| “ |
My name is Miroku, I'm a monk who always helps people in need. |
” |
—Miroku[src]
Miroku (弥勒, "Maitreya") was a monk who traveled with Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippō, and Sango. His grandfather Miyatsu was cursed fifty years ago by Naraku, leading to the creation of the wind tunnel, which was destined to be passed down to all of his male descendants, including Miroku.
History
Miroku as a child
Miroku was raised and trained by his father's friend named Mushin who became Miroku's guardian when his father was swallowed by his Kazaana, an event Miroku witnessed alongside Mushin. The status of his mother is left unknown.
His grandfather was cursed by Naraku who, in the past, had fought together many times and each time Naraku appeared to him in a different form. Though Miroku's grandfather was a powerful monk, he was also a lecherous man which Naraku used to his advantage. Naraku took the form of a beautiful maiden in order to catch Miroku's grandfather off guard. When Naraku revealed himself, the battle between the two foes began. Whilst battling Naraku, Miroku's grandfather was pierced though the hand - creating the Wind Tunnel. The wind tunnel would grow bigger as time passes, and eventually will over grow the victim's hand, which will suck in the victim and tear them apart. This curse has been passed down from father to son, and thus eventually to Miroku. Miroku is able to control the wind tunnel by sealing it with prayer beads.
During the Story
Prior to meeting Inuyasha and Kagome, Miroku traveled the countryside performing (As he viewed it) his Buddhist duties towards the people he meets on his journey. This includes praying for any who ask, comforting the sick and dying, and His particular specialty) exorcising unwanted spirits and yōkai, sometimes destroying them in the process. These exorcisms should not be confused with the work done by the yōkai taijiya Sango. If his clients are rich, Miroku rips them off and/or steals anything of value he can get his hands on.
As a Buddhist monk, one of his main concerns is that the spirit or soul of the individual (Including that of demons) should "find rest" and pass peacefully into the "next world". Without this, the spirit is doomed to wander this world, often in a malicious or malevolent form, and further can be taken over by other demons to cause more trouble.
In addition to these duties, Miroku is constantly searching for Naraku, the demon that cursed his family with the Kazaana; for if he does not find and destroy Naraku, then he will be consumed by the curse as his father and grandfather were before him. Near the end of the series, his Kazaana reaches its limit and Naraku plans on forcing him use it one final time so that he will suffer his father and grandfather's tragic fates. However, as Naraku meats his gradual defeat, his Wind Tunnel begins to close before vanishing altogether.
Finding Allies
After pawning off the spoils of one of his exorcism/robberies, Miroku decide to relax in a hot spring. He spied on Kagome at the time, noticing she carried a large shard of the Shikon jewel with her. Because of Inuyasha's presence, Miroku saw he had no chance of stealing the jewel. He forced his friend Hachi, a racoon-dog who often served him, into helping him create a distraction the next day, successfully stealing the shard. When Inuyasha followed him to take it back, Miroku threatened him with the Wind Tunnel. However, Kagome threw herself at him as he had it open, risking being consumed by it, forcing him to close it. Regaining consciousness, Miroku groped Kagome, making her order Inuyasha to kill him. He explained his situation to Inuyasha, at the same time revealing the truth of the trap Naraku had successfully sprung Kikyō and Inuyasha. He decided to travel with them, but not before trying to persuade Kagome into having his child to carry on his family mission to destroy Naraku. She is stunned by this offer, followed by Inuyasha threatening Miroku to never make advances towards her again.
Soon afterwards, Miroku collected three more shards of the jewel when he temporarily left the group. He reunited with Inuyasha and Kagome when he was, to his surprise, actually performing an exorcism. Learning of a painter who drew the demons of Hell as his personal minions, Miroku accompanied his friends to battle the painter and, using his wind-tunnel, sucked up all the demons at the cost of being severely weakened. He watched as Inuyasha destroyed the ink pot with a jewel shard in it and the painter be consumed by the very paint he desired. Knowing the shard was tainted by the painter's evil, Miroku watched in amazement as Kagome purified it with a simple touch.
First Encounter with Naraku
During one of his fake exorcisms, Miroku joined Inuyasha in a fight against Sesshōmaru. Using the Wind Tunnel to suck in Sesshōmaru's minion, Miroku was poisoned for the first time by Saimyōshō. Suffering from the poison, Miroku beat Jaken to a pulp to learn Naraku gave Sesshōmaru the insects to seal the Wind Tunnel. Kagome gave him modern medicine to counteract the poison.
After Inuyasha won the battle, Miroku teamed up with Lady Kaede to seal him in a hut until he recovered after he forced Kagome back to her era. At the same time, Rōyakan had become violent thanks to Naraku implanting shards in him. Miroku was forced to break concentration on a barrier hiding Inuyasha's hut to keep Kaede from being harmed by a spear Naraku sent flying at them. Without the use of his Wind Tunnel, Miroku had a hard time fighting until Inuyasha regained strength and easily knocked Rōyakan out. He watched in amazement as Kagome returned, who told them of someone nearby with several jewel shards. It was at this time, Miroku encountered Naraku, his family enemy and the one who cursed him with the Wind Tunnel. Naraku released a Cloud of Destruction, forcing him to evacuate Kagome and Kaede from the area. After Inuyasha failed to kill Naraku, Miroku learned of a spider-shaped burn mark on Naraku's back that would serve as his calling card.
Soon afterwards, the group heard about the souls of deceased maidens that were being stolen by demons. This was later revealed to have been caused by the still-alive Kikyō, who needed souls of the dead to sustain herself. Miroku questioned Inuyasha whether he cared for Kagome or Kikyō more; however, Inuyasha didn't know himself and wondered if he could care about both of them. Miroku sympathized with Inuyasha as it was a typical male problem with choosing which girl they love; however, he did warn that if either Kagome or Kikyō found out, Inuyasha would get a "Sit" command. No sooner had he said this, Inuyasha received an angry "Sit" command from Kagome.
Falling in Love
Miroku may be lecherous at times, but that doesn't stop him from finding true love. Upon hearing about a village of Demon Slayers who were also collecting shards of the Shikon Jewel from demons that they felled, the group traveled to find their village. However, they found the village completely destroyed and all the residents dead. At that time, Miroku met Myōga the flea demon. It was also revealed some of the slayers had been called away to the Hitomi clan castle to slay a demon. Hoping to find them, they encountered Sango, the sole survivor of the group that had been slaughtered by a demon manipulating her younger brother. She mistook Inuyasha for the village's attacker due to Naraku manipulating her. Miroku tricked him into revealing he told the demons that the village lacked the best demon slayers at the time, and thus was vulnerable to attack. However, upon Naraku's defeat, they discovered that he was no more than a demon puppet, controlled by the real Naraku.
As Sango recovered from her wounds, Miroku restrained himself and kept all lecherous actions from occurring, showing that even he has self-restraint when it comes to being a lecher. During Sango's recuperation, the group learned of the Shikon Jewel's origin in a cave in the village. When Sango recovered from her injuries and emotionally healed from her family and comrades deaths, Miroku resumed his lecherous attitude and continuously tried groping her. However, he received painful slaps and other beatings for doing such; however, he didn't seem to mind.
Arriving at a village home to a Water God demanding human sacrifices, the group exposed the Water God as a fake that stole the Trident of Amakoi from the real Water Goddess. Miroku helped rescue her and resisted his natural lecherous tendencies out of fear of divine punishment. When the fake Water God was destroyed, Miroku sucked its remains into the Wind Tunnel.
