Naraku

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Onigumo and Naraku’s birth

Naraku originates from Onigumo, the bandit who abducts Xu Zhiqiu, steals her jade pendant, and later attempts to sexually assault her. Xu Zhiqiu injures his eye while escaping. After an attack involving explosives leaves him severely burned and immobile, Kikyo and Xu Zhiqiu rescue and care for him 1 5 9 11 21.

Xu Zhiqiu’s care becomes the focus of Onigumo’s possessive attachment. Unable to bear the prospect of remaining crippled while she marries someone else, he accepts a demon spider’s bargain: his soul in exchange for a body that can move freely. Numerous demons consume his soul, and flames engulf the cave 17.

The resulting Naraku watches a coordinated attack on Kaede’s Village, during which Kikyo’s younger sister Kohaku loses her right eye. Xu Zhiqiu suspects that he directed the assault and visits Onigumo’s cave. Naraku intercepts her, identifies himself, and attacks with tentacles; she severs them with the Jade Blade, prompting his withdrawal 18.

Attempts to eliminate Onigumo’s attachment

Naraku initially treats his attraction to Xu Zhiqiu as an unwelcome inheritance from Onigumo. He studies her jade’s defenses, discovers that the Jade Blade cannot damage his human body, and repeatedly approaches her despite her resistance 19 20 21.

He ultimately decides that killing her will extinguish Onigumo’s attachment. Before his claws reach her throat, the jade breaks his restraints and transports her away. Naraku is left frustrated by her unexplained disappearance 23.

During her absence, he exploits Kikyo and Inuyasha’s trust in one another, bringing about their separation, Kikyo’s death, and Inuyasha’s sealing. Fifty years later, he mockingly describes the scheme as merely giving their trust “a little test” 26 28 39.

Life at Inuyama Castle

When Xu Zhiqiu returns after fifty years, Naraku watches her working at a restaurant, becomes jealous of clothes another man bought for her, and eventually knocks her unconscious and carries her to his castle. There, he supplies the clothing, cosmetics, and bath she demands, while privately questioning why he obeyed her 28 29.

Naraku lives under the identity of Inuyasha, the young lord of Inuyama Castle, presenting himself to the household as frail and ill. He proposes that Xu Zhiqiu pose as his fiancée to prevent his human father from arranging a marriage. Their first kiss follows, but he refuses to let her move out 30 32.

Xu Zhiqiu begins collecting Shikon Jewel fragments partly to prevent Naraku from making further enemies. He accepts her shards but remains committed to opposing Inuyasha’s group. She tells Kikyo that she intends eventually to reclaim the assembled jewel and make it disappear forever 34 35 37 39.

Reconstruction and incarnations

After Kagome wounds him, Xu Zhiqiu adds three fragments to his portion of the Shikon Jewel and purifies it. She also gives him a deep-purple kimono, provoking an unfamiliar emotional response. They kiss and embrace, although his incomplete recovery interrupts further intimacy 41.

Naraku subsequently gains a new body and absorbs a much larger portion of the jewel. Beneath the dungeon, he separates unnecessary demon bodies and produces Kanna and Kagura. Xu Zhiqiu accepts his assembled form without fear, while Kagura immediately rebels against him 44 45 46 47.

He later monitors Xu Zhiqiu’s travels through Kanna’s mirror and personally rescues her from Peach Fruit Man. After returning with her, he continues creating incarnations behind a strengthened barrier. By this point, the castle’s retainers and servants have been reduced to skeletons by the miasma 49 50.

Appearance

Naraku has a handsome, pale human-shaped appearance that contrasts with his underlying body of assembled demon parts 18 45.

• Hair: Long, loose, and compared to seaweed 18 29.
• Eyes: Red or crimson, with pupils that can contract to pinpoints 18 41 50.
• Eye markings: Blue beneath his eyes; absent when he presents himself as the human young lord 18 29.
• Spider mark: A persistent mark on his back that remains despite repeated attempts to carve it away 30.
• Human disguise: Black eyes, no blue eyeshadow, and a deliberately frail appearance; wears a deep-blue top and grayish-white riding hakama when Xu Zhiqiu wakes at the castle 29.
• Disassembled form: During reconstruction, his head hangs amid spiderwebbing, surrounded by living demons, severed limbs, and tentacles 45.

Personality

Naraku is calculating, mocking, and adept at exploiting distrust. He treats Kikyo and Inuyasha’s destruction as evidence of their love’s weakness and watches manifestations of his enemies’ deepest fears with relish. His pursuit of the Shikon Jewel remains firm even after Xu Zhiqiu warns that it cannot truly grant his wish: he values its power regardless 28 34 44.

His pride makes him resistant to acknowledging emotional dependence. He calls Onigumo despicable, attributes his desire for Xu Zhiqiu to the human heart within him, and resolves to remove that heart. Xu Zhiqiu repeatedly challenges this explanation, insisting that his present body, heart, and decisions belong to him 20 21 31 35.

His treatment of Xu Zhiqiu combines growing tenderness with coercion. He buys her necessities, accepts her gifts, holds her while she sleeps, and rescues her, but also abducts her, restrains her, restricts her movements with barriers, and becomes jealous when she interacts with other men. His willingness to let her leave later contrasts with his control over Kagura 28 29 35 41 48 49 50.

Abilities & Skills

Composite Demon Body

Naraku’s body is an amalgamation rather than a single demon’s natural form 18 45.

