Inuyasha - Manga Glossary - Attacks & Weaponry

INUYASHA: SENGOKU O-TOGI ZOUSHI:
MANGA GLOSSARY & EXTRA READING NOTES

GLOSSARY MAIN || PEOPLE & PLACES || ATTACKS & WEAPONRY || OTHER MISC. ITEMS

Attacks & Weaponry

The following section is divided into sections according to character (Inuyasha, Kagome & Kikyou, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, Sesshoumaru, Kagura, Others) arranged alphabetically by the Japanese names.

INUYASHA

Akai Tessaiga (Red Tetsusaiga)
“Red Tessaiga.” Intoroduced by name in Chapter 218, and built through the "Shiori story" in Chapters 214-218. When it’s red, Tessaiga is able to create youki energy that can break down barriers set up by youkai. The red is from the blood of the youkai Taigokumaru, a giant bat-like youkai who was able to set up virtually indestructible barriers.

Bakuryuuha (Backlash Wave)
HEAR THE PRONUNCIATION
explode, current, and blast (destroy).
The name literally is the kanji for “Exploding Current Blast.” Introduced in Chapters 188-192, in which Inuyasha fought the dragon youkai Ryuukossei. Totousai describes it as Tessaiga’s ultimate attack. It’s described as using the youki from an enemy, coiling it in the kaze no kizu, and sending it back to the enemy. Woowee. Big ouch! And for the record, I LOVE when Kappei Yamaguchi screams this name...

Hijinkessou (Hijin-ketsusou, Blades of Blood)
HEAR THE PRONUNCIATION
fly, blade, blood, and claw.
“Flying Blades of Blood.” An Inuyasha attack. Blood from his body becomes a projectile attack. Ooo, how gruesome. But cool indeed. First introduced in Chapter 10, against Sakasagami no Yura (Inverted-Hair Yura).

Kaze no kizu (Wind-Scar)
HEAR THE PRONUNCIATION
wound, and wind.
“Wound of the Wind.” First introduced by Sesshoumaru in Chapter 60, then built up in subsequent chapters as Tessaiga's basic attack. Inuyasha first begins to learn about it for himself in Chapters 127-130. It’s also sometimes translated as “wind-scar,” although “wound of the wind” sounds a lot more elegant. Heh-heh-heh. This attack uses the collision of youki (“the winds”) between two enemies to create a path (“the wound”) to unleash its energy.

Kongousouha (Adamant Barrage)
Diamond, spear, and blast (destroy).
“Diamond Spear Blast.” My favorite, but least-used attack. Probably because it’s so new yet. Introduced in Chapters 324-325. When battling the youkai Housenki, Inuyasha opted to protect his friends rather than just selfishly strengthen Tessaiga. As a result, he was given the power of the diamond shards from Housenki. The diamonds become part of the kaze no kizu. Together, diamonds and youki blasts equal big ouchie. This is why I say "Diamonds are a dog's best friend." And I love it when Kappei Yamaguchi screams out this attack name, too.

Kuroi Tessaiga (Black Tessaiga)
“Black Tessaiga.” Introduced in Chapters 503-504, the Black Tessaiga was a result of Inuyasha's Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga absorbing the powers of Tenseiga's Meidou Zangetsuha. I will resist making a joke about "What's black and white and red all over." -_-

Ryuurin no Tessaiga (Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga)
dragon, scale, + Tessaiga
“Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga.” Introduced in Chapter 391, and by name in Chapter 395. Tessaiga gained this ability when Inuyasha fought the possessed swordsmith Toushuu. After defeating and subsequently destroying the sword Datsuki, Tessaiga gained the power of the ryuujin's scales (dragon scales), which allowed it to suck up the youkai energy of its enemies. Later, in Chapter 428, under the guidance of Yourei-taisei, Inuyasha learned to master the Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga by searching for pockets of youki, called youketsu, and using the Dragon-Scaled sword to cut (rather than suck) through them.

