Jakotsu

was 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 Jakotsutō, has segmented retractable blades that curve out across a great distance, making it difficult for an opponent to calculate his next move. Jakotsu is depicted acting in a homosexual manner; examples of which would be his admiration of Koga's loincloth, and his advances toward Miroku and Inuyasha upon meeting the two with Kagome. He also claims to have feelings for the latter but due to his sadistic personality he basically wants to kill Inuyasha in what he considers to be an affectionate way and mentions wanting to cut off and claim his dog ears which he adored for their "cuteness".

Jakotsu loses in 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 that he had 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
Jakotsutō - The Jakotsutou was a broad sword made up of at least 50 chain linked blades held together by pins. When deployed or swung, these blades zig-zagged back and forth as they moved forward, resembling the movements of a snake moving in for the strike, which is why its name translated as Snake Bone Sword.

When deployed, the Jakotsutō unraveled and raveled to great lengths, allowing Jakotsu to keep his enemies at a distance. The speed and erraticism of the sword's movements made his strikes nigh-impossible to predict—and it didn't help that Jakotsu was able to change the sword's path mid-strike to catch even the most alert fighters off-guard. This ability also allowed Jakotsu to ensnare his opponents with his sword and then dismember them cleanly with a flick of the wrist.

The most frightening aspect of this sword didn't lie in its versatility, but in its precision. In Jakotsu's hand, the Jakotsutō wasn't just a deadly weapon, it was like an extension of his own arm. In what was probably his most impressive display of control, Jakotsu was able to extend the Jakotsutō from a considerable distance and retrieve the Shikon shard from Suikotsu's neck—and he was able to do it without cutting Kikyo's nearby hand or severing Suikotsu's head completely in the process. (In fact, the damage he dealt to Suikotsu's throat was so menial that he could still speak without difficulty.) Other feats of skill included wiping out an entire unit of soldiers—horses and all—with a single strike, trapping enemies in elaborate cages of blades from yards away and angling the sword so that it could cleanly slice off the tips of long-barrel rifles (meaning he was able to maneuver the blades into an angle perpendicular to the sword hilt and maintain enough speed and force to cut metal).

Despite Jakotsu's skills, surviving combat with him was far from impossible for skilled fighters. Although swift and unpredictable, the sword could still be dodged by faster opponents like Koga or Sesshomaru, and when countered with strong enough blows, the sword's path could be diverted from its target. Though sharp, there were things that the sword couldn't cut, such as demon swords or the hiraikotsu, so it could be blocked using those objects or sometimes become entangled with them. These entanglements bought only seconds of time, however, as Jakotsu could easily untangle his sword, and sometimes even used it to launch the entangled objects back at his foes. There was also one instance in which Sesshomaru intentionally entangled the Jakotsutou with Tokijin and used it to fling Jakotsu over his head and further away from the mountain barrier. Sesshomaru was also the only one skilled enough to reflect Jakotsu's attack right back at him, though he missed killing him by mere millimeters. Furthermore, despite being strong enough to kill demons (conventional weaponry is usually ineffective against demons), the sword was still composed of normal metal, so it was powerless against powerful jaki-based attacks like the Kaze no Kizu. This limitation was what eventually contributed to its destruction.

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 referred 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 decided to make him gay instead.
 * Jakotsu is one of the few characters in the series to change clothes. Other characters include Kagura and Naraku.
 * The tattoos on his face mean Death, however instead of referring to him somewhat, they're their more for their resemblance to snake fangs.

Quotes

 * (Talking with Renkotsu) Jakotsu: "So from 7 that leaves only 4." Renkotsu: "7 minus 2 is 5"
 * (To Inuyasha) "You're adorable! I especially love those fuzzy ears of yours. I want them"