• Generates numerous tentacles for attacking, binding, and pulling targets toward him 18 20 45.
• Lengthens his nails into claws capable of threatening Xu Zhiqiu’s throat 23.
• Separates unwanted demon bodies while absorbing the Shikon Jewel’s power 45.
• Devours Peach Fruit Man’s wooden staff 50.
• His tentacles can be severed or destroyed by Xu Zhiqiu’s jade, even when his human body resists the Jade Blade 18 20 23.

Barriers

Naraku uses barriers for personal defense, confinement, and concealment 35 47 50.

• Prevents Xu Zhiqiu from leaving his courtyard and later the entire residence 35 37.
• Blocks Kagura’s repeated wind-blade attacks around his exposed head 47.
• Protects him from the Tree Spirit’s attacking vines 50.
• Reinforces the castle barrier to keep enemies from locating him while he creates incarnations 50.

Miasma

Naraku’s demonic presence produces dense miasma 42 45.

• Raises a cloud of miasma to carry himself and Xu Zhiqiu through the air 45.
• Fills a mountain cave with evil aura while seeking a replacement body 42.
• Makes Inuyama Castle uninhabitable for its ordinary human household 50.

Incarnations and Puppets

Naraku creates separate incarnations and uses puppets to stand in for him 41 45 47.

• Creates Kanna and Kagura during his reconstruction 45 46.
• Retains Kagura’s heart and squeezes it through spider silk to punish disobedience 47.
• Leaves a puppet in his room while conducting business elsewhere or working beneath the dungeon 41 45.
• Sends Kagura and Goshinki against Inuyasha’s group 49 50.

Surveillance

Naraku monitors distant targets through servants and magical tools 19 49.

• Uses Mōmō Bees to watch Xu Zhiqiu, relay information, block her path, and guide her back to the castle 19 34 45.
• Watches her travels through Kanna’s mirror and notices Peach Fruit Man approaching her 49.
• Uses disguises and concealed observation to approach without immediately revealing himself 19 28 29.

Manipulation, Illusions, and Curses

Naraku attacks emotional vulnerabilities as well as bodies 26 43 44.

• Engineers the breakdown of Kikyo and Inuyasha’s relationship through impersonation and provocation 26 39 43.
• Displays illusions of his enemies’ deepest fears and nearly peers into Xu Zhiqiu’s heart before she notices 44.
• Curses Miroku’s grandfather with the Wind Tunnel; Miroku reports that it subsequently consumes both his grandfather and father 43.

Vulnerabilities

• Purifying Arrows: Kagome’s arrow wounds him severely enough to require recovery and bodily replacement 41 42 44.
• Unstable reconstruction: Absorbing the enlarged Shikon Jewel temporarily overwhelms him and requires the removal of unnecessary demon bodies 45.
• Onigumo’s heart: Its attachment interferes with Naraku’s attempts to remain emotionally detached 20 35 50.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Baboon Skin / Baboon Garb: Concealing full-body covering, sometimes leaving only the lower face exposed. Xu Zhiqiu’s Jade Blade repeatedly slices it apart 18 20.
• Shikon Jewel fragments: Collected to increase his power; larger portions enable bodily reorganization and the production of incarnations 34 45.
• Dagger: Used in unsuccessful attempts to cut the spider mark from his back 30.
• Deep-purple embroidered kimono: A gift from Xu Zhiqiu, purchased because she thought it would suit him 41.
• Immortal Artifact gourd: Taken during the rescue from Peach Fruit Man and used to absorb him and the attacking vines. Naraku carries it away despite the Old Immortal’s demand for its return 50.

Relationships

• Xu Zhiqiu — Onigumo’s former caregiver and Naraku’s developing romantic partner. Their relationship begins with attacks and an attempted murder, later progressing through a proposed fiancée arrangement, kisses, mutual gifts, and his rescue of her. She tries to limit his enemies while secretly intending to reclaim the Shikon Jewel 17 23 30 39 41 50.
• Onigumo — Human origin whose memories and possessive attachment persist within Naraku. Naraku rejects identification with him and seeks freedom from his heart’s influence 18 20 31 35.
• Kikyo — Enemy whose relationship with Inuyasha he sabotages. Her younger sister later identifies Naraku’s scheme as the cause of their tragedy 26 39.
• Inuyasha — Long-standing enemy and rival for the Shikon Jewel. Naraku insists that their opposing goals make conflict unavoidable 28 37.
• Kagome — Kikyo’s reincarnation and a dangerous opponent whose Purifying Arrow seriously injures him 41.
• Kanna — First incarnation and surveillance agent. Naraku reprimands her for touching Xu Zhiqiu and later watches Xu Zhiqiu’s travels through her mirror 45 46 49.
• Kagura — Defiant incarnation whose heart he holds. He enforces obedience through pain and sends her against Inuyasha despite the danger posed by Tessaiga 47 48 50.
• Miroku — Enemy who inherits the Wind Tunnel curse Naraku originally placed on his grandfather 43.
• Sango — Enemy whose father and fellow demon slayers die in Naraku’s trap; she also reports that her younger brother Kohaku remains in his hands 43.

Notable Quotes

“I am Naraku, born when the despicable Onigumo offered his soul to those demons and merged with them.” 18

“So what? At least the Shikon Jewel's power is real.” 34

“Qiu, aren't you afraid of me? Apart from my head, every part of me is assembled from other bodies.” 45