While the group was slaying a rat demon, Miroku pursued a beautiful woman to the outside of a village. The woman revealed herself to be a mantis demon, who wished to eat him. Miroku quickly sucked it into the Wind Tunnel, but the mantis nicked the sides on the way in, making the Wind Tunnel dangerous to use again as it could spread from the nicks and shorten his life more. Seeking help, Miroku went to Master Mushin's temple to get the old drunk's help in repairing the damage. While waiting for him to mend his wound, Miroku didn't notice a Demon Worm Charmer's presence as he possessed Mushin; Naraku hired this demon to kill Miroku with a jewel shard as payment for the demon. Miroku escaped to his father's grave and put up a barrier. When the barrier fell, Inuyasha and the others showed up to save him. However, the possessed Mushin prevented Inuyasha from slaying the demons, forcing Miroku to use his Wind Tunnel; it spread from the nicks, shortening his life. The demons were destroyed for the first time by the Wind Scar, unknown to Inuyasha, and Mushin was freed from the charmer's control. Upon awakening after Mushin mending his Wind Tunnel, Miroku couldn't help but fake out Sango to grope her.
Upon being accused of visiting villages and performing fake exorcisms, Miroku ended up being chased out of them; however, he claimed to be innocent of all wrongdoing (on this occasion). When the next village revealed that "he" had sold outrageously expensive sutras that turned into leaves, Miroku immediately realized Hachi had been posing as him. Finding Hachi in a cave, Miroku rescued him from a weasel demon by threatening to suck the weasel into the Wind Tunnel. When questioning Hachi about how he got girls to go crazy for him while in disguise, Miroku learned indifference is the key. When Sango got angry at them for whispering to each other, Hachi turned into Miroku, and both ran in a circle to confuse her and ran off. Sango gave chase, but both pretended not to be him, insisting that the other was Miroku. Hachi reminded Miroku of his advice, but Miroku knew it wouldn't work for him.
Mount Hakurei
Following the clue that Naraku had fled in the direction of the Ox-Tiger, Miroku and his companions arrived at Mount Hakurei, a mountain with a purifying barrier so strong, it knocked out weak, evil demons and turned half-demons mortal. After encountering the Band of Seven, Miroku came to believe that Naraku was hiding inside of Mount Hakurei as it was the perfect place to recover as most of those after him could not get inside without consequence. Despite initially having some trouble entering himself, only he, Sango and Kagome could enter the barrier without trouble. Whereas Inuyasha, Shippō, Kirara, Sesshōmaru, Kōga (due to being demons) and Kikyō would be attacked by the barrier.
He and Sango decide to explore the mountain, leaving Kagome with Inuyasha, Shippō, and Kirara. They end up finding Kagura and a horde of Naraku's demons inside. Sango was knocked unconscious by her own weapon, forcing Miroku to carry it and her to safety. Though Kagura taunted him by saying he could save himself by abandoning Sango, Miroku declared that he is willing to sacrifice himself for the woman he loves, and opened the Wind Tunnel and sucking in the poisonous insects, surprising Kagura. Managing to, unknowingly, reenter the barrier after suffering from poisoned badly, Miroku had the Saimyōshō venom purified from his body. While thinking they were going to die, Miroku heard Sango confess her feelings to him, but was shocked when she forgot moments later. They meet the reanimated Hakushin, and Miroku decides to suck him into the Wind Tunnel as he would not let the barrier down. Unknown to him, Kikyō later helped Hakushin's soul ascend.
With the barrier gone, Inuyasha, Shippō, Kirara, and Kagome could enter Mount Hakurei. Miroku and Sango succeed in finding Naraku temporarily, but lose sight of him when Kagura attacks. Sent plummeting below into a pit thanks to Kagura's Dance of Blades destroying their footing, Miroku and Sango discover the remains of demons Naraku tossed out to make himself stronger. Even more strange, the remains began turning into infant-like clumps of flesh. Hearing Kagome and Shippō's voices below them, Miroku and Sango cleared some of the clumps away to see them in an abyss below. Suddenly all the clumps of flesh began falling down into the darkness with Miroku and Sango following, but Kirara caught them.
To their shock, Naraku reappeared, albeit just a head, with Inuyasha captured in his tentacles; Mount Hakurei had become the half-demon's own body. After Naraku stole all the jewel shards, he then united them to allow a more powerful body to be constructed. Miroku warned Inuyasha that Naraku's power had grown significantly since their last battle, but was ignored. Naraku escaped to the outside while making Mount Hakurei begin to collapse. Miroku sucked the resulting miasma into the Wind Tunnel to save them while Inuyasha went to save Kōga after he fell from Naraku's grasp below. Once outside, Miroku watched as the mountain crumbled into nothing.
Following the discovery Kikyō had been slain by Naraku, Miroku explained to Kōga that her spiritual powers were what Naraku feared the most, hence why he went to all the trouble of taking control of Mount Hakurei. While passing by a village that had been devastated by demons Naraku allowed to escape the mountain, a wandering priest mentioned he came across a wounded priestess one mountain over who may have died of her wounds. When Inuyasha took off to investigate, Miroku, Sango and Kagome were captured by soldiers under the orders of a Lady. Kagome was taken to see her while Sango, Miroku, and other captives were ordered to be executed. Sango managed to cut the ropes tied around her with a hidden blade in her sleeve. She retrieved her and Miroku's weapons and freed him also. They knew that these men were being ordered by someone else to kill them. As they did not wish to kill humans, Miroku and Sango found themselves having trouble knocking them out.
They later discovered that the Lady and the priest were in fact being controlled by Kagura's Dance of the Dead. Rescuing Kagome from Naraku's latest trap, Miroku quickly deduced Naraku's newest incarnation, an Infant, was born of Onigumo's heart; however, it was not Onigumo himself, he was left behind in Mount Hakurei. Kagura and the Infant were forced to retreat, but not before warning that they would keep trying to use Kagome's eyes to find the remaining Shikon Jewel shards.
The Most Dangerous Confession
Hearing about a village of demon women who skinned their victims, Miroku was delighted to come across a village of women who had lost their loved ones in war. Having not sensed any demonic aura, Miroku began flirting with any woman he could find; however, he instantly detected the "scent of death" from Sango, who wanted to leave and continue the search. However, they were invited to stay the night and Miroku happily agreed, but found himself rooming solely with Inuyasha, Shippō, and Shinsuke (a man they met previously who was searching for his wife, Wakana, because they had separated from war). He doesn't want to stay in the village anymore because he had hoped to spend some time with the women. He's left gloomy and disappointed for awhile. Shippō questions him about what happened in Mt. Hakurei, with him and Sango. Miroku remembers how he planned to risk himself to save her life, and her confessing her feelings, but he tells Shippō that nothing happened. Later on, much to his joy, a woman offered to spend her time with him, leading Miroku to a hall with a Kwanon hanging scroll. Noticing a demonic vapor coming out of the woman's mouth, Miroku lamented that his luck sucks when it comes to being with a woman and turned his attention to the scroll, which held the spirit of a demon in it. It has a Salamander demon that ruled the marsh, but was exorcised and skinned; it ate the skin of men to prepare for its resurrection.
Miroku dealt damage to the demon, forcing it to flee. Realizing something was in the woman's stomach controlling her, Miroku punched her stomach with a sutra wrapped around his fist, making her spit up a salamander egg. He headed for the marsh, where the demon had partially resurrected itself, and was facing Inuyasha while Kagome and Shippō tried to fight the other possessed women. Miroku hands them sutras and tells them how to break the women out of their trance. Inuyasha destroyed the demon with ease, but the women remained possessed so long as the demon's eggs remained in their stomachs. He then learned Sango had vanished after going after the women on her own; he found Kirara, completely soaked. Miroku gave sutras to Kagome, tasking her with saving the other women and rode Kirara into the marsh underneath the water. Much to his surprise, he was attacked by Hiraikotsu; Sango had been forced to swallow a salamander egg. Miroku fought the possessed Sango, getting lightly injured in his successful attempt to purge the demon from her belly. He admitted she was a "fearsome opponent" and thought he was going to die. When everyone else learned what happened to Sango, they scolded him as it was his own fault due to his flirting.
