough, Miroku can be considered one of the fastest if not the fastest human seen in the series.
 * Peak Human Agility and Reflexes: Aside from being extraordinarily swift, Miroku was also extremely nimble and maneuverable, allowing for superb reaction time that was superior to ordinary humans. Despite being a considerably powerful monk, Miroku was still but a mere mortal and compensated this with exceptional mobility and balance that allowed him to evade detrimental attacks before they even hit him. Aside from Inuyasha and Shippō, Miroku is the most dexterous of the group.
 * Peak Human Stamina: Miroku seemingly possess great stamina, as he often kept up with Inuyasha's normal running speed without losing breath for extended periods of time, and prolong strenuous battles for long durations. As a result of his intensive 1000-day training, Miroku's physical stamina and fortitude had further increased to newer levels. Miroku was robust enough to endure his tireless regime, and maintain the same vigor for the last two decades without faltering.
 * InuYasha-TheFinalAct-06-Large30.png Peak Human Endurance: As a result of his monk training and mental fortitude, Miroku had greater resilience than mundane humans and an exceptional physical constitution. He has tolerated large amounts of poison being administered from either Naraku himself or other poisonous yōkai; most ordinary humans would otherwise be incapacitated or outright killed from such exposer. He even took little time to rest after being cured of the saimyōshō's poison when first used by Sesshōmaru, and quickly returned to the ongoing battle. He was also able to keep up with Inuyasha and Kōga on foot.
 * Master Staff Specialist: Miroku has shown impressive use of his Shakujō staff as a weapon, using it to fend off Inuyasha wielding the Tessaiga during their first fight by skillfully deflecting and parrying his sword attacks without succuming to his strength. Miroku is also seen using it as a blunt weapon, as seen when he managed to take out a few undead warriors resurrected by Sō'unga. He treats the staff as an extension of his body, not only for defense but also for attack to give himself a greater range of movement. He makes use of his staff’s versatile nature to block as well as counter attack. Miroku can enhance the effectiveness of his staffmanship by channeling spiritual energies onto his staff, maximizing his finesse and perform great bludgeoning damage usually enough to knock down your average demon or human.
 * High Intellect: Miroku is revered as the brains of the group, known for his sophisticated mind. Miroku was highly educated with very acute perception and observational skills that would impress even the likes of Naraku. The monk consistently had an objective outlook on things and was very analytical, often catching details that even his companions were oblivious to. He was able to deduce that Naraku was a Hanyō, and was consistently shown capable of deciphering his actions and deceptions by his methodical mind alone. He possessed a well-rounded knowledge on a variety of topics, specifically holding the pedestal in matters relating to the paranormal and supernatural phenomena. Naraku, a master strategist, had to keep a special eye on him knowing he was more than capable of seeing through his plans and deceit.
 * Master Tactician: Miroku is the tactician and strategist of the group, to the point that his allies, even Inuyasha himself, tends to hold his words to a high regard during combative situations. He is able to take a broad perspective as well as focus on smaller details when determining the best course of action to achieve a set of objectives, and is typically able to use the resources at his disposal to their best effect. Most importantly, however, he is able to remain objective and focused when doing so, even when his allies aren't. He is noted to be insightful, and can sense changes in enemy movements allowing him to quickly adapt and alter strategies to fit the changing need of the situation. His tactical prowess had occasionally allowed him to counteract and thwart even Naraku's schemes.
 * Expert Manipulator: Perhaps the most astounding skill Miroku has is that he is a skilled con artist and orator. Several times throughout the journey for the Shikon Jewel shards, Miroku has often used his status as a monk to sway the hearts of the human populace to gain benefits for both him and his friends. He does so by often lying that the richest dwelling in the vicinity has a yōkai for him to exorcise. He does this so often that his own friends were astonished that he spoke the truth when there really was a yōkai in the house that he exorcised.

