“ |
I am Kagome! I'm not anyone else! |
” |
—Kagome[src]
Kagome Higurashi (
History
Kagome is the firstborn child and only daughter of Mr. Higurashi[13] and Ms. Higurashi. She was named after the sparkling light her mother saw (the Shikon Jewel itself) when she was born in the Sōgō hospital.[14]
When Kagome was four years old, her father died in a car accident that had left his daughter and wife, who was already pregnant with Kagome's brother, without any support. So, Kagome's mother moved her family to the Higurashi Shrine, where Grandpa Higurashi lived.[9][15]
Kagome's Quest
In 1996[16], when she was fourteen years old, for her early 15th birthday, she was given of the mummified kappa hand by her grandpa, but looked uncomfortable. On her 15th birthday, when Kagome was about to set off for school, she learned that her cat, Buyo, had entered the shed containing the Bone-Eater's Well. At the request of her brother Sōta, she found him, only to be pulled into the well by Mistress Centipede, whose bones had been resurrected by the presence of the Shikon no Tama within Kagome's body. Kagome resisted the demon and escaped her grasp. But when she climbed out of the well, she found herself in the middle of a forested meadow, as she didn't know that she went back in time to about 1550-1560.[9][10] In an attempt to locate her house, she came upon the Sacred Tree, upon which she discovered a sleeping white-haired, dog-eared boy sealed by an arrow and overgrown with vines. Intrigued by his ear, Kagome tugged on them curiously, only to be ambushed by a group of suspicious villagers. After bounding her, they brought her before Kaede, the village priestess, to determine if she was a yōkai or a spy. Kaede not only determined that Kagome was human, but was alarmed by her identical resemblance to her late elder sister Kikyō.[9][10]
Later that night, Kagome was with Kaede in the old woman's house, when the village was attacked by Mistress Centipede, still searching for the jewel inside Kagome's body. Kagome started running towards the forest to divert the centipede demon's attack. When she reached the Sacred Tree, she discovered that the boy, Inuyasha, was now awake.[9][10] Unfortunately, he mistook her for Kikyō, Kaede's older sister, who had been the very priestess that had bound him to the tree 50 years prior, as she revealed that Kagome is the reincarnation of her older sister.[11][12]
At that moment, Mistress Centipede attacked Kagome and in the ensuing scuffle, she was wounded by the demon and the Shikon Jewel that had been inside Kagome's body since her birth, unbeknownst to her, was ripped out. Mistress Centipede consumed the Jewel and used it to increase her power. In a desperate attempt to stop her, Kagome pulled the arrow from Inuyasha and released him from the spell, after which he quickly dispatched the centipede demon.[11]
Later, a corpse crow demon stole the Jewel from her and using the demon's severed foot let loose an arrow that inadvertently shattered the Jewel into innumerable shards, even as the crow itself was destroyed.[12]
Inuyasha and Kagome travel with Miroku, Shippō, Sango and Kirara to defeat Naraku, the demon who seeks the Jewel for his own purposes and search for the Jewel shards. Kagome's grandfather often made up fake illnesses to excuse Kagome from school to continue her quest with Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Kirara, and Shippō in the feudal era.
Meeting new friends and enemies
Inuyasha and Kagome later met a young orphan and fox demon named Shippō who lost his father by the Thunder Brothers and he expresses his desire for revenge and even tried stealing Shikon jewel shards from Kagome who begun to like him as a younger brother. But it was Shippō who called to Inuyasha to save Kagome who had been kidnapped by Manten who tried to kill her for making him lose his hair.
After she had a near-death experience, Shippō's father's pelt protected her with Foxfire while Inuyasha killed the Thunder Brothers, then Shippō joined them as a companion. Followed by Miroku, whose grandfather and father had a cursed wind-tunnel in their right hands which he inherited, who met Inuyasha and Kagome when he attempted to steal the shards from Kagome. After he revealed to the gang that Naraku is the one who killed Kikyō, Miroku also joined them. After she was forced to return to the modern era when Inuyasha took the Shikon Jewel to prevent Kagome from returning, she manages to return to the feudal era. Later on they meet Sango, an incredibly skilled demon slayer who was cruelly tricked by Naraku to believe that Inuyasha killed her family (her father) and friends'.
Meeting Kōga and encounters with Naraku's minions
After Kikyō took the Shikon Jewel shards from her, Kagome, Inuyasha and the gang met Tōtōsai, who was an old, close friend of Inuyasha's late father and also the creator of Tessaiga; he revealed his sword's technique Kaze no Kizu. Kagome and others witnessed the third battle between Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru before Inuyasha could strike his sword against his older brother, which only failed due to Sesshōmaru being saved by Tenseiga.
Later Inuyasha and the group found dead bodies at a village where they encountered the Wolf Demon Tribe's leader Kōga, who got angry when Inuyasha killed his comrades. Kagome and Shippō were kidnapped by Kōga through a trap. Later Kagome found out that Kōga and other wolf tribe were suffering from the attack of the Birds of Paradise so she agreed to help them.
After caught seeing that Inuyasha hugged Kikyō, which left Kagome's mind of heartbreak and put hiatus of the feudal era. Kagome would be in her room, thinking about how Inuyasha chose Kikyō and decided not to return to Inuyasha for a while, even Kagome's friends asked her about her boyfriend. Kagome looked on a scared tree and she wanted Kikyō just to go away from Inuyasha's life and breakdown after she realized that she loved Inuyasha.[17] She returned to the feudal era and asked Inuyasha to hold her hand as they walk.
Tsubaki's black spell
Naraku sought out the help of a dark priestess named Tsubaki,[18] a woman who had a longtime grudge against Kikyō; Naraku hoped that Tsubaki would be able to use her dark magic to kill Inuyasha and Kagome. Tsubaki has her shikigami, which takes the form of a serpent, bite Kagome, thus putting her under her spell. Using Naraku's massive Shikon Jewel shard, Tsubaki was able to defile the shards that Kagome had and forced the blackened shards into Kagome's body.
After the jewel entered Kagome's body, she went into an almost comatose state, until Tsubaki awakened her and ordered her to kill Inuyasha, causing her to point an arrow at Inuyasha. Naraku delighted at the prospect of Inuyasha again being killed by the woman he loved. Kagome was able to momentarily regain control of her body and begged Inuyasha to run, but he did not.
Kikyō confronted Tsubaki which allowed Kagome to completely regain control of herself, at which point she was able to sense the location of the black Shikon Jewel that Tsubaki possessed; Inuyasha and Kagome raced to the location.[19] They arrive and see that Sango and Miroku are there already, and they all confront Tsubaki. Tsubaki emerges from her hut and releases a demon to attack Inuyasha, she tells him that if he draws Tessaiga then she will kill Kagome since the defiled Shikon Jewel shards were still in her body. The shards pulsate in Kagome's body and she is again put in a comatose-like state. However, this time Kagome is hurled into a strange dimension, one where she has never met Inuyasha.[20]
With the help of Kikyō, in the other dimension, Kagome snaps out of it and regains consciousness and fires an arrow at Tsubaki, but she misses. Tsubaki again defiles the shards in Kagome's body further, and soon sends her serpent shikigami to kill Kagome. Kagome manages to regain her resolve, and hurls the serpent back at Tsubaki in the same manner that Kikyō had done fifty years prior; the shards in Kagome's body are purified and Tsubaki makes her escape, vowing to get revenge on Inuyasha and Kagome.
