Jinenji's mother (地念児の母, "Jinenji no haha") met a yōkai when she was young, and fell in love with him. Their son Jinenji is a giant hanyō that the villagers all hate, which has made her bitter towards other humans.
History[]
Jineji's mother meets Jinenji's father for the first time.
When she was young, she broke her ankle while she was traversing a mountain. It was then that a man appeared before her and tended to her. She knew that he wasn't human because of the glow that he emitted, but she still fell in love with him. She eventually gave birth to his son Jinenji. Over time she and Jinenji faced persecution from the nearby villagers due to Jinenji being an hanyō. The villagers tried to drive them out in order to take their land that was left to them by Jinenji's late father. It is because of this resentment and due to her ties with the demon that the villagers view her as a witch by proxy.
During the story[]
Inuyasha and Kagome were seeking the herb garden in order to obtain medicine for Kirara after she was poisoned by Naraku. They came across some villagers who were carrying off a dead body. They claimed that Jinenji was responsible. The villagers led them to Jinenji's home with the hopes that Inuyasha would destroy him. They claimed that Jinenji was a monster and his mother was a witch. As Inuyasha was prepared to confront Jinenji, the villagers started throwing rocks at them. Jinenji cried and ran back to his hut. His mother than came out and swung a wooden pillar at Inuyasha's head (although it didn't even phase him). She was under the impression that he was trying to drive her and Jinenji from their land. The villagers then ran when they saw her. She immediately defended Jinenji by claiming that he would never harm anyone and that being a hanyō shouldn't matter when judging him.
Inuyasha and Kagome were invited into her hut. She talked to them about how hanyō were unique in terms of how each of them varied in appearance by comparing how Inuyasha and Jinenji looked. She talked about the villagers horrible treatment of Jinenji. She then explained how she and Jinenji's father met. She became smitten when remembering that encounter. Inuyasha was surprised to discover that she was actually Jinenji's human parent, but she rebutted by angrily asking them he thought she was instead. Jinenji gave Kagome the medicine for Kirara. Kagome asked how much she owed them, but Jinenji's mother said that it was to make up for the clubbing she gave Inuyasha when they met. She warned the two of them to leave before they were caught in the villagers' crusade against Jinenji.
Kagome soon retuned when the she learned that the villagers were planning to attack Jinenji's home while Inuyasha went searching for the yōkai that was recently killing humans in the area. Jinenji's mother told her to have it her way. She soon became surprised with how unique Kagome was for willingly working alongside Jinenji in the fields, but was shown to be scared of a worm.
The villagers returned to her home later that night. Jinenji's mother told her son to stay inside while she dealt with them. As soon as she stepped outside, the villagers started to though rocks at her. One of them hit her forehead and caused her to bleed. They started to burn down her hut. She was about to attack them with her farming hoe, but a larva yōkai suddenly appeared. It and its offspring then started eating the villagers. She stated that the yōkai was the true culprit behind the murders. Kagome had Jinenji come out of the burning hut when he heard that his mother was in trouble. Kagome tried to defend them with her sacred arrow, but it was not enough. It was about to attack her when Jinenji stepped in to save her. Kagome asked Inuyasha to help Jinenji, but his mother told him not to interfere. She yelled at Jinenji to show the villagers his true power. Jinenji was able to destroy the yōkai. He then tended to the injured villagers and his mother.
The next day, Kagome asked if they could help them rebuild their hut, but she told them that they needed to give the medicine to their sick friend. Kagome thanked them for all their help. After they left, Jinenji's mother remarked that she and Jinenji were the ones who should thank them instead. As they two of them started to rebuild their hut, the village men returned while carrying various tools. She was under the impression that they wanted to fight them, but they came to help them rebuild after feeling guilty for their treatment. Initially surprised by this, she scoffed while telling them to do what they will and accepted their help.
Anime only[]
A while later, a human girl named Rin visited Jinenji's home to obtain the Sennensō berry for Jaken who had been poisoned from saimyōshō venom. When she saw Jinenji's mother, she thought that she was a witch. Jinenji's mother told her that her son wasn't seeing anyone today since he was in his human form and was extremely self-conscious about his appearance. Jinenji explained that he didn't have any berries. When Rin pleaded to know where to find some, his mother asked her if she was trying to save a yōkai since that what the berries were used to heal. She followed up by asking if she was smitten with the yōkai. Rin was unaware of what her question meant. Jinenji's mother blushed while telling her to forget what she asked since she was too young to understand. Jinenji was soon comparing how similar Rin was to Kagome and his mother agreed. Kagome and her friends later paid a visit to Jinenji's home later that night. She was worried whether Rin was able to obtain the berries, but Jinenji told her mother that he believed she did.[1]
Personality[]
She appears to be a grouchy woman who is wary of others due to the constant abuse she endured from the villagers for her son's status as a hanyō. Despite her hostility towards others, she loved her son very much, but she wished that he would stand up for himself more. She is shown to be more open-mined when she states that she was in love with Jinenji's father even though she knew he was a yōkai.
After her son protected the village from a yōkai, she was proud of him for saving everyone, despite their previous hostility. She was pleasantly surprised after the village let go of their hate to help rebuild her home.
Physical description[]
Powers and abilities[]
Despite being an elderly human, she is shown to be incredibly strong. She is able to lift a large wooden pillar with ease and swing it at Inuyasha hard enough to break it over his head. She is also an expert with herbs.
Trivia[]
- Her age is never revealed in the series but could be estimated that her age is around the same as Kaede or maybe even older.
- Despite her old age she is shown to still be a physically strong which she demonstrated when she was able to handle a big wooden log and easily break it over Inuyasha's head.
- Kagome initially believes she is Jinenji's yōkai parent, primarily because of her aforementioned strength. As she is unaware of any Japanese demons who appear to be elderly women, she assumes she is Baba Yaga.
- She doesn't appear in the Final Act but it could be assumed that she is still alive.
- Her seiyū, Natsuko Fuji, also voiced Ume from Rumiko Takahashi's previous series Ranma ½.
- In the English dub, she speaks with a Texan accent.
- In the English dub, after Inuyasha and Kagome receive the medicine, she jokingly tells them to leave before she'll grind their bones for her bread. This is a reference to Jack and the Beanstalk.
Media appearances[]
Manga
- Chapter 112 (First appearance)
- Chapter 113
- Chapter 114
- Chapter 115
Anime
- Episode 31 (First appearance)
- Episode 96
References[]
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 96