Weapons

 * Miroku and his Shakujo.jpgShakujō: In Japan, the Shakujō Staff is a necessary item for monks. It can be used as a striking weapon, because of its length, and is particularly effective against demons when charged with spiritual power. After being charged with spiritual power, Miroku can smash demons with a combined physical impact and spiritual effect. Miroku can also use his spiritually charged staff to protect against the demonic.
 * Shakujō Hiraikotsu: In movie 2, Miroku did gave his Shakujō to Sango onto her Hiraikotsu to defeat Naraku, but unfortunately he faked his death as Miroku's Wind Tunnel has disappeared.
 * Sacred_Sutra.pngSacred sutras: Miroku commonly employed the use of sutras talismans. Sutras are pieces of paper with incantations inscribed on them, but Miroku uses them like blades, throwing them to attack enemies from a distance. These talismans have spiritual power that can overcome or absorb demon power. Miroku normally uses sutras in his work to "exorcise" ghosts and yōkai from homes and people.
 * Sacred Hiraikotsu: A combined effort, Miroku can place his sutras onto Sango's Hiraikotsu, adding spiritual power to the already potent yōkai slaying weapon.

Weaknesses

 * -|Current=
 * Mortality: Despite his powers as a monk, Miroku is still human and shares many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings (e.g. age, blood loss, decapitation, disease, heart-failure, suffocation, snapped neck, etc.).
 * Overexertion: As exemplified by both Kaede and Tsukiyomi, exerting one's spiritual powers beyond a certain point can cause extreme physical exhaustion and, if taken to the extreme, death.
 * Spiritual Powers: Despite having great buddhist power himself, Miroku still proved susceptible to the effects of spiritual power. For example, Kikyō's and Midoriko's barriers were able to repel Miroku.
 * -|Former=
 * Miroku's Wind Tunnel.pngWind Tunnel: The wind tunnel is a curse placed upon Miroku's grandfather by Naraku that was passed down through the male line in Miroku's family. The curse pierced the palm of the monk, resulting in a hole or void that mercilessly inhaled everything around it, banishing them to a different dimension. Eventually, this hole would suck in the flesh and bone of the monk himself. Miroku managed to leverage this curse into a formidable weapon, and he can clear out even large troops of demons this way; however, when he inhales too much demonic power at once, he becomes tired to an equal extent. Miroku was able to seal the wind tunnel with a Buddhist rosary until he wishes to unleash its power, but it slowly grows larger with time and will eventually consume him. The potency of the Wind Tunnel is such that Naraku has been forced to use his demonic poison bugs, the saimyōshō, to counter it. By the time of the final battle against Naraku, the Wind Tunnel has grown too large for Miroku to use at his leisure and only had one last use before the void would consume him. As Sesshōmaru's Bakusaiga tore apart Naraku from the inside out, the Wind Tunnel's power begins to fade away. By the time Naraku is reduced to a mere head, the curse has finally been lifted. Ironically, Miroku would later begin to feel a new sense of helplessness knowing he could no longer rely on the Wind Tunnel in battle.

Family
He heard the story from his father that his grandfather have been cursed by Naraku to create a Wind Tunnel.
 * Miyatsu


 * His father

As a child, his father told Miroku about his grandfather, including he have been cursed. Until one day, he witnessed his father's death by being sucked into the Wind Tunnel with horror. He tried to reach out to his father in despair but Mushin stopped him. Miroku often refers to his father as oyaji (親父, "dad"), an informal and rude way to describe him, rather using the formal wording chichi-ue (父上, "father") that is used by most Japanese people.


 * Sango

Miroku and Sango are constantly at odds mostly due to his constant womanizing. Anytime Miroku comes across a woman, he flirts with her, which is frequently, or if he tries to grope her rear end (also frequent), Miroku would sense a dangerous aura revolving around Sango, which is a sign for "Back off." Miroku often groped Sango's breasts or rear end, and in response she would slap him or hit him over the head with Hiraikotsu. Since Miroku is "technically" a Buddhist priest, Sango usually addresses Miroku as hōshi-sama (hōshi means Buddhist priest, and -sama is a respectful honorific), even when he acts disrespectfully, which is reflected in the dub by dryly calling him "Monk."

Sango nonetheless respects Miroku's spiritual abilities, knowledge and utilizes used in battle. Regardless, the two help one another and fight together when facing an enemy; when fighting, they're in sync with each other.