Miroku later told Sango of his feelings; he valued her as the companion he fights with, but because of that he feels he can't love her as a woman. Though a tearful Sango was ready to leave, Miroku asks her live with him and to bear his children (ten, maybe twenty) if they live through their battle with Naraku and the curse of the Wind Tunnel is broken. Sango tearfully but happily agrees, and asks Miroku to promise not to flirt with other women. Miroku could only laugh nervously; it takes a lot to break bad habits.
Battle for the Final Shikon Shard
Upon hearing from Hachi that Mushin is dying, Miroku and the others visit and fulfill his final requests which was doing all the cleaning chores, even getting a special brew from the Sake Sages. However, he later learns in disbelief that Mushin believed he was going to be one of the priests of high spiritual power slain; many others had been killed, leading to the release of demons under seals. They all yell at Mushin that he will be completely safe, for he doesn't exactly have high spiritual power. Coming across a temple that had recently been attacked, the attacker's identity was revealed to be Kagura and the Infant; however, the Infant had been split in half. Miroku quickly surmised that the Infant was vital to Naraku. Chasing the horse demon Entei, which had escaped its seal thanks to the death of the priest who sealed it, they came face to face with Hakudōshi, Naraku's newest incarnation.
Hakudōshi taunted them, revealing where the final shard of the Shikon Jewel lay; in the Borderland between this world and the next. Soon afterwards, they were lead to the Land of Fire, where the only gate to the Next World existed; however, it was a trap set by Hakudōshi: one would need to be killed by the gatekeepers Mezu and Gozu in order to pass. Miroku helped save Inuyasha by using the Wind Tunnel to pull their weapons off target. Inuyasha forced the gate open, allowing them to discover the light from behind it will petrify anything it touches (for Kagura had tried to enter with her army of demons); Kagome confirmed the Shikon Jewel shard was in the next world.
Soon afterward, word spread of villagers being drained of their blood by demons. Miroku offered to protect a village in exchange for food and boarding. No sooner had he finished his usual line, demon birds descended upon the village and they met Princess Abi, the bird demons' master. She fled soon after escaping the Wind Scar. Because of the demon birds' attacks, word soon spread of Saint Hijiri, who could protect others from the birds. They set off and ran into an old couple and two kids who survived an attack from Abi's birds. Following a trail up the mountain, Kagura and Hakudōshi appear with the demon birds. While the demon birds attack, everyone protects the crowd of people trying to reach what they believe was a safe settlement. Sango found it strange how Kagura and Hakudōshi weren't attacking, and Miroku assumes it's because they must be buying time. Hakudōshi confirms it a second later, that Abi is probably killing the settlement of humans at that moment. Hijiri's arrow proved powerful enough to break Hakudōshi's barrier, leading to speculation that Kikyō may have survived Naraku's attack at Mount Hakurei. Their original goal was to track down the bird demons' nests, yet they ended up searching for Saint Hijiri.
They hear a rumor about this place in the forest where Hijiri may be, and they set off towards it. Miroku and the rest separate from Inuyasha, going on ahead anxiously and leaving him to deal with a bunch of Naraku's weak demons. They run into more demons up ahead and had to stop and fight. Sango, Kirara, and Miroku were the ones fighting the demons, meaning to protect Kagome and Shippō. Seeing Kagome run off on her own, Miroku stops fighting to chase after her, intending to stop her. He lost her once she passed a barrier he couldn't, and disappeared. Later, they find out Kikyō was alive, but she needed Kagome to purify the miasma in her body.
When Princess Abi attacked a castle, it was revealed Kohaku had been there under Naraku's orders. Miroku and the others fought the demon birds, letting Sango leave to find her younger brother, Kohaku. Later, Sango revealed she saw Kohaku trying to take a Lady's baby, which looked just like Hakudōshi; this meant Hakudōshi was a distraction to keep attention away from his other half, which must be more important. That night, Miroku comforts a distressed Sango by simply being next to her.
Eventually, Naraku beheaded Abi's mother, Tekkei, creating a River of Blood that took them all to the Borderland. There, Hōsenki, the demon in possession of the last shard, warned them away because the shard did not want to be reassembled into the jewel. After corrupting Hōsenki's shard to make him fight and become weakened, Naraku took his prize. Miroku was prevented from sucking Naraku in by the threat of the Saimyōshō hive. With Sesshōmaru's arrival, the battle took a turn for the better as Inuyasha gained the Adamant Barrage from Hōsenki, successfully crippling Naraku. When Inuyasha was trying to break open Hōsenki's invincible diamond skull to learn Adamant Barrage, Miroku and Kagome were trying to get Inuyasha to stop since the sharp pieces flying off of Hōsenki were making him bleed immensely. In the end, Naraku vanished back to the World of the Living, along with an arrow from Kikyō that Kagome fired. The shard was retrieved and taken back with them.
The Fuyōheki
Upon meeting Gakusanjin, a mountain demon, it is revealed Naraku stole his Fuyōheki, a stone that hides demonic auras; no doubt it was for hiding the Infant from them and the rest of Naraku's enemies. The Mountain Man gave them shards of his demonic energy to find and retrieve the Fuyōheki. During the search for the Fuyōheki, they came across demons, patched-together from corpses and animated by haku; these were experiments created by Hakudōshi, to create his masterpiece, Mōryōmaru. Miroku was ashamed of himself, because he was attacked by Mōryōmaru, losing the shards of demonic energy, and thus their only lead to Naraku.
Mistakes of the Past
Lamenting his losing of the shards of demonic energy, Miroku happily embraced Sango when she tried cheering him up; she even didn't protest to him groping her. Feeling an earthquake and demonic presence, they raced to a nearby lake, offering assistance. However, Miroku, much to his own surprise, was recognized by one of the men, who asked if he had come back to honor his promise to marry his daughter. Questioned persistently, Miroku immediately recognized Shima, who, three years ago, agreed to marry him once she recovered from her illness. Miroku was pummeled by Sango and continued to fear her wrath when Shima got close to him. Learning the Master of the Lake wants Shima as his bride, Miroku offered to help prevent it; however, this was misinterpreted as his willingness to marry Shima. Shima's father explained the Master of the Lake wants a virgin as his bride, so if she is married to someone else, he'll give up. When the Master of the Lake arrived, Shima lied, saying she slept with Miroku when they met. Miroku, having trouble remembering what exactly happened, was shocked at this accusation though he didn't say anything; at the same time, this only angered Sango further. Enraged at being tricked, the Master of the Lake transformed and prepared to destroy Shima's house.
Miroku tried getting Sango to help, but she was too hurt by what Shima had said to listen to him, and she ran off. Feeling equally hurt, Miroku said she didn't even give him time to explain the truth; Shippō was confused as Miroku is usually guilty when it comes to something perverted. The Master of the Lake kidnapped Shima, deciding to take her after all; Miroku chased them to the lake, where Sango saved Shima at the cost of being captured in her place. Enraged that the demon would try taking "his woman", Miroku drained the lake with his Wind Tunnel and gave the Master of the Former Lake a sound beating. After that, Miroku asked if Sango was alright. She was still stunned over Miroku's protectiveness over her and his previous words, but then she looks away to the side, remembering she was irritated with him about Shima. His expression turns apologetic and sheepish, and she turns away from him abruptly, walking quickly in the opposite direction. He throws Master to the side and chases after her, trying to get her attention. She continued to ignore him, but was secretly happy that he cared for her and she let out a sigh and then a smile. Sango was now relieved that he had proven his feelings. Miroku knew she understood his feelings now and playfully chased her around.
The next day when Shima revealed she lied, Miroku explained to Sango that he was foolish to think she would trust him and not what someone else said. Although, the two made up rather quickly. While walking on to their next adventure, Miroku was questioned as to why he didn't speak up sooner about Shima losing her virginity to him falsely. Earlier, Miroku had told Sango that he supposes he was "naive" because he thought Sango would know and trust he wouldn't do those things, without him having to tell her. That didn't appear to be the case. Shippō accurately guesses he must've taken a while to remember the truth. Miroku freezes and starts to sweat nervously at being caught. He then faced a possible beating from Sango for lying again, and he nervously tells her, "It was so long ago..."
