The Complete History of Tenseiga - Part 2
After his latest defeat at the hands of his brother, Sesshomaru is in an extremely weakened state and is left to recover in a forest near a human village.
The humiliation of being taken down by Inuyasha probably stings worse than any of the physical injuries.
While he convalesces, he meets a mute, orphan girl named Rin who attempts to care for him. Due to the extent of his injuries, Sesshomaru is barely able to move and thus has to deal with the unwanted attention after he fails to scare her off.
Sesshomaru: Are those gluten-free?
Despite his refusal to accept her help and his insistence that she mind her own business, Rin continues to visit him during his recovery. When she returns one day with bruises on her face, it sparks Sesshomaru's curiosity and he asks her how she got them. This a significant moment in his character development since it's the first time he's ever been shown expressing concern about another person. It also demonstrates that Rin's persistence has has paid off and has had an actual impact on him.
This simple inquiry about her bruises raises Rin's spirits and she responds by smiling at him. Which—completely baffles him, as in addition to asking about another's well-being, it's clear that being smiled at is also something Sesshomaru is not remotely accustomed to.
I wanted to say this is about Sesshomaru not understanding human emotions, but considering it's *Sesshomaru*, he probably just doesn't understand emotions in general.
Sesshomaru eventually returns to full health at the same time that a pack of yokai wolves lead by Koga attack Rin's village and kill her. He follows the scent of her blood and finds her dead body. After scaring the wolves away from her corpse he begins to leave when he remembers Rin's smile from earlier and turns back around.
I'm sorry, but can we talk about how Rin completely changed the entire course of this man's life just by SMILING AT HIM. Like, your fave could never. Rin is, low key, the most powerful character in the entire series and this is the proof.
For the second time (since demonstrating the blade's inability to cut on Jaken in chapter 126) Sesshomaru draws Baby Tooth Tenseiga. He feels a surge of power from the sword and then we see a group of tiny, horned creatures descend upon Rin's body. Depending on the translation, these beings are called either the messengers or pallbearers of the Underworld (Personally I prefer pallbearers since it sounds cooler, so that's how I'll refer to them.)
As the master of Tenseiga, he is the only one who can see the pallbearers (when he cuts them later, Jaken's remark makes it obvious that they're only visible to Sesshomaru) and this unique ability to see them is the reason he's able to use the sword effectively. The pallbearers will appear around a deceased character's corpse every time Sesshomaru is successfully able to bring someone back to life. The key word here being "successfully."
Interestingly, despite never using the sword before, Sesshomaru seems to instinctively know that he's supposed to cut the pallbearers in order to activate it's function.
Tag yourself. I'm the one in the gingham loincloth with the trident.
Sesshomaru's prepares to "test out" Tenseiga on the deceased Rin. Him framing of his actions here as a 'test' isn't exactly inaccurate; since he's never used Tenseiga in this manner before, he doesn't know what will happen when he does or whether he's capable of making it's powers work like they're supposed to.
But acting like he's only doing it as a way to satisfy his curiosity is also a way to rationalize what is likely an unconscious desire to save Rin. After all, it was the memory of her smile that had compelled him not to simply walk away and forget about her, so using the justification of, "I'm just testing put my sword, it's not like I actually care about her or anything" makes for a convenient way to save face. And honestly, Sesshomaru has to have come across a lot of dead bodies in his time, so clearly Rin was a special case if he was only willing to try Tenseiga when it came to her.
In the wideban, Takahashi explained that she created Rin's character because she wanted to create the opportunity for Sesshomaru's heart to soften, and if you remember at the end of chapter 129, Totosai stated that Tenseiga's destiny was "up to Sesshomaru's heart." Meeting Rin is the inflection point where Sesshomaru stops treating Tenseiga like a cumbersome burden and begins to develop the compassionate nature necessary to grow the sword to it's full potential.
Tenseiga University is in session, bitches.
Whatever his real reasons, Sesshomaru cuts down the pallbearers, destroying them with Tenseiga's power.
It's so on brand for Sesshomaru that he gains the power of resurrection and it still involves him getting to violently murder something.
His 'test' is successful and Rin comes back to life. This shocks Jaken, both because his master just raised someone from the dead, and also because he's probably never seen Sesshomaru save someone's life before, let alone a human's life.
"That's totally unlike Sesshomaru-sama..." Again, Rin is the most powerful character in the entire series. Fight me.
