Tōga

"Izayoi...You must survive. Live a long life. Live long and well with Inuyasha."

- Tōga's last words

, also known as the or, was a powerful inu daiyōkai who was known quite well and feared throughout feudal Japan as being the very strongest of his kind. He fathered two sons, the second of which was the inu hanyō Inuyasha who was born from the human woman Izayoi, Tōga's second wife. His firstborn son was the powerful inu daiyōkai Sesshōmaru, mothered by a female inu daiyōkai, his first wife.

Tōga had many adversaries during his lifetime, and many of them have ended up crossing paths with one or both of his sons a couple centuries later.

History


600 years ago in the, Tōga had fought with Kirinmaru, the Lord of the Eastern Lands in battle as he cut his left antler and right arm. After he defeated Kirinmaru, he tells him not to bring his daughter Rion in battle. One century later in 1005 AD after this, Tōga joined forces with him in order to destroy the Grim Comet, a comet that would travel close to Earth every 500 years, causing war and famine to spread throughout the land, causing the deaths of many people. With their combined power, the two lords were able to destroy a fragment of the comet.

At some point during the, Tōga fell in love with a human princess named Izayoi, which led him to task Tōtōsai to use one of his fangs to forge the sword Tessaiga. He continued traveling and challenged great demons (occasionally crossing paths with Sesshōmaru, who would ignore his advice). Among them were the led by the Lord Hyōga and his son Menōmaru of their clan, and the Panther demon tribe led by the Panther King. His earliest known adversary was the daiyōkai Shishinki, who lost half of his face and had part of his Meidō Zangetsuha absorbed by the Tessaiga. However, since it was an incomplete and unstable technique, Tōga had it sealed within Tenseiga which was sheared from Tessaiga by Tōtōsai.

While Tōga was away battling a new yōkai (the dragon Ryūkotsusei), his beloved had become pregnant with his second child. However, a samurai named Takemaru who served Izayoi's mansion was also in love with her and discovered that her pregnancy was the result of a tryst with a yōkai, thus sought to prevent the hanyō child from being born.

Tōga had finally met his match. Although he managed to seal Ryūkotsusei into a cliff while in his true form, he was unable to deliver a fatal blow, and he suffered lethal wounds. Myōga then brought him the knowledge that Takemaru was after Izayoi and his unborn son. Sesshōmaru sensed his father's imminent demise and demanded he bequeath him his swords Tessaiga and Sō'unga. Tōga refused to give them to him, asking if he was willing to kill him for them. Sesshōmaru stated that he wished to match his father's power by gaining one of the swords, so Tōga asked him if he had something to protect. Not realizing that his father had always been trying to teach him compassion, Sesshōmaru scoffed, deriding the need to protect something as weakness. It was this belief that truly cemented his hatred for Inuyasha centuries later, as he blamed the Dog General's death on his compassionate need to protect his wife and son. Tōga then took his true form and, despite Myōga's pleas, went for Izayoi one last time.

Arriving at the mansion, he easily overpowered Takemaru's troops with Tessaiga, though suffering further injuries from arrows. Takemaru then challenged him, stating that he had killed Izayoi so that she would not be defiled by birthing a demon. Enraged and grief-stricken, Tōga sliced off Takemaru's left arm and raced into the mansion as he heads to the birthing room, while Takemaru ordered his troops to burn it down. Arriving at the birthing room locating Izayoi's body and her newborn son, the Dog General resurrected her with Tenseiga as the mansion burned around them. He covered her along with the baby the Robe of the Fire Rat to protect them from the flames, when Izayoi gets up, Takemaru returned. As they prepared to flee, he drew Sō'unga as Takemaru told the Dog General that he have no regrets about fighting him to the death and let them journey together into the underworld. Knowing his injuries were fatal anyway, Tōga told Izayoi to live long — as well as naming his second son Inuyasha and after that, he told her to flee. When Izayoi with newborn Inuyasha gets out of the mansion, Tōga produces the Dragon Twister and began battling with Takemaru, as the burning mansion collapsed around them. Neither Takemaru nor Tōga survived. His voice tells Izayoi to survive, live a long life, live long and well with Inuyasha.

