Main Characters

InuYasha
The male protagonist, a hybrid of a yōkai-dog and a human, a half-demon ("han'yō" in Japanese). He wields the Tetsaiga, a supernatural sword made from one of his deceased father's fangs. This sword, when properly wielded, can destroy one hundred demons with a single swing, and has further powers which are revealed as the story progresses. InuYasha has a tendency for massive regeneration and can recover from injuries which would be fatal for any average human. This ability is likely derived from his yōkai powers (Example: Episode 5, when Kagome brings medicine from her time). On the night of the new moon each month, InuYasha will change into a normal human with black hair, losing his youkai power during this time. Prior to meeting his current companions, he would conceal himself during this time.
Author Rumiko Takahashi once stated in an interview that InuYasha is an Akita Inu. According to Ms. Takahashi's official Zusetsutaizen Ougikaiden character data book, InuYasha's age is fifteen, not including the years sealed on the tree and with the citation that this is how old he is according to his appearance and mindset. The third movie, which was not written by Ms. Takahashi, presented him at a far older age (over one hundred years).
 

Kagome Higurashi
The female protagonist and a third year middle school student. In the tradition of many Rumiko Takahashi heroines (Akane Tendo, Kyoko Otonashi), Kagome can be extremely sweet, but can also become very dangerous when provoked. InuYasha wears a special bead necklace (known as the Beads of Subjugation) which only responds to Kagome's command: when she yells "Sit!" ("Osuwari!") (Often "Sit, boy!" in the dub) InuYasha is thrown to the ground. The necklace was placed upon him due to his dangerous attitude when he was unsealed. As the series continues, Kagome uses the necklace less and less. It is scarcely used by this point in time, and is purely comedic relief when it is. She is the reincarnation of a priestess 50 years ago, named Kikyou, the previous protector of the shikon no tama. As fate would have it, Kagome also develops feelings for InuYasha and he for her. This relationship proves to be a driving point of the series. Kagome is a powerful miko, and is the only character who has come close to defeating Naraku as of so far in the series. During volume twelve of the manga, InuYasha admits to her that it "seems you're the most powerful of all of us."
 

Miroku
A Buddhist 'houshi,' or low-ranking, itinerant monk, Miroku traveled the countryside performing services such as exorcisms and yōkai exterminations to earn his living. He suffers from a hereditary curse originally inflicted upon his grandfather Miyatsu (also a Buddhist monk) by Naraku, who exploited Miyatsu's weakness for attractive women by taking the shape of one, and reflected one of Miyatsu's ofuda back to pierce the palm of his left hand. The hole in his hand became a kazāna (air void or "wind tunnel") which sucks in anything not nailed down, regardless of mass. Miroku uses the kazāna as a powerful weapon against yōkai, but as he grows older, the kazāna grows inevitably larger, and if the curse is not broken by Naraku's death, it will grow too large to control and consume Miroku himself - the same fate his grandfather and his father have already met. Probably as a result of this, Miroku takes a hedonistic approach to life which is uncharacteristic of a proper monk; he is a talented con artist who does not hesitate to invent fictitious supernatural menaces which he can then offer to combat in return for food and shelter, and like his grandfather he has a distinct weakness for pretty women. He makes a point of asking every attractive woman he meets if she will bear his child, claiming that he wants to be sure of an heir to continue his pursuit of Naraku if he dies, and his hands have a seemingly uncontrollable habit of wandering - something which often gets him soundly thumped by Sango, the favorite subject of his groping. However, in spite of his less-than-saintly behavior, Miroku proves to have a core of deep spirituality and, as a result, impressive spiritual powers.
 

Sango
A yōkai slayer ("yōkai taijiya") who hails from a village of professional yōkai slayers. The only member of Inuyasha's group to have no supernatural powers, Sango instead wields the Hiraikotsu, a massive boomerang made of yōkai bones, in addition to a broad repertoire of tools and tricks for battling yōkai. Sango is also a victim of Naraku's evil schemes: her family was killed and her entire village destroyed by Naraku's yōkai so that Naraku could then blame Inuyasha and manipulate Sango into trying to kill him. When that ploy failed, Naraku used a shard of the Shikon Jewel to revive and control her little brother Kohaku, forcing him to fight Inuyasha and company, and using him as a means by which to manipulate Sango. She seeks vengeance against Naraku, but her primary goal is to rescue Kohaku from Naraku's influence and somehow save his life, although currently it's uncertain if she will be able to do so since Kohaku's life is tied to the jewel shard.
 

Kirara
Sango's faithful, yōkai-nekomata; light-tan colored fur, with black stripes on each of her bushy tails (she has two) near the tip, and black-tipped paws. Also called Kilala (pronounced "Kee-Lah-Lah") in the English dub, but spelled Kirara (r's and l's are interchangeable). Kirara can change between two forms, a ferocious yōkai the size of a car with the ability to fly, and a cute little kitten. Sango often uses Kirara's flying ability in her large transformed form as transportation to keep up with InuYasha's running and leaping ability (often with Kagome holding onto his back). As well, Miroku and Shippō also use Kirara's large transformed flying ability for transportation. Kirara's age is unknown. However, it is definite that she is less than three hundred years old. In manga volume forty the group encounters a cat yōkai who informs as that she, at three hundred years old, is older than Kirara.
 

