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| “ | Don't make me laugh! If humans had kindness, if they truly did understand pain, then why did Tsukiyomi seal me away? I cannot forgive you. What humans did to me, I will repay with death, so die knowing how I feel! | „ |
| ~ Hoshiyomi expressing his (justified) misanthropy |
Hoshiyomi is a villain in the anime series Inuyasha, appearing exclusively in a four-part filler story. He is a humanoid demon ninja and daiyōkai who fought for good and justice alongside his human love, the priestess Tsukiyomi, until he was sealed away by her and he began to despise humans from then on.
He is voiced by Kazuya Nikai in the Japanese version of the anime and Micheal Dobson in the English version.
History
Hoshiyomi eventually employed Kaijinbō, Tōtōsai's evil former apprentice, to craft a weapon for him, after Tsukiyomi began to show extreme signs of fatigue from their battles. With the bodies of 222 demons Kaijinbō forged the Naginata of Kenkon (trans. “Halberd of Heaven and Earth”), a powerful sword with a stave in the middle of two separate, yet equally balancing powerful blades. After Hoshiyomi received his prize Tsukiyomi no longer had to fight their common foes, but he struggled with the evil from the sword that was possessing him. Tsukiyomi eventually sealed Hoshiyomi within a pentagram with the intent of destroying the naginata; however, her plans went awry as fatigue overtook her and she died before she could both destroy the naginata or release Hoshiyomi.
During the story
Decades later, Hoshiyomi was freed and eventually reacquired both blades (one of which Akitoki Hōjō had in his possession to guard), waging war on all of humanity for “its betrayal.” After creating a black hole-like vortex, Inuyasha and Kagome are eventually able to defeat him with the combined power of Inuyasha’s Backlash Wave, Kagome’s sacred arrow, and a little spiritual help from Tsukiyomi’s soul; the Naginata of Kenkon is destroyed along with him. In addition, just before Hoshiyomi’s death, he realizes Tsukiyomi’s true intent (having begrudged her for sealing him away) of her last actions, forgives her, and, upon his death, is reunited with her.
Personality
Hoshiyomi, in many aspects, is Inuyasha in reverse. Inuyasha originally only sought power, such as when he learned of the Shikon jewel and wanted to become a full-fledged demon, but after meeting Kagome and friends, he started to value human life and became more kind: Hoshiyomi was originally caring and protected human life, but after being betrayed by a human he now despises them and only seeks to become more powerful. In battle, Hoshiyomi has shown reservedness to killing, having the opportunity to slay Inuyasha several times but instead says: "I'll say it again. While this blade means everything to me, it has absolutely no value to you or your friends. If you back off, I'll spare you and the other humans, too. Or do you place no value on your life?"This is odd compared to many other daiyōkai in the series, who wouldn't even give their opponents a chance to run and would simply kill them without a thought, akin to Sesshōmaru. Further separating him from most daiyōkai is the fact that he seems to have no real hatred towards half-demons, even appearing to view them as equals in some ways. When possessed by the Naginata of Kenkon, however, he seems more hostile, calling Inuyasha 'impudent'. Hoshiyomi also had strong human emotions, and fell in love with the priestess Tsukiyomi.
Tsukiyomi's betrayal hurt him deeply, to the point that when he found out the truth, he refused to abandon his desire to kill all humans as he was too filled with rage. It should be noted, however, that with Tsukiyomi dead, Hoshiyomi didn't have anything else to live for. Indeed, he himself stated that he had gone too far to give up. He also forgave Tsukiyomi after he died and seemed happy to be reunited with her, suggesting that he had been lying to himself the entire time and, in the end, all he truly wanted was peace.
Powers and Abilities
- Demon Ninja Shadow Incarnation: Hoshiyomi has the ability to create doppelgangers of himself, concealing copy is his true self so that his opponents will attack false enemies. However, this technique doesn't work very well when he battles Inuyasha, because the half-demon is able to detect which doppleganger is the real one by determining which one has a scent.
