Race: human
Age: over 60
Quote: "I'm resting, not dead."
Appearance: Aged about 60, Kaede is still a vital and brisk, if somewhat stooped elderly woman. She has no right eye, having lost it in her childhood, and she wears an eyepatch over it, but her one remaining dark eye still sees sharply. She dresses in the traditional vestment of a miko (Shinto priestess): a bright red hakama (skirt-pants), a white haori (jacket) and a white ribbon with which her long grey hair is tied into a simple ponytail.
Appellations: Kaede, Kaede-(o)babaa, Kaede-baachan, Kaede-sama, miko-sama
Meaning of Name: "Kaede" means "maple".
Impressions: Kaede is a level-headed, no-nonsense woman who is not easily scared. She has seen it all and a bit more besides, and no upstart dog-demons will bark at this lady. Her long years (she is exceptionally old to have lived in medieval Japan) have graced her with wisdom and much knowledge. She can seem gruff and brusque and is always pragmatic, but she has her gentler side as well. To Inuyasha-tachi her home offers a refuge between journeys and she herself a wellspring of lore and information. She is also a skilled herbalist and healer.
History:The priestess and therefore the spiritual leader of her village, Kaede took on the post of the village shrine guardian after her older sister, Kikyou, died at the age of seventeen. She lost the sight from her right eye in the destruction that Inuyasha wreaked when he attacked the village -- in the same battle where Kikyou died. She has very high respect for her older sister. When she was little, she helped Kikyou taking care of Onigumo in the cave. She saw the evil in him and told her sister about it. Kikyou told her not to worry about it because Onigumo will never be able to walk again. 50 years later, when Kagome showed up, she was the first to realize that Kagome is Kikyou's reincarnation. She helped Kagome to control Inuyasha by putting the necklace spell on him. She then got Kagome and Inuyasha to work together to find the jewel shards after it was broken. After Kikyou was brought back to life, Kaede wants her sister to let go of her anger and return the underworld and be at peace. Kikyou came to her to know about Naraku and the cause of her death.
Weapons & Attacks: When necessary, Kaede wields the weapons of a miko, a bow and arrows. She is no great archer like her sister was, but she has a serviceable skill. She also has spiritual powers (reiryoku) that enable her to raise kekkai (barriers) and presumably also to purify taints and sense the presence of evil. Her abilities are likely not as strong as those of Kikyou or Kagome -- her true talents lie in medicine.
Hama no Ya ("Arrow of Purity"): Kaede, as a miko, is able to charge her arrows with purifying energy that distrupts and blows away youki and other evil influences.
First Appearance: manga act 1, anime episode 1
Seiyuu (Japanese): Kyoda Naoko
Voice Actor (English): Pam Hyatt