Behind Koto's name
Since the name Koto (小兎) means "small rabbit", many people have wondered what kind of youkai Koto is. Is she a demon bunny? When she first appeared, her long ears looked like a rabbit's, but she's always had cat whiskers and a fox tail.
Over the chapters, her ears have diminished. Maybe, she's a hybrid of cat and fox. Anyway, a fan asked about her name and if she was a rabbit, in a 1993 V-JUMP issue. Here's the answer:
Source: Yu Yu Fan Communication, V-JUMP #8 1993
Q: Is "Koto-chan" of the Dark Tournament a rabbit? She looks like a cat no matter how you look at it, but the chinese character "rabbit" (兎) is part of her name so... (Mugen from Chiba Prefecture)
A: I think the answer to this question can be understood if we replace it with human beings. The names Ichiro and Taro aren't always used for the eldest sons, right? I think it's the same thing. In other words, just because she has the letter "rabbit" in her name, doesn't necessarily mean she's a rabbit. As you see, "Koto-chan" is probably a cat.
T/N: Ichiro (一郎) and Taro (太郎) are male names that literally mean "first son" and "eldest son", respectively. The practice of naming the first son Taro, the second son Jiro, and so on was a tradition, but nowadays, it is not so common anymore. Some people name their younger sons Taro or Ichiro after a famous person or for any other reason. A name is just a name. Koto is a cute name. Kurama also has the kanji "horse" in his name and he's not a demon horse (lol). Togashi also said in the official characters book and volume 7 of the manga that he didn't give much thought to the characters name. When he named most of the characters, he came up with the sound first, then he added the chinese characters he liked, using a kanji dictionary.
I know some people whose dogs are called "Usagi" (rabbit). So, Koto's name (small rabbit) doesn't necessarily mean she's related to a rabbit youkai.