Legacy
Tōga's remains, along with Tessaiga, were consigned to the gateway region of the Netherworld — the gateway itself sealed within a black pearl that was hidden in Inuyasha's eye. This was the first of many indications that he reserved the mastery of Tessaiga for his younger son. Myōga had been charged with keeping an eye on Inuyasha and helping him access the inheritance when he was old enough. Also in accordance with his will, Tōtōsai 'delivered' Tenseiga to Sesshōmaru (nailing it to Bokusenō's trunk with a sarcastic note, knowing Sesshōmaru would probably try to kill him). No plan was left for Sō'unga as it was too unstable of a weapon, so it was sealed and thrown into the Bone-Eater's Well. After Sō'unga was finally defeated by the two brothers' Backlash Wave and Dragon Strike, Tōga's soul briefly appeared before them, expressing his pride as Myōga, Tōtōsai, and Saya saying "The master!". Tōga was very proud to his sons and informed that Sō'unga will be consigned to Hell forever. By the end of the series his deepest wishes have been granted: Inuyasha has found a secure and happy life with Kagome Higurashi and his friends, despite his half-demon heritage. Meanwhile Sesshōmaru has been taught the values of compassion, which balance his constant search for power and create a strong bond with his human ward and eventual lover, Rin. His children’s fulfillment’s would give Tōga's three granddaughters.

While the various yōkai in Tōga's service scattered after his death, they remained loyal to his memory and showed deep respect to Sesshōmaru and — less frequently — Inuyasha. When the Panther tribe attacked again, all of Tōga's former allies joined to form an army under the command of Sesshōmaru, and once more drove them back.

Kirinmaru's older sister Zero and Riku came to the ruin of Izayoi's mansion where Tōga's ashes were. As Moroha used the Crimson Backlash Wave on Zero, Riku used her late grandfather's ashes/essence to protect her as Myōga tells Moroha that those are the "Master's ashes" and it's where he perished. After Moroha used the shell rouge that belonged to her paternal human grandmother to become "Beniyasha, Destroyer of Lands", she summons her fiery demonic energy projection humanoid form of her late grandfather as Kirinmaru recognized that the place where he died, and at the start of the battle in a galaxy-like field, Moroha used her grandfather's fiery orange projection composed of her own inner demonic energy, in his human-like form, to take down Kirinmaru, in vengeance for him murdering her dear half-first cousin Setsuna.

Personality
Tōga's personality is like that of his sons'. Like his first son, Sesshōmaru, Tōga displays a calm and focused demeanor, speaking with a gentle tone. At times he is more similar to second son, Inuyasha, tending to make outbursts while having little composure in battle. Although the only time he was actually shown in battle involved Izayoi, a woman he loved, and he may not normally be like that in the heat of battle. He also loved Izayoi dearly as well as his two sons. He was also stated to have compassion for humans by Sesshōmaru. Despite his compassion, he was capable of being ruthless when need be to both humans and demons. This was shown when Izayoi begged Takemaru to take his men and leave the palace grounds, not wanting him to be killed by Tōga.

Physical description
Tōga appears as a tall and slender man. He has tan skin, and slanted golden eyes with slit pupils. His long white hair is tied up into a very high ponytail with a dark blue ribbon. Like other full-blooded yōkai, he has pointed ears as well as fangs and claws. He has wide, jagged violet stripes on the cheeks, and a magenta stripe on each eyelid.

Outfit
Tōga dressed similarly to his elder son Sesshōmaru, in that he wore a white kimono and hakama, armored boots, and a long flowing sash, with the latter two suggestive of Chinese influence. They also share similar breastplates, with a spiked rim, with the addition of Chinese vambraces and armored gauntlets, as well as layered spiked pauldron on each shoulder. He wears a parted pelt that extends from both shoulders and trails behind him as he walks; representing the two streaks of fur running down the back of his yōkai form. The Tessaiga and Tenseiga are worn at his waist, while the Sō'unga is worn across his back.

Powers & Abilities
Much of Tōga's abilities are unknown, but he is known to be tremendously formidable in battle, having defeated many extremely powerful daiyōkai.