Sankontessou (Sankon-tetsusou, Iron Reaver)
HEAR THE PRONUNCIATION
soul, scatter, iron, claw.
“Soul-scattering Iron Claws.” An Inuyasha attack, which is probably considered his basic attack. With his claws, Inuyasha has the ability to rip apart weaker youkai, do a lot of damage to stronger youkai... and he can tear up iron beams. Mwaha. They translated it into the dreaded “Iron Reaver Soul Stealer” in the English dub, which I simply cannot STAND.

Tessaiga (Tetsusaiga)
iron, crush, fang
Inuyasha’s sword. I love that sword. Big, transforming sword. WOOHOO! It was first introduced in Chapter 15 and by name in Chapter 16, it was a sword originally created to protect Inuyasha's mother, and was left for the hanyou boy; Totousai explained that it was a guardian sword to its owner. It guards Inuyasha’s body by being a physical weapon, but also by sealing the youkai blood in his body. Allowing the youkai blood to control his body would essentially drive Inuyasha insane. In the beginning, it’s also described as a “sword that can take 100 lives.” Like many samurai stories, Inuyasha can be sword-centric. His strength does seem to revolve around Tessaiga.

KAGOME/KIKYOU

Hama-ya (Purifying Arrow)
crush, devil, arrow
Both Kagome and Kikyou have the ability to harness spiritual strength (innate "miko" powers) and infuse arrows with power that can purify and break through magic energy (jyaki, shouki, youki). Both girls have sed this power to purify corrupt energy and combat Naraku on several occasions. I do tend to translate this term into "spirit-arrow," although I though it would be nice to include the term here.

Hama no reiryoku (Purifying Spirit Power)
crush, devil, spiritual power
Both Kagome and Kikyou have the ability to use their spiritual energy to repel and combat youkai. This energy is a little different than just reiryouku. Kagome has only really displayed it on one occasion, fighting the mukade youkai (centepede youkai) in Chapter 1. Kikyou uses the same powers to purify the youkai Urasue, and also to attack Inuyasha, in Chapters 48-49.

MIROKU

Kazaana (Wind Tunnel)
HEAR THE PRONUNCIATION
wind, hole
“Wind Tunnel.” Miroku’s attack. 50 years ago, his grandfather’s hand was literally pierced by Naraku. The hole is a void that sucks up everything in its path. Every son born after was cursed to have the hole in his hand, which would eventually consume his body. Giant Hoover vacuum action going on there. *SUCKSUCKSUCK*

SANGO

Hiraikotsu
HEAR THE PRONUNCIATION
fly, come, and bones.
“Come-flying bone.” Sango’s giant boomerang. Weapons from Sango’s village were fashioned from the bones, skins, shells, and other remains of youkai. It also proves to be quite effective against the roving hands of lecherous, butt-grabbing houshi.

SHIPPOU

Kitsune-bi (Fox Fire)
fox, fire
"Fox Fire" is one of Shippou's attacks. It doesn't seem to do much damage when I've seen it although it does provide a bit of an annoyance; kinda like pepper spray. That and it does sometimes seem to really BE like fire (ie. it burns things).

Kitsune Youjutsu (Fox Magic)
fox, magical-skill
"Fox Magic" is the all-encompassing term used to describe Shippou's trickery magic. He'll scream it out when he throws out his magic things like his tops, wooden snake toys, and acorn/chestnut/mushroom attack.

SESSHOUMARU

Bakusaiga
blast, fang
Sesshoumaru's newest sword, which was introduced in Chapter 518. In a battle with Naraku's newest spawn, Magatsuhi, Sesshoumaru becomes entrapped, but then emerges from the Magastuhi's clutches with his lost left arm finally restored, and also a new sword. Toutousai goes on to explain that Bakusaiga is a sword that Sesshoumaru carried within him all along. The creation of Bakusaiga proved Sesshoumaru's worth as a daiyoukai, showing that he had freed himself of his reliance on Tessaiga, and also surpassed his father's strength.