In Search of Naraku's Heart
Upon hearing Gakusanjin had been slain by the Gyōja, Inuyasha's sense of smell was used to take them to a temple run by a priest named Goryōmaru; Goryōmaru had a demonic arm thanks to a demon trying to eat him, but he turned the tables and sealed him into his body. Kagura attacked the temple, believing the Infant was hidden inside; unknown to Miroku and the others, it was. Come daybreak, they investigated the nearby cave, where the corpses of demons were put under a spell that turned them into statues that attracted other demons. Kagura returned to the temple, but with Hakudōshi this time; Goryōmaru was decapitated while Hakudōshi picked up the Infant and Kanna, taking them away. The group was then lead to a stone ogre by Kagura, where the Infant supposedly was; however, it was another of Naraku's traps as he, himself, was there in place of his own heart. Miroku ended up poisoned by Saimyōshō while Inuyasha managed to free them from the ogre, which was brought to life by Naraku's shikon jewel.
A Second Enemy
Soon afterwards, Mōryōmaru betrayed Naraku, having become the vessel for the Infant, along with Hakudōshi and Kagura. They stole the Shikon Shard from Kagome while trying to take Kōga and Kohaku's shards; both attempts ended in failure. Miroku attempted to suck Hakudōshi into his Wind Tunnel after Naraku disabled Hakudōshi's barrier, but Saimyōshō prevented him from doing so. Much to everyone's surprise, the Saimyōshō abandoned Hakudōshi, allowing him to be sucked in. Kagura was offered a place in their group by Kagome, but decided to take off on her own. Kohaku was rescued from Mōryōmaru, who was forced to flee due to lacking enough power to fight on his own. Kohaku took off on his own again, afraid of bringing harm to others. They soon followed after Kagura when Inuyasha caught the scent of blood and miasma. They arrived in a field of flowers just as Kagura died, learning from Sesshōmaru that she was smiling. Mōryōmaru continued growing in power, becoming just as much as a threat as Naraku. At the same time, a new incarnation named Byakuya appeared to replace Naraku's fallen minions; he observed as both Inuyasha and Mōryōmaru grew stronger, never fighting the other once. Naraku made a sudden move by bringing back to life a demonic tree able to break through barriers, and ate it.
A Foolish Tactic
Eventually, Naraku and Mōryōmaru faced off in a duel to absorb the other; Mōryōmaru succeeded and ate Naraku. However, it was later revealed to be a farce; Naraku needed to get inside of Mōryōmaru to use the demon tree's ability to break through barriers in order to reclaim and absorb the Infant back into himself. When Naraku attempted to flee, Miroku opened the Wind Tunnel, sucking in tons of Naraku's miasma to the point of bleeding out of his eyes and mouth. However, he managed to succeed in sucking in the Fuyōheki before Inuyasha forced him to close it. As Naraku taunted Miroku for almost getting him, the villain fled. An examination revealed Naraku's miasma had left a scar on Miroku's body that almost reached his heart; the scar resembled spider legs. Kikyō healed Miroku by pouring her own life energy into him to reverse the damage; however, if Miroku sucks in too much poison, the scars will reappear and spread until they reach his heart and kill him. After being saved from Bone Demons by Sango, Miroku found that his sucking in Naraku's miasma had left him extremely vulnerable to poison, not even being able to handle weaker versions of miasma. It was a constant pain when he would suck in any kinds of miasma. When Sango took her Hiraikotsu to be fixed by the Master of Potions, Miroku was offered a poisonous elixir that would prevent him from feeling pain from sucking in miasma, but it would not actually heal him. He told Inuyasha not to tell the others, especially Sango, and Inuyasha agreed as long as Miroku did not use his Wind Tunnel unnecessarily. To fight by Sango's side, Miroku took the potion, allowing the demon spirits that formed Hiraikotsu to be quelled and reforged.
The Final Battle
As the fight over Kohaku's shard to complete the jewel continued, Miroku found using the Wind Tunnel did not hurt anymore thanks to the Master of Potions' medicine. However, the scar began to spread from his hand again. When Magatsuhi tried to take a possessed Kohaku to Naraku, Miroku sucked in his main spiritual body, becoming badly poisoned by its evil spirit. However, he has also pushed the Wind Tunnel to the point of tearing, only to have two usages before being killed by it. Kohaku is taken and Miroku ends up badly hurt with a badly injured Sango. Inuyasha and Kagome rush over to them and Inuyasha scolds Miroku for using Wind Tunnel. All of them are taken off guard when they can actually start to hear the sound of the Wind Tunnel and it's not even open. Inuyasha continues to scold Miroku, when he cuts him off, saying that it's no time for accusations and that he and Kagome should hurry after Kohaku. Sango continues to look at Miroku, with wide eyes.
Inuyasha and Kagome continue after Kohaku. Sango's getting dressed to go after Kohaku also, even though Shippō asks and worries about her serious wounds. She's determined to put an end to Naraku, lifting the curse of Miroku's Wind Tunnel. Miroku's lying down in a storage shed with Kaede watching over him, for he had fallen asleep. Jaken's watching an unconscious Rin (she was poisoned by Magatsuhi's miasma too). Sango enters the storage shed and Jaken apologizes while repeatedly bowing, thinking it was Sesshōmaru. He realizes it's just the Demon Slayer and stops. By now, Sango knows what Miroku did, just to fight by her side. Saddened by it, she asks to be alone with him for a moment. Kaede carries Rin out, and Jaken follows after. Looking at Miroku, Sango thinks about how he always risked his life to save her and Kohaku. Tears falling, she kisses him as he sleeps, hoping he won't die. She then leaves to fight. Later during the night, Miroku's awake. Kaede informs him that she felt an ominous energy leaving his body, which they assumed was the part of Magatsuhi he absorbed. They hoped the others had defeated him. Unfortunately, they realize the real form of Magatsuhi was sucked into Miroku's body and had escaped. Magatsuhi later possesses Rin and takes her to Naraku as a hostage.
Everyone except for Shippō, Jaken, and Kohaku (they were ordered to stay behind) confronted Naraku's huge spider body. Sesshōmaru didn't hesitate to enter Naraku's body, with Kagome and Inuyasha going in right after. Miroku, Sango, and Kirara follow after them, but not before Miroku tells Sango, "Once this is over, let's have our wedding." Once inside, they realize that the whole body is completely Naraku. No matter how many parts of Naraku's flesh they attack, tentacles and clones keep coming back. Eventually, Naraku splits their group up by moving Kagome and Inuyasha to another location. Miroku and Sango continue, trying to find a way to get deeper into Naraku's body since that's where Kagome sensed the jewel was. They're caught in an illusion and Miroku watches as Naraku presents the scene of the day his father was sucked into the Wind Tunnel; seeing this unnerves Sango, who doesn't want him to share the same fate.
After the illusion is done, Miroku tries to calm Sango down. Kirara retrieves them so they can get out but tentacles knock them down. Miroku ends up landing on a higher level ground than Sango. Dazed, Sango tries to get her Hiraikotsu to attack tentacles coming at her but it was going to be too late, and Miroku is forced to use his Wind Tunnel to protect Sango. Much to her protests, she tries to climb up to where he is so he'll stop, but he doesn't until all the tentacles are gone. His Wind Tunnel whirs but when it finally calms down, he smiles sadly at Sango, saying they have to part ways. Then he distances himself from her to avoid sucking her in. He finds it would be more painful than death. When light returns to the Shikon Jewel thanks to Magatsuhi's death, Miroku follows the light to an illusion of Naraku, who tries to persuade him into using the Wind Tunnel. However, Inuyasha and Kagome prevent him from doing so. When being separated again from Inuyasha and Kagome when going after an unconscious and falling Sango, who had been knocked out from the miasma, the two end up alone in another part of Naraku's body. After she wakes up, he asks for forgiveness for abandoning her. However, she instead begs him to let her die alongside him when the Wind Tunnel sucks him in, refusing to be without him in life. Despite not wanting to, he relents and the two embrace and cling to each other, waiting for death.