- Demon Ninja Shadow Hold: Hoshiyomi throws a dagger into the shadow of his opponent, holding them down by their silhouette and rendering them unable to move. However, when there is total darkness and the shadow is unrecognizable from the rest of the darkness, the technique weakens in power. This is seen when the light of the moon is covered up by clouds and Inuyasha notices that he can move again.
- Demon Ninja Pentacle Barrier: Hoshiyomi creates a barrier with a pentacle-star spell, making it impossible to be disturbed. Its unknown if Inuyasha's red Tessaiga would have been able to break the barrier, as Inuyasha, Akitoki Hōjō and the others were occupied with battling the four demon ninjas. Hoshiyomi dispels the pentacle barrier when the Naginata of Kenkon is completed, choosing to rely on only the blade for protection.
- Ball of Light: Much like Sesshōmaru, Hoshiyomi transforms into an orb of light when travelling great distances. This is seen when he flees with Kagome as his hostage.
Weapons
- Naginata of Kenkon: The Naginata of Kenkon was a weapon that was created by Kaijinbō. is consisted of two sharp-edged curving blades going into a tsuba, or hand-guard on either end of a long wooden rod. It was created using the souls of 222 yōkai.
- Aura: Giving off a dark purple malevolent aura, the demonic essence of the Naginata was powerful enough to corrupt and possess (as Tsukiyomi suspected) Hoshiyomi, forever changing his personality until his death. In one particular scene of note, Inuyasha is exposed to the unshielded aura of the Ken blade, while it is still in the possession of Akitoki Hōjō. In that scene, it appears that Inuyasha loses himself completely to the evil influence of the blade, unable to hear the voices of his friends calling his name. It isn't until the blade is covered again that Inuyasha returns to himself, unsure of what had just occurred. This event demonstrates the evil corrupting power of the Naginata, and shows exactly the kind of influence that Hoshiyomi has fallen under.
- Barrier: Even with just the Kon blade, Hoshiyomi is still able to erect a yellowish barrier, exceedingly strong and powerful enough to withstand the power of Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu (Wind Scar) .
- Energy Absorption: At least attributed to the Kon blade, the Naginata is able to absorb both demonic energy (as in the instance with the Tessaiga) and spiritual energy (such as the instance with Kagome). In addition to this, the Naginata is able to emit this energy as a Kenatsu (see definition below), shown when Hoshiyomi fired a blast at Inuyasha right after absorbing much of the Tessaiga's demonic energy. The energy absorbed from Tessaiga was comparable to Sesshōmaru's first use of the Wind Scar. This ability is quite similar to Inuyasha's Dragon-scaled Tessaiga.
- Kenatsu: Kenatsu is the special ability that allows the Naginata to cut an opponent with its yōki without physically touching them.
- Crimson Sphere: It is one of the Naginata's strongest offensive attacks. It takes the form of an extremely huge crimson sphere of pure energy and can be directed at an opponent. If said attack connects with someone, the sphere engulfs them and quite possibly exterminates them into nothingness. Hoshiyomi uses this as a seeming last measure attack to kill Inuyasha and his band.
- Spherical Shockwave: Similar to Sesshōmaru's spherical shockwave with the sword, Tōkijin, a highly destructive sphere of demonic energy is created on the tip of the blade and dispersed in a spherical fashion. Hoshiyomi used this attack to slay a large number of yōkai in one stroke after they had surrounded him. (This event is similar to the Kaze no Kizu ("Wind Scar") which can destroy "a hundred youkai in a single swing".)
- Nether Vortex: Quite possibly the Naginata's most powerful technique, and quite similar to the "Meidō Zangetsuha", the "nether vortex" is a form of red kenatsu burst that theoretically creates a portal to the invisible void between Heaven and Earth. This portal, however, also acts similar to a black hole in that it sucks in everything around it with irresistible force. (See also Kazaana) . Being the space between the most powerful forces in the universe, it is speculated that with enough time that the black hole could absorb the entire world into itself.That would benefit Hoshiyomi's goal to destroy every human in the world and that could be the reason why he used such a dangerous technique.