Doukasou (Poison Claws)
poison, claw
It's... pretty much what it says. Sesshoumaru has a really evil manicure, I suppose. Using his claws, Sesshoumaru can inflict a rather nasty poisonous wound on his foes. This attack was first used in Chapter 16, and, while he's used his claws to puncture through Inuyasha's body and the like, it really hasn't been used since early-on.

Meidou-Zangetsuha
Dark path, dawn, moon, blast (destroy)
Although shortened to "Meidou" (path of darkness) when first introduced in Chapter 410, the full name of this ability translates to something like, "Blast of the Dark Path of Dawn's Moon." Which is quite the mouthful, in both languages, so I can see why it's shortened. This ability was given to Tenseiga when Toutousai reforged Tenseiga to be a weapon. It cuts a dark void through an enemy's body, killing it. As the ability gains in strength, it's expected that it will be able to send an enemy's entire body directly into he afterlife, completely destroying it.

Tenseiga
heaven, life, fang.
Sesshoumaru’s sword, and its name means "True Purpose Fang." Introduced in Chapter 126, it was given to him by his father, and because of it, Sesshoumaru has a serious case of sword envy directed towards his little brother. Tenseiga is also described as a “sword that could join the world of the living to the world of the dead.” Tenseiga's weilder has the ability to see and destroy the pall-bearers that come to take and devour the souls of the dead/dying, giving the weilder the ability to essentially bring things back from the dead. Conversely, Tenseiga also has the power (the Meidou Zangetsuha) to cut open a path directly into the afterlife and send enemies to their death.

Toukijin
fighting, devil, soul
Sesshoumaru's second sword. Introduced in Chapter 169, this sword was created by the swordsmith named Kaijinbou, from the fangs of Naraku's bunshin, an oni (ogre) named Goshinki. The fangs were originally strong enough to crush Inuyasha's Tessaiga. Once forged, this second sword was covered in jyaki too strong for anyone other than Sesshoumaru to handle. Toukijin was broken in Chapter 407, while Sesshoumaru fought against Mouryoumaru; following that, Sesshoumaru made the decision to discard the broken sword.

KAGURA

Fujin no mai (Dance of the Wind)
Wind, blade, and dance.
This is an attack that Kagura uses (probably her "basic attack"), in which she creates semi-circular blades of youki wind from her fan.

Ryuuja no mai (Dance of the Dragon)
snake-dragon, dance.
An attack in which Kagura literally takes control of the youki winds and uses them to her advantage in various ways. It also was able to disrupt Inuyasha's kaze no kizu the first time he encountered it. And it screwed him royally. Oh yeah, and believe it or not, this attack can also technically mean "drunken dragon dance." Haha.

Shikabane-mai (Dance of the Dead)
corpse, dance.
This is the attack Kagura uses in which she takes control of a dead corpse and manipulates it. Usually it's used as soldier, but on certain occasions she just uses the dead bodies as a morbid messenger of sorts.

OTHERS

Dakki (Datsuki)
snatch-away, devil
A sword created by the swordsmith Toushuu, which has the ability to draw out and absorb an enemy's youki. The sword is forged from the scales of a ryuujin (dragon-man). Introduced in Chapter 383.

Goraishi
five, thunder, finger
A five-fingered gauntlet-like weapon that was an heirloom of the Yourouzoku (wolf tribe). The ancestors of the Yourozoku granted Kouga the use of the Goraishi after he was a really good boy. :P Introduced in Chapter 382.

Gouryou-tsubo (Spirit Jar)
dead-spirit, jar
Translated as "spirit jar," these were jar-shaped weapons that were worn on the shoulders of children known as the gyouja (Buddhist aescetic, wanderers). When fired, the weapons would release a powerful light which had a deadly type of youkai inside of it. These weapons were used in youkai exterminations. First found in Chapter 346.