When Sesshōmaru's Bakusaiga begins destroying Naraku, the Wind Tunnel curse begins fading, allowing Miroku to suck in all of the poisonous miasma spilling out of it. Escaping Naraku's body, Miroku watches as the Meidō Zangetsuha sends Naraku's remains to Hell; however, Naraku's head gets to the Bone-Eater's Well before vanishing with the Shikon Jewel. To confirm Naraku's death, Miroku discovers the Wind Tunnel in his palm is gone, thus the Wind Tunnel curse has been lifted. At that time, Kagome is sucked into a Meidō and Inuyasha goes after her in another. While Inuyasha and Kagome were gone, Shippō, Sango, and Miroku often switched roles throughout the days, waiting for the Well and the other two to come back. Three days later, the Well reappears with just Inuyasha who tells them Kagome is safe on the other side of the well.
Later life
At the end of the series, Miroku no longer bears the Kazaana and marries Sango. They live in Kaede's village where they go on to have three children: twin girls and a recently newborn boy. He supports his family by exorcising demons with Inuyasha. However, he hasn't given up on swindling people; he takes three bales of rice, claiming that he has a family to provide for, as an excuse.
Personality
If he failed to defeat Naraku, his life would be cut short by the Kazaana curse set upon by Naraku in his right hand. The threat of dying on his head, he forged under heaven's command in the face of his cruel destiny which was later reverted due to Naraku's death. He has a strong spirit that allows him to conduct himself in an easygoing manner, not showing his weaknesses and hiding his true feelings. As his body is in the service of Buddha, his soul is well-balanced.[2]
Miroku is very brave, willing to sacrifice his own well-being in order to protect the lives of innocents and those he cares for, as seen when he willingly sucked up many demons and Saimyōshō to allow Inuyasha to go rescue Kagome and Sango, even though he knew he would be badly poisoned by the Saimyōshō.[3] That being said, running away from someone he feels he's no match against is not something he's shameful about if he feels it's the most reasonable option (Unlike that of Inuyasha, whose pride and stubbornness often causes him to still fight even if the odds are against him). However, when it comes to protecting his friends and loved ones, he will risk his life without a second thought. Repeating such acts (which he had done many times over to almost all of his companions, especially to Sango) caused Miroku's life to be threatened even more so than usual. But he is not just being reckless, he's demonstrating his bravery and sense of justice.[4]
Basically, he is kind and friendly, but he does not have a lot of patience and can be somewhat short-tempered if others think ill of him. He sometimes shows a completely different facial expression than his usual calm one. When he meets someone who is adverse in his advice or questions, he becomes a bad monk, verbally criticizing and becoming violent without hesitation. He'll punish anyone with his foul language, even if it's the first time he's met the person. Miroku's temper has been shown to arise in both the anime and manga, towards Inuyasha, especially Hachiemon, and on one occasion, he even violently beat up Jaken (An event that left Jaken being terrified of the monk).[2]
He will not harm innocent people for his own convenience and dislikes pointless fighting. Miroku is a pacifist, and even if someone challenges him (like Inuyasha did when he first met him), he'll run if there is no need to fight. Even during battle, he thinks about the people around him first and has much compassion towards innocent people. Often, when simple villagers are put against him in battle, Miroku, though he defends himself, restrains his counterattacks and refuses to kill other people when he easily could. He treats even enemies with respect and consideration (excluding Naraku). When enemies lose their hostility (like Rōyakan for example), he believed it unnecessary and cruel to attack any further. His Buddhist heart is open to everyone.[2]
Miroku has an open heart and thinks more about others than himself, naturally being very unselfish. He is sensitive to people's feelings and can be attentive on an individual basis. To make things well, he treats people gently or, when required, severely. He never adopts a pushy attitude, but instead is nonchalantly attentive such as when he acted towards Sango over Kohaku. Being warmhearted by nature, he cannot stand by and see innocent people suffer or grieve when he knows he could do something about it. His sympathy and consideration of others' feelings are always seen.[2]
Miroku was constantly up against the memory of death and avoided relationships with people, for in the back of his mind, he always had an image of his father who died by being sucked into the Wind Tunnel. He was forced into a lonely, merciless life because of Naraku's curse. Even when he began to journey with Inuyasha's party, he could not relieve his torment and tried to solve things on his own. However, his heart began to heal through the strong bonds he formed with his companions, healing his loneliness as time passed. Despite having friends, Miroku still anguished over his Kazaana and condemned fate to die; his greatest fear being his Wind Tunnel sucking up his companions and then himself along with them. He often hid his true feelings with a carefree and easygoing exterior, but his fear of dying still showed through on occasion. Though once the Wind Tunnel was gone, Miroku was free to live his life.[2]
In addition to his intense curiosity, he takes an objective view on things. Should a question arise, he would investigate it, even in the midst of battle. When suspicions or ambiguities arose, he would actively investigate, even if he was in a dangerous place. He tried to see clearly the actual conditions or truth in things. He also has a great ability for understanding and an excellent memory. Miroku also has knowledge on a variety of things, all of which he understands deeply. He has particular knowledge of gods, spirits and other such entities. From these things he gained clues to deciphering Naraku's actions and deceptions. Miroku is obviously the tactician of Inuyasha's party, due to being the most intelligent and wise out of all of them.[2]
As he is capable of calm judgment in a variety of situations, he was able to fight and act cleverly. He can also perform analysis based on only scant information and make accurate guesses that become solid information. Miroku analyzes matters on the basis of his experience and leads with conviction. He is insightful and can sense changes in enemy movements. He speculated all possibilities and comes to the most likely answer. What's more, there are many cases in Miroku's analysis of tactical situation that gave his companions a strategic advantage.[2]
Because nobody could predict the outcome of their journey, their daily life depended on unplanned circumstances. When there was no place to stay, Miroku finds the most magnificent premises around and performed fake exorcisms, thereby getting a place to sleep and eat by taking advantage of his position as a monk. Miroku employed blackmail and theft, making him manipulative and resourceful, but means no harm by it. He simply does all these actions to gain a favorable situation for him and his friends. He even believes it to be just dues (much to the annoyance of his companions). Also being the most responsible with managing, he was left in charge of the money. He has gotten used to telling lies without very little remorse, but is not above lying to simple and honest villagers or spirit monkeys.[2]
Miroku after being slapped.
Miroku, much like his father and grandfather, is a peerless womanizer. Unusual for a monk, he easily gives in to his perverted desires and does nothing to hide them as he expresses them freely. As soon as he saw a beautiful woman, he wasted no time in pursuing her. No matter where he is, he takes pleasure in the company of beautiful women. He often staged palm readings to meet women. And once, an entire town of women found themselves captivatedby his palm-reading skills. He took pleasure in shameless flirting with women during his journeys, but not just any women. If a woman was old or unattractive, he has been known to run away from these types of women out of fear (especially when these particular women were infatuated with him).[2]
He has asked scores of women to bear his child and often tried to connect with them heart-to-heart through physical contact. His desire to have children was very serious but people around him did not seem to understand this. Women often viewed him with hostility or mistrust, thinking he was joking, but it is human instinct to want to leave descendants when one feels his life is growing shorter, like Miroku did. Given an opening and opportunity, he would touch any women's behind. He has an obsession for women and has fondled them even in the middle of serious conversation or suffering from injuries or poison. Miroku touches women in front of him almost as if it was an unconscious reflex. At one point when he is called possessed by the white and red priestesses he states that the hand is possessed by a demon. Being a true lecher, he is unconcerned by being verbally insulted, slapped, or receiving scornful glares. Miroku has consistently perverted thoughts. However, he cared about Sango and thus left her alone when she was distressed. He did eventually touch her breasts and butt though, once Sango stopped being so sad.[2]
Although he continued in his flirtatious ways toward women, his feelings for Sango are not like that. She is shown to be very important to him and a reliable companion while pursuing Naraku. Though the attitude he showed Sango under normal circumstances was the same as he showed towards other women: lecherous. Even when he plied her with kindness, he showed no sense of romantic love which is shown to somewhat annoy Sango. He looked as if he had no feelings towards her as a woman. (Miroku stating in his confession to her that was the problem; his inability to see her as an ordinary woman and more of a comrade, a woman he fought alongside). Despite this, Miroku does proceed to fall deeply in love with Sango, repeatedly risking his life for her and always making sure she never puts herself in harm's way unnecessarily, admitting he loves her. He soon proposes to Sango, who accepts without hesitation, becoming his fiancee.[2]
Physical description
Artwork from The Final Act.