When Miroku and Sango met, Miroku restrained himself out of sympathy for the fact that she had lost her family. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Miroku falls deeply in love with Sango but is unable to come forth with those feelings. Oftentimes, it would leave Sango feeling agitated by it, because it feels like he has no romantic interest in her when his actions suggest otherwise. He hides it by groping or caressing her at random or inappropriate times, earning himself a hard slap to the face. As a result of this, Sango tended to assume Miroku was behaving inappropriately even when he wasn't; on one occasion when he was keeping lookout while the girls and Shippō were bathing in a hot spring, Miroku surprised an intruder nearby. Sango, who didn't see the intruder, assumed Miroku was peeping at them and lobbed a chunk of wood, hitting him in the chin and causing him to tumble down the slope; when he tried to plead his innocence further, she dropped a boulder on him.

After an unfortunate mishap in battle with a Salamander yōkai, where Sango gets possessed and injures Miroku, the two sit down for a talk. They apologized to one another and Miroku admits that Sango is not like other women and that she is very special to him. He asks Sango, if he is still alive after the battle with Naraku, if she would live with him and bear him as many children as possible (10 to 20, at least). Sango tearfully accepts his proposal and the two are engaged. After the proposal, Miroku still flirts with other women, albeit less than before, at which Sango still becomes exceedingly jealous and furious, even more than before the proposal since they are now technically together. This often resulted in her dragging him away by his ear for a beating as Miroku tries explaining himself.

Miroku often makes sure that Sango will be the one to live and survive if they are stuck in extremely dangerous situations. He would not hesitate to sacrifice himself or put himself on the line for her, as long as she goes on. Even though she insists on them dying together, if it ever came down to that, Miroku was always determined to find a way for her to make it out. He hates being greatly injured to the point where he cannot fight, because he feels he should fight side by side with Sango instead of being protected by her. He cares deeply for Sango. Whenever she was depressed and stressed over Kohaku, Miroku was always there to comfort her. If she didn't feel like talking, simply being next to her was enough to make her feel better. If she did talk about her feelings and worries, he would always know the right words to say to make things feel okay or to be able to calm her down. Either way, whenever she was upset, Miroku was always by her side.

Miroku's love for Sango grows stronger as their journey together continues. He repeatedly puts his life at risk in order to protect her and Kohaku from Naraku, knowing how much her brother means to her. He even drinks a poison to have him feel no pain from his potentially fatal infection as a result if taking in a dangerous portion of miasma in order to ensure she would not need to protect him and risk her life needlessly.

When Miroku's Wind Tunnel tears from constant use and threatens to consume him should he use it anymore. Realizing his Wind Tunnel may finally kill him while in Naraku's body, he abandons Sango in order to make sure she would not die along with him, admitting how unintentionally killing her with his Wind Tunnel would be more painful than his own death. While under an illusion of Naraku, he even says how he had fully intended on spending "forever" with Sango after the battle and regrets not being able to share a life with her. When eventually reunited together, Sango tearfully begs him to let her die with him when his Wind Tunnel finally consumes him and Miroku reluctantly relents, embracing her and holding her tightly to him. However, he still plans to ensure her survival.

After Naraku's defeat ends Miroku's curse, he and Sango get married, settle in Kaede's village, and started a family. The couple have three children together: two twin girls and a boy. In their later years, Miroku has spent extended amounts of time training to enhance his physical and spiritual powers, while Sango remains in a village providing weapony and equipment to the demon slayers. Despite their distance, the family's bonds still remain strong.


 * Hisui

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 * Kin'u and Gyokuto

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 * Kohaku

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Allies

 * Inuyasha

Inuyasha may not like how the monk approaches life (women, villagers, opportunity), but he does respect the monk for his battle skills, knowledge of yōkai, and other worldly skills. They have saved each other's lives several times, and both know that they can implicitly trust each other to help if they are in trouble. In battle, Miroku would sometimes try to tell Inuyasha to not act so hastily (usually he's ignored and Inuyasha finds out the hard way) but other times Miroku's advice really helped Inuyasha fight a tough enemy. Being guys, they also understood each other's protective feelings towards the girl they love. For example, Miroku had drunk the poison to prevent him from feeling the pain of sucking in miasma so he could fight with Sango, and had told Inuyasha not to inform the others, especially Sango. Inuyasha agrees as long as Miroku doesn't use Wind Tunnel unnecessarily. Another example is when Inuyasha was conflicted over Kikyō and Kagome and Miroku asked who he would choose. Inuyasha struggled with answering, wondering why he couldn't have both, and Miroku's amused, but doesn't tell Kagome. The both of them had this mutual understanding and bond. However, Inuyasha often sees him as a pervert, which is really true. Miroku has proven Inuyasha right most of the time. Often, he will try to act as the voice of reason after one of Inuyasha's reunions with Kikyō, to get him to behave properly. However, this always fails without question. Eventually, they became best friends. Following the time skip, Inuyasha helps Miroku with exorcisms, although still exasperated that Miroku continues to rip off his clients.

