Yura

was a hair demon, as well as the first demon to pose a serious threat to Inuyasha.

History
Yura resided in an invisible cocoon made up entirely of hair while hiding her true form, a red comb, in a red skull. She was at least fifty years old before the Sacred Jewel returned to the Feudal Era hidden inside Kagome's body.

During the story
Yura manipulated the women of Kaede's village via her hair in order to defeat Inuyasha and take the Shikon no Tama. As Kagome was headed towards the Bone-Eater's Well, she soon saw a net of hairs all around her. Yura suddenly appeared from above her. She was surprised that Kagome could see her hair. She introduced herself to Kagome before she attacked her with her hair net. She managed to steal the pouch that contained Kagome's jewel shard. Yura was surprised to see she only had a shard of the Shikon no Tama. She attempted to kill Kagome with her wakizashi, slashing at Kagome. She caused Kagome to fall down the well. Yura then lunged her sword down the well. She soon pulled it back up with her hair, but she didn't find any trace of Kagome. Yura remarked about how strange the ordeal was along with Kagome.

Yura continued to manipulate the villagers to fight Inuyasha. Kaede pleaded with Inuyasha not to kill them since they were controlled by the hair. She told Inuyasha to destroy the hair that was controlling them, but Inuyasha couldn't see it. Yura manages to trap Inuyasha by encasing him in her hair net. He tried to drag Yura out by using the hair net that he was trapped in, but she momentarily loosened the net which caused him to lose his composure. She then entrapped Inuyasha again and pinned him to a tree. As she tried to cut him up with her hair net, Inuyasha was able to break free through sheer force. Yura proceeded to attack by controlling men from the village. Inuyasha takes Kaede and fled from the village. Kaede warned him of the invisible stands of hair that surrounded them, but Inuyasha effortlessly breaks through them without noticing them at all. Yura used her hair as a vine in order to move. She remarked at how fun Inuyasha has been as an opponent.

As Inuyasha traveled through the well to bring back Kagome, Yura's hair nest followed him. It made it to the modern era. Kagome confined it inside the wellhouse before it could get outside. Inuyasha tried to fight it but was unable to see the hair. Kagome was able to locate the hair strand that was controlling the rest. As she grabbed the hair, its razor edge caused her palm to bleed. Her spilt blood allowed Inuyasha to see it and cut it with his claws. Kagome decided to go back through the well in order to stop Yura. Inuyasha gave her his robe of the Fire-Rat in order to protect her. Yura was waiting in her lair for the two of them to return. She was caressing a skull while plotting against them.

As Inuyasha and Kagome returned to the feudal era, they followed a trail of hair that Kagome was able to see. The two of them came across a group of men by a campfire; their heads were cut off by Yura. Kagome grabbed a Bow and arrow from one of the dead men. As then kept moving, Kagome saw more of Yura's hair. It began to attack the two of them. Kagome tried to guide Inuyasha away from the hair, but it managed to restrain his limbs and suspend him in midair. A giant nest of hair appeared. Yura came swinging down and landed on some stands of hair. She immediately knew who Inuyasha was and explained that his search for the Shikon no Tama has earned him a reputation. She told them that she would kill them and then search for the rest of the jewel. Inuyasha managed to break free from Yura's hair and tried to attack her, but he was restrained again. Yura slashed his chest with her sword. She then licked his blood off the sword. She was about to attack again, but she got distracted by Kagome's arrow that landed on her hair nest. The skulls from all her victims came flooding down her nest. She attacked Kagome with her flaming hair as payback for damaging her hair nest. She turned her attention back to Inuyasha. She was about attack him with her sword, but he sliced off her hand with his Hijin Kessō. She was unfazed by the loss of her hand and used her hair to move her hand while it still held the sword. Yura then used her hair to launch her skulls at Inuyasha. He was able to hold them off until she stabbed him from behind after she blocked another of his Hijin Kessō attacks with her hair. She took back her sword with her unsevered hand. Yura remarked that Inuyasha wasn't strong enough because he was a hanyō. She then mockingly guessed that Inuyasha wanted to use the Shikon no Tama to make himself into a full yōkai. She was about to cut off his head with her sword, but he punctured her chest. She remarked how rude he was for sticking his hand through her chest.