Miroku has black hair tied in a small ponytail on the back of his neck, dark blue eyes and wears golden earrings. He is called handsome by some people (usually women).
Outfit
The robes of most wandering monks are actually quite poor and ragged - often stitched together out of whatever pieces of cloth a person might give them on their travels. Miroku's robes are quite extravagant and expensive compared to those of most itinerant monks. However, this is consistent with his tendency to loot the wealth of greedy merchants whose homes he rids of demons and ghosts.
- Rosary:
Miroku carries a string of beads used for Buddhist prayer and invocation. They are usually associated with a chant repeating "Amida Nyorai". The most common type has 108 beads. The nenju carried by Japanese Buddhist monks were typically made of 112 wooden beads.
Originally rare and made of semi-precious stones, the spread of Buddhism brought wider use of nenju from the Heian Period (8th-12th century) through the Kamakura Period (12th-14th century). By the Warring States era, most poor monks carried wooden beads. The number "108" (a sacred number in many Buddhist traditions) represents the number of earthly passions and desires that blind and delude us, entrapping us in the Six States of Existence (the wheel of life, the cycle of samsara, the cycle of suffering and reincarnation).
Miroku makes further use of his nenju to seal off the Wind Tunnel in his hand.
- Tekko:
The arm protectors worn by both Miroku and Sango are called Tekko. Miroku normally wraps the Tekko over the Wind Tunnel, then seals it with his Nenju (rosary). However, he abandons it once the Wind Tunnel was removed.
Powers & Abilities
- Expert Staff Specialist: Miroku has shown impressive use of his Shakujo staff as a weapon where he was able to fend off Inuyasha wielding the Tessaiga during their first fight. Miroku is also seen using it as a blunt weapon where he managed to take out a few undead warriors resurrected by Sounga in the third movie.
- Expert Manipulator: Perhaps the most astounding skill Miroku has is that he is a skilled con artist and orator. Several times throughout the journey for the Shikon Jewel shards, Miroku has often used his status as a monk to sway the hearts of the human populace to gain benefits for both him and his friends. He does so by often lying that the richest house in the vicinity has a demon for him to exorcise to the point that his own friends are astonished that he spoke the truth when in episode 56 there really was a demon in the house that he exorcised.
- Kazaana: The Wind Tunnel is a curse placed upon Miroku's grandfather by Naraku that is passed down through the male line in Miroku's family. The curse pierced the palm of the monk and resulted in a hole or void into another dimension which sucks everything into it, creating a terrible sucking wind in the process. While Miroku has leveraged this curse into a formidable weapon, the Wind Tunnel is difficult to control. The Wind Tunnel also suppresses some of his Spiritual Powers, as it was Miroku's grandfather's power that Naraku feared.
Miroku's face bleeds severely after sucking in too much of Naraku's miasma.
Miroku seals it with a Buddhist rosary until he wishes to unleash its power, but it slowly grows larger with time and will eventually consume him. The potency of the Wind Tunnel is such that Naraku has been forced to use his demonic poison bugs, the Saimyōshō, to counter it. By the time of the final battle against Naraku, the Wind Tunnel has grown too large for Miroku to use at his leisure and only had one last use before the void would consume him. As Sesshōmaru's Bakusaiga tears apart Naraku from the inside out, the Wind Tunnel's power begins to fade away. By the time Naraku is reduced to a mere head, the curse has finally been lifted.
Miroku's Wind Tunnel
- Great Spiritual Power: As a monk, Miroku has spiritual powers. It was his grandfather's spiritual power that Naraku feared and the reason why Naraku cursed his line. The Wind Tunnel curse weakened his grandfather's spiritual powers. The curse is passed on to the next generation of males in Miroku's family, until he dies in fear of the spiritual power of Miroku's family. As Naraku was destroyed later in the series and the curse of the Wind Tunnel was broken, Miroku's full spiritual powers were restored. It is likely that he is extremely powerful as with the Wind Tunnel he was able to fight well against those with high spiritual power.
- Barriers
- Miroku has the ability to put up barriers using his spiritual powers. They can vary in size and protect him and others by blocking demons and attacks. Many times he is seen channeling a barrier through his staff, while other times he does it by mere concentration.
- Enhanced Durability: Miroku has incredible durability and pain tolerance for a human where several times in the series, he has consistently sucked in a great deal of poisons whether be it miasma from Naraku or poisonous demons in order to gain some advantage against them. Despite suffering damage from them, Miroku has been able to tolerate them in order to assist his friends to defeat their enemies. Perhaps the greatest poison tolerance that Miroku has demonstrated when using his Wind Tunnel is when he willingly sucked in a great deal of Naraku's miasma to the point of causing his face to bleed in an attempt to kill Naraku but ended up sucking in the Fuyoheki.
- Enhanced Endurance: Miroku's endurance and stamina are as such that he can remain conscious and alive after infecting himself with a great deal of poisons from either Naraku or other poisonous demons when most humans would otherwise be incapacitated or outright killed from the poison infection. He even took little time to rest after being poisoned and cured of the Saimyosho's poison when first used by Sesshomaru to return to the battle. He was also able to keep up with Inuyasha and Kōga on foot and run under such speeds for long periods of times.
- Enhanced Strength: Despite being human, Miroku possesses enough physical strength to engage Inuyasha wielding the Tessaiga in a contest of strength between the half-demon's demon sword and his shakujo staff and even fended off the attack as well.
Weapons
- Shakujō: In Japan, the Shakujō Staff is still used by monks, pilgrims, and practitioners of Shugendou (a school of Buddhism teaching spiritual practices in the mountains). A yamabushi or mountain priest may use it for magic or exorcism, as does Miroku. In the Shingon and Tendai sects, the Shakujō is used as a ritual object in special ceremonies, much like the Tibetan Dorje. The head of Miroku's is sharpened, while the staff portion is not wood, but a metal pole. Miroku combines his spiritual powers with his staff to slice through demons and often uses the staff as a melee weapon.
- Sacred Sutras: These "Jufu Talismans" are strips of paper upon which special prayers have been written and prayed over, imbuing them with spiritual power and energy against specific evil. Each Ofuda has a special prayer, and thus is tailored for a specific purpose such as general protection, good luck, safe travel, removing a ghost or spirit, or sealing off a demon or spirit. Miroku uses them in his work to "exorcise" ghosts and demons from homes and people. Similar Ofuda are used by Kagome's Grandfather early in the series after Kagome returns from the Feudal era for the first time. Grandpa Higurashi attempts to seal off the "Bone Eater's Well" with numerous ofuda, but as we saw from Inuyasha's arrival, Grandpa's ofuda were not strong enough to stop him.
- Sacred Hiraikotsu: A combined effort, Miroku can place his sutras onto Sango's Hiraikotsu, adding spiritual power to the already potent demon slaying weapon.
