Hanyo
From Free net encyclopedia
A Han'yō (Japanese: 半妖) in Japanese folklore is the product of a union between a yōkai and a human.
Examples of han'yō are the characters: InuYasha from the anime and manga series InuYasha; Sha Gojyo, the red-haired, red-eyed playboy from Saiyuki; Yusuke Urameshi from the manga and anime series YuYu Hakusho, and Uzumaki Naruto (Naruto Uzumaki) from Naruto, who carries the spirit of a powerful Nine-Tailed fox within his body. In folklore, han'yō are often seen as useless monsters. They are ostracized by humans and yōkai alike, because they are proof of a relationship between a human and yōkai that both groups see as improper.
There are, however, exceptions. Human descendants of a liaison between a kitsune and a human male are sometimes portrayed as heroic figures. Abe no Seimei, a famous onmyōji of the Heian Period, is one such figure said to be descended from a kitsune. Even these han'yō, though, remain separated from human society in one sense: they possess unusual traits and superhuman powers as a legacy of their bloodlines, and this often makes ordinary humans uneasy.