Sesshomaru is pleased by the result of his experiment but, based on his reaction, I do wonder if he was aware before this that raising the dead was an ability Tenseiga possessed. It's stated he'd kept it because he knew that there was more to Tenseiga than just being a sword that can't cut, but given how familiar he is with Tessaiga's capabilities, it's notable that Tenseiga is a total enigma to him. Did he never witness his father wielding Tenseiga? Did he never bother to ask Toga what his other sword was for? Totosai probably would've been willing to explain at least the basics, but by then Sesshomaru's too resentful of the whole situation to hear out anything he has to say.
It makes me think that Toga's acquisition of the Meidou Zangetsuha and the separation of Tenseiga and Tessaiga into two different swords (Uh, spoiler alert) was something that probably had to have happened pretty close to when the Inu no Taisho died if Tenseiga is this much of a mystery to Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru: I'm sorry I called you dull and blunt and useless...
Tenseiga: Ah, that's alright, don't sweat it—
Sesshomaru: And weak and a burden and a stupid, ugly piece of worthless garbage—
Tenseiga: Okay, you can stop now!
So, there we have it. Tenseiga has been "activated" so to speak and now that Sesshomaru is aware of the power it possesses, he's able to start his journey toward mastering it.
The next time we see Sesshomaru comes in the aftermath of Inuyasha's battle with a powerful ogre named Goshinki. Sesshomaru, now traveling with Rin in addition to Jaken, smells traces of Tessaiga (the blade that had slain Goshinki) on the ogre's fang. He takes the ogre's head and brings it to the forge of Totosai's evil ex-apprentice, Kaijinbo, a notorious swordsmith who fell out with his former master due to, among other things—using the blood of murdered children to craft his blades.
Sesshomaru asks Kaijinbo if he can forge a sword out of Goshinki's fangs and it's clear that he's still not satisfied with Tenseiga and wants a sword he can actually fight with. And since Totosai refuses to make him one, he's sought out Kaijinbo instead.
Kaijinbo: I'd need the blood of like, 20 extra toddlers.
According to Kaijinbo, a decent sword can't be made from "dead" fangs. This turns out not to be an issue as Sesshomaru demonstrates his ingenuity by drawing Tenseiga to resurrect Goshinki's severed head.
Using Tenseiga this way is actually really clever and resourceful and it demonstrates how quickly Sesshomaru is figuring out it's workings. It's also notable here how he's initially not using it for anything close to a 'compassionate' purpose. He employs the sword's 'healing' power purely for his own selfish ends—to get a shiny new sword with the might to rival Tessaiga. By commissioning a remorseless child killer, no less!
It's clear he doesn't really understand Tenseiga yet. He's learning how to wield the sword in a functional sense, but he's still lagging behind when it comes the internal and emotional growth he's meant to be gaining from it.
"Chewed and snapped the Tessaiga" Is the Tessaiga a piece of gum all of the sudden?
Kaijinbo agrees to forge a sword for Sesshomaru, creating the blade Tokijin. However, Tokijin's evil aura is too much for Kaijinbo to handle and he is possessed by it's vengeful will, slicing Jaken in half and killing him.
When Sesshomaru comes across Jaken's bisected body, he revives him with Tenseiga, making Jaken the second person after Rin to be brought back to life by the sword.
Sesshomaru: Not my imp, you bitch!
Hilariously, Jaken's body still remains in two pieces after he's revived. Although we unfortunately don't get to see how he manages to "pull himself together," he's extremely grateful to Sesshomaru for reviving him and I do love how Sesshomaru doesn't hesitate at all to use Tenseiga on Jaken. It shows that no matter how he treats him, Jaken is genuinely important to him.
"Wind Beneath My Wings" begins playing from somewhere...
Tenseiga is all but forgotten about for over a hundred chapters until the Band of Seven arc ends.
It's pissed it's not getting any screentime.
In chapter 296, we find out that Naraku's incarnation, Hakudoshi (who has the power to look inside people's souls), has been beheading demons in an attempt to "catch a glimpse of the land between this world and the next." One of the demons beheaded is the father of a river otter yokai named Kanta.
When Hakudoshi looks into the soul of a dead yokai, we get a cryptic hint of what the land between worlds looks like ("a world shrouded in a white mist"), foreshadowing that it's a location that's already known to the reader.
You can just see in Kagura's eyes how much she hates that little shit.
Sesshomaru comes across the headless corpse of Kanta's father. Since the last time we saw him he was looking off into the distance while remarking on Tenseiga's agitation, we can assume that Tenseiga had somehow lead him there.
The reason for this seems lost on Sesshomaru though, and his presence arouses Inuyasha's suspicion when he shows up with his group. Kagome and Shippo (who know about Tenseiga's supposed powers via Totosai's exposition from chapter 129) beg him to help Kanta's father but Sesshomaru declines, saying it's none of his concern.