Relationships
Sango and Miroku together
Miroku and Sango are constantly at odds, mostly on her end, due to his womanizing. Anytime Miroku tries to flirt with a girl when he's not supposed to, which is frequently, or if he tries to grope her rear end (also frequent) Sango would slap him or hit him over the head with Hiraikotsu. Since Miroku is "technically" a Buddhist priest, Sango usually addresses Miroku with the respectful term houshi-sama (houshi means Buddhist priest, and -sama is a respectful honorific), even when he acts disrespectfully, which is reflected in the dub by dryly calling him "monk".
Sango nonetheless respects Miroku's spiritual abilities and knowledge and utilizes them in battle. The two usually help one another and fight together when facing an enemy. When they fight, they're in sync with each other. While Miroku uses his knowledge to discern how to fight, Sango uses her brawn to help Miroku with his plans and execute them and vice versa. Sango and Miroku make an excellent pair in battle because they work/cooperate so well, and whenever the group splits up its usually split between Inuyasha-Kagome and Sango-Miroku.
Miroku with Sango, their children and Shippō
When Miroku and Sango met, Miroku restrained himself out of sympathy for the fact that she had lost her family. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Miroku falls deeply in love with Sango but is unable to come forth with those feelings. Oftentimes, it would leave Sango feeling agitated by it, because it feels like he has no romantic interest in her when his actions suggest otherwise. He hides it by groping or caressing her at random or inappropriate times, earning himself a hard slap to the face. As a result of this, Sango tended to assume Miroku was behaving inappropriately even when he wasn't; on one occasion when he was keeping lookout while the girls and Shippō were bathing in a hot spring, Miroku surprised an intruder nearby. Sango, who didn't see the intruder, assumed Miroku was peeping at them and lobbed a chunk of wood, hitting him in the chin and causing him to tumble down the slope; when he tried to plead his innocence further, she dropped a boulder on him.
After an unfortunate mishap in battle with a Salamander demon, where Sango gets possessed and injures Miroku, the two sit down for a talk. They apologized to one another and Miroku admits that Sango is not like other women and that she is very special to him. He asks Sango, if he is still alive after the battle with Naraku, if she would live with him and bear him as many children as possible (10 to 20, at least). Sango tearfully accepts his proposal and the two are engaged. After the proposal, Miroku still flirts with other women, albeit less than before, at which Sango still becomes exceedingly jealous and furious, even more than before the proposal since they are now technically together. This often resulted in her dragging him away by his ear for a beating as Miroku tries explaining himself.
Miroku often makes sure that Sango will be the one to live and survive if they are stuck in extremely dangerous situations. He would not hesitate to sacrifice himself or put himself on the line for her, as long as she goes on. Even though she insists on them dying together, if it ever came down to that, Miroku was always determined to find a way for her to make it out. He hates being greatly injured to the point where he cannot fight, because he feels he should fight side by side with Sango instead of being protected by her. He cares deeply for Sango. Whenever she was depressed and stressed over Kohaku, Miroku was always there to comfort her. If she didn't feel like talking, simply being next to her was enough to make her feel better. If she did talk about her feelings and worries, he would always know the right words to say to make things feel okay or to be able to calm her down. Either way, whenever she was upset, Miroku was always by her side.
Miroku's love for Sango is more emphasized in Inuyasha the Final Act and shown to have grown considerably. He repeatedly puts his life at risk in order to protect her and Kohaku from Naraku, knowing how much her brother means to her. He even drinks a poison to have him feel no pain from his potentially fatal infection as a result if taking in a dangerous portion of miasma in order to ensure she would not need to protect him and risk her life needlessly.
Near the end of The Final Act, Miroku's Wind Tunnel tears from constant use and threatens to consume him should he use it anymore. Realizing his Wind Tunnel may finally kill him while in Naraku's body, he abandons Sango in order to make sure she would not die along with him, admitting how unintentionally killing her with his Wind Tunnel would be more painful then his own death. While under an illusion of Naraku, he even says how he had fully intended on spending "forever" with Sango after the battle and regrets not being able to share a life with her. When eventually reunited together, Sango tearfully begs him to let her die with him when his Wind Tunnel finally consumes him and Miroku reluctantly relents, embracing her and holding her tightly to him. However, he still plans to ensure her survival.
After Naraku is defeated and Miroku's curse is broken, he and Sango have since shown to have married and started a family together while settled in Kaede's village. The couple have twin girls and a newborn baby boy, happily and peacefully living together.
Inuyasha may not like how the monk approaches life (women, villagers, opportunity), but he does respect the monk for his battle skills, knowledge of yōkai, and other worldly skills. They have saved each other's lives several times, and both know that they can implicitly trust each other to help if they are in trouble. In battle, Miroku would sometimes try to tell Inuyasha to not act so hastily (usually he's ignored and Inuyasha finds out the hard way) but other times Miroku's advice really helped Inuyasha fight a tough enemy. Being guys, they also understood each other's protective feelings towards the girl they love. For example, Miroku had drunk the poison to prevent him from feeling the pain of sucking in miasma so he could fight with Sango, and had told Inuyasha not to inform the others, especially Sango. Inuyasha agrees as long as Miroku doesn't use Wind Tunnel unnecessarily. Another example is when Inuyasha was conflicted over Kikyō and Kagome, and Miroku asked who he would choose. Inuyasha struggled with answering, wondering why he couldn't have both, and Miroku's amused, but doesn't tell Kagome. The both of them had this mutual understanding and bond. However, Inuyasha often sees him as a pervert, which is really true. Miroku has proven Inuyasha right most of the time. Often, he will try to act as the voice of reason after one of Inuyasha's reunions with Kikyō, to get him to behave properly. However, this always fails without question. Eventually, they became best friends. Following the time skip, Inuyasha helps Miroku with exorcisms, although still exasperated that Miroku continues to rip off his clients.
Miroku notably was the person who had told Inuyasha that Naraku was the culprit behind Kikyō's death; It is unknown how Miroku came to learn of this, or if he simply conclude this from his own deduction skills, since it was commonly believed that Inuyasha betrayed Kikyō.
When they first meet, Miroku asks her to bear his child, and promptly gropes her. He respects Kagome's power as a priestess and always addresses her as "Kagome-sama", just as she refers to him as "Miroku-sama". He enjoys Kagome's and her mother's home cooking, is respectful of her new found combat skills, and often sides with her during her arguments with Inuyasha. Though Kagome is disgusted with Miroku's lechery, womanizing, and perverted actions; she respects his knowledge. Whenever he says too much about a particular subject that Shippō's too young to know about, she chastises him about it. She is always the first to yell and scold him whenever Sango is upset by his perverted actions and chasing after other women. She is also the one who tries to urge him towards Sango and to open up about his feelings, though it doesn't really work. If Inuyasha is too busy fighting, Miroku is able to be counted on to save and protect Kagome for him. Kagome always brings medicines and antidotes for Miroku whenever he is injured or poisoned. She always brings foods and presents that he likes from the present world as well. She knows that Miroku won't hesitate to risk his life for the sake of his friends and comrades. She considers him as a friend or at most, like an older brother. She always takes his advice in any trouble, like dealing with demons or whenever Inuyasha transforms to a demon and anything related to spiritual power. She respects his intelligence, spiritual power, and knowledge.
Like Inuyasha, the little fox demon heavily disapproves of Miroku's bad habits, such as his swindling and womanizing, even scolding him as well. However, Miroku takes this in stride as he knows Shippō should learn how to properly behave; he is more than willing to explain "certain things" Shippō doesn't know about. They are often seen talking amongst themselves, usually about Inuyasha and Kagome. Shippō often calls him an "idiot" whenever he gets hit by Sango. Despite Shippō disliking his womanizing, it seems some of Miroku's habits rubbed off on the little fox demon as he, as Sango puts it, constantly meets girls in all the villages they pass through on their journey.
