Miroku

"My name is Miroku, I'm a monk who always helps people in need."

- Miroku

was a monk who traveled with Inuyasha, Kagome and Sango. His grandfather was cursed fifty years ago by Naraku, leading to the creation of the Kazaana (Wind Tunnel in the English version) which was destined to be passed down to all male descendants of his, including Miroku.

History
Miroku was raised and trained by his father's friend named Mushin who became Miroku's guardian when his father was violently swallowed by his Kazaana.

His grandfather was cursed by Naraku, the chief antagonist of the InuYasha series. In the past, the two fought many times, and each time Naraku appeared to Miroku's grandfather in a different form. Though Miroku's grandfather was a powerful monk, he was also a "lecher" (just like his grandson) and Naraku used this to his advantage. Naraku took the form of a beautiful maiden in order to catch Miroku's grandfather off guard. When Naraku revealed himself, the battle between the two foes began. Whilst battling Naraku, Miroku's grandfather was pierced though the hand creating the Wind Tunnel. The Wind Tunnel would grow bigger as time passes, and eventually will over grow the victim's hand, which will suck in the victim (in this case Miroku). This curse has been passed down from father to son, and thus to Miroku. Miroku is able to control the Kazaana by sealing it with prayer beads. His mother is unknown as she was never mentioned in the manga or the anime.

During the Story
Prior to meeting Inuyasha and Kagome, Miroku traveled the countryside performing (as he viewed it) his Buddhist duties towards the people he meets on his journey. This includes praying for any who ask, comforting the sick and dying, and (his particular specialty) exorcising unwanted spirits and yōkai, sometimes destroying them in the process. These exorcisms should not be confused with the work done by the yōkai taijiya Sango.

As a Buddhist monk, one of his main concerns is that the spirit or soul of the individual (even demons) should "find rest" and pass peacefully into the "next world". Without this, the spirit is doomed to wander this world, often in a malicious or malevolent form, and further can be taken over by other demons.

In addition to these duties, Miroku is constantly searching for Naraku, the demon that cursed his family with the Kazaana; for if he does not find and destroy Naraku, Miroku will be consumed by the curse as his father and grandfather were before him. Near the end of the series, his Kazaana reaches it's limit and Naraku plans on having him use it one final time to destroy the demons coming toward them so that way he'll suffer his father and grandfather's fates but as Naraku is defeated, his Wind Tunnel starts to close.

Later Life
At the end of the series, Miroku no longer bears the Kazaana, and marries Sango. They have three children: twin girls and a boy. He supports his family by exorcising demons with Inuyasha. However, he hasn't given up on swindeling people; he takes three bales of rice, claiming that he has a family to provide for, as an excuse.

Personality
If he failed to defeat Naraku, his life would by cut short by the Kazaana curse set upon by Naraku in his right hand. The threat of dying on his head, he forged under heaven's command in the face of his cruel destiny which was later reverted due to Naraku's death. He has a strong spirit that allows him to conduct himself in an easygoing manner, not showing his weaknesses and hiding his true feelings. As his body is in the service of Buddha, his soul is well-balanced.

Miroku is very brave, willingly a participate in self-sacrifice for others. Rather than die, he does everything he can to get out of a bad situation. While he is no coward, running away from someone if he feels he's no match against them is not something he's shameful about if he feels it's the most reasonable option (Unlike that of Inuyasha, whose pride and stubbornness often causes him to still fight even if the odds are against him). However, when it comes to protecting his friends and loved ones, he will risk his life without a second thought. Repeating such acts (which he had done many times over to almost all of his companions, especially to his wife Sango) caused Miroku's life to be threatened even more so than usual. But he is not just being reckless, rather he's demonstrating his bravery and sense of justice.

