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It has been suggested that this article be merged into List of InuYasha characters. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2008.

Kagura (神楽, かぐら, lit. the dance of the gods) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series InuYasha. She is first seen in volume 15 of the manga and in episode 39 of the anime.

Overview

Kagura the wind sorceress is the second detachment of Naraku. She dresses in a three-layer kimono typical of Kagura dancers and wears a pair of earrings (each is a string of five light green beads with a feather at the end). The irises of her eyes are red and her ears are pointy. Kagura uses her wind-manipulating fan to create slicing winds and powerful tornadoes with which to attack her foes. Even without the fan, Kagura can control wind; it merely helps focus her abilities. A pair of feathers in her hair can be enlarged to allow her escape on the wind if need be.

After her first battle with InuYasha, which Naraku more or less staged to test the power of InuYasha's sword, Kagura's chief desire became to kill Naraku in order to free herself from his control. However, because Naraku literally carries her heart, she cannot openly defy him without quite literally being killed in a heartbeat; since Naraku knows her thoughts, he has squeezed her heart in his hands in front of her, making Kagura collapse in pain each time. Like the wind she controls, Kagura wishes to be free and tries to gain that freedom in any way she can. Despite the impediments her existence entails, Kagura frequently (though covertly) aids the two camps opposed to Naraku, those of InuYasha and Sesshomaru.

Death

Though the anime ends at a point where Kagura is still alive, she is eventually killed in the manga. When Naraku charges her with guarding Goryōmaru at a prison, Hakudōshi convinces her to release him secretly, since he is also secretly plotting to destroy Naraku. During this time, Kohaku inadvertently reveals to Kagura he has recovered his memory. The two end up becoming unlikely allies, sharing information as to Naraku's weaknesses and somewhat gaining each other's trust due to their common desire for his destruction. Kagura grows protective of Kohaku and ultimately defies Naraku openly in order to allow him to escape. As a mocking final gesture, Naraku grants Kagura her wish by giving her back her heart, only to subsequently poison her, ensuring that her freedom will be short-lived and extremely painful.

Sesshomaru finds Kagura just before she dies, having tracked the scent of Naraku. When he notes that Naraku is no longer around, he reveals that he came knowing she was alone. He considers using Tenseiga to save her life, but concludes that it cannot do so. Despite this, Kagura seems content to have seen Sesshomaru one more time — "In the end, I was with you...", she thinks. She dies as InuYasha and the gang stand helplessly on the side, her body dissolving into the wind, her final thought is that now she is as free as the wind. When InuYasha asks whether Kagura was suffering, Sesshomaru simply says that she was smiling.

Abilities

Kagura can create and control the winds, giving her a broad range of abilities. She always carries a large folding fan which she uses to summon and focus her powers. In battle, she will usually drop the right sleeve of her kimono to increase her movement.

Kagura labels her attacks as dances, further referencing her namesake. Her main attack is "Dance of Blades" (風刃の舞, Fujin no Mai, lit. "Dance of the Wind Blades"), which fires multiple crescent-shaped wind blades towards her enemies with a single swipe of her fan. The blades are sharp, but often easily blocked. She often uses this attack for precision strikes or as set up for more powerful attacks. Kagura's secondary attack is "Dance of the Dragon" (竜牙の舞, Ryuuja no Mai, lit. "Dance of the Dragon Fang"), which forms localized tornadoes which Kagura can control. Kagura's control over wind also nullifies InuYasha's ability to use the wind scar in the early parts of the story. This is negated after InuYasha gains the ability to invoke the attack at will.

Using her wind powers, Kagura can also animate corpses or beings without souls, which she calls "Dance of the Dead" (屍舞, Shikabane-Mai, lit. "Corpse Dance"). Both demon and human corpses are susceptible to the technique. Kagura can seamlessly animate and control dozens of corpses in this manner. Furthermore, she can reassemble them when they are cut apart; short of completely vaporizing those under her control, the only way to defeat the technique is for Kagura to willingly shut it off.

Kagura also has the ability to enlarge one of the feathers she wears in her hairband. Once expanded, the feather can be used as a sort of magic carpet for Kagura and at least one passenger to ride, powered by the winds she creates. A small wind barrier forms when she enlarges the feathers, distracting her opponents so she can escape.

Relationships

Naraku

Despite the fact Naraku created her, Kagura despises him because she is nothing but a dispensable tool to him. Because he holds her heart, she cannot hope to defy him without fear that he can easily kill her. She has difficulty in plotting her ways to defeat Naraku, for he keeps watch over her when she's out of his sight.

Kanna

The first detachment of Naraku. Although Kanna's form is that of a little girl, she is technically Kagura's older sister. Unlike Kagura, she is loyal to Naraku, likely because she lacks emotion and servitude to her creator is all she's ever known. Despite her much younger appearance than Kagura, Kanna is often the wiser of the two. Kagura finds Kanna somewhat creepy and submissive while Kanna seems to consider Kagura foolhardy. They do not seem to have a particular opinion of the other, especially since Kanna thinks nothing of obeying Naraku's orders to lure her sister towards Naraku when he separated into the countless demons and punished her for disobeying him. Of Naraku's detachments, they are the only two besides Hakudōshi to survive multiple battles.