Miroku notably was the person who had told Inuyasha that Naraku was the culprit behind Kikyō's death; It is unknown how Miroku came to learn of this, or if he simply conclude this from his own deduction skills, since it was commonly believed that Inuyasha betrayed Kikyō.


 * Kagome Higurashi

When they first meet, Miroku asks her to bear his child, and promptly gropes her. He respects Kagome's power as a priestess and always addresses her as "Kagome-sama", just as she refers to him as "Miroku-sama." He enjoys Kagome and her mother's home cooking, is respectful of her new found combat skills, and often sides with her during her arguments with Inuyasha. Though Kagome is disgusted with Miroku's lechery, womanizing, and perverted actions; she respects his knowledge. Whenever he says too much about a particular subject that Shippō's too young to know about, she chastises him about it. She is always the first to yell and scold him whenever Sango is upset by his perverted actions and chasing after other women. She is also the one who tries to urge him towards Sango and to open up about his feelings, though it doesn't really work. If Inuyasha is too busy fighting, Miroku is able to be counted on to save and protect Kagome for him. Kagome always brings medicines and antidotes for Miroku whenever he is injured or poisoned. She always brings foods and presents that he likes from the present world as well. She knows that Miroku won't hesitate to risk his life for the sake of his friends and comrades. She considers him as a friend or at most, like an older brother. She always takes his advice in any trouble, like dealing with yōkai or whenever Inuyasha transforms to a yōkai and anything related to spiritual power. She respects his intelligence, spiritual power, and knowledge.


 * Shippō

Like Inuyasha, the little kitsune heavily disapproves of Miroku's bad habits, such as his swindling and womanizing, even scolding him as well. However, Miroku takes this in stride as he knows Shippō should learn how to properly behave; he is more than willing to explain "certain things" Shippō doesn't know about. They are often seen talking amongst themselves, usually about Inuyasha and Kagome. Shippō often calls him an "idiot" whenever he gets hit by Sango. Despite Shippō disliking his womanizing, it seems some of Miroku's habits rubbed off on the little kitsune as he, as Sango puts it, constantly meets girls in all the villages they pass through on their journey.


 * Hachiemon

Miroku's partner-in-crime before Miroku met Inuyasha and the others. This tanuki jūjin would act as a yōkai and the sneaky monk would pretend to drive him off. The hōshi would then collect from the yōkai's "victims." Hachi is very loyal to Miroku, and their friendship is very solid but Miroku has been known to threaten him with his Wind Tunnel if Hachi doesn't comply at first. Sometimes Hachi would transform and even provide as transportation for Miroku and the others. Most of the time, he helps Miroku when he needs it, but isn't a fighter. He's usually just Miroku's motivational support in battle, simply cheering him on instead. In the second movie when Hachi fell from the sky, Miroku worriedly runs over to him. Thinking Hachi was dead, Miroku began to mourn his friend's loss only to find him sleeping. Miroku is also not above giving him a sound beating to get his point across.


 * Mushin

Mushin was one who had raised Miroku after his father's death and consequently had passed down his lecherous tendencies to Miroku. Mushin had always lied to Miroku about his father's death. Because Mushin is usually drunk and passed out, Miroku is disgusted by this and openly berates his mentor whenever possible. Mushin is well-versed in the Wind Tunnel curse and can mend nicks in them, but only if the Wind Tunnel remains covered until he can repair it. Miroku cares deeply about Mushin; as seen in Episode 135, when he thought Mushin had passed on, he cried in grief.


 * Kikyō

When Inuyasha fights with Kodoku, he had a first met with Kikyō and after the dead souls goes to the Kodoku, she fell as he was too late to save her.


 * Kaede

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 * Setsuna

A half-demon whom Miroku met outside of the Half-demon village. Aware of how dangerous her demon blood was, Miroku placed a seal on Setsuna with the Kanemitsu no Tomoe acting as a medium.