Tsubaki returns to the temple where she used to train with her former master and meets Botan and Momiji, the priestesses who currently live there.[21] Tsubaki sends them off to fight Inuyasha and his group, while Tsubaki enters a forbidden temple where she absorbs an ogre that inhabits it, using the Shikon Jewel shard she still has. After Botan and Momiji fail to stop Inuyasha and the others, they quickly find Tsubaki again. Tsubaki absorbs the ogre and her body transforms, giving her the appearance of an ogre. Inuyasha eventually destroys her with the Bakuryūha.[22]
Naraku's Barrier
Kagome, Inuyasha, and the crew soon sought ways to enhance the strength of the Tessaiga to allow them entry into Naraku's domain. They traveled to an island where Inuyasha battled a bat demon, Taigokumaru. In exchange for freeing her from the demon's control, Shiori offered the Blood coral crystal to Inuyasha. Upon destroying it, his Tessaiga transformed into a red evolved version.[23]
Meanwhile, Naraku had plans to absorb Sesshōmaru. He abducted Rin, as bait, to lure Sesshōmaru to his castle. He lowered his barrier and allowed his scent to escape to lure him in. At the same time, Inuyasha and his crew began tracking the scent to the castle as well.[24]
As they drew close, Kagome began to sense a Jewel Shard fragment nearby. Inuyasha forged forward as the rest of the crew investigated the shard. Kagome warned the others she had a bad feeling about finding a Jewel Shard so close to Naraku's castle. The crew reciprocated their trepidation. Kagome recalled that Kohaku had a single Jewel Shard on him and wondered if they would find him.[24]
The battle with Band of Seven and Mount Hakurei
She and her companions would head to the northeast, following a clue of where to find Naraku from Sarugami having sensed an evil aura heading to that direction, where they learn of a squad of seven mercenaries called the Shichinintai who were resurrected by Naraku through shards of the sacred jewel. She is exposed to a deadly poison by a member named Mukotsu who was about to rape her so she tries to take his shard out of his neck but fails and is then strangled by Mukotsu, only to be saved by Sesshōmaru who came to ask Inuyasha about Naraku’s whereabouts and exterminates Mukotsu. Together with Miroku and Sango having also been exposed to Mukotsu’s poison, they are protected by Inuyasha from a member named Ginkotsu and brought by Shippō and Kirara to a temple in which she is put to rest along with her sick companions and identifies another member named Renkotsu disguised as a monk by seeing his shard in his neck but is unable to warn anyone. The shards she held are taken by Renkotsu who puts all five to sleep with an incense then sets the temple on fire to kill them, and despite being protected from the fire by Shippō who was awaken by Myōga long enough for Inuyasha to come to their rescue, she and her two friends no longer breath. However, all three are reanimated by Myōga by sucking a lot of their bloods with the poison out, and much to her surprise, she sees Inuyasha shed tears of relief. Furthermore, when Kōga shows up happy to see her alive and screams to Inuyasha for leaving her in a bad situation, Inuyasha doesn’t disagree and vows it won’t happen again.
She and the others then meet Suikotsu near a village and points that the shard he wears is pure unlike the ones of the other members of the Band of Seven. The village would be attacked right after by three members of the Band of Seven, and the group surprisingly find Kikyō who was staying in the village to watch over Suikotsu who reveals himself to be a member of the band as she notices his shard suddenly become corrupted and understands that he suffers from multiple personality. After the four assassins leave, she and the others notice the soul collectors disappear and not get any closer to Kikyō unconscious, thus she lets Inuyasha carry Kikyō someplace else away from Suikotsu's orphanage, although it makes her become tense, not liking to see Inuyasha with Kikyō. At the edge of the village, after the soul collectors put the disconnected souls to Kikyō who awakes, she answers to Kikyō that she did see Suikotsu's pure jewel shard become cloudy and learns together with the others about Mount Hakurei. She ignores Inuyasha the next day as she tries not to think about him and Kikyō during the previous night, but eventually scolds him and countlessly makes him sit because he provoked her about it.[25]
In search of the final Shikon Jewel Shard
She and the others learn of monks and priests being killed by the Infant who was cut in half by one monk named Shinsen and later encounter one half of the Infant having grown up into the body of a young child and taken the name of Hakudōshi, who reveals to them that one fragment of the sacred jewel other than the ones in possession of Kōga and Kohaku, remains located in the Border of the Afterlife. The group then learn from a Kawauso who was decapitated by Hakudōshi but revived by Sesshōmaru at Tenseiga's request of how the Border of the Afterlife looks like and she and Inuyasha realize that it is where the grave of Inuyasha's father was of which they had gone before. After the group learn that the creator of the black pearl passed away and his son cannot create a new one before 100 years, Hakudōshi arranges for them to go to the Gate of the Afterlife in the Realm of Fire to test if it was safe. Although it was not possible to go through without dying, Kagome could sense the presence of a sacred jewel beyond the opened gate, which confirmed the sacred jewel shard being in the Border of the Afterlife.
As Naraku sought and made a pact with Princess Abi to have a path to the Border of the Afterlife created, the group defended villagers while fighting Abi and her birds, and learn of a holy person known as St. Hijiri whom the runaway villagers seek protection. She suspected St. Hijiri to be Kikyō for having fired an arrow which broke Hakudōshi's barrier and her suspicions were confirmed when she is lured by Shinidamachūs to a waterfall where Kikyō lays submerged under the water, with her body being severely injured and weakened. She is told by Kikyō's assistants Kochō and Asuka that her life is starting to run out due to the miasma continuing to spread throughout her body and only she can save her by touching her and purifying the miasma, to which she doesn’t hesitate in doing so. She passes out during the process and wakes up to see that she managed to reanimate Kikyō by closing the wounds in her chest, although Kikyō did not give her any gratitude and leaves. As a result, Kagome feels upset and as soon as Inuyasha arrives, she takes her anger out on him since he was curious about Kikyō, to which she'd regret it, although Inuyasha just tells her that knowing Kikyō is alive is enough and he won't look for her.[26]
A short time later, after Naraku removes his protective barrier around Tekkei's nest, Inuyasha is taken to Kikyō by her assistants while Kagome was sleeping during the night, and he returns with an arrow smeared with Onigumo's grave soil for her to use against Naraku.[27] When she and the others arrive at Tekkei's nest together with Myōga, they were surprised that she swallowed Naraku until he kills her by bursting forth from her forehead and Abi as well then beheads Tekkei to release a river of demonic blood which would serve as the pathway to the border of the afterlife, so they followed him. As soon as they get pass through, they are attacked by huge diamond spears coming from the grave of Inuyasha’s father but make their way until the grave where they meet Hōsenki who made the black pearl for Inuyasha's right eye and, as she notices the sacred jewel shard in his possession, is revealed to be the one who took the shard here as the shard requested, after she and Inuyasha came the first time. Hōsenki would then attack the group, and Kagome notices that the shard has become corrupted thus understands that Naraku made Hōsenki turn against them, which forces Inuyasha to fight him resulting in taking damages, so she tries to purify the shard but only succeeds in damaging Hōsenki enough for Naraku to get the shard from him as soon as he shows up. As Sesshōmaru arrives, having been able to pass through the gate to the afterlife at the request of Tenseiga and attacks Naraku, Kagome uses all her arrows to purify the miasma that are continuously being produced, leaving her with only Kikyō’s arrow remaining, while Inuyasha tries to cut Hōsenki to upgrade Tessaiga so he can shatter Naraku’s barrier. After the two brothers eventually manage to overcome Naraku, she notices the final shard in the wreckage of his shattered body and fires Kikyō’s arrow which purifies the shard although Naraku vanishes. They then leave following Sesshōmaru to return to the living world with the final shard.
She returns to her era for a rest, but much to her annoyance, Inuyasha shows up and unwillingly ruins her bike, and much to her worry, her friends want to meet him. However luckily for her, they don’t discover him to be half-demon and she becomes delighted as they find him cool, believing him to be half-foreign.[28]
Mōryōmaru and Kikyō's Death
She was distraught not to have been able to save Kikyō and began to cry, but Kikyō said to herself that her soul nonetheless has been saved. She and the others see Inuyasha and Kikyō share their final words and kiss, then feel her soul saying goodbye before being ascended into the starry night sky.[29]
She and her friends run into Kanna and her Mirror demon who gained to power to rob Tessaiga of its demon energy and powers. When noticing damage on the spots that Inuyasha struck on the mirror demon appearing on Kanna, Kagome begged Kanna to stop as she didn't want Kanna to get hurt, which was ridiculed by Byakuya and Naraku since Kanna was created to not feel anything, neither pain nor emotion. Even when she and the others were giving Kanna the chance to live, Naraku intended to have Kanna self-destruct and take the group with her. Before her departure, a shard ends up in Kagome's right eye, telling her that the light of the Shikon Jewel will kill Naraku, and she could see the corrupted Shikon Jewel with a sliver of light within it. She tells her friends that Kanna did not want to die while shedding a tear from her right eye, and swore to hold what was in her heart.
