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Toga (闘牙, とうが, "Fighting Fang"), also known as the Inu no Taishō (犬の大将, いぬの

Inutaisho-2-

たいしょう, "Great Dog General") or Inu no Daiyōkai (犬の大妖怪, "Great Dog Demon"), was a powerful inu daiyōkai who was known quite well and feared throughout feudal Japan as being the very strongest of his kind. He fathered two sons, the second of which was the inu hanyō Inuyasha who was born from the human woman Izayoi, Tōga's wife. His first-born son was the powerful inu daiyōkai Sesshōmaru, mothered by a female inu daiyōkai.

Background[]

Tōga survived long enough to save his wife Izayoi and their newborn child Inuyasha; still weak from his battle with Ryūkotsusei, he dies defending them from a human foe named Takemaru. The gateway to his tomb is hidden in a black pearl (a mystical gem that creates a path between the mortal and spirit worlds) inside Inuyasha's right eye, which was created by Hōsenki, an oyster demon, on Tōga's command. Within the pearl, their father's body is shown as an enormous dog skeleton in a suit of armor: his true form, according to Myōga. The sword Tessaiga, forged from Tōga's own fang, rests inside this cavernous skeleton, being protected by a barrier that repels any non-human with malice toward humans. Because of this, Inuyasha inherits the sword rather than Sesshōmaru. This also suggests Inuyasha's father was never bigoted toward humans nor was he evil. Sesshōmaru even says that he had a "merciful heart for humankind". It seems that he did have a sense of honor and perhaps wanted both his kind and the human race to live in peace.

He acted as the lord of the western provinces of Japan, gaining many other yōkai allies, but also retaining a fondness for humans. This baffles his first wife, Sesshōmaru's mother, who is merely indifferent towards humans and views them mostly as a source of food.

While Tōga did not harm humans, he often faced challenges—or made them—with other powerful yōkai; his earliest known adversary was the daiyōkai Shishinki, who lost half of his face and had part of his Meidō Zangetsuha absorbed by the Tessaiga. However, since it was an incomplete and unstable technique, Tōga sealed it within Tenseiga. The second known challenge came from the Panther demon tribe, when Sesshōmaru was a mature demon; however, the war was settled when the Dog General slew the Panther King.

Although Tōga loved his family, his relationship with Sesshōmaru was shown to be distant — if not openly hostile — in the third film. Sesshōmaru's hatred for humans at the start of the series is even greater than his mother's, as we never hear her say a word against Inuyasha or Izayoi. Yet, he clearly admires his father, and wishes to emulate his victory over many powerful demons. Sesshōmaru's mother seems to have been unfazed by Tōga's relationship with Izayoi — merely noting his odd fascination with humans, and still speaking affectionately of him when Sesshōmaru came calling.

At some point, Tōga fell in love with a human princess named Izayoi; while he continued traveling and challenging great demons (occasionally crossing paths with Sesshōmaru, who would ignore his advice) he would always come back to her, and she eventually became pregnant. However, a samurai named Takemaru who served Izayoi's castle was also in love with her. While Tōga was away battling a new yōkai (the dragon Ryūkotsusei) Takemaru discovered that Izayoi's pregnancy was the result of a tryst with a yōkai, and sought to prevent the hanyō child from being born.

Tōga had finally met his match. Although he managed to seal Ryūkotsusei into a cliff while in his true form, he was unable to deliver a fatal blow, and he suffered lethal wounds. Myōga then brought him the knowledge that Takemaru was after Izayoi and his unborn son. Sesshōmaru sensed his father's imminent demise and demanded he bequeath him his swords Tessaiga and Sō'unga. Tōga refused to give them to him, asking if he was willing to kill him for them. Sesshōmaru stated that he wished to match his father's power by gaining one of the swords, so Tōga asked him if he had something to protect. Not realizing that his father had always been trying to teach him compassion, Sesshōmaru scoffed, deriding the need to protect something as weakness. It was this belief that truly cemented his hatred for Inuyasha centuries later, as he blamed the Dog General's death on his compassionate need to protect his wife and son. Tōga then took his true form and, despite Myōga's pleas, went for Izayoi one last time.

Arriving at the castle, he easily overpowered Takemaru's troops with Tessaiga, though suffering further injuries from arrows. Takemaru then challenged him, stating that he had killed Izayoi so that she would not be defiled by birthing a demon. Enraged and grief-stricken, Tōga sliced off Takemaru's left arm and raced into the castle, while Takemaru ordered his troops to burn it down. Locating Izayoi's body and her newborn son, the Dog General resurrected her with Tenseiga as the castle burned around them. He covered them with the Robe of the Fire Rat to protect them from the flames, but as they prepared to flee, Takemaru returned. Knowing his injuries were fatal anyway, Tōga told Izayoi to flee and live a long life — as well as naming his second son Inuyasha. Throwing aside Tessaiga and Tenseiga, he drew Sō'unga and began battling with Takemaru, as the burning castle collapsed around them. Neither Takemaru nor Tōga survived.