Basically, he is kind and friendly, but he does not have a lot of patience and can be somewhat short-tempered if others think ill of him. He sometimes shows a completely different facial expression than his usual calm one. When he meets someone who is adverse in his advice or questions, he becomes a bad monk, verbally criticizing and becoming violent without hesitation. He'll punish anyone with his foul language, even if it's the first time he's met the person. Miroku's temper has been shown to arose in both the anime and manga, towards Inuyasha, especially Hachiemon, and on one occasion, he even violently beat up Jaken (An event that left Jaken being terrified of the monk).

He will not harm innocent people for his own convenience and dislikes pointless fighting. Miroku is a pacifist, and even if someone challenges him (Like Inuyasha did when he first met him), he'll run like a rabbit if there is no need to fight. Even during battle, he thinks about the people around him first and has much compassion towards innocent people. Often, when simple villagers are put against him in battle, Miroku, though he defends himself, he restrains his counterattacks and refuses to kill other people when he easily could. He treats even enemies with respect and consideration (excluding Naraku). When enemies lose their hostility (Like Royakan for example), he believed it unnecessary and cruel to attack any further. His Buddhist heart is open to everyone.

Miroku has a open heart and thinks more about others than himself, naturally being very unselfish. He is sensitive to people's feelings and can be attentive on an individual basis. To make things well, he treats people gently or, occasionally, severely. He never adopts a pushy attitude, but instead is nonchalantly attentive such as he acted towards Sango over Kohaku. Being warmhearted by nature, he cannot stand by and see innocent people suffer or grieve when he knew he could do something about it. His sympathy and consideration of others feelings are always seen.

Miroku was constantly up against the memory of death and avoided relationships with people for in the back of his mind, he always had an image of his father, who died by being sucked into the Wind Tunnel. He was forced into a lonely, merciless life because of Naraku's curse. Even once he began to journey with Inuyasha's party, he could not relieve his torment and tried to solve things on his own. However, his heart began to heal through the strong bonds he formed with his companions, healing his loneliness as time passed. Despite having friends, Miroku still anguished over his Kazaana and condemned fate to die, his greatest fear being his Wind Tunnel sucking up his companions and then himself along with them. He often hid his true feelings with a carefree and easygoing exterior, but his fear of dying still showed through on occasion. Though once the Wind Tunnel was gone, Miroku was free to live his life.

In addition to his intense curiosity, he takes an objective view on things. Should a question arose, he would investigate it, even in the midst of battle. When suspicions or ambiguities arose, he would actively investigate, even if he was in a dangerous place. He tried to see clearly the actual conditions or truth in things. He also has a great ability for understanding and an excellent memory. Miroku also has knowledge of a variety of things, all of which he understands deeply. He has particular knowledge of gods, spirits and other such entities. From these things he gained clues to deciphering Naraku's actions and deceptions. Miroku is obviously the tactician of Inuyasha's party, due to being the most intelligent and wise out of all of them.

As he is capable of calm judgment in a variety of situations, he was able to fight and act cleverly. He can also perform analysis based on only scant information and make accurate guesses that become solid information. Miroku analyzes matters on the basis of his experience and leads with conviction. He is insightful and can sense changes in enemy movements. He speculated all possibilities and comes to the most likely answer. What's more, there are many cases in Miroku's analysis of tactical situation gave his companions a strategic advantage.

Because nobody could predict the outcome of their journey, their daily life depended on unplanned circumstances. When there was no place to stay, Miroku finds the most magnificent premises around and performed fake purifications, thereby getting a place to sleep and eat by taking advantage of his position as a monk. Miroku employed blackmail and theft, making him manipulative and resourceful, but means no harm by it. He even believes it to be just dues(much to the annoyance of his companions). He has gotten used to telling lies without very little remorse, not above lying to simple and honest villagers or spirit monkeys.

Miroku, much like his father and grandfather, is a peerless womanizer. As soon as he saw a beautiful woman, he wasted no time in pursuing her. No matter where he is, he takes pleasure in the company of a beautiful women. He often staged palm readings to meet women. And once, an entire town of women found themselves captivated by his palm-reading skills. He took pleasure in shameless flirting with women during his journeys, but not just any women. If a woman was old or unattractive, he has been known to run away from these types of women out of fear (especially when these particular women were infatuated with him).

