Miroku
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- This article is about a character from an anime series; see Maitreya for the future Buddha known as Miroku in Japanese
Miroku (弥勒) is a character in the anime and manga series InuYasha.
He is a Buddhist monk, called hōshi (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 mala 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's standard explanation for this behavior is that he must have a child in order to have an heir by the time he is killed by the curse.
Miroku meets InuYasha and his friends while walking away from a town after cheating them out of some money. He discovers that Kagome Higurashi has shards of the Jewel of Four Souls (Shikon no Tama) or Shikon Jewel, and takes them and her bike with the help of his tanuki (raccoon dog 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" does not help the situation, and neither does his groping of her.
Nonetheless, the monk mellows out as time goes on and proves to be a very valuable, if perverted, ally and is very knowledgable about demons.
He eventually proposes to Sango, who accepts (even though his behavior will probably remain the same).
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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
Brazilian Voice Actor: Fábio Lucindo
Friends
- Hachi - His partner-in-crime before Miroku met Inuyasha and friends. This tanuki (raccoon dog) jūjin 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." Hachi is very loyal to Miroku, though sometimes he would use his shape-shifting abilities to his own advantage and pose as Miroku to 'cast out demons' in exchange for food and other necessities, however their friendship is very solid. Due to Hachi's friendly nature, he is very polite and congenial to others.
- 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 Higurashi - They don't really interact very much. He seems more interested in Sango. Though when he first joined the group he asked Kagome if she would bear his child.
- 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.
Powers and Attacks
- Wind Tunnel - "Kazaana". Acts as a mini-blackhole that can suck anything in. Miroku's grandfather was cursed by Naraku with the Hole in his right hand, and it has passed on to his father and now him. If Naraku is not destroyed in time, Miroku will share the same fate as his father and grandfather, who were both drawn into the hole themselves. One advantage of this curse is that Miroku has a deadly weapon which puts him on level grounds with hordes of demons. The single weakness of this attack is in Naraku's hell wasps called the Saimyōsho, which will kill Miroku with their poison if an excess number of them are drawn in.
- 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 thrown and then bind to the yōkai. See also: O-fuda
- 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.