 * Immense Demonic Power: He has been stated to be the most powerful yōkai by Myōga and Tōtōsai, as he had defeated extremely powerful daiyōkai such as Shishinki, the Panther King and also Hyōga, along with also defeating Kirinmaru, the Lord of the Eastern Lands who was noted to have been unchallenged through the globe before, before he and Kirinmaru became equals as the strongest demon in history. He was even able to fight both Shishinki and Ryūkotsusei, managing to penetrate the dragon's extremely powerful defense once and seal him away as well as grievously damage Shishinki's face, but was fatally injured. His power was said to be at first far superior to that of his sons, as he could fully control Sō'unga a demon sword of tremendous power that can easily corrupt and possessed all the past yōkais who tried to wield it and not even Inuyasha, his second son, despite his own tremendous demonic power, could completely resist Sō'unga's mind controlling powers, whereas Tōga managed to wield it without succumbing to Sō'unga's influence and Sesshōmaru believed the only way for him to surpass his father is for him to get one of his great swords. It's shown that he is still more powerful than Inuyasha and at least equal to his older son, being that he is regarded as being equally powerful as Kirinmaru in the present who had stalemated Sesshōmaru.
 * Barriers: Tōga was somehow capable of creating barriers of immense power as he was able to put a powerful barrier on Tessaiga, which was powerful enough that not even Sesshōmaru, his own pure blooded demon son and a powerful daiyokai himself can withstand.
 * Barriers: Tōga was somehow capable of creating barriers of immense power as he was able to put a powerful barrier on Tessaiga, which was powerful enough that not even Sesshōmaru, his own pure blooded demon son and a powerful daiyokai himself can withstand.

Weapons

 * Also known as the "Sword of Earth", the Tessaiga was created from the fang of the Tōga. He had Tōtōsai create it to protect Izayoi, Inuyasha's human mother. In his will, Tōga leaves the Tessaiga to his youngest son, Inuyasha.
 * The Tessaiga's signature attack that can slay one hundred yōkai in a single strike. As the original owner, Tōga is able to fire the Kaze no Kizu at will without needing to clash his yōki with another demon's like Inuyasha needed to at first.
 * The Tessaiga's ougi (lit. "ultimate technique"). It uses the opponent's yōki and unleashes the Kaze no Kizu at the right point. The yōkai's energy would be reflected back with the added power of the Kaze no Kizu.
 * Also called the "Sword of Heaven", the Tenseiga was created from the fang of Tōga. It is capable of reviving the dead of one hundred beings, whether demon or human, with one stroke. Tenseiga cannot cut the living but can cut spirits and the living dead. In his will, Tōga left the Tenseiga to his eldest son, Sesshōmaru.
 * Resurrection: The Tenseiga could restore the life of the recently deceased by destroying the pall-bearers who took the souls of the dead. However, it requires a relatively-intact body to work and only worked once as not to grant eternal life. Although the Tenseiga could not harm what belongs to the Living World, its healing powers allows it to slay the undead and spirits.
 * This technique manifests as a giant black circle that sends anything within its vicinity directly to the Netherworld. This technique originally resided with Tessaiga. This is the first technique that Tessaiga absorbs from another yōkai: Shishinki. Tōga stole this technique from Shishinki during their battle. Unfortunately, he is unable to use it properly. He has Tōtōsai split off the technique from Tessaiga along with a part of the sword that would become Tenseiga. He hoped that his son Sesshōmaru would be able to master the technique so he could return it to Tessaiga when it is complete.
 * Also called the "Sword of Hell", the Sō'unga is a yōkai sword that Tōga possessed and contained to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. It contains the spirit of an ancient evil yōkai. It has the ability to control the dead and open a gate to hell. Tōga's hope was that one day his sons would be able to find the answer to sealing Sō'unga for good.
 * Sō'unga's most powerful attack; it possessed more destructive power than the Tessaiga's Bakuryūha. Sō'unga can unleash a large, violent, and powerful purple/black tornado that annihilates everything that is caught in its path. Myōga described this as being the attack of a dragon from Hell. However, if both Tessaiga and Tenseiga were close by, the strength of the Gokuryūha weakens.
 * Reanimation: Unlike other weapons which includes demon swords as well, Sō'unga's slain victims don't simply die, but their corpses are reanimated as soulless undead that unless specially commanded will mindlessly attack the living in their vicinity.
 * Path to Hell: Sō'unga can open a portal in the Underworld.