Miroku's partner-in-crime before Miroku met Inuyasha and the others. This tanuki jūjin would act as a yōkai and the sneaky monk would pretend to drive him off. The hōshi would then collect from the yōkai's "victims." Hachi is very loyal to Miroku, and their friendship is very solid but Miroku has been known to threaten him with his Wind Tunnel if Hachi doesn't comply at first. Sometimes Hachi would transform and even provide as transportation for Miroku and the others. Most of the time, he helps Miroku when he needs it, but isn't a fighter. He's usually just Miroku's motivational support in battle, simply cheering him on instead. In the second movie when Hachi fell from the sky, Miroku worriedly runs over to him. Thinking Hachi was dead, Miroku began to mourn his friend's loss only to find him sleeping. Due to Hachi's friendly nature, he is very polite and congenial to others. Miroku is also not above giving him a sound beating to get his point across.
.png){kind=link}
Mushin
Mushin was one who had raised Miroku after his father's death and consequently had passed down his lecherous tendencies to Miroku. Mushin had always lied to Miroku about his father's death. Because Mushin is usually drunk and passed out, Miroku is disgusted by this and openly berates his mentor whenever possible. Mushin is well-versed in the Wind Tunnel curse and can mend nicks in them, but only if the Wind Tunnel remains covered until he can repair it. Miroku cares deeply about Mushin; as seen in Episode 135, when he thought Mushin had passed on, he cried in grief.
Quotes
- "Will you bear my child?"
- ―Miroku
- "If the demon is truly big, then we are no match for it. It's irrational. It's impossible. It's against my religion."
- ―Miroku
- "You have it wrong! I was merely standing guard to protect you from danger, nothing more!"
- ―Miroku
- Miroku: "I must say, Kagome looked upset. What went on between you and Kikyō?"
- Inuyasha: "The same thing that goes on with you and a woman."
- Miroku: "GAHHH! You did that in front of Kagome?! Ghastly!"
- Inuyasha: "Maybe you should explain what you do with women!"
- Miroku: "Nothing!"
- ―Miroku asking Inuyasha why he made Kagome so upset[src]
- "Resist all temptation..."
- ―Miroku
- "You don't know who you're dealing with! What meaning does my life have without the woman I deeply care for?! I would sacrifice my life for hers!"
- ―Miroku revealing the depth of his feelings towards Sango to Kagura
- "What good is this cursed hand if I can't protect the woman I love?"
- ―Miroku to Sango
- Miroku: "Sango would you consider bearing my-"
- Sango: "SPARE ME WILL YA?!"
- ―Miroku attempting to ask Sango to bear his child after she mentioned that he asked every other woman but her[src]
- "If this is indeed a trap, I will gladly fall into it!"
- ―Miroku
- "You're not like the others Sango, you're a very special woman to me."
- ―Miroku
- "Somehow it's different with us. You see, Sango, I never had such strong feelings for a woman as I do for you."
- ―Miroku
- "You're my comrade, the woman I fight alongside... those are my feelings."
- ―Miroku
- "I'm just getting started. If this battle with Naraku ever comes to an end and the curse of my wind tunnel is broken, if I make it out alive, if we made it that far, would you come live with me? Would you bear my children, Sango?"
- ―Miroku
- "Oh, how I longed for this. (Sango slaps him) This pain brings back fond memories. It has been far, far too long Sango."
- ―Miroku
- "Forgive me, it's hard to control myself around such beauties."
- ―Miroku
- "I was too naive... I thought you'd understand even without me saying anything. It's because I'm always such a cad, I'm sorry I hurt you, Sango."
- ―Miroku
- "Her eyes were shouting to me, 'Drop dead, you idiot'."
- ―Miroku
- "Sango, don't be so kind to me. I can't forgive myself for being so careless..."
- ―Miroku
- "Koharu, you're starting a new life in a new village. I know you're scared. To survive is scary, for everyone. In my right hand is a hole that will suck up everything and anything. A Wind Tunnel, a curse was to put upon us during my grandfather's time. And that grandfather, and then my father were sucked up by the Wind Tunnels in their hands. In time, I, too, will be sucked up by this hole. But I made the decision to live with this curse as my strength. One human taking on demons with the Wind Tunnel. This Wind Tunnel is a weapon given to me. That's what I decided."
- ―Miroku
- "To live strong is very difficult, to overcome uncertainty is an enormous task..."
- ―Miroku
- "Don't blame me, she was practically begging me to fondle her."
- ―Miroku
- "Don't be sad. If you want to cry, you can cry on my shoulder."
- ―Miroku talks to Kaname
- "Giving something to Buddha is the same thing as giving it to me. Rather than let it go bad, it is much more beneficial to take them."
- ―Miroku talks to Kaname
Trivia
- Naraku was the one who put the curse on Miroku's grandfather. The Wind Tunnel was only passed down to the male generations. The curse was broken when they killed Naraku.
- Miroku and Sango always stand up for Kagome when she and Inuyasha get into a fight. When Kagome leaves to go back into the Modern Era they tell Inuyasha to go over there and apologize to her since Inuyasha and Kagome are the only ones who can go through the Bone‐Eaters Well.
- Sango's address of Miroku is "Hōshi-sama", (法師様, (ほうしさま). InuYasha's semi-useral address for Miroku is "Bonzō", (凡僧, (ぼんぞう), a ordinary lowly-rank Buddhist monk.
- During his early appearances in the manga, his hairstyle strongly resembles that of Hiten.
- Miroku, along with Shippō, Inuyasha, and Kagome make a cameo appearance in Ranma ½ OVA Episode 13. During one of Akane's nightmares, Miroku's body is seen behind Akane. The only part that's seen is the bottom part of his robe and his sandals.
- Miroku also bares some similarities with Densuke from the same series.
- In the Brazilian Portuguese dub Miroku's name was changed to Miroki because the word ku sounds similar to an offensive pun; in the Korean dub his name was changed to Mireuk and in the German dub his name was changed to Miroke.
- He was three times a victim by demons who disguised themselves as women.
- Interestingly, when his grandfather fought Naraku, who cursed him with the Wind Tunnel, he was disguised as a woman.
- According to Shippō, Miroku runs fast (Which is true, since he's fast enough to keep pace with Inuyasha).
- Miroku seems to know exactly how to ride Kagome's bicycle from the first moment he saw it, even though it wouldn't be invented for another 300 years.
- His VA Kirby Morrow also voiced Van Fanel from The Vision of Escaflowne, whose love interest is Hitomi Kanzaki - voiced by Kelly Sheridan (who also voiced Sango). They also voiced Jay (Kirby) and Theresa (Kelly) from Class of Titans who were also romantically involved.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Zusetsutaizan Ōgikaiden, page 69
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Zusetsutaizan Ōgikaiden
- ↑ InuYasha anime; Episode 50
- ↑ Zusetsutaizan Ōgikaiden, page 76
| Naraku | |
|---|---|
| Incarnations | Kanna • Kagura • Goshinki • Jūrōmaru • Kagerōmaru • Musō • Infant • Hakudōshi • Byakuya • Akagane |
| Rejected parts | Unnamed incarnation • Hair monster • Eye monster • Onigumo (reabsorbed) • Kugutsu |
| Allies | Saimyōshō • Sesshōmaru (formerly) • Tsubaki • Hakushin • Shichinintai • Entei • Abi • Tekkei • Mōryōmaru • Mirror demon • Magatsuhi |
| Enemies | Kikyō • Inuyasha • Kagome Higurashi • Miyatsu • Miroku's father • Miroku • Sango • Kirara • Kohaku • Kōga • Sesshōmaru (currently) • Kaguya • Mōryōmaru • Hitomiko • Kansuke • Kaede • Midoriko • Rin • Jaken • A-Un |
| Locations | Onigumo's cave • Naraku's castle • Mount Hakurei • Naraku's hideout • Naraku's mountain base • Naraku's cave |
| Miscellaneous | Shikon no Tama • Kazaana • Onigumo's cave • Naraku's castle • Mount Hakurei |