Shippo
An orphaned young yōkai-fox (kitsune) whose father was killed by the Thunder Brothers, Hiten and Manten, and the first character in the story to join InuYasha and Kagome in their travels as a group. Shippo can shapeshift, but his forms are temporary, often incomplete and ineffective, and he is usually given away by his telltale tail. His other noteworthy abilities are turning into a wooden horse that can fly, leaving a trail of yelping mushrooms and acorns, illusionary tricks with toys like his giant spinning top attack, using his race's notable fox fire magic (which rarely seems to work properly), and making things like leaves or himself multiply. He tends to be naively observant and often makes pointed and cheeky comments directed towards InuYasha, earning him a retaliatory bonk on the head for his unsolicited "advice". InuYasha and Kagome serve as older sibling figures to Shippo. Shippo and Kirara (when she is in her kitten form) are the smallest members of InuYasha's group, with Shippo being the youngest. Because he so small and light, whenever the group is traveling anywhere Shippo is almost always seen riding on someone's shoulder, on Kirara's back, in Kagome's arms, or in the basket on Kagome's bike; he is rarely seen walking or running.
 

Kikyo
A shrine maiden who loved InuYasha and he her and was killed by Naraku (disguised as Inuyasha) who made the two fight fifty years prior (in InuYasha's time) to the story's start. She is brought back to life by the ogress Urasue. Although she looks alive, her body is still "dead," and she must ingest the souls of the dead to move. Her body (an authentic one) in made of dirt and leaves and is considered a "clay doll." Although she tries to drag InuYasha to hell and kill Kagome (her reincarnation) she is known to be a heroine in her village. In episode 47, InuYasha admits that he'd go to hell with Kikyo anytime and resulted in disaster when Kagome heard him. In the manga, she is finally defeated and dies in the arms of InuYasha.

Sesshomaru
Inuyasha's older half-brother. Unlike Inuyasha, Sesshomaru is a full-blooded tai-yōkai and is contemptuous of InuYasha for being a han'yō and for consorting with humans. He is probably the most powerful full demon in the world of InuYasha, and has no true equal when it comes to raw power; although given the chance in volume twenty-three, he could not defeat Naraku. Although fandom refers to him as the Lord of the Western Lands, this title appears at no point in the manga. Takahashi also stated that Sesshoumaru has no permanent home. Unlike almost every other demon in the world of InuYasha, he has no interest in possessing even one shard of the Shikon no Tama.
Sesshoumaru first appears in search of the sword called Tessaiga, created from their father Inu-no-Taisho's fang, which has the power to kill a hundred yōkai with one swing. However, Inu-no-Taisho left Tessaiga to Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru instead inherited the Tenseiga, a sword which cannot harm the living, but can bring the dead back to life. Inu-no-Taisho did this in the hopes that Sesshoumaru would learn compassion. Considering Tenseiga useless to him, Sesshoumaru battles Inuyasha several times for possession of Tessaiga, and when Tessaiga is broken by a bite from Naraku's incarnation Goshinki, Sesshoumaru has Goshinki's fangs forged into the evil blade Tokijin, which only he is powerful enough to control.
Initially, Sesshoumaru is ruthless and cruel in his pursuit of Tessaiga and his dealings with his brother. However, as the series progresses, he begins to undergo a change in his behavior, one largely brought about by the influence of Tenseiga and the human child Rin (see below). He stops trying to claim or destroy Tessaiga, and while still hostile in his attitude toward Inuyasha, he is sometimes helpful in his encounters with Inuyasha's group, occasionally showing up to intervene in desperate situations (and generally making the excuse that he was only there to get information from them regarding Naraku's whereabouts). He, like Inuyasha and his friends, becomes determined to destroy Naraku after Naraku attempts to manipulate him using Rin as a hostage, and his growing compassion for people like Rin and Kagura finally prompts Totosai to volunteer to reforge Tenseiga and make it able to perform the Meidou Zangetsuha ("dark path of the dawn's moon blast") attack.

Naraku
The main antagonist, Naraku (literally means "underworld") is responsible for nearly every character’s suffering throughout the series. He is a han'yō that originated from a bandit named Onigumo ("Demon Spider"). Naraku's main goal is to collect all of the shards of the Shikon no Tama to use for his own dark ambitions.

Kōga
The young leader of a yōrōzoku (yōkai-wolf tribe), Kōga wishes to avenge his fallen comrades who were slaughtered by Kagura, one of Naraku's minions. While brash and arrogant, he is shrewd enough to run from a fight if he thinks he can't win. He has a shikon shard in each of his legs which make him stronger and faster. Although he bickers with InuYasha constantly, when one of them is in danger, the other will lend a hand. He considers Kagome his woman, which irritates InuYasha to no end. Koga constantly confesses his love towards Kagome but Kagome does not share his affections, only having eyes for InuYasha. As the series goes on, Koga lets up on his affections for Kagome gradually. Eventually, in chapter 466 of the manga, he leaves her behind with the statement 'if InuYasha ever starts getting on your nerves, you can come to me.