Jakotsu

is the second strongest of the Band of Seven and the third in command. He was a close friend of Bankotsu even before the group's formation and Jakotsu is the only person Bankotsu trusts. His chief weapon, the Snake Sword or Jakotsutou, has segmented retractable blades that curves out across a great distance, making it difficult for an opponent to calculate his next move. Jakotsu is depicted acting in a homosexual manner, such as admiring Koga's loincloth and claiming to have feelings for InuYasha, but because of his sadistic qualities, he basically wants to kill them in what he considers to be an affectionate way and cut off his dog ears.

Jakotsu loses a lengthy battle to InuYasha and is badly wounded, giving Renkotsu the opportunity to steal his Shikon shard. As he dies from the shard's removal, Jakotsu says he is happy because he got to fight the battle he wanted and he had fun with his second chance in life. Bankotsu later avenges his friend's death by killing Renkotsu.

Name Meaning
Jakotsu's name comes from the two kanji characters, "蛇 Ja" and "骨 kotsu" meaning "snake" and "skill".

Weapon

 * Jakotsutou: is a snake-like sword that tracts and retracts similar to that of a snake's movement when going for a strike. The Jakotsutou is made up of at least 50 chain linked blades held together by pins which allows the sword to have snake-like movement. The sword can wipe out a unit of soldiers and has great precision. Fortunately it can (as Sesshomaru showed) be dodged and if not wielded correctly may hit Jakotsu. Jakotsutou is also called the Sword of Jakotsu and can be translated to Snake Bone Sword.

Trivia

 * Many fans are rather confused about Jakotsu. Because he is a cross-dresser, gay, and looks rather feminine, many fans believed that Jakotsu is a "she" and believe that all mentions of "he" could be a translation error. Also adding to the confusion is the fact that in the VIZ Media dub, which was aired on Adult Swim, Jakotsu was voiced by a female. However, his body has masculine traits (i.e., large hands and heavily-muscled arms) and he is refered to as a "perverted" and "creepy" by others in the series, terms that would not generally be used for a woman. Rumiko Takahashi originally intended to make Jakotsu female, but did not like the idea of Inuyasha fighting a female human; so she decdied to make him gay instead.
 * Jakotsu is one of the few characters in the series to change clothes. Other characters include Kagura and Naraku.