Hitomiko and Magatsuhi
Kagome spotted Naraku's spiderwebs from a distance and the group rushed over to the location until reaching a shrine near a village where they learn that a priestess Hitomiko died a few days ago. Her killer Naraku forced her spirit to linger in her corpse and, while controlling her with his spiderwebs, drags Kagome in the shrine, where she is faced with either letting Hitomiko kill her or killing Hitomiko again by shooting the spider within her chest which would however sentence Hitomiko to hell and consequently taint Kagome’s heart enough for her to fall prey to Naraku’s spiderwebs. Initially, Kagome tries to escape and figure another way out in vain then, as Hitomiko questioned her name and her spiritual powers she deemed weak and tells her that she’s not using the sacred longbow properly, she recalls the game her friends would always make fun of her name for when she was younger and was able to know who was behind her thus realizes that she has untapped potential within her and sees Naraku through Hitomiko. She then shoots an arrow that passes through Hitomiko and pierces Naraku, which saves Hitomiko who before passing on, warned Kagome that she didn’t sense any spiritual power coming from her when she used the bow which means that something sealed her true spiritual powers ever since she was born.[30]
Kagome believed Kikyō to be the one who sealed her spiritual powers, but Kaede corrects that it was the evil part of the Sacred Jewel named Magatsuhi that did it out of fear. As Naraku allows Magatsuhi to craft a new body for itself by donating some of his parts in order to get Kohaku’s shard and eliminate the sacred light, her spiritual power would be further sealed by Magatsuhi by simply staring at her, rendering her unable to purify Kohaku’s shard which had been tainted.[31] With no powers to help, and Sesshōmaru being the only one able to break the seal by killing Magatsuhi with Tenseiga, Kagome goes back to her own time in order to prepare for her high school entrance exam.[32]
Final Battle
It was said by Kagome's grandfather that when the time comes, the correct wish must be made to the jewel in order for it to be destroyed. The jewel intended to use Kagome and Naraku just like it did Midoriko and Magatsuhi in order to maintain its existence. After the jewel was destroyed with Kagome's wish for it to disappear, Kagome was forced to immediately return home to modern-day Tokyo and reunite with her family and almost to thank Inuyasha to her life as Inuyasha comes back to the Feudal Era which the well has been closed.
Later life
Three years later she and her friends graduated from high school and accepted to university. On her way back home, she felt that she can't see Inuyasha anymore. She came to the well house and realized that the well still not working, but she still missed Inuyasha and want to see him. Suddenly she felt the wind as she saw the sky in the well as the well reopened for the last time and Kagome returned to Inuyasha, marrying him and staying in the feudal era as a priestess-in-training with the help of Kaede.[33]
Hanyō no Yashahime
Six months later, following her nineteenth birthday, a landslide occurs that sets free the Ne no Kubi a root demon that fought with Kikyō and was sealed by her and so Ne no Kubi was battled and fought Kagome and her friends, and she tells Inuyasha that he needs to trust her more as she does him.
After a month, Hōsenki II arrived to their house and reached Inuyasha to give him a new Black Pearl he was able to create using Izayoi's Beni and the green rainbow pearl, given to him by Riku. Kagome was angry as she do the sit commands after he shows Hōsenki II the Hōsenki I's special technique Adamant Barrage, since he nearly destroyed their house. Kagome was surprised that the rouge was belonged to Izayoi's as she knew that it was both of his mother's, even she'll keep it the rouge. Inuyasha decides to keep the pearl in his right eye.
Four years later, Kagome became pregnant. The night of Towa and Setsuna's birth (which was also the night of a lunar eclipse) from Rin, she encountered Riku, who warned her of the Grim Comet that appears once every five centuries, and of Kirinmaru's desire to destroy her own unborn child once he awakened from his slumber. Kagome subsequently passed this information on to Sesshōmaru.
Not long after Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha dealt with the Grim Comet, Kagome gave birth to Inuyasha's quarter-yōkai/three-quarters-human daughter named Moroha. However, shortly after the birth of their daughter, Sesshōmaru briefly joined forces with the awakened Kirinmaru apparently to kill Inuyasha and Moroha, but he seemingly was actually on their side, as they were warned about Kirinmaru's attempt to kill them and able to prepare: Kagome gave Moroha the Beni as a parting gift before having Hachi take the baby somewhere safe. Before Kirinmaru could attack them, Sesshōmaru saved her and Inuyasha by gouging the Black Pearl from Inuyasha's right eye before proceeding to send them both to the Border of the Afterlife. Although trapped in Tōga's tomb, fortunately it is eminent that she and her husband will eventually be released by Sesshōmaru, as Jaken stated that her husband's Meidō Zangetsuha ability will be needed in the future.
Fourteen years later, she finally gets a glimpse of her grown daughter as she was passing through the strong demonic-spiritual barrier of Mount Musubi. She is proud at seeing her child safe and sound.
Months later, she is used as leverage to coerce Moroha to bring Akuru's pinwheel to Kirinmaru.
Personality
Kagome's heart is pure and kind, always rich and sometimes uncontrollable, which is strangely similar to Inuyasha's lack of self-control. Because of her empathetic nature, she never hesitates to help those in need of it, treating all with warmth and respect. Even if she doesn't say a word, her feelings are easy to read due to her honest expressions, which cause those around her to soften in tough situations and be honest as well. The only dark part that Kagome ever had was her jealousy over Inuyasha's feelings towards her past life, but she eventually learns to be at peace with it and let go. Even with this, she wasn't without her flawed, quirky, and immature side, which is typical of her age.
Kagome was never afraid to voice her mind about what is "right" and what is "wrong," making her somewhat opinionated and stubborn. She eventually learned to not see the world in black or white, becoming the one others turn to when they need emotional support or advice as she can be direct and make hard but valid points, even to a friend. Still, Kagome is unforgiving of anyone who opposes her sense of justice until they stop, even when there was a large difference in power. This was shown when she nearly killed Naraku out of her disgust and fury towards his evil, manipulative nature and had wanted him destroyed as much as her companions since then.
Although she was just a modern girl for most of her life, Kagome was strangely unfazed by the horrors, violence, and death in the Warring States era because of her strong spirit. Her reckless courage is known to "always be in full force", being impulsive and jumping into potentially dangerous situations without the wait for help. Though she is usually calm and compassionate, Kagome has a surprising hidden violent side to her when her short temper is brought into play. Inuyasha tends to be the cause somehow due to his blunt, ill-mannered nature which she rarely tolerates nor has the patience for, often clashing with her own immaturity and frequently in use "Sit!" on him (especially in the anime), which she almost never regrets (although mentally does at times) or apologizes for unless it was by accident and even then she doesn't really seem to mean it. However, with time she is slowly learning to shed her teenage anger and impulsiveness, along with demonstrating better patience and understanding towards him. She was often disgusted towards Miroku's lecherous ways and didn't hesitate to criticize him, but became resigned towards it over time as she knows he was never going to change.
When she is involved in battles, Kagome uses her knowledge to the fullest and analyzes the situation to the best of her ability, contrasting Inuyasha who most of the time just recklessly jumps in and acts instinctively, in spite of her own reckless courage. Even when backed into a corner, she figures out solutions and dares to execute it, often producing unexpected good results. Though she doesn't have particularly great cunning as Miroku does, Kagome's words are somehow able to move others and instill confidence as well as almost unconscious obedience due to her cheerful, positive character. She can also be slightly manipulative at times, as she would smoothly tell Koga what he wanted to hear despite they were lies, and it had the desired effect.
In the Warring States Era infested with evil spirits, Kagome gradually becomes a sort of conduit between humans and demons. With her ability to make people feel accepted and at ease despite their suffered misfortune, she could befriend Jinenji (accepting his half-demon nature and being one of the first to show kindness to him), Miroku (refusing to let him be alone after learning of his Kazaana), Sango (showing sympathy toward her after Sango's family was murdered and Kohaku was forced to become their worst enemy's subordinate), Shippō (doting on him, to point of being his mother figure), and mostly Inuyasha (breaking the tension between them despite he was gravely wounded, untrusting, and accustomed to loneliness). As Inuyasha is poor at expressing himself without pride, she uses her insight to interpret his feelings and more gentle side, though she could get exasperated with his rudeness and tactlessness at times, but learns somewhat abide by it of of her feelings for him.
Although she didn't know much about the Warring States era at first and people kept calling her Kikyō's reincarnation because of their striking resemblance in appearance and power, Kagome felt no fear and often handled the pain it brings on her in the best way she can. She stayed strong and took pride in her current life, being outraged at both Inuyasha (at first) and the dark priestess Tsubaki for seeing her only as a "Kikyō's look alike." Kagome has saved helped Kikyō and saved her life on several occasions and vice-versa, both for the fact that it was the right thing to do, their admiration for each other, and accepting Inuyasha's feelings towards both of them.
