Kaede (InuYasha)

Kaede (楓) is a miko in the anime and manga series InuYasha.

She is the younger sister of Kikyo (Kikyō) and took her post as the village miko after Naraku killed her.

She lost her right eye at a young age while fighting alongside Kikyo and InuYasha (Kikyo failed to protect her because she was in love with InuYasha and her powers had been weakened by a curse laid by Tsubaki. This is not in the manga but takes place in a special episode of the anime.).

After her sister's demise, she defends the village against yōkai until Kagome, her sister's reincarnation appears 50 years later. She is the first to identify Kagome as the reincarnation of Kikyo and placed Kikyo's kotodama no nenju (a holy rosary that gives power to the spoken word of whomever creates it) on InuYasha when Kagome first let him go, so Kagome could control him.

She later helps them defeat the oni Urasue, who stole the bones of her sister Kikyo and created a clay body for her (attempting to use her as a slave to recover the Jewel of Four Souls (Shikon no Tama) a.k.a. the Shikon Jewel).

She also provides moral support (such when InuYasha was jealous over Kagome's helping Koga (Kōga)) and sometimes uses her miko powers to help, for example when Inuyasha was injured, she and Miroku kept a barrier that hid them from Royokan (Royōkan), who was being controlled by Naraku with a shikon shard. Additionally, she is a source of helpful knowledge regarding Kikyo's past, most notably her brief time with Onigumo, and the era (this knowledge is of most help to Kagome and the viewers).

In Viz's English dubbed version, Kaede speaks in a very archaic tone, although other characters do not.

Name

Her name means maple tree.