Family

 * Sesshōmaru's mother

She was Tōga's first wife and mother of his first and full-yōkai son, Sesshōmaru. He left her the Meidō Stone as well as information regarding Tenseiga. Given that Tenseiga was broken from Tessaiga, and that Tessaiga was forged to protect Izayoi (thus Tenseiga did not exist until after he had feelings for Izayoi), then it can be assumed that Tōga and Sesshōmaru's mother remained on good terms even though he left her for Izayoi up until his death. For her part, she clearly maintains her fondness of him, speaking only positively about him to Sesshōmaru and even remarks that Sesshōmaru lacks Tōga's charm and, perhaps, shares his affections for humans.


 * Izayoi

It is unknown when they first met, but they ended up falling in love and married which resulted in a half-demon child, Inuyasha. After his last battle with Ryūkotsusei, he rushed to save her without first tending to his wounds. He fought through the soldiers only to find her already dead. Using the Tenseiga, he brought her back to life, giving her the Robe of the Fire-Rat, and telling her to escape with their newborn son whom he names Inuyasha. His last words were: "Izayoi...You must survive. Live a long life. Live long and well with Inuyasha." This showed that the Great Dog Demon did deeply care about his sons and did not see them as mere tools for pure demon heritage.


 * Inuyasha

Being born only moments before Tōga's death, Inuyasha never met his father. He only ever sees the spirit of his father at the end of Swords of an Honorable Ruler. After saving Izayoi from Takemaru with Tenseiga, Tōga named his son Inuyasha. According to Myōga, Inuyasha is able to use his sword Tessaiga because he protects Kagome, who is human, mirroring Tōga's relationship with Izayoi.


 * Sesshōmaru

Tōga's relationship with his first son was somewhat strained because of the former's relationship with the human Izayoi and the latter's ambitions to surpass him. In Swords of an Honorable Ruler, during his last night alive, despite being gravely wounded and demanded by his elder son to hand over the Tessaiga and Sō'unga, Tōga showed absolutely no fear of his son, simply being exasperated and disappointed that he single-mindedly sought power above all else, and seemingly to give him another chance to prove his worth, asked him if he had "someone to protect." When Sesshōmaru flatly responded "No.", this sealed his decision to keep the two powerful swords from his son and he passed to him the Tenseiga rather than the Tessaiga. Sesshōmaru was greatly offended that his father left his hanyō brother Inuyasha, and not him, the Tessaiga. Initially, Sesshōmaru deemed the Tenseiga useless since it cannot cut anything; however, over the course of the story, he started to understand and then respect its power. He also came to understand his father's cryptic words. Upon meeting the human child Rin, his attitude toward humans began to change. Sesshōmaru felt he should protect the young girl. With something to protect (Rin, Jaken, and sometimes Inuyasha), Sesshōmaru became a very powerful daiyōkai, just as his father intended for him.

Sesshōmaru's feelings towards his father and family in general seem very complicated. While Sesshōmaru never expresses any direct emotional attachment to either of his parents, he gives indirect clues. He wishes to be greater than his father. That his father does not grant him what he feels is his birthright seems to hurt his pride and drives him to demonstrate his greatness. While Sesshōmaru may appear to have always hated Inuyasha, the earliest depicted feelings are his anger that Inuyasha cannot join him in a battle since he has been sealed to a tree by a human, Kikyō. That this half-demon and half-brother gained the birthright he expected kindles his resentment for his father as well as his hatred for Inuyasha. It would appear through the early parts of the story, he believes killing Inuyasha and gaining Tessaiga will, in his mind, prove his father wrong and elevate him above his father. That Inuyasha can wield Tessaiga and would have killed him if not for the protection of Tenseiga further shakes his confidence. However, Sesshōmaru shows nothing but respect for his father's remains to the point of punching Inuyasha for daring to be present. When he sees his father again at the end of Swords of an Honorable Ruler, he looks in awe and respect rather than contempt. Likewise, he reflects on how his father died and the fury of remembering how it was Izayoi and Inuyasha that lead to his father's demise gave him the strength to overpower Inuyasha's Backlash Wave, suggesting he may have subconciously regretted not doing anything to stop his father. As the story depicts the maturation and development of all the main characters, Sesshōmaru's attitude and understanding of his father, particularly his wisdom, develops as well.