Kagome is clumsy in love and shows to almost never able to hide her feelings, even when she wasn't fully conscious of it. Her curious school friends always coerced her into reporting her love life and could guess what was going on from her facial expressions, despite not wanting or trying to tell them anything. At first, Kagome's relationship with Inuyasha was simply companions on a journey who constantly quarreled with each other. As she came to understand both his physical and emotional reliable strength and his surprisingly vulnerable side, little feelings of love began to grow inside her which only grew stronger over time. All she wants for Inuyasha is for him to be happy. However, Kagome becomes hurt by what Inuyasha says and does to protect Kikyō but was even more hurt by the jealousy she felt in her heart because of it. It was her first time falling in love and the first time she had ever felt genuinely bitter over something, which horrifies her. Despite her envy, she refused to leave his side even if meant her pain, which surprised her friends. Whatever the case, Kagome keeps watching over Inuyasha and is always a source of comfort. She heals him when he is tired and embraces him when he is emotionally hurt by his uncontrollable demon side or his tragic past.
Physical description
Kagome is a beautiful and slender young woman. She has somewhat pale skin, blue eyes (brown in anime), and long, wavy black hair, which is sometimes portrayed as blueish black, with bangs. Because of her beauty and attractiveness, Kagome was one of the main targets for Miroku's comical lecherous tendencies, although over time he focused more on Sango.
Kagome usually is always seen wearing her green and white middle school uniform, also known as sailor fuku, with a red ribbon tied in the front and laced through a loop attached to the blouse, white loose socks, and brown penny loafers or uwabaki inside the school building. It is a common style of uniform with seasonal variations for winter and summer worn by female middle school students. On other occasions, Kagome is seen wearing other outfits that are a combination of different sweaters or blouses with jacket-like tops, skirts or pants, and sometimes white socks and/or brown shoes during the winter, and different dresses with usually a short-sleeved, one-buttoned jacket-like top, and sometimes a necklace and white sandals during the summer.
When she attended high school, Kagome wears a white-buttoned dress shirt that has a gray ribbon with a plaid pattern to grayish blue lines underneath a blue blazer, a matching gray skirt with a plaid pattern to grayish blue lines, black mid-length socks and brown penny loafers.
At the feudal era, Kagome sometimes has been seen wearing the same outfit that Kikyō and Kaede wear, which is a traditional miko red outfit. When she first wore this outfit, Inuyasha told Kagome to undress or in other words "change into something else" because she looked like Kikyō.
Powers & Abilities
- Immense Spiritual Power: Kagome's most noteworthy ability is the infinite amount of spiritual power hidden within her. Her high-level spiritual power is equal to that of the priestess Kikyō, who has defeated numerous demons. However, as she hasn't had any formal training as a priestess, her skill in attacking with her bow and her technique in modifying her spiritual power are somewhat lacking.[34] It is also revealed that her innate spiritual powers and abilities were initially sealed by Magatsuhi, the evil will of the Shikon Jewel, out of fear. After Magatsuhi was destroyed by Sesshōmaru's Tenseiga, Kagome's spiritual abilities were released to their full and maximum potential, enabling her to gain complete access to much stronger abilities she never knew she possessed. Even before her powers were unsealed, Kagome was able to pass through most spiritual shields, resist the effects of curses and illusions, and could sense evil demonic auras to some extent. Kikyō also once showed Kagome how to fuse the sacred jewel shards together through prayer.[35]
- Spiritual Energy Projection: Kagome can concentrate spiritual energy in the palms of her hands for defensive purposes. Kagome demonstrated this when she unconsciously released her hidden spiritual power after encountering a demon for the first time, and Mistress Centipede's arms consequently dropped like those of a wax doll.[10] However, she has not yet been able to properly use this power consciously.[36]
- Spiritual Reflection: If her opponent is less powerful than her, Kagome can attack without using her own spiritual power and instead return her enemy's released spiritual power back at them. As Kikyō did before her, Kagome has successfully reflected a curse back at Tsubaki, who unleashed a shikigami serpent on Kagome.
- Illusion and Demonic Energy Immunity: Simply being near demons' auras causes damage to people's minds and bodies; thus, normal humans cannot go near or touch demonic power sources. However, Kagome, with her strong spiritual power, is unaffected by demonic energies. By nature, Kagome doesn't easily succumb to negative feelings (e.g. dread and fear) and this nullifies the illusion powers of Mu-on'na and Naraku.[37]
- Purification Abilities: Kagome can purify malevolent forces, such as demonic energies or miasma, by sending out pure spiritual power. Kagome constantly releases pure spiritual power unconsciously, but its effects are more powerful when concentrated through tools such as her arrows.[37]
- Spiritual Awareness: An obvious side-effect of her high-level of spiritual power, Kagome is able to perceive or sense things that are otherwise normally undetectable to ordinary humans (e.g. ghosts,[38][39] spirits, and demonic or divine auras[40]). Kagome's eyes also have the power to see where shards of the Shikon Jewel are hidden and she can even sense their presence to some degree.
- Time Travel: Kagome could travel back and forth five hundred years between the Feudal Era and modern day Tokyo through an ancient well called the "Bone-Eater's Well." Only she and Inuyasha were ever able to freely pass from one time to the other. While originally Kagome needed some remnant of the Sacred Jewel to traverse time through the Bone-Eater's Well, she, at least once, was able to do so without it.
- Time Barrier: According to Princess Kaguya, Kagome has an unusual spiritual energy aura that does not go along the flow of time itself, making her immune into any time-stopping spell.[41]
- Psychic Link: Kikyō and Kagome seemed to have the ability to communicate telepathically towards the end of Kikyō's life. They first spoke mentally when Kagome was about to shoot her sacred arrow at a corrupted Sacred Jewel and once more when Kikyō was dying in Inuyasha's arms in the Final Act.[29]
- Experienced Archer and Marksman: After learning from Inuyasha that she had been an archer in her previous life, Kagome decided to take the same path. While initially not as skilled as Kikyō was, Kagome's travels throughout a warring country helped shape her into a fair marksman and skilled archer. Additionally, after receiving the sacred longbow from Mount Azusa, Kagome has the power to strike evil spirits or the user's intended target bypassing others: if the opponent should happen to be using a hostage as a shield, the arrow will bypass the hostage and hit the enemy instead.
Weapons
- Bow and arrows: Like her past life, Kagome's preferred weapon of choice was a bow and an arrow. Unlike Kikyō, who used a daikyū (大弓), Kagome normally used a hankyū (半弓).
- Sacred Arrows: Kagome can charge arrows with her spiritual powers, which allows the arrows to pulverize enemies, penetrate barriers, break spells, and purify objects such as the Shikon Jewel. The effectiveness of her sacred arrows varies depending on her emotional state, but at times her spiritual power becomes such that it can destroy buildings.[34]
- Sacred Wind Scar: This attack is a combination of Inuyasha's Wind Scar and Kagome's Sacred arrow, which consists of Kagome firing a Sacred Arrow, followed by Inuyasha's Wind Scar. It can also be performed when Inuyasha uses the Wind Scar before Kagome fires her arrow.
- Sacred Backlash Wave: This attack is a combination of Inuyasha's Backlash Wave and Kagome's Sacred Arrow, which consists of Kagome firing one of her Sacred Arrows into the center of Inuyasha's Backlash Wave, creating a very powerful attack. This technique is only shown in the movies.
- Sacred Adamant Barrage: In Akuru's Pinwheel, this is a combination of Inuyasha's Adamant Barrage and Kagome's Sacred Arrow, that can fight against Kirinmaru.
- Tenkū no Yabusuma (天空の矢襖, "Heavenly Arrow Barrage"): Kagome has learned for the raining Sealing Arrows to seal the Full Moon Raccoon Dog, the henchman of Shōgen Mamiana.
- Reflection: By charging her bow with spiritual power, Kagome can reflect a weaker opponent's spiritual power back at them. She has used her bow to return Tsubaki's released shikigami serpent and damaged Tsubaki's face, revealing the spiritual scar Kikyō inflicted.
- Sacred Arrows: Kagome can charge arrows with her spiritual powers, which allows the arrows to pulverize enemies, penetrate barriers, break spells, and purify objects such as the Shikon Jewel. The effectiveness of her sacred arrows varies depending on her emotional state, but at times her spiritual power becomes such that it can destroy buildings.[34]
- Medical Supplies: Kagome normally brings medicine and bandages from the modern world. These supplies have proven to help alleviate a number ailments she and her companions have faced in the harsh environment of a warring Feudal Era.
