Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Inuyasha and Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon.
Whether you live in the modern world or in a fantasy version of feudal-era Japan, being away from your family for a long time can be tough. And for those fortunate enough to have them, it’s especially difficult to be separated from loving and attentive parents, even at a more mature age. Even if one of those parents happens to be a full or partial dog demon, it’s still wonderful to experience that intense emotional bond, and heart-breaking to be pulled away from it by fate (Plus, dogs are often easier to bond with than humans, after all.). Fans of Inuyasha sequel Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon are shown this tragic scenario through the eyes of kick-ass trio Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha, who have been cruelly separated from their parents at a young age.
While it’s true that teenagers tend to be more independent than smaller children, they still need their parents during the difficult transition to adulthood, when it’s so important to have love, support, and guidance from older role models. Although they’ve bravely risen to the challenge of self-direction at such young ages, parental absence has nevertheless taken a decided emotional toll on Yashahime‘s female leads. So, just who are their parents, and where are they?
Who are their parents?
Yashahime doesn’t hide the truth of its main characters’ origins for very long. As the adventure starts to unfold, we quickly learn that half-demon princess twins Towa and Setsuna are the daughters of Sesshomaru, Inuyasha’s powerful, mysterious, and distant half-brother. However, we don’t discover the identity of the girls’ mother until Yashahime‘s 15th episode, when we find out that Rin, the dog yokai’s companion from Inuyasha, claims that title.
It’s not hard to detect the resemblance between Yashahime‘s twins and their parents, both physically and mentally. Setsuna has inherited many aspects of her father’s personality, such as his pride, stoicism, and pragmatism, in addition to sharing his claw-like, poison-generating fingernails. However, she notably has her mother’s black hair color. As far as personality is concerned, Towa is friendly, laid-back, and soft-hearted like Rin, although she can become merciless when her loved ones are threatened. Her demonic aura resembles that of Sesshomaru’s true form, and she also possesses many of his dragon-energy-attack techniques. Furthermore, she has her father’s silver hair, although she prefers to keep it short. Like their father, both girls are skilled warriors (with Setsuna wielding a naginata and Towa using a katana as their primary weapons of choice), and are immune to freezing temperatures and poison, as well as having his Demon Whip Energy ability.
On the other hand, their half-cousin Moroha, who they team up with fairly early on in Yashahime, is the daughter of Inuyasha‘s main couple, half-dog-demon Inuyasha and priestess Kagome Higurashi. This quarter-dog-demon badass is much like her father in disposition, being cocky, impulsive, and pugnacious, but she’s also easygoing and optimistic like her mother. She also has Kagome’s hair and eyes, along with Inuyasha’s roguish smile, and has inherited their skills with weaponry, being a great sword-fighter like her father and an excellent archer like her mother. Furthermore, she has her father’s enhanced sense of smell and stamina, as well as some of the same supernatural abilities, such as his Soul-Scattering Iron Claws and Flying Blade Blood Claws signature moves. She even has some of her mother’s spiritual power, enough to utilize sacred weapons and objects, erect or penetrate spiritual barriers, and heal others of certain maladies or dark energies.
Why are they missing?
Yashahime‘s half-cousins all share something in common other than their blood ties and part-demon status. It just so happens that none of them have been raised by their parents, who have been missing from the picture for almost their entire lives. Naturally, this setup poses some interesting questions about these important characters from Inuyasha, who we know wouldn’t just leave their children behind on a whim.
The backstory in Yashahime that provides the answer is a little complicated, but let’s dive in anyway. All three girls have been separated from their parents to be raised by others because of a threat posed by powerful demon siblings Zero and Kirinmaru, their animosity owing to a prophecy (delivered courtesy of the Shikon Jewel back in its heyday) foretelling Kirimaru’s death at the hands of a half-demon. However, because of a Silver Scale Curse set on Rin linking her life to Zero’s, Sesshomaru finds it impossible to directly confront the threat posed to his daughters and half-niece. As a result, when Inuyasha and Kagome attempt to fight Zero and Kirinmaru, the mighty yokai seals them away in The Black Pearl, a demon relic that traps them in The Border of the Afterlife. This way, he can ensure that they survive without being able to kill Zero, thus killing Rin, whose unconscious body he has placed inside The Tree of Ages for safekeeping.
Meanwhile, Sesshomaru sends his daughters away with Jaken to a forest, erecting a barrier to keep them safe from the two bloodthirsty yokai determined to slay them. However, when Zero engineers a forest fire, the twins are torn apart, with Towa being pulled into a time portal and transported to modern-day Japan, where she is raised by Kagome’s younger brother Sota Higurashi and his wife Moe. After that, Setsuna is brought up in the Hanyo Hidden Village by Shiori, while Moroha finds shelter with Koga, leader of the Wolf-Demon Tribe.
Are they ever reunited?
Happily for our heroines in Yashahime, the separation doesn’t last forever. Sesshomaru is the first parent to experience a reunion with his long-lost offspring. Throughout the story, he makes occasional appearances before his daughters, either to defend them or help them train, providing critical aid to ensure their survival.
However, Rin, Inuyasha, and Kagome are forced to wait longer for the desired reunion with their children. In fact, it isn’t until the end of Yashahime‘s 38th episode that Moroha is finally reunited with Inuyasha and Kagome inside The Black Pearl, with their emotional reunion continuing into the 39th episode and their escape to freedom occurring in the 40th, although she does catch a glimpse of them and hear them call out to her in the 28th episode while she’s flying toward Mount Musubi. Rin, on the other hand, meets Setsuna in the 36th episode, when the dark-haired half-demon goes to visit her mother at The Tree of Ages, after having seen her previously while she was unconscious in the 28th episode. However, by Yashahime‘s 40th episode, after having been freed from the Silver Scale Curse as well as her accompanying sojourn in The Tree of Ages, Rin is finally able to reunite with both of her beloved daughters.
For the remainder of Yasahime‘s second season, the trio’s parents are on hand to provide physical and emotional support, and the revived story thus far concludes with a happy family reunion once the action tapers off. Let’s hope we’ll get to enjoy even more nostalgic parent-child moments in Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon‘s upcoming third season!