For his part, Tōga certainly cares for his elder son, but he is often frustrated and disappointed with his callous attitude towards humans and his focus on power above anything else. As the story slowly reveals through the characters Myōga and Tōtōsai who knew him, Tōga devised a very elaborate plan to bring his sons together. Ironically, Sesshōmaru ends up falling in love with a human and having half-demon children just as his father did.

Allies

 * Myōga

Myōga was Tōga's closest vassal and adviser, serving under him for many years. Throughout the series, Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha encounter their father's numerous enemies, and Myōga is usually the only person who is able to shed light on them and what they are after, a few prime examples being Ryūkotsusei, Hyōga, and Shishinki. Myōga ends up being Inuyasha's periodic vassal throughout the series, giving advice and sharing wisdom just as he did for his father. He remains fiercely loyal to his first lord as well, and becomes upset when Inuyasha says he does not care about avenging his father.


 * Tōtōsai

Tōtōsai was the yōkai blacksmith who crafted both the Tessaiga and Tenseiga from Tōga's fangs. He was also entrusted with bequeathing the two swords to the his sons after Tōga's death, giving Sesshōmaru the Tenseiga, and Inuyasha the Tessaiga. In the anime, Tōtōsai says that giving the elder brother Tenseiga and the younger brother Tessaiga was Tōga's dying wish. Tōtōsai was also given instructions by Tōga about Meidō Zangetsuha and how to show Sesshōmaru the path to true power.


 * Saya

Saya was the spirit guide and old friend, as the sheath of the uncontrollably unpredictable sword Sō'unga.


 * Hōsenki I

Hōsenki and Tōga were evidently friends in life as Hōsenki agreed to arrange to make a black pearl to allow Inuyasha to obtain Tessaiga while keeping it out of Sesshōmaru's hands. After Hōsenki died, his corpse took residence in the bones of Tōga, a testament to how strong their friendship was even though the latter had been dead for over 200 years.


 * Bokusenō

A wise tree yōkai and old friend, Bokusenō donated boughs of his own wood from which to carve the scabbards of Tessaiga and Tenseiga.


 * Rōyakan

A wolf yōkai and a guardian of the forest as he fought along with him against the Panther tribe.


 * Seiten and Kujaku

Series and Kujaku, were two demon siblings that served under Tōga and presumably fought alongside him in some his battles. Both respected and held the utmost loyalty towards him and attempted to honor his final order to them to slay the Four War Gods. Their attempts to fulfill his final order to them ended with their deaths however.


 * Kirinmaru

Tōga joined forces with his old-rival the Lord of the Eastern Lands Kirinmaru to destroy the Grim Comet every five centuries, until his demise and left the task to his sons. Even his own prophecy for the fall of Lord Kirinmaru and his elder sister by his granddaughters.


 * Zero

The older sister of his rival, Kirinmaru, Tōga states to her that Kirinmaru is fortunate to have someone like her by his side. It is unknown whether he ever knew of her romantic affections for him.


 * Riku

While it is unknown if Tōga and Riku personally met, the latter was indeed aware of the former and continues to hold him in high-regard. Riku was instructed by Lord Kirinmaru to gather medicinal herbs needed to save Tōga's life after receiving his fatal injuries from Ryūkotsusei but was not able to make it in time to prevent his death at Izayoi's mansion. Riku continues to respect the fallen demon-lord, holding all those who possesses his blood with great respect.

Enemies

 * Ryūkotsusei

A dragon demon with powers that resemble lightning. Tōga only managed to seal him to a cliff with his claw. According to Myōga, Ryūkotsusei was much too powerful to kill. It is implied that the wounds Tōga received in that battle led to his demise during his battle with Takemaru of Setsuna in the third movie. Many years later, Naraku releases Ryūkotsusei's seal hoping the dragon would kill Inuyasha, who was there to defeat Ryūkotsusei.


 * Hyōga

A moth demon from "", or as some have inferred,, he is yet another demon that Tōga managed to seal but not defeat. Sealed within the Tree of Ages, Hyōga is absorbed by his son and successor Menōmaru, who in turn tries to kill Inuyasha and absorb all living souls on earth.