Weaknesses
- Emotions: According to Tsubaki, when a priestess abandons all human emotion (e.g. love) her true power emerges.[42] Kagome's spiritual powers can fluctuate based on her emotional state, or more specifically the effectiveness of her sacred arrows.[34]
- Mortality: Despite her spiritual powers, Kagome is still human and shares many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings (e.g. age, blood loss, decapitation, disease, heart-failure, suffocation, snapped neck, etc.).
- Overexertion: As exemplified by both Kaede and Tsukiyomi, overuse of one's spiritual powers can deplete them to the point that further use strains their physical well-being; the only way to restore one's waning powers is an extended period of rest. Although Kagome has never been seen overexerting her spiritual powers personally, Hoshiyomi was able to use the Naginata of Kenkon to absorb a great deal of her spiritual power, leaving her in a temporarily weakened state until her power returned.[43]
- Spiritual Powers: Despite having great spiritual power herself, Kagome still proved susceptible to the effects of spiritual power. For example, Kikyō was able to paralyze Kagome via spiritual power whereas Tsubaki was able to curse Kagome; however, in the latter case Kagome's own strength of will and innate spiritual power was enough to counteract the curse's effects to some degree.
- Disarm: Kagome's spiritual powers are largely reliant on her bow as a focus. While she does possess some skill over it, without her bow, she's largely helpless and typically has to flee and use whatever other objects are nearby to distract her enemy until she can find an ally or a bow.
Relationships
Romantic Life
When Inuyasha thought Kikyō had betrayed him, he was initially hurt and angry and took it out on Kagome thinking she was Kikyō as they both look similar. Inuyasha eventually realized that Kagome wasn't Kikyō and slowly opened his heart as she showed him kindness and compassion. She attempted to be his friend and eventually more once she discovered his more gentle side and similar outlook on life. However, their friendship and eventual blossoming romance, does not stop Kagome from shouting "Sit!", (sometimes "Sit boy!" in the English dub) either to keep him from misbehaving, to childishly get her way, by accident, or when Inuyasha hurts her feelings in some way, though she is slowly learning to be less reliant and more responsible with the command, attempting to use it only for absolutely necessary reasons. Overall, throughout the series it is shown from the beginning to the end that they have come a long way from being close friends to falling strongly in love to the point where they become fiercely protective of each other, Her wild, turbulent emotions towards Inuyasha due to him being her first love can range from concern over him to relief at seeing him safe to anger over his reckless behavior despite the fact that she shares this trait, and then burst out sobbing her mixed emotions. In Fateful Night in Togenkyo Part II, where Inuyasha was willing to shield himself in order to protect Kagome from getting hurt and when Kagome fearlessly threaten Tōkajin that if Inuyasha is hurt then he would be sorry, despite being incredibly shrunken at the time.
Their relationship is seen and discussed at length by Sango and Miroku, who talk to Inuyasha and Kagome on their respective gender sides (Sango talks to Kagome and Miroku talks to Inuyasha). Shippō also shows immense dedication to their relationship, and despite his friendly arguments with Inuyasha on the matter, encourages him to go after Kagome, if only so that she returns to all of them. This shows that it appears that everyone is aware of their strong romantic feelings for each other, from Kagome's modern-day friends and family to even their own enemies such as Naraku.
However, their relationship sometimes becomes strained and complicated due to Kikyō. Whenever Kikyō becomes involved somehow, Inuyasha drops everything around him so that he may protect her, events to which always lead to Kagome's feelings becoming deeply hurt out of impulsive jealously, even though she knows it's mostly out of guilt and necessity. Initially, Kikyō had also been the source of many of Inuyasha and Kagome's fights, to the point sometimes Kagome even had considered leaving Inuyasha despite she is in love with him, as it was too difficult for her to be with him knowing he still harbored feelings towards Kikyō. Kagome, however, has always been able to somehow learn to look past these doubts and always comes back to Inuyasha's side and their love for each other only keeps growing stronger and stronger.
Aside from Kikyō, there have been other obstacles in their relationship, such as Kōga. When they first met Kōga, he kidnapped Kagome as she has the power of sensing the jewel shards. However, he eventually develops feelings for her and claims her as "his women" and thus he also becomes Inuyasha's rival, whenever the group runs into Kōga, he and Inuyasha always get into fights, mainly about Kagome. They get into fights over protecting Kagome or wanting to gain her attention and affection, Inuyasha has never felt easy whenever Kōga is near as he believes that Kagome might actually harbor feelings for him. Kagome, however, doesn't have feelings towards Kōga always kindly rejects his feelings. Though Kōga knows full well that Inuyasha is in love with Kagome, he is oblivious to the fact that Kagome is in love with Inuyasha and does not return his feelings. During Vanished in a River of Flames, that is when Kōga finally understands Kagome's incredibly strong feelings for Inuyasha, becoming surprised when he saw how worried Kagome was for Inuyasha after the explosion and also saw how happy and relieved she was when she saw that Inuyasha was alive and alright. Despite knowing that, Kōga stated that he would never give up on trying to win Kagome for himself.
Overall, despite the arguments and obstacles in their relationship, ranging from overbearing jealously and impulse to just pure childish stubbornness on both parts, Inuyasha and Kagome's feelings for one another are strong and pure as it shows they both care a great deal for each other. The bond the two of them share also shows that they would go to great lengths to protect each other or help in any way they can as they could not bare seeing the other so devastated, hurt or unhappy to the point of tears, especially since Kagome is the first person Inuyasha has ever shed tears for. As time goes on, Inuyasha and Kagome are shown to learn to overcome anything either it being arguments or rivals and are shown to becoming more closer to each other than ever before. This shows that the two of them are able to overcome just about anything and along the way, the stronger their love becomes.
During "InuYasha: The Final Act," it is a big step in Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship. At the start of the series, their relationship is still the same from where the show left off with Inuyasha in love with Kagome, but yet at the same time he is still in love with Kikyō. However, after Kikyō died for the final time, just when Kagome finally made peace with her jealousy for her, Inuyasha was finally able to move on. The two even almost shared a kiss with each other but were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Kagome's family. During the final battle within the Shikon Jewel, Inuyasha finally realized that he and Kagome were destined for each other as he claims Kagome was born for him and himself for her.
Eventually once Inuyasha and Kagome were finally reunited within the Jewel the two of them finally shared the long-awaited kiss with each other. With Inuyasha by her side, Kagome wished away the Shikon Jewel's existence forever. Due to this, the Bone Eater's well stopped working and they were separated for three years. Soon, Kagome is eighteen years old and was able to return to the feudal era as it was thanks to her strong desire to see Inuyasha again that the well finally connected once again. After returning and being reunited together, Inuyasha and Kagome soon got married, which is revealed to readers and viewers of the manga and anime when she calls out to Sesshōmaru as Big Brother (お兄さん). Now, Kagome is adapting to her new, permanent life in the Feudal Era and has been learning show more patience towards him as Inuyasha's beloved wife. Four years after their marriage, Kagome gave birth to their daughter whom they named Moroha.
Kagome's feelings for Kōga, and vice versa, have always been a little misleading. Upon first meeting him when he kidnapped her, Kagome was at first angry and hated Kōga. Later on, however, she showed compassion and concern for him during his battle with his enemies, the Birds of Paradise, and treated him as a friend and ally. Kagome is polite to Kōga, almost to the point of leading him on, and protects him (generally from the jealous, overly-confrontational Inuyasha) whenever he is hurt. She admires him in a detached, friendly sort of way, but his declarations of love and mating had left her feeling distressed about how to let him down easy. Because of Kagome's hesitation to hurt Kōga, she was often the cause of enmity between Kōga and Inuyasha, and their mutual jealousy at the others' interactions with Kagome prevent them from ever being close friends. In relation to Kagome, Kōga seemed to be the "Hōjō" character of the past, constantly pining after Kagome, showering her with praise and adoration, and seemingly unaware that his feelings are not returned.
Kagome would later reveal she placed a good deal of trust in Kōga, as she sent Moroha to be put in Kōga and his tribe's care.
