Onigumo

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Abduction of Xu Zhiqiu

Onigumo encounters Xu Zhiqiu shortly after her arrival in the unfamiliar world. He pursues her on horseback, captures her, wounds her neck with his blade, and steals her ancestral jade fortune-gourd pendant. When she offers the pendant in exchange for her freedom, he refuses to relinquish either her or the valuables 1.

At a stream, he washes her feet and resets her injured ankle, but prevents her escape when she retrieves the jade during his bath. They shelter in a ruined temple, where a demon attacks. Xu Zhiqiu flees while Onigumo fights; although the demon throws him against a wall, he retrieves his sword and kills it 2 3.

He finds her again during a bandit raid and kills Uncle Shan Ye and the two other members of the household sheltering her. After disarming Xu Zhiqiu, he carries her indoors and attempts to rape her. Her pendant fires a blue-green beam into his left eye, leaving him unconscious. She takes his sword and escapes 4 5.

Burns and Life in the Cave

Xu Zhiqiu and Kikyo later discover Onigumo wrapped in a straw mat beside a bloodied stream, his body burned beyond recognition. Xu Zhiqiu identifies him as the victim of the Demon of Rakshasa, who used explosives and threw him from a cliff. The two women carry him into a nearby cave, where Kikyo treats and bandages him 9 11 12 13.

After learning that he previously abducted Xu Zhiqiu, Kikyo leaves his survival to her decision. Xu Zhiqiu cannot bring herself to kill a human and instead chooses to keep him alive, stating that prolonged suffering is preferable to an easy death. She supplies meals, a quilt, medicine, and dressing changes; Kohaku delivers food when Xu Zhiqiu is ill or occupied with demon attacks 12 13 15 16.

Onigumo learns Xu Zhiqiu’s name through her reputation as one of the Shikon Jewel’s guardians. He openly covets the jewel’s strength and becomes increasingly distressed when she stops visiting regularly. His attachment turns into an insistence that she belongs only to him 13 16 17.

Surrendering His Soul

Unable to move, Onigumo fears that Xu Zhiqiu will marry another man, abandon him, and leave him to die in the cave. After she challenges his claim to love her, he refuses food, though she eventually apologizes for her harshness and feeds him before leaving 17.

A red, three-eyed spider demon then offers to grant his wish. Onigumo asks for a mobile body so that he can obtain the Shikon Jewel and claim Xu Zhiqiu. He willingly surrenders his soul, which an endless stream of demons devours as flames consume the cave. Naraku emerges from their fusion 17 18.

Appearance

• Before his injuries: Physically strong enough to restrain and carry Xu Zhiqiu; she later recalls noticing a mark on his back 1 4 6.
• Left eye: Blinded by the beam from Xu Zhiqiu’s jade pendant 5 12.
• After the explosion: Charred skin and exposed flesh render him unrecognizable. Kikyo wraps nearly his entire body in bandages, leaving his eyes, nose, and mouth exposed 11 12.
• Voice: Hoarse and grating because the explosive fire damaged his vocal cords 13.
• Mobility: Unable to move independently while confined to the cave 15 17.

Personality

Onigumo is violent, sexually predatory, and openly possessive. He treats Xu Zhiqiu’s resistance as a source of excitement, refuses to release her after stealing her valuables, and murders the household that gives her shelter. His occasional care for her injured ankle does not change his treatment of her as a captive 1 2 4 5.

His disability leaves him dependent on the woman he attacked, but neither extinguishes his desire for her nor moderates his hunger for power. He dismisses warnings about the Shikon Jewel’s harmful effects and accepts the loss of his soul to regain mobility. Naraku later recognizes both possessiveness and feelings of love in Onigumo’s lingering attachment; Xu Zhiqiu does not reciprocate 13 17 21.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship and Physical Combat

• Fights a demon with a long sword, dodges its claws, wounds its arm, and ultimately kills it despite being knocked into a wall 2 3.
• Overpowers Xu Zhiqiu and catches her wrist during a stabbing attempt, forcing her to drop her weapon 4.
• His severe burns and paralysis prevent further independent physical action in the cave 15 17.

Practical Skills and Senses

• Rides horseback while carrying Xu Zhiqiu and pursues her when she tries to flee 1 2.
• Manipulates her swollen ankle back into place 2.
• Develops sharpened hearing during his confinement, allowing him to detect footsteps and rustling outside 15.

Lingering Influence Within Naraku

• His memories survive the fusion, including recollections of Xu Zhiqiu’s jade and his failed assault 21.
• His heart reacts strongly to Xu Zhiqiu’s presence and perceived rejection, sometimes pushing Naraku toward acting on his desires 18 20 21.
• Naraku can suppress these emotions and resolves to separate Onigumo’s heart from himself. The supplied events do not establish that he succeeds; the heart still reacts to Xu Zhiqiu later 20 35 50.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Sword / katana — Used to threaten captives and fight a demon; taken by Xu Zhiqiu after he loses consciousness 1 3 5.
• Horse — Used for pursuit and travel with his captive 1 2 4.
• Jade fortune-gourd pendant — Briefly stolen from Xu Zhiqiu after he cuts its cord; she recovers it at the stream 1 2.
• Bandages, medicine, quilt, and meals — Supplied during his confinement by Kikyo, Xu Zhiqiu, and Kohaku 12 13 15 16.

Relationships

• Xu Zhiqiu — His captive and intended victim, later his caregiver and the object of his obsessive attachment. She repeatedly rejects him and distinguishes him from Naraku 1 5 17 31.
• Kikyo — Rescues and treats him, but places Xu Zhiqiu’s right to decide his fate above his continued survival after learning of the abduction 11 12.
• Kohaku — Delivers his meals, rebuffs his attempts to obtain information about the Shikon Jewel, and tells him he is unworthy of Xu Zhiqiu 15 16.
• Naraku — The separate being created from his fusion with demons. Inherits his memories and human heart but resents its influence 18 21 35.
• Red spider demon — Offers him mobility in exchange for his soul, initiating the fusion that creates Naraku 17.

Notable Quotes

“You're trying to bargain with a bandit like me? I want both the woman and the valuables.” 1

“I want a body that can move freely, so I can obtain the Shikon Jewel and make Xu Zhiqiu mine.” 17

Trivia

• Xu Zhiqiu recognizes Onigumo as Naraku’s predecessor through her knowledge of Inuyasha. Her recollections associate his original attachment with Kikyo; in the novel’s events, he fixates on Xu Zhiqiu instead 6 7 17.
• Xu Zhiqiu repeatedly insists that Naraku and Onigumo are different people, rejecting the idea that Naraku must inherit or attribute all his feelings to Onigumo 20 31.