Tōga's remains, along with Tessaiga, were consigned to the gateway region of the Netherworld — the gateway itself sealed within a black pearl that was hidden in Inuyasha's eye. This was the first of many indications that he reserved the mastery of Tessaiga for his younger son. Myōga had been charged with keeping an eye on Inuyasha and helping him access the inheritance when he was old enough. Also in accordance with his will, Tōtōsai 'delivered' Tenseiga to Sesshōmaru (nailing it to Bokusenō's trunk with a sarcastic note, knowing Sesshōmaru would probably try to kill him). No plan was left for Sō'unga as it was too unstable of a weapon, so it was sealed and thrown into the Bone-Eater's Well. After Sō'unga was finally consigned to Hell by the two brothers, Tōga's soul briefly appeared before them, expressing his pride. By the end of the series his deepest wishes have been granted: Inuyasha has found a secure and happy life with Kagome Higurashi and his friends, despite his half-demon heritage. Meanwhile Sesshōmaru has been taught the values of compassion, which balance his constant search for power and create a strong bond with his human ward, Rin.

While the various yōkai in Tōga's service scattered after his death, they remained loyal to his memory and showed deep respect to Sesshōmaru and — less frequently — Inuyasha. When the Panther tribe attacked again, all of Tōga's former allies joined to form an army under the command of Sesshōmaru, and once more drove them back.

Personality[]

His personality is more similar to Inuyasha's, tend to make outbursts while having little composure in battle. Although the only time he was actually shown in battle involved Izayoi, a woman he loved, and he may not normally be like that in the heat of battle. He also loved Izayoi dearly as well as his two sons. He was also stated to have compassion for humans by Sesshōmaru. Despite his compassion, he was capable of being ruthless when need be to both humans and demons. This was shown when Izayoi begged Takemaru to take his men and leave the palace grounds, not wanting him to be killed by Tōga.

Appearance[]

His white hair is only seen in a very high ponytail. Like other full-blooded yōkai, he has pointed ears as well as fangs and claws. He has wide, jagged purple-blue stripes on the sides of his face and amber irises.

Tōga dressed similarly to his son Sesshōmaru, in that he wore a white kimono and hakama, armored boots, and a long flowing sash, with the latter two suggestive of Chinese influence. They also share similar breastplates, with a spiked rim, with the addition of Chinese vambraces and armored gauntlets, as well as layered spiked pauldron on each shoulder. He wears a parted pelt that extends from both shoulders and trails behind him as he walks; representing the two streaks of fur running down the back of his yōkai form. The Tessaiga and Tenseiga are worn at his waist, while the Sō'unga is worn across his back.

Abilities[]

Inuyasha (Anime)[]

Film Appearances[]

Video Games[]

Quotes[]

Relationships[]

Takemaru[]

Sesshomaru’s mother[]

Sesshomaru[]

Izayoi[]

Inuyasha[]

Myoga[]

Knownable Relatives[]

  • Unnamed Mother
  • Unnamed Father
  • Izayoi (Wife)
  • Inuyasha (Son)
  • Sesshōmaru (Oldest Son)
  • Sesshōmaru's mother (Ex Wife)
  • Kagome Higurashi (Daughter in law)
  • Moroha (Granddaughter)
  • Rin (2nd Daughter in law)
  • Towa Higurashi (Granddaughter)
  • Setsuna (Granddaughter)

Trivia[]

  • "Tōga-ō" (闘牙王, Fighting Fang King) was the name given to Inuyasha's father in the third movie script and it also appeared in one of the trailers, as well as the original draft of the soundtrack, but the name was removed before release in order to avoid confusing fans.
  • It is interesting to note that while Tōga is Inuyasha's only demonic parent, they do share markings when Inuyasha is in his full demon form. However, while Tōga has a single blue stripe on either cheek, and his mother has a single magenta stripe, Sesshōmaru has two magenta stripes on either of his cheeks. It is not known from which parent he obtained the double magenta stripes.
  • In the InuYasha manga, Tōga's humanoid form never appeared, only his true form. However, author Rumiko Takahashi personally designed his human form for the third movie. These designs appeared in an issue of Shōnen Sunday.
  • Many fans refer to him as Lord of the Western Lands; however, such a designation appears nowhere in any incarnation of the series. He was never stated to have any land holdings or official political power other than holding the title of "General" and being "based in the western provinces". After Sesshōmaru discovered that his father had intended for Tenseiga to be re-absorbed by Tessaiga, he lamented that this meant that his father intended to "leave him with nothing", indicating that Tenseiga was his sole inheritance from his father, and he did not inherit any land, title, or followers.
  • Tōga, Sesshōmaru, Sesshōmaru's mother, and Inuyasha are mostly or at least partly based on the inugami, a Japanese dog-like demon. Japanese folklore describes Inugami as zoomorphic, or anthropomorphic dog-like beings, by being often similar to werewolves.
  • Tōga's age is never revealed in the movie but given that in his original design he has the mature appearance of a man in his late 30s to early 40s he is a lot older than he looks, and many fans have believed him to have been close or over 3000+ years old when he died.
  • His name rhymes with Koga the wolf demon.

According to the Databook:

  • His birthday is ???.
  • His star sign is

Voice Actors[]

  • Japanese : Akio Otsuka
  • English : Don Brown

Gallery[]

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