Hōjō is one of Kagome's male classmates that often brings herbal medicines and similar items to treat her "illnesses". Kagome's friends constantly encourage Kagome to be Hōjō's girlfriend, and thanks to this verbal encouragement, Hōjō believes that he truly is Kagome's boyfriend. Though his feelings are rarely out in the open, Hōjō shows that he cares for Kagome by taking the role of her protector in the modern era, often "helping" her recover from her illnesses, giving her his notes from class to study with, and suggesting that she confide in him if she has any problems. His ancestor, Akitoki Hōjō, had such an infatuation with her that he even convinced his future wife to change her name to Kagome.
Friends
Though she is disgusted with Miroku's lechery, womanizing, and occasional perverted acts, and is always the first to yell and scold him whenever he commits any of his less respectable acts, Kagome respects Miroku's intelligence, spiritual power, knowledge, and bravery when dealing with the burden of his Wind Tunnel. She always bringing medicines and antidotes for Miroku whenever he is injured and is extremely concerned whenever he is poisoned. She also takes his advice in any trouble, such as when dealing with unknown demons and trying to find their weak spots, whenever Inuyasha transforms to a demon, and anything related to spiritual power. Miroku is very respectful of her spiritual combat and supportive skills, and compassionate nature, and often sides with her during her arguments with Inuyasha. He also has always been one to enjoy Kagome's cooking, along with Sango and Shippō. As with many other of Kagome's allies and close friends, Miroku is often willing to put his life on the line in place of her.
The two girls act like sisters toward each other and often discuss secrets and feelings amongst themselves. Kagome, in the manga, says "Sango is my best friend, I will do anything to save her." Generally, whenever the two are bathing, they talk about what problems they have, such as their brothers or enemies. Sango and Kagome seem equally invested in each other's romantic relationships, as Kagome often confronts Miroku when Sango's feelings are hurt, and Sango does the same with Inuyasha, comforting her. In Episode 135, while intoxicated by the mist of sake, Sango comments that "three Kagomes is definitely a crowd", despite the fact that she cares for Kagome immensely. Coincidentally, both are the eldest child in their family, both are older sisters with younger brothers, both are skilled fighters against demons, both own a cat, and both get married, allowing their sibling-like friendship to develop further than that of most characters in the series.
Kagome often treats Shippō like a little brother, bringing him candy from the modern era and forcing Inuyasha to 'sit' whenever he bullies Shippō. She is very protective of Shippō and will defend him if he is in danger of getting killed. Shippō usually turns to Kagome for help when Inuyasha hurts him, when Shippō needs some feminine advice for girl issues, and for most anything. Shippō cares immensely about Kagome's relationship with Inuyasha, and is shown to reprimand Inuyasha when he goes off with Kikyō and orders him to stop hurting Kagome. From time to time, Shippō often stands alone in his defense of Kagome; for example, when Inuyasha explicitly goes off with Kikyō instead of choosing Kagome, Miroku and Sango recommend to Inuyasha that he make a clean break with Kagome, whilst still remaining friends, while Shippō insists that Inuyasha and Kagome belong together.
Kagome's three friends in the modern era tend to be more than a little nosy about Kagome's "jealous boyfriend" and wonder why she is interested in him. They always seem to be into her personal life whether it is about her mysterious illnesses, romantic life, her classes, and upcoming events. They have been friends for a long time, possibly since the beginning of their education. The three of them act like sisters to Kagome and always try to help her in her life and with all the tasks that she has to go through every day. All three of them have met Inuyasha several times, and seemingly approve of his uncertain relationship with Kagome. Despite not being around them as much as she used to be (due to time spent in the Feudal Era), Kagome manages to keep their friendship strong. It is shown at the end of the manga series that they all graduate, say their goodbyes, and promise to stay in touch and be friends. Although having also seen The Bone-Eater's Well once, unlike Kagome's family, who are aware of Kagome's travels and ability to crossover into the Feudal Era as well as Inuyasha's true identity as a half-demon, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi know nothing about this part of Kagome's life and probably don't know that she left home and is married to Inuyasha.
Family
Since her childhood, Kagome has quite a strong and close relationship with her mother and always asks her for advice if needed.
Sōta is Kagome's younger brother who is six years younger than she is. They have a typical brother-sister relationship as they both tease but they definitely care deeply for one another. Sōta is shown to care deeply towards Kagome which goes to great lengths to help his sister, at one point he even tried to go the Feudal Era to get Inuyasha so that he could rescue Kagome from the Noh Mask. Kagome is shown to care deeply for her brother as well which she even gave him advice on how to confess his feelings to his first love, Hitomi. It shows that despite some arguments the two of them have, they both share a close relationship with each other.
Her paternal grandfather was the person who hid Kagome's secret life by telling lies to her best friends and Hōjō; he generally made up fake ailments that she was suffering from in order to justify her prolonged absence from school.
In the beginning of the series they had been enemies, but later on becomes allies of sorts. During their first meeting and subsequent battles between Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru, Kagome saw Sesshōmaru as an immense threat and as dangerous as other enemies, fearing for both her own life and that of Inuyasha. However, this changed after Sesshōmaru saved her friends and herself from Mukotsu's poison. During the final battle against Naraku, it is seen that the Great Demon Lord protected her while she was unconscious from an earlier fight with Inuyasha (who was possessed by Magatsuhi), also, Sesshōmaru let her cling to his Mokomoko-sama while they were inside Naraku's body. At the end of the series, Kagome even calls him Big Brother (お兄さん), to his visible irritation, which indicates that she is now his half-sister-in-law. His reaction, however, does signify he now tolerates, if not accepts her, even if he will not admit it. The anime makes this a little clearer by having him command Jaken to be silent or be killed when Jaken protests Kagome's address of him in this way.
She met Rin in Episode 79 of the anime and was surprised when the young girl comes to take Jaken as Kagome thought Sesshōmaru hated humans, a very confusing thought for her. Kagome has met Rin several times, coming to see the little girl has softened the once cold-hearted Sesshōmaru, just like how she helped heal Inuyasha's own wounded heart. At the end of the story, Kagome finds Rin has been living with Kaede for the last three years to learn how to live with humans again, so she can choose to live with humans or resume traveling with Sesshōmaru and Jaken. Years later, eventually they become half-sisters-in-law in the way of their respective marriages to Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha. When Rin was about to give birth, Kagome was there to help her deliver both Towa and Setsuna as revealed in Moroha and Family, Together Again.
Moroha is Inuyasha and Kagome's only daughter. However, shortly after Moroha’s birth, Kagome sent baby Mohora for safety, also giving her the Beni as a farewell gift, as she and Inuyasha faced off against Sesshōmaru and Kirinmaru. As a result, Moroha grew up alone and knew nothing about her parents. Kagome loved her daughter dearly and was saddened to be separated from her. Fourteen years later, Moroha enters Mount Musubi's barrier to find Towa and Setsuna and enters the Border of the Afterlife where her grandfather's tomb as Kagome surprised that the Tessaiga is shaking means that her daughter is near and she and Inuyasha saw her that she's grown up. After noticing something that fell from the sky in the Border of the Afterlife, Inuyasha and Kagome try to find it. Kagome approaches the Half-Demon Princesses and asks one of them if they are Moroha. Being skeptical at first, she approaches Moroha and gets a good look at her to realize it is indeed her daughter. She begins to shed tears and embraces her daughter for the first time since infancy. She apologizes to her for leaving her alone for so long.
Allies
Even though Kagome is Kikyō's reincarnation, the two have very different personalities due to their different backgrounds. As Kikyō's reincarnation, Kagome has inherited her spiritual powers and abilities, to the point that Kikyō has called Kagome "incredible" when she was still able to move inside of the Priestess Healer's cave that is meant to drain priestesses of their power and she herself was unable to move on her own.
They seemed to have a rivalry over Inuyasha, evidenced by Kagome once wishing that Kikyō was out of their lives (something she became immediately horrified by), but did care for her as she had saved Kikyō twice in the series. Initially, Kikyō appeared to resent Kagome's presence quite often, although later the older priestess often required her reincarnation's help, and did not understand Kagome's compassion towards her. She was one of the first people to understand and acknowledge the fact that Inuyasha is in love with Kagome, and though her jealousy was made apparent a few times, and she had tried to kill her at one point, Kikyō generally seemed to accept that Kagome has taken her place in the living world and as Inuyasha's new love interest.
