InuYasha
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Bakusaiga (爆砕牙ばくさいが, "Explosive Crushing Fang") is a powerful yōkai sword that was created from Sesshōmaru's own body. The Bakusaiga came from Sesshōmaru's body and was attached to his finally regenerated left arm. It was Sesshōmaru's final signature sword.

History[]

After shattering Tōkijin in combat with Mōryōmaru[1][2] and passing Tenseiga's only offensive technique, Meidō Zangetsuha to Inuyasha's Tessaiga,[3] Sesshōmaru was left without a fighting weapon beyond his own native abilities. While very few demons stood a realistic chance against an unarmed Sesshōmaru, the growing darkness in the Shikon no Tama allowed a demon called Magatsuhi to escape from the jewel itself. Freed, Magatsuhi assembled a body from parts of Naraku and sought out Sesshōmaru in order to steal the last shard of the jewel from Kohaku, who was traveling with Sesshōmaru. Sesshōmaru accepted the challenge of battle and discovered that Magatsuhi had a poison that could physically damage him. The fight was interrupted by the arrival of Inuyasha, who came to his aid. Sesshōmaru, angered by the implication of weakness inherent in the help and pity that he received from both his own followers and Inuyasha's group, manifested a powerful regenerative ability that was composed of demonic power, and caused by his pure fighting spirit, to force his wounds closed. The battle was again joined, and the use of Tenseiga against the otherworldly spirit of Magatsuhi offered hope of victory, but Sesshōmaru was stabbed straight through his armor and chest by Magatsuhi. While Sesshōmaru was engulfed by a mass of demonic flesh that was controlled by Magatsuhi, Inuyasha made a desperate attempt to free him, but only got caught in the engulfing mass himself.

Sesshomaru Wielding Bakusaiga

Bakusaiga is born.

At that point, all parties were shocked to see the demonic mass blown apart by a massive burst of demonic power. The light was so blinding, that it took several seconds for the group to see that the light, was in fact, coming from Sesshōmaru's severed left arm. Sesshōmaru, angry, drove back Magatsuhi's probes. At that moment, the swordsmith, Tōtōsai appeared. Sesshōmaru, seeing him and realizing in that instant what was happening, met a massive thrust by Magatsuhi with an even more powerful wave of light. In that instant, within the light, his left arm regenerated and along with it, a sword appeared in his new hand. Bakusaiga was formed from Sesshōmaru's previous left arm that Inuyasha had cut off with his sword.[4]

Magatsuhi attempted to reassemble his body. However, he discovered that pieces of his body that were attacked by the new sword were not only destroyed, but also transmitted the blow that they had received to undamaged parts — his body was destroyed while attempting to reform.

In the course of the final stages of the battle, Tōtōsai revealed that the new sword was called Bakusaiga. It was not an heirloom or crafted sword but was created from Sesshōmaru's own body as a manifestation of his own demonic power, and thus truly his own. Sesshōmaru's success in abandoning his interest in stealing Tessaiga as a quick path to power resulted in the development of his own inner strength, which, in the end, surpassed even that of his father and the two swords that were derived from him.

Sesshōmaru used Bakusaiga for the rest of the series to battle both Naraku and Magatsuhi. During the final battle against Naraku, Bakusaiga destroyed most of Naraku's body, and it was only with its help that Inuyasha was able to permanently destroy Naraku's body with Meidō Zangetsuha, but not his spirit. In the final chapter, set three years after Naraku's defeat, Bakusaiga was still carried by Sesshōmaru. It was also noted that Sesshōmaru could have obliterated both Inuyasha and Naraku at various times with Bakusaiga, but chose not to do so. He began to understand that he could not use such power recklessly and acted swiftly to save Kagome as well as Rin (as this was why Naraku had kidnapped Rin, so that if he used Bakusaiga to destroy his body, Bakusaiga's strong destructive power would have most likely killed her as well).

Hanyō no Yashahime[]

Seven years later, Sesshōmaru had used a low-level attack from it to destroy a mere demon puppet out of Shikigami made by Zero. She had told him that the Grim Comet would make a comeback once the lunar eclipse was over, that he should use Bakusaiga then which he had with Inuyasha's Tessaiga with Meidō Zangetsuha.

Fourteen years later, Sesshōmaru emerges before his teenage twin daughters and niece by throwing Bakusaiga down between them and Kirinmaru to put a stop to their fated battle. He used it at the ruins of Izayoi's mansion to cut Zero again just like her daughter Setsuna did with her Blood Blade, only to be stopped by Kirinmaru to whom he refused to get the pinwheel of Akuru's.