 * Takechiyo

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Enemies
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 * Naraku

He encountered Zero in disguised, but he didn't realized that she's Kirinmaru's sister and since she trapped him with Azusa no Yumihari, she stole his seal powers that he sealed Setsuna's demon blood.
 * Zero

Trivia

 * Naraku was the one who put the curse on Miroku's grandfather. The Wind Tunnel was only passed down to the male generations. The curse was broken when they killed Naraku.
 * Miroku and Sango always stand up for Kagome when she and Inuyasha get into a fight. When Kagome leaves to go back into the Modern Era they tell Inuyasha to go over there and apologize to her since Inuyasha and Kagome are the only ones who can go through the Bone‐Eaters Well.
 * Sango's address of Miroku is "Hōshi-sama", (法師様, (ほうしさま). InuYasha sometimes addresses Miroku as "Bonzō", (凡僧, (ぼんぞう), a ordinary lowly-rank Buddhist monk. Kagome's address of Miroku is "Miroku-sama" (弥勒様, (みろくさま). Kaede addresses Miroku as "Hoshi-dono" (法師殿, (ほうしどの). Shippō simply addresses Miroku as "Miroku."
 * While Miroku's behavior is depicted in the series as odd for a monk, it was not unheard of for some monks to act that way. The monks of influenced Japanese political and religious life until the arrival of . He believed that these monks could not do their duty since they were living a blasphemous lifestyle. Nobunaga invaded the mountain, burned every temple there, and executed all the monks.
 * During his early appearances in the manga, his hairstyle strongly resembles that of Hiten.
 * In the Rumic World opening for Shonen Sunday's 50th anniversary, Kagome suspects that Ataru Moroboshi may be a descendant of Miroku.
 * Miroku, along with Shippō, Inuyasha, and Kagome make a cameo appearance in Rumiko Takahashi's series Ranma ½ OVA Episode 13. During one of Akane's nightmares, Miroku's body is seen behind Akane. The only part that's seen is the bottom part of his robe and his sandals.
 * Miroku also bares some similarities with Densuke from the same series.
 * His seiyū, Koji Tsujitani, voiced Hiroshi, who was Ranma's friend and fill role of Tatewaki Kuno in Ranma ½ OVA after Hirotaka Suzuoki's death.
 * His young self's seiyū later voiced Rubber Boat Ghost from Takahashi's fifth major manga .
 * Both Miroku's original Japanese and English voice actors have passed away. Koji Tsujitani died on October 17th, 2018, while Kirby Morrow passed away on November 18th, 2020. Tsujitani was succeeded by Makoto Yasumura for Hanyo no Yashahime, while Morrow recorded Miroku's dialogue for the show's first episode prior to his passing and was succeeded by Ian James Corlett.
 * Koji Tsujitani was married to Shippō's Japanese seiyū Kumiko Watanabe from 2012, until his death.
 * Kirby Morrow also voiced Van Fanel from ', whose love interest is Hitomi Kanzaki - voiced by Kelly Sheridan (who also voiced Sango). The two also voiced Jay (Kirby) and Theresa (Kelly) from ' who were also romantically involved.
 * Ironically, Kirby Morrow had replaced Ian James Corlett as the voice of Doctor Tofu Ono in Ranma ½ (in Seasons 6 and 7).
 * In the Brazilian Portuguese dub, Miroku's name was changed to Miroki because the word "Ku" sounds similar to an offensive pun; in the Korean dub, his name was changed to Mireuk; and in the German dub, his name was changed to Miroke.
 * He was three times a victim by yōkai who disguised themselves as women: Naraku, the Coyote yōkai, and the Yuki-on'na.
 * Interestingly, when his grandfather fought Naraku, who cursed him with the Wind Tunnel, Naraku was disguised as a woman.
 * According to Shippō, Miroku runs fast (which is true, since he's fast enough to keep pace with Inuyasha).
 * In addition to this, Miroku can be considered the fastest human character in the series.
 * Miroku seems to know exactly how to ride Kagome's bicycle from the first moment he saw it, even though it wouldn't be invented for another 300 years. He probably observed the way Kagome rode her bike in order to learn.

Hanyō no Yashahime

 * Episode 1
 * Episode 5
 * Episode 8
 * Episode 13
 * Episode 20
 * Episode 22
 * Episode 30
 * Episode 34
 * Episode 35
 * Episode 41