After Kagome saved her life in the Priestess Healer's cave, Kikyō seemed to treat Kagome better than she did in previous episodes and silently replying to Kagome's statement that Inuyasha would have been "heartbroken" if she were no longer around, "Same for you," and even smiled at her as she walked away. She seemed to care for Kagome as a friend from here on out, even saving her life on one occasion. And by the time Kikyō faced her death, Kagome broke in tears and Kikyō cheered her up saying her soul has now been saved. And Kikyō left her bow as a gift of appreciation to Kagome, entrusting her with the duty of battling against Naraku and protecting Kohaku.
Kagome has taken care of Kohaku several times throughout the series, despite the fact that he almost killed her on Naraku's orders. She understands that it was not Kohaku's fault, and helped Sango try to get Kohaku to remember his past. In The Final Act, Kohaku became one of Kagome's primary concerns due to him having the final shard of the Shikon Jewel. She tried to save his life, not only because Kikyō said to protect his shard, but because his death would sadden Sango. When Kohaku was saved by Kikyō's light, Kagome was overjoyed to see him alive. He reminds her of Sōta, her younger brother; Sango has also compared the two.
Kōga was engaged to Ayame, the granddaughter of a white wolf tribe's leader. Ayame also loves Kōga, and when she discovered that he is in love with Kagome, she views the human girl as her love rival. Even though Kagome doesn't love Kōga and tries to reconcile with Ayame, Ayame still despises Kagome. Ayame once said that Kagome's name sounds like hers (Kagome has the same pronunciation as Ayame's) and that displeased her. However, after discovering Kagome's love for Inuyasha, she also gradually admired Kagome's personality and talent and had a more peaceful attitude. She later said that she would try to practice to acquire the same abilities as Kagome.
Enemies
Since their first meeting, Kagome hated Naraku for his evil, manipulative nature to the point of trying to kill him and stopping him as much as her companions. For his part, Naraku initially dismissed Kagome's power as Kikyō's reincarnation for most of the series, only worrying about her ability to sense the shards. However, after Kanna's mirror was defeated by Kagome's arrow, Naraku started to consider her a nuisance, trying to kill her several times and started to use her as a way of manipulating Inuyasha. By that time, Kagome started to wonder Naraku's real wish, much to the latter's curiosity.
Quotes
- "Sit boy!"
- ―Kagome
- "I told you! My name's Kagome! Still... Kikyō, give me your strength."
- ―Kagome to Inuyasha and herself about her identity
- "Sesshōmaru couldn't pull it out, right? If you can't hit him in the body, hit him in the ego! Hurt his pride!"
- ―Kagome to Inuyasha about Sesshōmaru's character
- "Why'd I ever meet him? If I knew it was gonna hurt this much, I wish I'd never laid eyes on him. But I want to see him. I can't deny it. I want to see Inuyasha once more! It's clear now. I must be in love with him. Before I knew it, I'd grown to love him so much."
- ―Kagome
- "But there's another thing I've come to realize, Inuyasha. My meeting you was no coincidence. It's more than that. Deep down you must know that I want you to live. Inuyasha, may I ask you a simple question? Will you let me stay?"
- ―Kagome
- "My name is Kagome! I'm not anyone else!"
- ―Kagome to Tsubaki about her identity.
- Kagome: "Inuyasha, tell me. Do you still want to become all-demon?"
- Inuyasha: "Yeah. Of course I do."
- Kagome: "You're pretty strong already, don't you think?"
- Inuyasha: "Be quiet, will ya? I'm going to become a full-fledged demon. I've already made up my mind. So quit bugging me about it, would ya?"
- Kagome: "I've been thinking. There's nothing wrong with staying the way you are. I mean, why not stay a half-demon? To be honest, I like you just the way you are."
- ―Kagome telling Inuyasha that there's no need for him to become a full-fledged demon[src]
- "Inuyasha. We've talked about it before, haven't we? About me staying with you. I know that there's a bond between you and Kikyō and I know I can't ever ask you to forget about her. And yet... I'm going to stand by you, Inuyasha, it's what I know I have to do."
- ―Kagome
- "What you're saying to me is completely wrong. Inuyasha can never forget Kikyō and even though I can accept this rationally, I always feel pain and bitterness in my heart. But I still love him, so there's nothing I could do."
- ―Kagome to the Infant about her heart's darkest part
- "Lady Hitomiko is right. If I truly want to save her, I must know who I really am first."
- ―Kagome to herself about Hitomiko's request
- "Naraku, what were you trying to accomplish? You've always done the same thing while fighting us. You deceived Kikyō and Inuyasha into killing each other, forced the siblings Sango and Kohaku to fight, and used Miroku and Sango's feelings of love against them. But why? Is that what you truly wanted?... You could never have done these things without understanding the human heart. You always sneer at our ties of friendship and love and you try to tear them apart because of you know how important such bonds are... Nothing will ever satisfy you because the Shikon Jewel didn't grant your real wish... You're hesitating, aren't you? You may have a complete Shikon Jewel but you haven't fully absorbed it yet. You know that when you do, you'll turn into a monster; in body and heart."
- ―Kagome to Naraku about his true wish
- "Just like Kikyō. She wished to see Inuyasha again. And even Naraku. I'm sure his wish was a modest one, too. What they didn't know was that the Shikon Jewel never grants your real wish... Is the one and only correct wish? The one and only correct wish. I just figured it out. I understand now... If Inuyasha hadn't come, I would have given in my fear of the darkness and would never have found the correct answer. But now, with Inuyasha by my side, I am not afraid anymore. Shikon Jewel, disappear! Forever!"
- ―Kagome to herself and the Sacred Jewel about the correct wish
Trivia
- Since the incidents at the core of the story occur in the past, the reader relates to the story best via a modern heroine, who has the same perspective on these events as they do. In a sense, while Inuyasha is the main character, with her narrator's central role, she becomes the navigator for the reader.[5][44][45]
- While Kagome's given name is only written in hiragana as かごめ, based off the stated meaning presented in the series, it is almost certainly derived from the kanji 籠目, (lit. "basket eye"), which refers to a "kagome lattice" (an arrangement of interlaced lath triangles whereat each point two laths cross has four neighboring points) and a kind of lattice-style woven basket used as a birdcage, a nod to the children's game, "kagome kagome" (かごめかごめ), similar to Blind man's buff, which refers to a 'bird' trapped in a cage. This a metaphor for the fact that for most of her life, the full extent of Kagome's spiritual powers were sealed away at birth by Magatsuhi, the evil incarnation within the Shikon Jewel, and her future capacity to know where her "target" is.
- According to the anime, Kagome's mother named her "Kagome" as in a 'kagome mon' (籠目紋), a Star of David-like crest that appears at the intersection of patterns throughout a kagome lattice.
- Her full name, which uses the characters for "evening" and a star shape, could plausibly be interpreted as "Evening Star", i.e. the planet Venus.
- In the beginning of the Manga, in 1996, the franchise's Mangaka, Rumiko Takahashi, originally drew Kagome wearing socks from the Japanese school fashion fad, "Kogal", but shortly into the series, Kagome's socks became normal. By the events of end of the Manga, in 2008, Kagome was shown with a flip-phone cellphone model from 2008--yet the events of the Manga occur within the better part of a years (Kagome's near the beginning of her final year of Junior-High-School and gets into High-School by the end, just prior to the 3-year Time-Skip, AND InuYasha's 'period of vulnerability' occurs at-least 6/7 times).
- In the Latin American Spanish dub[46] and the European[47] and Brazilian Portuguese[48] dubs, Kagome's name was changed to Aome[46] and Agome,[47][48] respectively, due to Kagome sounding too similar to the expletive verb "cagar," which means "to defecate" in both languages,[49][50] though her name was left unchanged in the Castilian (European) Spanish and Catalan dubs.[51][52]
- In the Filipino Dub, the subjugation chant or spell "Sit!" is called "Dapa!" meaning "Flounder!"
- According to Rumiko Takahashi, in the end, Kagome's spiritual power was stronger than Kikyō's; albeit, most of Kagome's powers are currently undeveloped.[53] Why, however, is never elaborated-upon; given the fact they're supposed to be incarnations of the same soul, their spiritual powers should be the same. Possibly, this could be due to the fact Kagome held the majority of their shared soul, and Kikyō thus suffered from a soul deficiency, weakening the effects of her spiritual powers.
- Kagome has a weakness for anything cute, whether a demon or otherwise, which has been shown in both the anime and manga.
- Despite having stated in Movie 3 that she hates to fight, she would never leave Inuyasha to fight alone.
- Both Kagome's and Kikyō's looks are based on a previous character of Takahashi's, Mana, from Mermaid Saga.
