Midoriko - Other Characters - Izayoi

Izayoi

Izayoi (十六夜?) was a gentle, beautiful human, the daughter of an impoverished noble house. She loved Inu no Taisho and was saddened that the young InuYasha was shunned for his half-demon status. Little else is revealed about her family, age, or even how she died, with InuYasha only noting that she died "a long time ago" and that her manner of death "wasn't her fault." Upon her death, InuYasha inherits the Robe of the Fire Rat, which Inu no Taisho gave Izayoi to protect her on the night InuYasha was born, and a shell containing Izayoi's favorite lip coloring which he gives to Kikyo.

The third "InuYasha" film, InuYasha the Movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler, which is not directly based on the manga, gives Inuyasha's mother the name Izayoi (十六夜?). The film shows her on the night of InuYasha's birth as a captive of Takemaru of Setsuna and his samurai, who plan to lure the Great Dog Demon into coming to rescue her so they can kill him. Izayoi pleads with Takemaru to leave and save his own life, but Takemaru claims he loves her and stabs her through the chest with a spear. Before she dies, she is able to give birth to InuYasha. Inu no Taisho, already injured by his battle with Ryūkotsusei, fights his way through Takemaru's men and the burning building to reach his dead lover and his newborn child. He uses the "Tenseiga" to restore her to life, then covers her with the Robe of the Fire Rat and orders her to flee. Before Izayoi leaves, Inu no Taisho names his son InuYasha. Inu no Taisho remains behind to fight Takemaru to the death as Izayoi flees with their child.

In the anime, she is voiced by Kikuko Inoue. In the English dub, she is voiced by Alaina Burnett.