She discovered that Kagome survived her flaming hairs and was climbing up her hair nest. Yura became angry and turned her attention to Kagome. She tried to knock Kagome off her hair nest by moving it. Inuyasha grabbed her sword and sliced her in the back while she was distracted. She then restrained Inuyasha. He noticed a change in Yura's attitude and began to wonder what she was hiding. Kagome told Inuyasha to focus on the red skull on her nest, but he was unable to see it. Yura began to pursue Kagome. She moved large clumps of hair to get Kagome off her nest. She then attacked Kagome with her sword, but it was deflected due to the Robe of the Fire-Rat. Yura was surprised that Kagome hadn't died despite all of her attacks. She trapped Kagome and believed her to be no more than a human after closely examining her. She was prepared to cut off her head with one of her hairs, but she was saved by Inuyasha. He was then stabbed in the chest by Yura's sword. Yura remarked that his attacks were useless since she was immortal. She was about to strike him again when she noticed Kagome attempting to pierce the red skull with her arrow. Yura tried to kill Kagome with her sword, but Kagome managed to shatter the comb that was hidden within the red skull. Yura's body disintegrated as a result. Inuyasha revealed that the comb was Yura's true form all along.

Personality
Yura is a very powerful and dangerous demon. She worshipped the hair of her skull, finding Inuyasha's especially lovely, and became rather angry when the hair she manipulated was damaged. She was also quite confident in battle, believing herself to be extremely powerful like any demon. She was very comfortable with her voluptuous body, to the point of having an outwardly flirtatious attitude. Contrary to this behavior, she seems to consider herself a lady, calling herself such when verbally reprimanding Inuyasha for his rudeness, and becoming outright furious when he ran her through the chest with his claws. She wasn't angry he had hurt her but that "a half-demon she just met put his hand in her chest."

Physical description
Unlike most of the demons who appear in the series, Yura had a very human-like appearance (although her "true form" was technically a red comb). She took the appearance of a young girl with short, dark green hair, which she had tied up fan-like in a hair bob style. Her hair was dark enough to appear black in some lights. She had creamy skin and sharp fingernails, as well as a lithe and very agile body. She had red-violet eyes, wore red eye shadow, and red lipstick.

Outfit
Yura tied her hair up using a red ribbon, and adorned a black ribbon choker, tied at the back of her neck in a bow. She wore traditional kunoichi garb. Her ninja tunic was black and sleeveless, was cut off midway down her thighs, and exposed the cleavage of her large breasts. She also wore a bright yellow sash which tied at the front of her outfit. Yura wore thin, tight, black gloves on both of her hands, which were holstered by her middle fingers and extended beyond her wrists, just short of mid-forearm. They were more decorative in nature rather than serving as actual "guards", similar to what most ninja wore at the time. She wore tight, black cloths acting as foot guards on both of her legs, which started midway up her shins down to her middle toes, each held by thin straps at the bottom arches of her feet. They were also more decorative in nature rather than serving as actual "guards", leaving her practically barefoot. Her wakizashi sword Benigasumi was holstered on her left hip. She normally wielded her comb in her right hand.

Powers & Abilities

 * Trichokinesis: Yura's trademark was her razor sharp hair strands, which were apparently capable of cutting through anything except Inuyasha's Robe of the Fire-Rat. The hair was made up of the hair of her victims, as she stated that once she killed Inuyasha, all his hair would be a "pleasure to control". Kagome noticed that there seemed to be strands of Yura's hair that shimmered, signifying that a certain strand (or strands) controlled a large group of the hair. These shimmering strands could be traced back to Yura's location. Yura had perfectly mastered the hair she has collected over the years, the volume of which increased as she killed more people and took their hair which gives versatile usages in battle.


 * Yura was able to direct a large mass of hair upward, forming a massive cage made of her hair, in which she could securely trap her enemies.




 * Puppetry: Using her hair, Yura was able to control people by making them lose consciousness and using her hair as marionette strings.




 * Entanglement: Yura was capable of capturing and restraining her opponents using her hair, preventing them from moving freely and hanging them if necessary.


 * Tracking: By sticking a hair to her enemy and following it where it went Yura was able to track their movements easily.


 * Hair Barrier: Yura was able to erect a hair barrier that protected herself when she encountered strong attacks like Inuyasha's Blades of Blood.


