Inu no Taishou
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| Inu no Taishou 犬大将 |
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| Alternate Name(s) | Dog General, The Great Dog Demon, Touga |
| Age | Deceased, appears to be in late twenties |
| Race | Inu Daiyōkai |
| Weapons | Tenseiga,Tessaiga, and So'unga |
| First Appearance (Anime) | Inuyasha Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler |
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Inu no Taisho (犬の大将 Inunotaishō?) is a fictional character from the InuYasha series. He is the father of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. Inu no Taisho is actually a rank that stands for Dog General. Most people refer to him as The Great Dog Demon.
Inu no Taisho was a daiyōkai, or great demon; he ruled in the 'Western Lands', which are assumed to be the western parts of Japan. At some point in his past, he sired Sesshomaru. Described by Myoga as a 'demon among demons', Inu no Taisho defeated many demons before his death. Those who have been identified are as follows: Hyoga and Menomaru (villains in the first Inuyasha movie), Oyakata (leader of the Panther tribe), and the deadly Ryukotsusei, whom he was only able to place in torpor and was severely injured by during the fight. According to the third movie, it was immediately after this battle that the Inu no Taisho raced to Izayoi's side, in order to be present at the birth of his second son, Inuyasha. When he arrived he found Iyazoi dead, but saved her with the Tenseiga. During (or possibly after) the battle with "Setsuna no Takemaru(Takemaru of Setsuna)", who had killed Izayoi for consorting with a demon and intended to slay the demon who had sullied her, Inu no Taisho died; it is unclear whether Takemaru, the fire, or his severe injuries from the battle with Ryuukotsusei were the cause-in-fact of his death. Izayoi, revived by the sword Tenseiga, escapes the burning castle as the battle between Takemaru and the Inu no Taisho is engaged, and she watches the building collapse upon them with her infant son in her arms, unable to see what becomes of him. However, before she left, a dark purple spiraling dragon appeared from the Inu no Taishou's sword So'unga, a precursor of the Goukuryuuha attack.
The Inu no Taisho possessed three powerful swords during his life, only two of which were passed down to his sons: Tessaiga, Tenseiga, and So'unga. Tessaiga was bequeathed to Inuyasha, hidden in his tomb within the black pearl in Inuyasha's eye until such time as Inuyasha would be capable of wielding it. Presumably, he left Tessaiga to Inuyasha both to control his hanyou son's demonic blood in desperate situations and because Tessaiga was strong enough to protect Inuyasha from Sesshomaru's violent hatred. Tenseiga was bequeathed to Sesshomaru, presumably in his hope that because the sword could only be used to save life, Sesshomaru would eventually use it for that purpose, giving him something to protect and showing his cold and ambitious elder son the path to compassion. So'unga was sealed by Saya in its sheath for three-hundred years (originally 700 years but the sealing spell was broken 400 years before it's time) and cast into the Bone-Eater's Well; from there, it was guarded by the Higurashi family until the modern era, when Saya's magic weakened and the evil spirit of the sword sought to destroy the world. Only through Inuyasha and Sesshomaru using their swords in concert were they able to defeat So'unga, and the spirit of the Inu no Taisho took the sword into the underworld with him, where it could no longer harm anyone. It was his last lesson to his sons that they must work together; the lesson, so far as the series has demonstrated, did not take easily. While it is unknown how the Inu no Taisho came to possess So'unga, he had Totosai forge Tessaiga and Tenseiga from his own fangs. It is possible, but again merely speculation, that he had the swords forged initially for the specific purpose of balancing and controlling the powers of So'unga.
Sesshomaru's mother has recently been revealed. In chapter 466 (beyond the anime) Sesshomaru is said to be looking for something, and it turns out to be his mother. Sesshomaru looks for his mother to find out more about the Tenseiga, meaning she knows more about the creations of Inu No Taisho's swords. Her name is not currently revealed. It is still unknown what happened in their relationship.
[edit] Conflicts with Identity
There has been a great deal of conflict over his true name. Many fans refer to him as "InuTaisho", an incorrect way of saying Inu no Taisho. This is not his true name, as it is only a rank, as mentioned above. During the production of the third movie, the name used to identify his character was "Togaou/闘牙王" for convenience, but has never been given as his name officially, likely because Rumiko Takahashi did not approve of it. The Japanese cast and a large part of the fandom call him 'Inu-papa'.
There has also been much controversy about his appearance. The creator of the series never revealed his human form in canon, but provided the design for him for the third movie staff, under the direction that his face never clearly be shown. It is technically canon, as the movie is an officially licensed InuYasha product and does not conflict with continuity.
As of recently, many people have heard him called 'Sugimi' from a quote by Myouga from the third Inuyasha movie. This is possibly, as with "InuTaisho", a misrepresentation of the term "Chichi-gimi", which Myouga uses to refer to him, meaning "your honorable father".
[edit] Voice actors
- Japanese Seiyu - Akio Otsuka
- English Voice Actor - Don Brown
