Name meaning: "Iron Pulverising Fang"
Pronunciation: Eng: Tetsusaiga/Tet-sigh-guh Jap:Tesseiga/Tes-sigh-guh
The Tetsusaiga is a very powerful sword that Inuyasha's father, Inutaishou, left to him as an heirloom. On it's own, Tetsusaiga looks like an ordinary katana, rusty and useless. But when it's transformed, it turns into a giant, fang shaped sword.
The sword was forged from one of Inutaishou's fangs, by the great swordsmith, Toutousai. Inutaishou had him forge in special powers to insure that Tetsusaiga never fell into the wrong hands, like Inuyasha's older brother, Sesshoumaru. He made it so that Tetsusaiga could not be touched by demon hands, or else it will burn and reject them. He also had it made so that it will only transform when it's being used to protect humans. Inutaishou's hopes were that Inuyasha could protect himself and his mother, Izayoi, with it.
The Tetsusaiga also has a scabbard that was made from the branches of Bokuseno, a demon magnolia tree (HAHA!). The sheath has the power to call the Tetsusaiga to it if they're ever separated, and can deflect most attacks. It's also handy for bonking people on the head.
The Tetsusaiga has two main attacks. "Kaze no Kizu" which means, "The Cutting Wind," or in the English version, "Wind Scar". It can be activated by cutting through where two demonic winds collide. It has the power to kill one hundred demons in one swing. After Inuyasha finally masters his sword, he's able to activate Kaze no Kizu anytime he wants.
It's other attack is a much more powerful one called the "Bakuryuuha" or "Backlash Wave." It surrounds the power of the enemy it's facing with the Kaze no Kizu, and sends it back, destroying everything in its path. However if the enemy is not very strong, the Bakuryuuha won't work.
Another purpose of the Tetsusaiga is to seal away Inuyasha's demon blood. Demons have the ability to stay calm and in control of their emotions and body, while hanyous cannot. If a hanyou such as Inuyasha is on the brink of death, or in extreme danger, the demon part of his blood takes over and makes him transform in order to protect himself. The transformation turns him into a wild killing machine, that will continue to fight until he is killed. While transformed, Inuyasha doesn't know himself, and the demon blood slowly devours the human part of his soul. To prevent this from happening, Inutaishou had Tetsusaiga made to seal away Inuyasha's demon blood, so long as it's always near him.
In the beginning of the series, Sesshoumaru was very upset that his father had left such a great sword to his younger brother, and even the location of it deep inside Inuyasha's right eye. Inuyasha didn't really want the sword when he first saw it, because he didn't think he needed it. The fact that he wasn't able to pull it out, and Kagome could, made him sort of angry at the sword. But now with Kagome in tow, and the arrival of Naraku, he finds he needs it more and more, and he grows to love it. It took him a while to master it though. For a long while he swung it around like a caveman and made it dull. But he eventually got the hang of it and mastered his sword.
Sesshoumaru tried several times to take Tetususaiga away from Inuyasha. He even allied himself with Naraku and used a human arm he was given so he could be able to grasp it. Yet all his plans failed. Later on he learned that is was given to Inuyasha for protection reasons, and after seeing that Inuyasha did indeed transform when separated from his sword, Sesshoumaru gave up. Maybe he finally understood and respected why their father had given Inuyasha the Tetsusaiga instead of him. |