 * Shishinki

The original wielder of the Meidō Zangetsuha. The battle between him and Tōga is implied to be inconclusive though it is revealed Shishinki was terribly injured, losing a portion of his face. He seeks to kill Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru as revenge for stealing his technique.


 * Panther King

A demon that Tōga managed to defeat long ago. He was revived by his tribe using sacred jewel shards. The Panther King lost his powers by Sesshōmaru and was destroyed by Inuyasha's Wind Scar.


 * Takemaru

A human who was in love with Izayoi. Takemaru loved Izayoi and believed that her heart had been captured by Tōga. Takemaru then fought with Tōga and lost his left arm. Takemaru then ordered his men to set the mansion on fire, with Izayoi, Inuyasha and Tōga still inside. He then followed Tōga into the mansion and fought him to the death inside the burning mansion while Izayoi escaped with Inuyasha.

Trivia



 * "Tōga-Ō" (闘牙王, lit. "Fighting Fang King") was the name given to Inuyasha's father in the third movie script and it also appeared in one of the trailers, as well as the original draft of the soundtrack, but the name was removed before release in order to avoid confusing fans.
 * In a round-about way, Tōga named "Tessaiga" (lit. "Iron-Crushing Fang"), "Tenseiga" (lit. "Heavenly Rebirth Fang") and "Bakusaiga" (lit. "Explosive Crushing Fang") after himself.
 * It is interesting to note that while Tōga is Inuyasha's only demonic parent, they do share markings when Inuyasha is in his full demon form. However, while Tōga has a single blue stripe on either cheek, and his mother has a single magenta stripe, Sesshōmaru has two magenta stripes on either of his cheeks. It is not known from which parent he obtained the double magenta stripes.
 * In the InuYasha manga, Tōga's humanoid form never appeared, only his true form. However, author Rumiko Takahashi personally designed his human form for the third film. These designs appeared in an issue of Shōnen Sunday.
 * Many fans refer to him as Lord of the Western Lands; however, such a designation appears nowhere in any incarnation of the series. He was never stated to have any land holdings or official political power other than holding the title of "General" and being "based in the western provinces." After Sesshōmaru discovered that his father had intended for Tenseiga to be re-absorbed by Tessaiga, he lamented that this meant that his father intended to "leave him with nothing," indicating that Tenseiga was his sole inheritance from his father, and he did not inherit any land, title, or followers.
 * Tōga, Sesshōmaru, Sesshōmaru's mother and Inuyasha are mostly or at least partly based on the , a Japanese dog-like demon. Japanese folklore describes Inugami as zoomorphic, or anthropomorphic dog-like beings, often similar to werewolves.
 * Tōga's age is never revealed in the movie. But given that in his original design, he has the mature appearance of a man in his late 30s to early 40s. He is a lot older than he looks, and many have believed him to have been close or over 3000+ years old when he died.
 * Tōga was erroneously carrying both Tessaiga and Tenseiga 600 years ago, and using Meidō Zangetsuha with Tessaiga 500 years ago, contradicting the facts that Tessaiga was created to protect Izayoi who was alive during the Kamakura era, and Tenseiga was a cast-off piece of Tessaiga containing Meidō Zangetsuha.

Media appearances
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Manga

 * Chapter 12
 * Chapter 15
 * Chapter 16
 * Chapter 297
 * Chapter 298
 * Chapter 301
 * Chapter 315
 * Chapter 318
 * Chapter 319
 * Chapter 320
 * Chapter 321
 * Chapter 322
 * Chapter 323
 * Chapter 324
 * Chapter 325
 * Chapter 326
 * Chapter 399

InuYasha

 * Episode 5
 * Episode 6
 * Episode 7
 * Episode 53
 * InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time
 * Episode 76
 * Episode 79
 * InuYasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler
 * Episode 143
 * Episode 144
 * Episode 145
 * Episode 153
 * Episode 155
 * Episode 156
 * Episode 157
 * Episode 164
 * Episode 172

Hanyō no Yashahime
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 * Episode 4
 * Episode 15
 * Episode 22
 * Episode 23
 * Episode 24
 * Episode 27
 * Episode 28