Shinidamachū

, known as Soul Collectors in the English dub, were a type of yōkai with long, eel and insect-like features.

Throughout the series
The Shinidamachū first appeared in Kikyō's second appearance following her resurrection by the demon sorceress Urasue. The Shinidamachū acted as servants whose primary purpose was to collect the souls of newly deceased women and bring them to Kikyō, who needed them to keep her undead body animated. She had also been seen using them as messengers, scouts (reconnaissance), and even transportation on various occasions.

In the second appearance at the mansion, a Shinidamachū has come to take the soul of the dead women, including the princess and slice by Inuyasha's Tessaiga, but there's more carrying the dead souls. A young girl named Sayo saw Kikyō and Shinidamachū that she's controlling the "lost souls", and the monks Seikai and his apprentice Sayo saw the Shinidamachū too. Sayo was frightened that he saw a human, a possessed demon, and a priestess. He told Inuyasha's groups that Kikyō is the responsible to take the souls of women. Later, while Inuyasha finds Kikyō, Kagome, Miroku, and Shippō saw the sky has change and follows the Shinidamachū. The Shinidamachū and Kagome pass through the barrier except for Miroku and Shippō. Kagome saw the Shinidamachū with the souls after Kikyō was awake from her sleep. Inuyasha starts to follow the Shinidamachū until he stops in front of the barrier. The Shinidamachū wrap Kagome around after Kikyō paralyze her, until she received a soul as a message that Inuyasha has come, as she opens a barrier. As Kikyō opening up a portal to dragged Inuyasha, the two Shinidamachū still holds her, while more Shinidamachū and the souls sucked in to the  as they join Kikyō, until she heard from Kagome about Naraku for the very first time and she unparalyze her. Kagome saved Inuyasha from being drag into hell as he heard her voice and slice it off at the tree, until the Shinidamachū recover Kikyō with the souls and takes her on a flight to Kaede's village.

At Kagewaki's castle, since Kikyō have been locked up in the dungeon, by Kagewaki Hitomi posed by Naraku, the Shinidamachū went through the window and stop the guard.

Back at Naraku's castle, since Kikyō have been captured by Naraku after being absorb the Kodoku, he opened the window to let only one Shinidamachū and kill it as he put the shard of the Shikon no Tama inside the dead soul as it change from blue to red. Inuyasha's groups: now with Sango and Kirara saw the Shinidamachū, but they thought they belong to Kikyō's as Sango heard the buzzing and use her Wakizashi to slice it that it appears to be Saimyōshō

Out of the trees, the Shinidamachū have come as they get Inuyasha while the other two tied around Shippō to not interfere. After that, they came to the branch as Kikyō transported herself, and after Kagura left, they transported as they left.

After Inuyasha killed the giant Shinidamachū with the Tessaiga, there are lots of souls and her Shinidamachū will get the souls to recover. While they recover Kikyō, Inuyasha didn't know that Onigumo's heart that remains Naraku. After that, Kikyō takes on a flight to find Naraku in his castle.

Shinidamachū and Kikyō came to the Sacred Tree as Tree of Ages senses impending danger, trouble looms not far ahead, which means someone is after Inuyasha. After Kikyō heard Kagome, she left, and Inuyaha, Shippō, and Myōga saw the Shinidamachū leaving the forest. After her first encounter with Inuyasha's older brother Sesshōmaru, the Shinidamachū are going to let go of the dead souls, and the souls came out of Kikyō to Menōmaru during his inheritance ritual to become the new Hyōga. After the defeat of Menōmaru and the fall of the Tree of Ages, her Shinidamachū is recovering Kikyō.

After Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru defeats Naraku and fled from his castle, Kikyō and her Shinidamachū came to the place as she realized that she didn't know that Inuyasha did this.

After Kikyō left the castle, she realized that Naraku isn't there as she sends one of her Shinidamachū to find him.

While Kikyō and her Shinidamachū moves, she sensed that Naraku to believed he's dead. Kikyō received one of her Shinidamachū that the demonic aura has replaced Naraku's and must find who belong to. After Kikyō received the Stone Begging Bowl of Buddha from the dying girl, she and her Shinidamachū continue to move on until she saw Kagura and realized that Naraku's dead.

TBA

Kikyō and Shinidamachū moves as she holds the hair of the deceased former bandit Kansuke as his final request to go to Mount Hakurei. But on her way there, a couple of her Shinidamachū have been repelled because she's near the barrier of Mount Hakurei, so she can't go near it.

The Shinidamachū are going to Kikyō where she stands continues wondering of the quote is "To live is to die. To die is to live." as the Shinidamachū gives the souls to Kikyō, then "Pure is impure. Impure is pure. Good is evil. evil is good." as she'll stay in the orphanage a little longer to keep an eye on Suikotsu. As the rest of the Shichinintai have arrived and since Kikyō entered the barrier that the mountain's barrier expands, her dead soul leaves.