It's here that we find out how far out of the loop Inuyasha and co. are when it comes to Tenseiga. Namely, that they have no idea that Sesshomaru has, or even can, use it to bring someone back to life.
Having not been witness to Jaken or Rin's resurrections, Inuyasha reveals that he's still under the impression that Sesshomaru is unable to use the sword, a misconception shared by his friends.
What I find surprising here is that Sesshomaru is okay with letting them believe that he's not just unwilling, but incapable, of helping them. I say it's surprising because, given his spiteful and prideful nature, I'd almost expect him to revive Kanta's father just to prove that he could and it's interesting that he's willing to let Inuyasha especially, get away with thinking that he's less powerful than he actually is.
But maybe, (like with him calling his resurrection of Rin a "test") he's content to let the assumption slide to save face. He still wants to maintain the image of an unfeeling, ruthless asshole and revealing that he can do something only someone with a "loving heart" should be able to suits him worse than the brief appearance of incompetence would.
Tenseiga, as usual, has other plans and before Sesshomaru can leave, the sword's energy becomes unsettled. Sesshomaru interprets this intense reaction as Tenseiga telling him to save Kanta's father, likely the reason why it drew him to the yokai's corpse in the first place.
Sesshomaru: My Tenseiga sense is tingling!
The reason Tenseiga compelled Sesshomaru to use it becomes clearer when Kanta's newly resurrected father tells an odd story about going to a strange place, "a world shrouded in white mist," after he died. His description matches Hakudoshi's from earlier, but he's able to give more specific details that reveal that the mysterious place Hakudoshi is attempting to locate is the tomb of Sesshomaru's father.
Sesshomaru leaves confused about what Tenseiga was trying to tell him and what it had to do with his father's gravesite. This part is interesting because were seeing how strong Tenseiga's influence over Sesshomaru has become. He allows the sword to guide him and he submits to it's will even when it's contrary to his own.
Tenseiga: Pssst...tell Rumiko to give me more screentime.
While Sesshomaru and co. are trying to find an entrance to his father's tomb (which we now know is in the borderland between the living world and the afterlife), they encounter Kagura, who informs them that the gateway to the borderland has already closed, but that Inuyasha and Naraku have managed to get inside. However, she tells Sesshomaru about an alternate, but dangerous way in.
Sesshomaru arrives at the gateway, where he encounters it's two guards, Gozu and Mezu. Supposedly, the only way to enter the gateway is to kill the two guards, but even then anyone who tries to enter will be bathed in a strange light and turned to stone since only the dead are supposed to be able pass through.
Sesshomaru's attempt to kill the guards with Tokijin fails and Gozu and Mezu tell him that they can't be cut by a sword from "this" world.
Tenseiga pulses and Sesshomaru realizes that, unlike Tokijin, it can be used effectively against the guards. But after drawing the sword, the gateway begins to open and Gozu and Mezu kneel before him, telling him that he's allowed to pass because he carries the blade of the afterlife.
This is the first we hear of Tenseiga being able to cut "those not of this world." We know it can cut the pallbearers of the underworld, but now we find put that it has the ability to apparently cut any being from other world, including Gozu and Mezu themselves. Tenseiga saves in the "living" world, but kills in the world of the dead.
Jaken's clinging to that Mokomoko like it's a security blanket.
Sesshomaru enters into the borderland to join the fight against Naraku and there's a part here with Inuyasha that I want to mention because, even though it doesn't have anything to do with Tenseiga, it's going to become thematically relevant later.
During the battle, Inuyasha is given the chance to strengthen Tessaiga by defeating Hosenki (the jewel maker who created the black pearl that was in his eye) but decides to shield his friends from Naraku's deadly miasma instead. At first, Hosenki derides this attitude as emblematic of his half-yokai nature, but it's later revealed to be secret test of character.
When Inuyasha uses the Kongōsōha (Adamant Barrage) for the first time, Hosenki tells him that the diamond spears would have killed him if he'd only cared about strengthening the sword. But because Inuyasha valued his friends lives more than increasing his power, Hosenki rewards him with the Kongōsōha.
Hosenki secretly replaced the diamond fragments with Folger's crystals.
Unlike Inuyasha, Sesshomaru is a pure demon, and doesn't hold back in his pursuit of power, even if it means putting others in danger. This mindset will later come back to bite him and that's why I find this part of the story illuminating in light of Sesshomaru's future trip to the underworld and what he'll have to sacrifice in order to strengthen Tenseiga.
Naraku: You're not like the other girls, are you?
