Toga: My son’s growth as a person is very important to me. Therefore, I’m leaving him this special sword as a message about becoming kinder to others and growing up.
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The path that connects to the netherworld: the meidou
In the netherworld there is no kind of living beings, only a growing, silent darkness where nothing moves… This is the place where the dead who couldn’t be saved are found. It exists in an alternative dimension to that of the living beings, and to connect both worlds, a special stone or forcing a door to open using the Meidou Zangetsuha are required. When the meidou appears in our world, it absorbs and destroys everything around it, and afterwards it disappears. Inside it there’s only a way leading to the netherworld.
A realm of the dead with no light
“There’s nothing there”, said Sesshoumaru’s mother when talking about the netherworld. Actually it’s like she said: there’s no noise, no light, just darkness. Besides, it seems to be a place where you can’t get out once you get in. When you walk over the meidou, you reach the center of the netherworld. Only death exists in this place, so a countless amount of dead are piled up one above the other, like a mountain. Here, the huge, dark lord of the netherworld takes the bodies to pile them up, making the mountain grow more and more. This way, the deceased who couldn’t be saved will remain there eternally to rot slowly. In this world of the deceased there’s no light or salvation.
(page 2)
The beasts of the netherworld must be defeated with Tenseiga - The laws of the deceased surrounded by darkness
In the netherworld beasts appear trying to kidnap the deceased and eat them. They can disguise themselves using different forms: some of them look like dogs, others look like snakes… These creatures can’t be eradicated with normal swords because the weapons to kill persons and demons are useless against these beings. Meidou Zangetsuha isn’t effective either since its origin is the netherworld. The only thing that’s effective is Tenseiga, the only sword that can cut the messengers from beyond and defeat the beasts of the netherworld.
In meidou, every step further is a step towards death
The meidou is the path to the netherworld, therefore, it’s the way to the realm of the dead. It’s easy to imagine that if a normal human keeps going forward in it, they will be closer to the end of their own life; if it’s particularly a kid with few vital energy, it may affect them a lot. Sesshomaru, who possesses huge amounts of demon and vital energy, wasn’t affected that much, but Rin died for a while after entering the meidou. On the other hand, Kohaku, who is kept alive with a shikon fragment, could stay safe.
If someone stays there for a long time, they’re consumed by darkness
Originally, the meidou is a place where light can’t reach. That’s why even a person with their own light will be slowly engulfed by darkness and will disappear. This way, the netherworld manages to keep its silent cosmos of penumbra. It’s always been like this and it will be for all eternity… InuYasha and Sesshoumaru, who entered the netherworld, will also be consumed by this blackness. In the face of the laws of the netherworld there are no exceptions, not even for demons with great demon energy. They will disappear after being consumed by darkness… This means their death. Living beings, no matter their kind, can’t exist inside the netherworld by no means.
(page 3)
The lord of the netherworld that invites/calls upon the dead
This lord is the one that classifies those who enter the netherworld and makes them part of the pile of deceased. It’s an anthropomorphic monster surrounded by great darkness. It rules over the netherworld and collects the dead. Being kidnapped by it means you’re dead. However, it’s said that if it’s defeated while he’s holding the deceased person, the corpse revives… In Rin’s case, who was already revived with Tenseiga once, she didn’t comply with the requirement to make this possible. Besides, those who have died some time ago can’t either revive, even if the lord is defeated. If it buries you in the mountain of corpses, that’s your end.
Tenseiga can purify a countless amount of dead
The dead who sleep in the netherworld exist inside the darkness for all eternity, unable to reach nirvana or fall into hell. Tenseiga is the only thing that can save them: when it’s used with compassion -since it seems it can save up to 100 lives if used correctly- the souls of those attached to the netherworld are purified and can reach nirvana… This is Tenseiga’s true power which Sesshomaru could experience after Rin died and, for the first time, he felt sadness and fear of losing someone dear to him. Thanks to this, Meidou Zangetsuha could get closer to being completed.
Tenseiga opens the path to the external world
Tenseiga can cut the space and open the meidou, as well as the opposite, becoming a ray of light which connects the inside of the meidou with the external world. If the meidou zangetsuha is aimed at this light, the meidou opens, making it possible to escape. The meidou and Tenseiga are very closely related.
(page 4 - interview with Rumiko Takahashi)
Tenseiga opens the path to the external world
The netherworld and the meidou appear several times in “Inuyasha”. How is the netherworld? The truth is I’m not very sure myself, but I think this is the world of those who are gone for good, like a frontier between the world of the living and the world of the dead. That’s why sometimes there are people who return from the latter.
However, it’s still a place out of this world. It’s not completely a place for the dead either: those who can return will return. Sesshomaru was able to go and come back without difficulty, but we already know he has great potential.
Normally, if a normal person goes to this place they won’t be able to return. Rin died and Kohaku wouldn’t have survived had he not had the fragment of the shikon no tama.
The netherworld is a silent world of the dead
It looks a bit like outer space, but this doesn’t mean a lot. It’s not that. It was drawn like this because I just happened to have a screentone (1) with these characteristics. I imagine the netherworld of the universe of “Inuyasha” as a place that is not hell: a silent world of the dead. No noise, no light…
The true world of the dead is where the body of InuYasha’s father is
The place where the tomb of InuYasha’s father is located is a different place to the netherworld. That place… is the real world of the dead. The part where his body is located is like an elephant’s graveyard. You could also say it’s a different area inside the netherworld.
The visit to the netherworld made Sesshoumaru mature
I think that the fact that Sesshomaru could go and come back from there is an important story. This was an episode related to Tenseiga.
The result is that both of them matured… It was a necessary episode for this to happen
“Overcoming the rules and symbolism expected of them, characters seek to transcend all distinctions of gender, race and upbringing to communicate, interact and love one another. This is a main theme that exists in all of Rumiko Takahashi’s major works. Even Inuyasha(serialized from 1996 to 2008 in Weekly Shonen Sunday), which has a more serious style than Urusei Yatsura, portrays characters who build relationships across categories, such as Sesshomaru, a demon who cares for the human girl Rin.”