After the Shichinintai have retreated with Suikotsu, Kikyō's Shinidamachū have been hit by the barrier as the dead souls were dropped and disappeared so Kagome decides to move away. Kikyō's Shinidamachū have recover Kikyō for the dead souls since she's outside the barrier, and after they talked about Mount Hakurei, Kikyō tells Inuyasha that he saw her Shinidamachū being repelled.

TBA

In Secret of the Divine Jewel, Inuyasha's groups including the new member Janis have arrived at Yamasachi Village have saw a Shinidamachū that belong to Kikyō and follows to the Abandoned Shrine.

At Midoriko's cave, a chrysalis on the statue of Midoriko opens and a Shinidamachū hatches as it takes Midoriko's soul to Kikyō at the waterfall since Inuyasha follows it. Since Kagome was unable to completely to purify the miasma that Naraku used against her; the wound is reopening, and Midoriko shares a similar death to her own, having been killed by a demon; she absorbs Midoriko's soul, but the strain of the absorption causes her to collapse.

Kikyō's Shinidamachū have arrived pouring more souls into her and save Kagome since she fire an arrow from her new longbow from Mount Azusa, after it redirectly hit on Kikyō as the Shinidamachū takes the arrow to Naraku with the pure jewel on the tips of it. Since Kikyō has been killed by Naraku twice, Kaede saw the Shinidamachū that it belonged to her sister's, until her body dies in peace and her soul have been saved soul appears to Inuyasha and her Shinidamachū takes Kikyō's soul to Miroku, Sango, Shippō, Kōga, and Kagome as Shippō feels like she's saying goodbye and Kagome feels so warm and Kikyō's Shinidamachū takes her soul up to the heavens in the starry night.

Kaede has a flashback of Kikyō's Shinidamachū and the Sacred Arrow to Naraku as they talked about Magatsuhi.

In Kohaku's dream, a lone Shinidamachū guides him to a glowing portal outside of Naraku's castle.

After Naraku got the last Shikon Jewel shard from Kohaku's neck, as the sun rises, there's the left of the shard and still left of hope from Kikyō's light and Shinidamachū flying around her.

Secret of the Cursed Mask
After Kururugi have been saved by Kikyō from Utsugi and Kanna, he/she have been passed out because his/her soul have been taken to Utsugi in order to become a human and woke up in a house until he/she came outside and have a first met with Kikyō as he/she saw the Shinidamachū think it's "beautiful".

Creation and Powers
They did not serve for fighting, as they were never seen doing so directly. Despite this, they seemed to be strong, as five of them could lift a person up and fly away with them. Additionally, they were seen to be able to bind and immobilize people. They could steal the souls of the living, as well, making that person their master's mindless slave. At one point in the series, Naraku attempted to kill Kikyō by summoning his own giant Shinidamachū and sending it flying across the sky collecting all of the dead souls in the area, including those within Kikyō herself. They were also shown to have the power of intangibility, as they once passed through leaves of the trees, and the wooden walls of the hut to come to Inuyasha. They could also turn invisible when not in use and then reappear whenever their miko had use for them. They also had the power to enhance Kikyō's spiritual powers greatly by delivering souls to aid her, especially they can pass through her barrier. It also seemed that they could carry the souls they collected indefinitely, saving them until Kikyō needed them. They also didn't seem to necessarily have to hold on to souls to herd them, as there were several instances in which Kikyō had numerous souls floating around in her vicinity while "empty-handed" Shinidamachū flew lazily about in the area.

They behave somewhat emotionlessly, collecting souls for Kikyō and obeying her commands anytime without hesitation. They were also seen following Kikyō into Mount Hakurei's barrier even though it was killing them; indeed, she had to dismiss them for their own welfare. They have displayed some kinds of protective behaviors, such as when the giant Shinidamachū attacked Kikyō and several of them started attacking it by slamming their bodies into it, albeit uselessly. They were seen that the Shinidamachū are flying without the souls, as were taking away by Hyōga's son Menōmaru during the inheritance ritual to the Tree of Ages in the Forest of No Return, but they survived. They were also seen trying to bring souls to Kikyō when she was injured/immobilized inside of Hakurei's barrier, with their repeated failed attempts giving off a sense of agitated desperation.

Trivia

 * Initially Kikyō is seen with numerous soul collectors. However, after Mount Hakurei, Kikyō is normally only accompanied by two. It's possible Kikyō can summon as many as she wishes, or the numbers depend on her strength.
 * Enju implies all Specters know how to use Soul Collectors, as they will eventually run out of energy to move their bodies without additional souls. But only those who were brought back in clay bodies like herself, Kikyō and Kawaramaru. Other Specters the Shichinintai are kept sustained by Shikon no Tama shards.