Is sesshomaru affected by the moon at all? Or is that just a hanyo thing, ya think? But then again, inuyasha seems to be the only one so closely attuned. Following that - what do you think about it being because of sesshomarus mark and their blood/ house?
I think that the susceptibility to the phases of the moon is unique to Inuyasha, but it’s not clear whether that’s something all hanyou suffer from, or specifically any hanyou who descend from the line of the dog demons. I would be inclined to believe that all hanyou suffer from some kind of physical and spiritual energy flux, due to the hybrid nature of their genetic makeup, but the monthly timing of the moon cycle may be unique to Inuyasha. I don’t think it affects Sesshomaru because he has full demon blood and is able to balance and maintain his powers. Strength (that of a full blooded youkai) is the same thing as equilibrium here, and I’ll get back to that.
It’s clear that the line of inu dayoukai have a close connection to the moon, and it’s interesting that so many scenes in the series show Sesshomaru gazing up at the moon at night, contemplating something deeply.
Aside the lore of Tsukiyomi, the exiled lover of the Sun Goddess, I know very little about the Japanese mythology of the moon, but it’s clear that Sesshomaru is a Shinto-based demon, who is often interestingly at odds with Buddhist forces throughout the Inuyasha series: such as Miroku, or other monks who use sacred sutras to “purify” the “malevolent” demons they encounter--and indeed some, such as Naraku and servants, are quite malevolent, but Sesshomaru, his parents, and other daiyoukai royalty seem to me to be more the neutral spirits of the earth and its elements whose key determinant is not “good” or “evil” but BALANCE. What I can glean of Sesshomaru’s house and line is that they exist as motifs within that notion of balance, and dichotomies equaling each other out, thereby to maintain the vitality of the physical and spiritual worlds. The sun sets, and the moon rises. The moon sets, and the sun rises.
Specifically, it’s from the “Inu no Kimi,” Sesshomaru’s mother, that Sesshomaru has earned his crescent moon marking. I think two things are interesting here:
One, his mother’s home is in the sky, in a splendid palace in the clouds, accessible only through flight, just like Tsukiyomi. I would have liked to see it only accessible at night to further push that motif, but in the Final Act anime at least, Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken and Kohaku’s visit was during the day.
Two, both her marking and her son’s is a crescent moon rather than a full moon: suggesting almost a boastful caste mark of sorts, which states that when there is a new moon, they have the strength to balance the flux of their demonic energies: they maintain their full demon form, impervious to its monthly effects: unlike a “halfbreed” of their line, like Inuyasha.
In other words, it’s a claim of power, despite the odds, and despite the elements toward which weaker demons might be susceptible. “The moon is changing, but our power and our stamina endures.”
