Volume 29

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The Inuyasha Narrative, Part 29: Naraku, the Unquenchable Soul
	Translation provided by: Robby Stine of Kanabits

Onugumo, the Human Soul at the Core of Naraku

When I think about Naraky, I think that, at his core, he was still human. He started off as the bandit Onigumo, and I think he was never able to completely remove that part of himself. He was a human being until his final breath, albeit evil.

Naraku did horrible things to Inuyasha and party countless times. He knew how to make humans suffer because he himself was human. This understanding was why he was able to cause humans such grief. His humanity was where all his ideas came from. Even more, he never aspired to stain the world with evil. He just wanted to harm a certain few, and if others were harmed in the process he didn’t mind. That was the extent of his heart. He attacked only those whom he had chosen. He was fixated on Kikyo, and along with her came a fixation with Inuyasha. Looking at him this way, he was an extremely simple man, wasn’t he?

Unfortunately for him, Naraku had no one to call an ally. Even his aspects, made from a part of himself, betrayed him. Personally, I loved that about him. That he couldn’t even trust his own aspects. That said, I don’t think he was ever really sad about it. I mean, it’s not as if he wanted allies to begin with. He only wanted Kikyo. Naraku’s heart never softened. He was a demon, unquenchable in his loneliness and human in his weaknesses. That’s why, after killing Kikyo, he seemed to just completely stop caring about anything. He adopted a manner of hatred towards everyone and everything.

Naraku was the basis of the entire story.

I think the reason Naraku wanted the Shikon Jewel is that he wanted to rid himself of his own soul. I think he wanted to be a true demon, unlike the half-demon that he was. I don’t know for sure though, even looking back at the story now. What I do know is that he wanted complete control of the immense power of the Shikon Jewel.

The story of Inuyasha would not have worked without Naraku. I never considered killing him off halfway through the story only to reveal an even bigger, badder villain. I knew he would play his part straight to the end. What happened between Naraku and Kikyo formed the starting point for the events of Inuyasha. He needed to be there for the ending as well.

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