He has asked scores of women to have his child and often tried to connect with them heart-to-heart through physical contact. His desire to have children was very serious but people around him did not seem to understand this. Women often viewed him with hostility or mistrust, thinking he was joking, but it is human instinct to want to leave descendants when one feels his life is growing shorter, like Miroku did. Given an opening and opportunity, he would touch any women's behind. He has an obsession for women and has fondled them in even when in the middle of serious conversation or suffering from injuries or poison. Miroku touches women in front of him almost as if it was an unconscious reflex. Being a true lecher, he is unconcerned by being verbally insulted, slapped, or receiving scornful glares. Miroku has consistently perverted thoughts. However, he cared about Sango and thus left her alone when she was distressed. He did eventually touch her breasts and butt, though once Sango stopped being so sad.

Although he continued in his flirtatious ways toward women, his feelings for Sango are not like that. She is shown to be very important to him and a reliable companion while pursuing Naraku. Though the attitude he showed Sango under normal circumstances was the same as he showed towards other women: lecherous. Even when he plied her with kindness, he showed no sense of romantic love which is shown to somewhat annoy Sango. He looked as if he had no feelings towards her as a woman. (Miroku stating in his confession to her that was the problem; his inability to see her as an ordinary woman and more of a comrade, a woman he fought along side with). Despite this issue however, Miroku fell deeply in love with Sango, protecting her with his life when Kagura almost killed her, admitting he loved her. He eventually proposed to Sango, who tearfully accepted, becoming his fiancee. Three years after Naraku was killed, it shows Miroku and Sango had started a family together. The couple had twin girls and a newborn boy.

Appearance
Miroku has black hair, tied in a small ponytail on the back of his neck, dark blue eyes and wears golden earrings. He is called handsome by some people (usually women).

Outfit
The robes of most wandering monks are actually quite poor and ragged - often stitched together out of whatever pieces of cloth a person might give them on their travels. Miroku's robes are quite extravagant and expensive compared to those of most itinerant monks. However, this is consistent with his tendency to loot the wealth of greedy merchants whose homes he rids of demons and ghosts.

Miroku carries a string of beads used for Buddhist prayer and invocation. They are usually associated with a chant repeating "Amida Nyorai". The most common type has 108 beads. The nenju carried by Japanese Buddhist monks were typically made of 112 wooden beads.
 * Rosary:

Originally rare and made of semi-precious stones, the spread of Buddhism brought wider use of nenju from the Heian Period (8th-12th century) through the Kamakura Period (12th-14th century). By the Warring States era, most poor monks carried wooden beads. The number "108" (a sacred number in many Buddhist traditions) represents the number of earthly passions and desires that blind and delude us, entrapping us in the Six States of Existence (the wheel of life, the cycle of samsara, the cycle of suffering and reincarnation).

Miroku makes further use of his nenju to seal off the Wind Tunnel in his hand.

The arm protectors worn by both Miroku and Sango are called Tekko. Miroku normally wraps the Tekko over the Wind Tunnel, then seals it with his Nenju (rosary). However, he abandons it following the removal of the Wind Tunnel.
 * Tekko:

Powers and Abilities

 * Spiritual Powers: As a monk, Miroku has spiritual powers. It was his grandfather's spiritual power that Naraku feared and the reason why Naraku cursed his line. The Wind Tunnel curse weakened his grandfather's spiritual powers. The curse is passed to the next generation of males in Miroku's family until he dies in fear of the spiritual power of Miroku's family. As Naraku was destroyed later in the series and curse of the wind tunnel was broken, Miroku's full spiritual powers were restored. It is likely that he is extremely powerful as with the wind tunnel he was able to fight well against those with high spiritual power.


 * Spiritual Barrier: Miroku has the ability to put up barriers using his spiritual powers. They can vary in size and protect him and others by blocking demons and attacks. Many times he is seen channeling a barrier through his staff, while other times he does it by mere concentration.