- Slight differences are present between Kagome's physical appearance in the manga as opposed to the anime. Namely, Kagome physically resembled Kikyō more so in the manga than in the anime. Also her eyes are normally colored blue-grey in the manga, while in the anime they are brown.
- She often wore her high school uniform. In the guidebook book for the InuYasha series - InuYasha: Zusetsutaizan Ōgikaiden, Rumiko Takahashi explains that Kagome wore her high school uniform because she enjoyed the latest style. Apart from that, her high school uniform was easy to wash.[54]
- The Final Act's first ending theme song shows Inuyasha and Kagome with the red thread of fate attached to their pinky since they are destined to meet. In the Japanese culture, it is thought to be tied around the little finger/pinky finger.
- She makes a cameo together with Inuyasha in the last episode of Rumiko Takahashi's anthology series Rumic Theater, The Executive's Dog.
- In the latest and newest OVA, during Summer Festival Lum and Ataru Moroboshi appear to enjoy the fireworks. Soon, Ataru starts behaving flirtatiously towards young ladies who also participate the Summer Festival. Kagome is the one of them, wearing her yukata and keeping her distance from Ataru.[55]
- In the series of The Holy Pearl, a character for which Kagome serves as inspiration is named Ding Yao.
- Her Japanese voice actor, Satsuki Yukino, would voice other characters of other anime adaptations of Rumiko Takahashi's works.
- Various characters in Rumiko Takahashi's anthology series Rumic Theater (Yukari from The Merchant of Romance, Emiri from Middle Aged Teen, Koizumi from One Hundred Years of Love and Kobato from In Lieu of Thanks).
- Rinne Rokudō's grandmother Tamako from Rin-ne.
- In the Live Action Play where she was portrayed by Erika Mabuchi, she had short hair and wore a yellow school uniform.
- Suzuko, the main character in Rumiko Takahashi's one-shot Fire Tripper, can be seen as a prototype for Kagome.
- Nanoka Kiba, the narrator and heroine from Rumiko Takahashi's current work Mao, shares some similar traits: both are time travelers and accompany the main protagonist who have a vengeance motive.[44][45]
- She also have similarities to Claire Beecheum-Randal of the book and television series Outlander, as both end up centuries in the ancient past, fall in love with a man from that era and marries him, and becomes mother to a daughter whose father is from another time.
- In episode 16, when Miroku asks Kagome to bear his child, Kagome responds with a perplexed "Heke?", a phrase most often used in Hamtaro when a character is confused or surprised. One of the characters, Laura Haruna, share the same voice actress in the English dub (Monica Stori).
Appearances in Hanyō no Yashahime
- Episode 1 (Appears in a flashback)
- Episode 4 (Pictured only)
- Episode 8 (Appears in a flashback)
- Episode 15 (Appears in a flashback)
- Episode 27 (Appears in a flashback)
- Episode 28
- Episode 31 (Appears in a flashback)
- Episode 34 (Appears in a flashback)
- Episode 37 (Appears in a flashback)
- Episode 38
- Episode 39
- Episode 40
- Episode 41
- Episode 44
- Episode 45
- Episode 46
- Episode 47
- Episode 48
References
- ↑ Inuyasha Manga; Since Then
- ↑ Hanyō no Yashahime: Episode 1
- ↑ The Art of InuYasha
- ↑ Secret of the Divine Jewel
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Manga Extras - Volume 2
- ↑ Rumiko Takahashi Twitter Questions
- ↑ Interview 3 - Rumiko Takahashi: I really enjoy drawing manga.
- ↑ Rumiko Takahashi - Long Interview
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 InuYasha manga; Chapter 1
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 InuYasha anime; Episode 1
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 InuYasha manga; Chapter 2
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 InuYasha anime; Episode 2
- ↑ Shōsetsu InuYasha; Chapter 1
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 148
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 11
- ↑ In the Japanese version of Chapter 1 is 1996, but the English version changed in 1997.
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 48
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 60
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 61
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 62
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 63
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 64
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 74
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 InuYasha anime; Episode 80
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 109
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 151
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 154
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 160
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 InuYasha The Final Act anime; Episode 8
- ↑ InuYasha The Final Act anime; Episode 16
- ↑ InuYasha The Final Act anime; Episode 17
- ↑ InuYasha The Final Act anime; Episode 18
- ↑ InuYasha The Final Act anime; Episode 26
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Zusetsutaizan Ōgikaiden, page 52
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 98
- ↑ Zusetsutaizan Ōgikaiden, page 53
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Zusetsutaizan Ōgikaiden, page 54
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 12
- ↑ InuYasha manga; Chapter 35
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 88
- ↑ InuYasha the Movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 147
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 140
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 Rumiko Takahashi Twitter Questions
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 Rumiko Takahashi: Beyond Boundaries - A Long Interview
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gseFRgAVyt8
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1MozZMKFaY
- ↑ 48.0 48.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrsJSkwtx0k
- ↑ http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/cagar
- ↑ http://dictionary.reverso.net/portuguese-english/cagar
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV49GjYItz0
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHUi9gs3qo0
- ↑ Zusetsutaizan Ōgikaiden, page 52
- ↑ Zusetsutaizan Ōgikaiden, page 51.
- ↑ Urusei Yatsura OVA 12 - The Obstacle Course Swim Meet.
InuYasha | |
---|---|
Series | Anime (InuYasha The Final Act • Hanyō no Yashahime) • Manga |
Characters | Inuyasha • Kagome Higurashi • Miroku • Sango • Shippō • Kirara • Kikyō • Sesshōmaru • Jaken • Rin • A-Un • Kohaku • Kōga • Naraku |
Films | Affections Touching Across Time • The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass • Swords of an Honorable Ruler • Fire on the Mystic Island |
Video Games | InuYasha • Naraku no Wana! Mayoi no Mori no Shōtaijō • A Feudal Fairy Tale • The Secret of the Cursed Mask • Feudal Combat • Secret of the Divine Jewel • CR InuYasha Judgement Infinity |
Higurashi (日暮) | |
---|---|
Characters | Grandpa Higurashi • Grandma Higurashi • Mr. Higurashi • Ms. Higurashi • Sōta Higurashi • Kagome Higurashi • Inuyasha • Moe Higurashi • Towa Higurashi • Setsuna • Moroha • Mei Higurashi • Buyo |
Locations | Higurashi shrine (Sacred Tree • House • Storehouse • Wellhouse) • Higurashi family's apartment |
Items | Mermaid scale • Mummified kappa hand • Sacred sutras • Shikon Jewel keychains • Sō'unga |
Yōkai Wolf Tribes | |
---|---|
Eastern Tribe | Ginta • Hakkaku • Kōga • Yawaragi |
Northern Tribe | Ayame • Kai • Shinta • Rōrō • Wolf elder • Wolf demon graveyard protector |
Unique Places | Lair of the wolf demon tribe • Wolf demon tribe graveyard |
Unique Items | Goraishi • Kurikaramaru |
Enemies | Birds of Paradise (Birds of Paradise leader) • Naraku • Panther tribe (Panther King) • Shichinintai |
Naraku | |
---|---|
Incarnations | Kanna • Kagura • Goshinki • Kagerōmaru • Jūrōmaru • Musō • Infant • Hakudōshi • Byakuya • Akagane |
Rejected parts | Unnamed incarnation • Hair monster • Eye monster • Onigumo (reabsorbed) • Kugutsu • Kodoku |
Allies | Saimyōshō • Tsubo Tsukai • Sesshōmaru (formerly) • Jaken (formerly) • Ryūkotsusei • Tsubaki • Hakushin • Shichinintai • Salamander • Entei • Abi • Tekkei • Mōryōmaru (formerly) • Gorai • Mirror demon • Magatsuhi • Demon of the Shikon no Tama |
Enemies | Inuyasha • Kagome Higurashi • Kikyō • Miyatsu • Miroku's father • Miroku • Sango • Kirara • Kohaku • Kōga • Ginta • Hakkaku • Kai • Shinta • Sesshōmaru (currently) • Kaguya • Mōryōmaru (currently) • Hōsenki I • Hitomiko • Kansuke • Kaede • Midoriko • Shippō • Jaken (currently) • Rin • A-Un • Janis |
Locations | Onigumo's cave • Naraku's castle • Mount Hakurei • Naraku's cave |
Miscellaneous | Shikon no Tama • Kazaana • Onigumo's cave • Naraku's castle • Mount Hakurei |
|