Hanyō

Hanyō (半妖, literally translated as Half-Apparition) is a mix between a Human and a Yōkai.

Description
There are two ways that a Hanyō is born. One is born when one of the parents is a Yōkai, who is often the father, and one a human, who is typically the mother. The other way is when a human with an unfulfilled desire merges with many demons; Naraku was born in this fashion. A Hanyō typically possess the ability to become a Yōkai if under a considerable amount of pain, suffering, or loss, or with the power of the Jewel of Four Souls.

Naming
The 'yō' is derived from Yōkai and 'han' comes from the Japanese word for half, hanbun.

Power
While a Hanyō can never be as strong as the demonic parent without becoming a full Yōkai, most Hanyō seem to be powerful enough to not only deal with any human hostilities, but also to easily dispatch most Yōkai if their will and aggression is very strong. It seems as if the only demons that have Hanyō spawn are the Yōkai powerful enough that even diluting their power with human blood would still leave their children better off than the majority of demons. Inuyasha is the prime example of this.

Impurity
As people, half-demons are often outcast by their human brethren because of their demon heritage, deeming them monsters while their demon kin rejects them due to their human blood, considering them weak. In effect, half-demons are outcast for belonging to neither race. Many of the half-demons that have appeared throughout the story have sought to remedy their 'impurity' by using the Shikon Jewel to either become a full-demon or a full human though some such as Jinenji were happy as they were.

Additional Information
In the movie, InuYasha: Fire on the Mystic Island, there is a secret haven known as Horai Island where demons and humans once lived together in peace, raising their half-breed offspring who are accepted by all.

Known Half-Demons

 * Inuyasha
 * Naraku
 * Jinenji
 * Shiori
 * Izumo
 * Ai
 * Asagi
 * Shion
 * Moegi
 * Dai
 * Roku
 * Sara Asano