Weapons

 * Kazaana: Miroku's Wind Tunnel.png The Wind Tunnel is a curse placed upon Miroku's grandfather by Naraku that is passed down through the male line in Miroku's family. The curse pierced the palm of the monk and resulted in a hole or void into another dimension which sucks everything into it creating a terrible sucking wind in the process. While Miroku has leveraged this curse into a formidable weapon, the Wind Tunnel is difficult to control. The Wind Tunnel also suppresses some of his Spiritual Powers, as it was Miroku's grandfather's power that Naraku feared. Miroku InuYasha-TheFinalAct-06-Large30.png it with a Buddhist rosary until he wishes to unleash its power, but it slowly grows larger with time and will eventually consume him. The potency of the Wind Tunnel is such that Naraku has been forced to use his demonic poison bugs, the Saimyoushou to counter it. By the time of the final battle against Naraku, the Wind Tunnel has grown too large for Miroku to use at his leisure and only had one last use before the void would consume him. As Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga tears apart Naraku from the inside out, the Wind Tunnel's power begins to fade away. By the time Naraku is reduced to a mere head, the curse has finally been lifted.


 * Shakujō: In Japan the Shakujō Staff is still used by monks, pilgrims, and practitioners of Shugendou (a school of Buddhism teaching spiritual practices in the mountains). A yamabushi or mountain priest may use it for magic or exorcism, as does Miroku. In the Shingon and Tendai sects, the Shakujou is used as a ritual object in special ceremonies, much like the Tibetan Dorje. The head of Miroku's is sharpened, while the staff portion is not wood, but a metal pole. Miroku combines his spiritual powers with his staff the slice through demons and often uses the staff as a melee weapon.


 * Sacred Sutras: These "Jufu Talismans" are strips of paper upon which special prayers have been written and prayed over, imbuing them with spiritual power and energy against specific evil. Each Ofuda has a special prayer, and thus is tailored for a specific purpose such as general protection, good luck, safe travel, removing a ghost or spirit, or sealing off a demon or spirit. Miroku uses them in his work to "exorcise" ghosts and demons from homes and people. Similar Ofuda are used by Kagome's Grandfather early in the series after Kagome returns from the Feudal era for the first time. Grandpa Higurashi attempts to seal off the "Bone Eaters Well" with numerous ofuda but as we saw from InuYasha's arrival, Grandpa's ofuda were not strong enough to stop him.


 * Sacred Hiraikotsu: A combined effort, Miroku can place his sutras onto Sango's Hiraikotsu, adding spiritual power to the already potent demon slaying weapon.

Inuyasha
Inuyasha may not like how the monk approaches life (women, villagers, opportunity), but he does respect the monk for his battle skills, knowledge of yōkai, and other worldly skills. They have saved each others lives several times, and both know that they can implicitly trust each other to help if they are in trouble. However, Inuyasha often sees him as a pervert, which is really true. Miroku has proven Inuyasha right most of the time. Often, he will try to act as the voice of reason following one of Inuyasha's reunions with Kikyo to get him to behave properly. However, this always fails without question. Eventually, they became best friends.

Kagome Higurashi
When they first meet, Miroku asks her to bear his child, and promptly gropes her. He enjoys Kagome's and her mother's home cooking, is respectful of her new found combat skills, and often sides with her during her arguments with Inuyasha. Though Kagome is disgusted with Miroku's lechery, womanizing, and perverted actions; she respects his knowledge. She is always the first to yell and scold him whenever Sango is upset by his perverted actions and chasing after other women. Kagome always brings medicines and antidotes for Miroku whenever he is injured or poisoned. She always brings foods and presents that he likes from the present world. She knows that Miroku won't hesitate to risk his life for the sake of his friends and comrades. She considers him as a friend or at most, like an older brother. She always takes his advice in any trouble like dealing with the demon or whenever Inuyasha transforms to a demon and anything related to spiritual power. She respects his intelligence, spiritual power, and knowledge.