Sesshōmaru uses the Bakusaiga as he joins forces with Kohaku's yōkai taijiya to stop the Green Ogre Bunch. After the duel between Beniyasha and Kirinmaru and have the second Black Pearl, Sesshōmaru uses the Bakusaiga to fight him. After Sesshōmaru has been hit by Kirinmaru's Demon Fireball as his haku is draining and before Kirinmaru going to with Rin, Sesshōmaru use the Bakusaiga to ambush him. After Sesshōmaru, Rin and Jaken heard from Kirinmaru that the Grim Comet is going to hit the Earth in the modern era, Sesshōmaru has attempt to use the Bakusaiga again, but unsheathe the Tenseiga instead to let his eldest twin daughter Towa call to it from inside Tōga's stomach in the Border of the Afterlife.

Physical description[]

Bakusaiga takes on the form of a katana with a unique design. The backside of its blade features various rune-like lines running along it with a beige hilt featuring the same design. When unleashing its power, Bakusaiga's blade glows a vivid emerald green. The tsuba is a dark gunmetal gray color.

Powers & Abilities[]

  • Decomposition: Bakusaiga's primary ability was to decompose any organic material that its blade cut. Once cut, the target became "infected" with spontaneous destruction that disintegrated the main body and nullified any regenerative properties that the target may have had. In addition, the remaining destruction would continue to spread to any organic matter that came into physical contact with the original target, causing a chain reaction similar to a virus. It was because of this particular ability that Bakusaiga proved to be a bane to Naraku, as it prevented him from absorbing or reabsorbing yōkai or parts of himself that were cut by the sword without risking being destroyed himself.
  • Yōki Wave: In addition to its decomposition ability, the Bakusaiga could also fire off explosive blasts of green-colored yōki that were capable of destroying multitudinous weaker demons with relative ease. Given that this blast was shown destroying the thousand demon horde summoned by Byakuya in a single swing, it is implied that it is ten times stronger and effective than the Wind Scar itself.

Trivia[]

  • Some fans mistakenly believed that Bakusaiga was pronounced "Bah-koo-sai-ga". However, the "koo" sound was so short that the word came out sounding more like "Baak-sai-ga".
  • When Sesshōmaru first obtained Bakusaiga, he wielded it with his left hand, though his right hand was his dominant hand.
  • It appeared as though Sesshōmaru could control, to a certain degree, what was destroyed by Bakusaiga, as Kohaku remained unharmed despite being in contact with Naraku's Bakusaiga-cut tentacles when they were destroyed. Likewise, when battling inside Naraku's body, none of Inuyasha's friends were harmed despite repeatedly coming into contact with Naraku's disintegrating body (courtesy of Bakusaiga). It could simply be that it only spread through attached parts and, while in contact with said parts, they were still separate entities and thus unharmed by it. It's even noted that Naraku cut himself away from his main body in order to avoid being completely destroyed by it.

References[]

  1. InuYasha manga; Chapter 407
  2. InuYasha The Final Act anime; Episode 2
  3. InuYasha manga; Chapter 503
  4. InuYasha anime; Episode 7
Dog Yōkai
Daiyōkai TōgaSesshōmaruSesshōmaru's mother
Hanyō InuyashaTowa HigurashiSetsunaMoroha (quarter)
Allies BokusenōHōsenki IHigurashi familyJakenKaedeKohakuKujakuMyōgaRōyakanSayaSea GodSeitenTōtōsaiMō-MōMirokuKirinmaru (formerly)Zero (formerly)RikuRionSpirit of the Tree of AgesAkuruNanasukeRokutaHisui
Enemies Hyōga clan (HyōgaMenōmaru) • NarakuPanther tribe (Panther King) • RyūkotsuseiShishinkiShitōshinTakemaruShikyōKirinmaru (currently)Zero (currently)
Locations Kagome and Inuyasha's houseSesshōmaru's mother's manorStone tombTōga's tomb
Unique Items BakusaigaBlack PearlMeidō StoneRobe of the Fire-RatSō'ungaTenseigaTessaigaHoshikiri no FueRainbow PearlKyūyōkon RootKikujūmonjiKurikaramaruKanemitsu no TomoeWindmill of TimePinwheelYukari no TachikiriZanseiken
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