 * Suspended Weaponry: Using her hair, Yura was capable of controlling objects from a distance, such as an enemy's sword, which made for unorthodox and effective combat.


 * Restoration: Using these hairs to heal her amputated limbs (only in the anime), as shown when Inuyasha cut off her sword hand, only for it to be reattached soon after. It could also be used to heal from seemingly any injury, shown when Inuyasha sliced Yura in half.


 * Immortality: Due to Yura placing her true self and soul within her red comb hidden within a red skull at the very center of her hair cocoon, her body is merely an empty shell and thus she's capable of recovering from just about any bodily damage she may sustain within little time and little reaction to them. This is proven when during her fight against Inuyasha, he was able to inflict a number of grievous wounds on her with none of them impeding her in any way with one being an impalement in her chest where her heart should be and being bisected from waist didn't stop her either. Only when Kagome stabbed the red skull and the comb which are her true form with her arrow infused with spiritual power was Yura finally vanquished for good.


 * Using her red comb, by making a sweeping motion, Yura unleashed a torrent of flames which could be channeled down her hair for a better attack. She used this attack on Kagome, claiming that it would incinerate her body, and that "not even her bones would be left". This would have happened, had Kagome not been wearing Inuyasha's fireproof robe.


 * Flight: Yura had the ability to fly and hover in midair or rather used her hair strands as a foothold to hold herself up.


 * Immense Agility: She was extremely agile and flexible. Her balance was also incredible, as shown when she stood on and sometimes jumped onto single strands of hair.


 * Enhanced Strength: She has a good deal of strength as she managed to combat effectively against the likes of Inuyasha at close with little effort and even managed to push him.


 * Expert Swordswoman: Yura has shown high skills in swordsmanship as she managed to grievously wound Inuyasha multiple times within close range before he was able to react to her most of the time. Through her hair she can wield her sword in an unconventional method of having suspended in mid-air and attacking from there.


 * High Demonic Power: Despite being only an Oni, Yura has proven herself to be a very serious threat to Inuyasha and Kagome despite not enhancing her power with the Shikon Jewel shard she had in possession then. Through the versatile applications of her hair and prowess she was able to narrowly kill the two of them.

Weapons

 * During close-range combat, Yura used a wakizashi named Benigasumi, which she claimed was a treasure among the oni. It had the ability to cut flesh and bone without cutting her specialized hair.

Manga vs. Anime

 * In the manga, Yura tries to kill Kagome immediately after she steals her shard of the Shikon no Tama at the Bone-Eater's Well. In the anime, Yuri first asks Kagome where rest of the jewel is after she steals her shard. When Kagome reveals that she doesn't know, Yura then decides to kill her.


 * The scene when Yura obtains a strand of Inuyasha's hair with her net is not present in the manga.


 * In the manga, both of Yura's hands were cut off by Inuyasha during their fight. In the anime, only Yura's right had was cut off. Also in the manga, Yura does not reattach her hands after they were cut off.


 * In the manga, Yura mentions once about her wakizashi's name and its abilities after Inuyasha compliments how good it is. In the anime, she does not explain anything about her special wakizashi, and it acts as an ordinary sword.


 * In the manga, Yura restrains Inuyasha's hand with her sword by stabbing through it after he punctures her chest. In the anime, she restrains it with her foot.

Trivia

 * Some translators translate "Kushi no Ori" as "Cage of Hair". However, "Kushi" (櫛) uses the kanji for the word "comb", while "Ori" (檻) refers to hair, making the actual translation "Comb of Hair".
 * Yura bore a fair resemblance to Nabiki Tendo from Rumiko Takahashi's previous work, Ranma ½. She also shared some characteristics with Temari Kaminarimon from the same show.
 * Her seiyū, Akiko Yajima, also voiced Kohaku, while her English voice actress, Chiara Zanni, also voiced the Infant and Hakudōshi.
 * Yura has the distinction of being the first demon Kagome ever personally killed.

Media appearances
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Manga

 * Chapter 6
 * Chapter 7
 * Chapter 8
 * Chapter 9
 * Chapter 10
 * Chapter 11
 * Chapter 12

Anime
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 * Episode 3
 * Episode 4
 * Episode 5