Shippō
Like Inuyasha, the little fox demon heavily disapproves of Miroku's bad habits, such as his swindling and womanizing, even scolding him as well. However, Miroku takes this in stride as he knows Shippō should learn how to properly behave. They are often seen talking amongst themselves, usually about Inuyasha and Kagome. Despite Shippo disliking his womanizing, it seems some of Miroku's habits rubbed off on the little fox demon as he, as Sango puts it, constantly meets girls in all the villages the pass through on their journey.

Hachiemon
Miroku's partner-in-crime before Miroku met Inuyasha and friends. This tanuki jūjin would act as a yōkai and the sneaky monk would pretend to drive him off. The hōshi would then collect from the yōkai's "victims." Hachi is very loyal to Miroku, and their friendship is very solid but Miroku has been known to threaten him with his Wind Tunnel if Hachi doesn't comply at first. In the second movie when Hachi fell from the sky, Miroku worriedly runs over to him. Thinking Hachi was dead, Miroku began to mourn his friend's loss only to find him sleeping. Due to Hachi's friendly nature, he is very polite and congenial to others. Miroku is also not above giving him a sound beating to get his point across.

Sango
Miroku and Sango are constantly at odds, mostly on her end, due to his womanizing. Since Miroku is "technically" a Buddhist priest, Sango usually addresses Miroku with the respectful term houshi-sama (houshi means Buddhist priest, and -sama is a respectful honorific), even when he acts disrespectfully, which is reflected in the dub by dryly calling him "monk".

Sango respects Miroku's spiritual abilities and knowledge and utilizes them in battle. The two usually help one another and fight together when facing an enemy. While Miroku uses his knowledge to discern how to fight, Sango uses her brawn to help Miroku with his plans and execute them and vice versa. Sango and Miroku make an excellent pair in battle, and whenever the group splits up it's usually split between Inuyasha-Kagome and Sango-Miroku.

When Miroku and Sango met, Miroku restrained himself out of sympathy for the fact that she had lost her family. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Miroku falls deeply in love with Sango but is unable to come forth with those feelings. He hides it by groping or caressing her at random or inappropriate times. After an unfortunate mishap in battle with a Salamander demon, where Sango gets possessed and Miroku gets hurt by Sango, the two sit down for a talk. They apologized to one another and Miroku admits that Sango is not like other women and that she is very special to him. He asks Sango, if he is still alive after the battle with Naraku, if she would live with him and bear his children. Sango tearfully accepts his proposal and the two are engaged. After the proposal, Miroku still flirts with other women, albeit less than before, at which Sango still becomes exceedingly jealous, even more than before the proposal, since they are now technically together.

Miroku's love grows for Sango to such an extent in Inuyasha the Final Act that he is willing to sacrifice his life to save Kohaku, Sango's beloved brother, from being killed by Naraku. His attempts to protect Kohaku nearly kill Miroku several times, however Miroku never regrets his actions.

Near the end of the Final Act, Miroku's Wind Tunnel tears from constant use and threatens to consume him should he use it anymore. Miroku becomes so terrified of swallowing Sango along with him, he abandons her and travels on his own when he feared the Wind Tunnel would tear open. When Sango caught up with him, begging to die with him, Miroku is loathe to grant her wish and instead plans to ensure Sango survives.

After Naraku is defeated and Miroku's curse broken, Miroku and Sango settle in Kaede's village and start a family of two twin girls and a newborn baby boy.

Mushin
Mushin was one who had raised Miroku after his father's death and consequently had passed down his lecherous tendencies to Miroku. Mushin had always lied to Miroku about his father's death.

