Miroku (InuYasha)

This article is about the fictional character; see Maitreya for the Future Buddha known as Miroku in Japanese.

Miroku (弥勒) is a character in InuYasha, a television anime and manga series shown in Japan, the United States, and elsewhere.

He is a Buddhist monk, called houshi (法師) in Japanese, who possesses a rather unusual curse. His hand has a "wind tunnel" (風穴 kazaana) that sucks in anything nearby, if it is not kept covered by a cloth and strand of Buddhist Sutra beads. Miroku's wind tunnel is a curse that was placed on his grandfather by Naraku and passed down to him. Eventually, the curse will cause him to be sucked in as well, if Naraku is not defeated. Miroku is viewed by friends and strangers alike as a somewhat perverted person, as he likes to touch every young woman he sees, sometimes in places less than appropriate.

Miroku meets Inuyasha and his friends while walking away from a town after cheating them out of some money. He discovers that Kagome has shards of the Shikon no Tama, and takes them and her bike with the help of his tanuki (racoon spirit) friend, Hachi. Inuyasha and Kagome catch up to him and Inuyasha attacks him, but Miroku uses his wind tunnel against them. Kagome, realizing that the monk will not harm humans, stands in its path. This causes Miroku to quickly cover the wind tunnel with his prayer beads.

Miroku explains his situation, and Inuyasha reluctantly allows him to join them. Asking Kagome to "bear his child" did not help the situation, and neither did his groping of Kagome.

Nonetheless, the monk mellows out as time goes on and proves to be a valuable, if perverted, ally.

Name

The character is named for the predicted Buddha of the future, Maitreya, who is called Miroku in Japanese.

Voice Actor

Japanese Seiyuu: Kouji Tsujitani
English Voice Actor: Kirby Morrow

Friends

Inuyasha - Inuyasha may not like how the monk does things, but he does respect the monk for his good skills, talents, and his knowledge of yōkai.
Shippo - The critical kitsune disapproves of the monk's methods, but he also recognizes a good ally.
Kagome - They don't really interact very much. He seems more interested in Sango.
Sango - He restrains himself out of sympathy at first, but he becomes his perverted self after she recovers. He acts especially perverted around her when he is injured and she is in a convenient spot. As the story progresses, it becomes clearer that he is in something that could be called "love" with her. In a much later episode, he actually asks her to marry him, once Naraku is defeated.
Hachi - His partner in crime before he meets Inuyasha and friends. This tanuki would act as a yōkai and the sneaky monk would pretend to drive him off. The houshi would then collect from the yōkai's "victims."

Powers and Attacks

Wind Tunnel (風穴 kazaana): Acts like a mini black hole. It is vulnerable to Saimyōsho and a few other yōkai, but it is still an overwhelmingly powerful weapon against most yōkai.
Superspeed: In short bursts, Miroku can run swiftly enough to keep pace with Inuyasha; even if carrying extra weight (i.e., another person) on his back. Whether this speed is granted by spell or by inate ability is unclear.
Spell Scrolls (札 fuda): Can be used to paralyze yōkai and create barriers. Most are are thrown and then bind to the yōkai. See also: O-fude
Invisibility: Miroku can mask objects (both living and inanimate) from the eyes of evildoers, by going into a state of intense meditation.
Force Field (結界 kekkai): With the assistance of his staff, Miroku can create and temporarily sustain small protective force fields of reasonable strength.