Goshinboku

"Fate is a continuous cycle."

- Goshinboku

The, also known as the , was where Kikyō first sealed Inuyasha in the feudal era with her arrow at the brink of her demise. It also played an important role with another ancient tree of the same name when Inuyasha had to defeat the son of the Hyōga clan in the first movie.

It is ultimately known to be a sentient being with a mind and will all its own, having revealed its very essence in the spin-off.

Zero referred to it as "an impossible entity surpassing time" in the prophecy that the Shikon Jewel had foretold about Lord Kirinmaru's inevitable downfall at the hands of the late Toga's granddaughters.

History
The hanyō Naraku used his powers of disguise to pit Inuyasha and Kikyō against each other in order to fill the Shikon no Tama with evil from their hatred. His actions mortally wounded Kikyō. Immediately after Inuyasha stole the jewel, Kikyō sealed him to the Sacred Tree by shooting her arrow at his heart while passing through the tree. Since then, Inuyasha has remained bound to the tree without ever aging. The villagers always guard the area where he slept and even called the area "Inuyasha's Forest."

Modern Era
The Sacred Tree continued to remain for 500 years and was located at Higurashi shrine. It contained a massive groove in it from Inuyasha's seal. Kikyō's reincarnation, Kagome Higurashi, accidentally traveled to the feudal era through the Bone-Eater's Well and arrived 50 years after Inuyasha was first sealed. She freed him from the tree after Mistress Centipede attacked the nearby village in order to possess the Shikon no Tama.

Affections Touching Across Time
When Menōmaru uses the Tree of Ages to steal the souls of all living beings in the region, the Sacred Tree is affected as well. It seals up the Bone-Eater's Well with its roots and trapped Kagome in her own time after Kikyō forced her back down the well. Kagome was able to communicate with Inuyasha (who was still in the feudal era) by using the power of the Sacred Tree to transcend through time. Using an arrow head was lodged in in the tree from Inuyasha's initial seal, Kagome was able to destroy the roots that blocked up the well, and was able to travel through it once again. The tree returned to normal after Menōmaru was destroyed.

Hanyō no Yashahime
After the yōkai Ne no Kubi was defeated by Inuyasha, it had managed to attach its last remaining root onto the Tree of Ages and would send Sesshōmaru's daughter Towa into the modern era over four years later. A decade following that incident, Setsuna, Moroha, and Mistress Three-Eyes were also transported to the modern era through the tree due to Ne no Kubi wanting to obtain the Rainbow Pearls that were in their possessions.

When Towa decided to go back to the feudal era with Setsuna and Moroha, they were confronted by the spirit of the Sacred Tree (who had taken the form of Kikyō due to her essence having been imbued with it after she used her Sacred Arrow to imprison Inuyasha). It asked the three of them to kill a powerful daiyōkai named Kirinmaru, as well as Sesshōmaru, by claiming that each of their existences being a threat to the world. Towa and Setsuna, however, refused the tree's request, and they, as well as Moroha, were subsequently sent to face Ne no Kubi as a result of their refusal. Towa and the others managed to kill Ne no Kubi, thus ridding the tree of it for good. Soon afterwards, the spirit of the tree was watching over Rin (who was placed in suspended animation) with the Dream Butterfly flying overhead, and was suddenly approached by Sesshōmaru. It warned him that Rin would never awaken if he decided to forsake her, to which Sesshōmaru said nothing and left.

Powers & Abilities
The Sacred Tree brings a special connection between memories of the past and present. And serves somewhat a telepathy connection between the sengoku period and the present when Kagome and Inuyasha converse with each other. Its wood was also used to make the Bone-Eater's Well (seeing that if one Tree of Ages fails in survival, the Bone Eater's Well is sealed and thus the present would be plunged in an everlasting winter).

Manga vs. Anime
In the manga, the Goshinboku is stated to be 500 years old in the modern era. In the anime, it is stated to be 1,000 years old by then.

In Episode 48, it is revealed that Kagome and Sōta's father proposed to their mother in front of the Sacred Tree, which cleared their minds of any doubts they had earlier.

Trivia

 * In, a "Shinboku' was a tree that acted as a symbol for land that was considered sacred. It was also a place that was believed to contain the presence of a deity. It was common practice in ancient times to worship nature as sacred. A shrine could also be built around it, and in some cases, it would have been built using the tree's timber.
 * In Episode 147, Kikyō and Kaede are seen practicing their archery on the tree, despite it being sacred and spiritual, just like their innate spiritual powers as priestesses.

Season Two

 * "The Sacred Tree. This tree! This was where Inuyasha was sealed. This is very spot where I first met Inuyasha."
 * "When you're near the Sacred Tree, don't you feel a strange kind of power, as though you feel truer to yourself?"
 * "The moment I walked under this tree, my mind cleared and I accepted his proposal. It might seem silly, but I feel grateful to this tree."

Affections Touching Across Time

 * "Hyoga is using the formidable Tree of Ages in order to increase his demon powers."
 * "Tree of Ages?"
 * "That's correct. This is also a Tree of Ages."
 * "The Sacred Tree is?"
 * "The Tree of Ages lives through different eras- Hyoga's Tree of Ages. It steals energy from various generations and matures."
 * "This well was constructed out of wood from the Tree of Ages. Its vital life-force has remained dormant all these years, and is now being awakened by the Tree of Ages."
 * "Kagome- the Sacred Tree!"
 * "Mom, is this tree really that important?"
 * "It remembers when you were born."
 * "The Sacred Tree has been there for me, too."
 * "This place means more than anything me."

Season Six

 * "Beware of this tree."
 * "The Sacred Tree?"
 * "If you seal a demon onto this tree, the demon's body will remain perfectly intact."
 * "It has been fifty years since Inuyasha was sealed to the Sacred Tree."
 * "If Inuyasha was filled with hatred toward my sister, who took back the Sacred Jewel and sealed him to the Sacred Tree, then why does he wear such a peaceful expression?"

Season Seven: The Final Act

 * "There's supposed a scar on the Sacred Tree."
 * "Inuyasha and I met under this very tree!"

Hanyō no Yashahime

 * "Five villages near the Sacred Tree- They're all in danger."
 * "And an impossible entity surpassing time. That is what will defeat you."
 * "It may very well have acquired the Tree of Age's ability to cross into the other world."
 * "I am the Tree of Ages."
 * "Is the Tree of Ages supposed to look like a priestess or what?"
 * "Of all places she could have sent us to, the Tree of Ages sends us to Root-Head."
 * "It's coming from the Sacred Tree."
 * "If we proceed, we'll be following on the Tree of Ages' request."
 * "That's the Sacred Tree."
 * "The Tree of Ages is speaking."
 * "The Sacred Tree hasn't come out since then. She was the one who asked us to slay Kirinmaru, but I wonder if she gave up."
 * "The Tree of Ages didn't say we would get anything out of it."
 * "Hey, show yourself! Why don't you say something, huh?"