Quotes

 * "Will you bear my child?"
 * "You have it wrong! I was merely standing guard to protect you from danger, nothing more!"
 * "Wait Sango! Don't be rash!" (screams) (hit by a rock/boulder)
 * "Resist all temptation...."
 * "You don't know who you're dealing with! What meaning does my life have without the woman I deeply care for?! I would sacrifice my life for hers!"
 * "What good is this cursed hand if I can't protect the woman I love?"
 * Miroku: "Sango would you consider bearing my- " Sango: "SPARE ME WILL YA?"
 * "If this is indeed a trap, I will gladly fall into it!"
 * "You're not like the others Sango, you're a very special woman to me."
 * "Somehow it's different with us. You see, Sango, I never had such strong feelings for a woman as I do for you."
 * "You're my comrade, the woman I fight alongside."
 * "I'm just getting started. If this battle with Naraku ever comes to an end, and the curse of my wind tunnel is broken... if I make it out alive... If we made it that far, would you come live with me? Would you bear my children Sango?"
 * "Oh, how I longed for this." (Sango slaps him) "This pain brings back fond memories. It has been far, far too long Sango."
 * "Forgive me, it's hard to control myself around such beauties."
 * "I was too naive... I thought you'd understand even without me saying anything. It's because I'm always such a cad, I'm sorry I hurt you, Sango."
 * "Her eyes were shouting to me, "Drop dead, you idiot"."
 * "Sango, don't be so kind to me. I can't forgive myself for being so careless..."
 * (To Inuyasha) "If the demon is truly big, then we are no match for it. It's irrational. It's impossible. It's against my religion."
 * "Koharu, you're starting a new life in a new village. I know you're scared. To survive is scary, for everyone. In my right hand is a hole that will suck up everything and anything. A Wind Tunnel, a curse was to put upon us during my grandfather's time. And that grandfather, and then my father were sucked up by the Wind Tunnels in their hands. In time, I, too, will be sucked up by this hole. But I made the decision to live with this curse as my strength. One human taking on demons with the Wind Tunnel. This Wind Tunnel is a weapon given to me. That's what I decided."
 * "To live strong is very difficult, to overcome uncertainty is an enormous task..."
 * "Don't blame me, she was practically begging me to fondle her."

Trivia

 * Naraku was the one who put the curse on Miroku's grandfather. The Wind Tunnel was only passed down to the male generations. The curse was broken when they killed Naraku.
 * Miroku and Sango always stand up for Kagome when she and Inuyasha get into a fight. When Kagome leaves to go back into the Modern Era they tell Inuyasha to go over there and apologize to her since Inuyasha and Kagome are the only ones who can go through the Bone‐Eaters Well.
 * While Sango addresses Miroku as "Hōshi-sama", InuYasha's semi-useral address for Miroku is "Bonzō", (凡僧 (ぼんぞう)), a ordinary, lowly-rank monk.
 * During his early appearances in the manga, his hairstyle strongly resembles that of Hiten.
 * Miroku, along with Shippo, Inuyasha, and Kagome make a cameo appearance in Ranma 1/2 OVA Episode 13. During one of Akane's nightmares, Miroku's body is seen behind Akane. The only part that's seen is the bottom part of his robe and his sandals.
 * In Brazilian Portuguese dub Miroku's name was changed as Miroki due to the word ku sounds like an offensive pun and Korean Dub renamed him as Mireuk along with Kagome as Yoon Ga-young Kikyo as Geum-kang (River), Kaede as Geumsamae, Naraku as Naraku, and Souta as Yoon Tae-young
 * He was three times a victim by demons who disguised themselves as women.
 * Miroku's voice actor Kirby Morrow was also the voice of Dr. Tofu Ono in last two seasons of the anime series, Ranma 1/2, which is another Takahashi work.
 * Miroku's seiyū Kōji Tsujitani also voiced Tatewaki Kuno of Ranma 1/2.
 * According to Shippo, Miroku runs fast.
 * Kirby Morrow, Miroku's voice actor in the English dub, and Kelly Sheridan, Sango's English voice actress, voiced another couple in love in Barbie and the Nutcracker, Morrow as the Nutcracker/Prince Eric and Sheridan as Clara/the Sugarplum princess.
 * In the anime - Vision of Escaflowne -, Kirby Morrow took on the role of the male protagonist, Van Fanel, while Kelly Sheridan provided the voice work for Hitomi Kanzaki, the female protagonist. Both characters were also featured as a couple.