Sesshomaru

Kagura initially intends to use Sesshomaru in the same way she hopes to use InuYasha, encouraging him to destroy Naraku so that she can be free. Impressed by his strength, she approaches him, offering a shard of the Shikon Jewel if he will kill Naraku. He flatly refuses, but advises her to use the shards and destroy Naraku herself. However, after seeing him in action several times, Kagura's opinion of Sesshomaru only grows, and she becomes convinced that only he will be able to kill Naraku and she helps Sesshomaru on several occasions by providing him with information. She began to develop feelings for him. During a near-death experience, she flew, severely injured, "just to see him one more time". Although Sesshomaru initially was indifferent toward her, he eventually began to feel sympathy for her, and came to see her when she was dying, allowing her to pass on with a smile. Later on in the story, Sesshomaru's anger over Mōryōmaru's mocking of her death directs the Tenseiga to call to Tōtōsai, who reforges it with an offensive attack that is eventually given to InuYasha.

Kohaku

Sango's younger brother, who is resurrected by Naraku with a shard of the Shikon no Tama. After he secretly recovers his memory, he works to destroy Naraku by learning of his secrets. He inadvertently reveals the truth to Kagura and the two become somewhat allied, probably because of the similarity of their situations. She protects Kohaku from Hakudōshi, helping him escape when Hakudōshi plans to take his jewel shard even though such an act of open defiance puts her own life in danger and she could have protected herself by remaining uninvolved.

Koga

The leader of the Yōrō-Zoku (wolf-yōkai tribe). He despises Kagura because she slew his kin and set him up to fight InuYasha (whom he already disliked) while she has a very low opinion of him and thinks he is weak. Their battles would often end in a stalemate. Their relationship and rivalry was never truly put to rest, due to Kagura's abrupt and unexpected death.

Goshinki

Kagura's younger brother, Naraku's third detachment. He does not last more than one battle against InuYasha and his friends. Kagura thinks that Goshinki is nothing but a brainless glutton until he reads her mind.

Akago and Hakudōshi

Originally one entity, a baby that can read minds and find darkness in people's hearts and use it to take control of them. A priest slices the child in two and Kanna and Kagura each take a half, Kanna's half remaining the baby Akago while Kagura's half becomes Hakudōshi. Kagura does not trust Hakudōshi anymore than Naraku, despite the fact he appears to be defying Naraku as well. Despite being abused by Hakudōshi, Kagura must follow his orders because Naraku holds her heart and so can kill her at will.

InuYasha

While Kagura is not exactly an ally of InuYasha, she has no intention of destroying him because he may be the key to freeing her from Naraku. When she learns that he will become a human during the night of the new moon, she chooses not to tell Naraku knowing that InuYasha could very well be her trump card. InuYasha, while initially he sees her only as an ally of Naraku, manages to gain some sympathy for her, particularly when he realizes she has been protecting Sango's brother Kohaku and she wishes for Naraku's destruction.

Kikyo

Kagura often refers to her as "that woman" and Kikyo knows Kagura only as an agent of Naraku. They have had several encounters, one of which had Kikyo firing a warning arrow at her when Kagura attempted to attack a weakened InuYasha. In the second InuYasha movie, Kagura appears to acquire an item from Kikyo. Rather than fighting Kagura, Kikyo simply gives her the item and goes on her way, Kagura seems surprised and thinks to herself "such a creepy woman".

Kaguya

In InuYasha the Movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass, Kagura and Kanna were walking through a forest when Kanna felt she was being called to a mirror decides to awaken princess Kaguya-hime. When awake Kaguya tells Kagura that she is able to grant Kagura true freedom. So Kagura eagerly agrees to gain that promised freedom from Kaguya. However, after Kaguya is freed from her mirror, Kagura asked for the freedom that she had been promised, but is turned down by Kaguya. When Kagura and Kanna are in Kaguya's castle, Kagura tried to have Kaguya's soul stolen and fails.

Music

InuYasha Ongaku Hen Ni

• "Kaze Tsukai Kagura" (「風使い神楽」, Wind Sorceress Kagura) — Kagura's theme, a fast-moving piece that gives the effect of a strongly blowing wind.

Eiga InuYasha: Kagami no Naka no Mugenjō Ongaku Hen

• "Ubawareta Koromo" (「奪われた衣」, "Stolen Night") — An orchestration of Kagura's theme that plays when Kagura, Kanna and Kaguya attempt to steal the sleeve from InuYasha's robe.

Notes and references

1. See questions and answers
2. Zusetsutaizan Ougikaiden By Rumiko Takahashi

• Articles to be merged from September 2008
• InuYasha characters
• Fictional witches
• Fictional demons
• Anime and manga characters who can fly