Tenseiga
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The Tenseiga (天生牙) is a fantasy sword from the anime and manga series InuYasha. Image:Tenseiga04.jpg The sword has a special property in that it cannot harm any living beings, which is ironic for a sword. Whenever it cuts a person that cut leaves behind a light that then vanishes thus making it incapable of cutting an opponent. However its power lies in the fact that it can bring the recently dead back to life. Tenseiga allows a powerful user to see the pall bearer demons that take away the souls of the dead. As Tenseiga has the power to connect to the underworld, these demons can be cut and destroyed by it, allowing the soul to return to the dead's body. As the dead revives, their mortal wounds are healed. It is important to note that Tenseiga cannot really heal the living; it resurrects the dead. The literal translation of the kanji is "heavenly life fang" or "fang born out of heaven", but these are not necessarily accurate representations of the name's actual meaning.
Tenseiga allows its user to see and slay the beings from the underworld, as well as bringing up to 100 beings back to life in one swing.
It is wielded by the yōkai Sesshōmaru. The swordsmith Totosai created it along with the Tessaiga from the fangs of Sesshomaru's father, who was a taiyōkai (lit. great yōkai) dog demon famous throughout the lands. Totosai, who forged Tenseiga and Tessaiga, claims that only someone who has the heart to cherish others would be able to use it. However Totosai confesses that he has actually little clue to the sword's mysterious powers. Sesshoumaru, surprisingly, is able to use Tenseiga's abilities. According to Totosai, Tenseiga has chosen Sesshoumaru as it's master, regardless of whether he had a kind and caring heart, but in fact Sesshoumaru does care about an human child, Rin.
Tenseiga has been used sparingly, mostly only when Sesshomaru feels like using its power for his own gains such as reviving the head of the yōkai Goshinki so that his fangs can be used to create the sword Tokijin; or when the sword compels Sesshomaru to use him for a good cause. One such example was the sword pulsing to tell Sesshoumaru to revive Kanta's father, and in so doing, Sesshoumaru learns of Naraku's plans to possess the last fragment in the demon graveyard. Sesshomaru does not always fully understand or appreciate the sword, but when faced with its loss, he always retrieves it because it was his father's bequest to him, and Sesshomaru has always prided himself on honoring his father's memory.
Sesshomaru's human companion, a human girl named Rin, is brought back to life with the Tenseiga after she was killed by the demon wolves of Kōga; Jaken, Sesshomaru's assistant, is also revived by Tenseiga as well after Kaijinbo kills him while under the corruption of the Tokijin.
Tenseiga, interestingly, easily defeats the leader of the elite cats of the west, Oyakata, who becomes an undead when he is revived with the souls of his lieutenants who laboured to complete the task and 3 pieces of the Jewel of Four Souls. Using the sword, Sesshomaru pulled and drained the souls out of Oyakata, restoring the life back to the lesser cats. Thus Oyakata's life essence was taken away. InuYasha is then able to finish the job with the Tessaiga and put an end to the renewed war between the Cats and the Dogs.
Since Tenseiga can harm the beings of the netherworld, the guardians at the gate that separates the Living World and the Dead, Gozu and Mezu, will not attack anyone who wields the Tenseiga for fear of their own safety, thus allowing them to pass the gate unobstructed. It was also observed in the 3rd Movie that Tenseiga has the ability to cut and damage the undead. Tenseiga's life giving powers deal divine damage to the undead, causing far more damage than conventional attacks.
Other than the power to resurrect the dead, Tenseiga has also the ability to protect its user by erecting a barrier in extreme cases or life-threatening situations. When Inuyasha unleashed the Wind Scar properly for the first time on Sesshoumaru, Tenseiga, sensing that the blow was fatal, gave off a blue light surrounding him and teleported him to safety. This seems to be a built-in defense mechanism. Tenseiga has also protected Sesshoumaru in several other dangerous situations.
In Inuyasha Movie Three: Swords of an Honorable Ruler, it is revealed that Tensaiga was part of a powerful triad of swords wielded by Sesshomaru's father: Tessaiga, Tenseiga, and So'unga. After Sesshomaru's father's death, Totosai left Tenseiga tied to the trunk of Bokuseno for Sesshomaru to find; knowing that Tenseiga was the only sword of his father's that Sesshomaru did not want, neither Totosai nor Myoga wished to give him the sword directly. Sesshomaru apparently had great disdain for the sword from the beginning; he may or may not know that his father used it to save the lives of Izayoi and the newborn Inuyasha shortly before his demise, although the knowledge would certainly not improve Sesshomaru's attitude towards the sword.
Image:Cresent1fj.png It is later reforged by Totosai, after Tokijin is broken, and it gains the Meidou Zangetsu Ha, which allows it to send enemies directly to the land of the dead as well as its previous revival power. Tenseiga had detected a change in Sesshomaru's heart where he felt feelings of fury and sadness for Kagura, prompting it to call out for Totosai and reforge it as a weapon as Sesshomaru had finally felt compassion for others. Tenseiga allows its user to cut open the path or boundary that separates the worlds of the living and the dead. A dark arc is formed in which it "cuts" the enemy in a sense and sends it to the after life. Sesshomaru performed this attack successfully on his first try which surprised Totosai. In the beginning, the fissure was only at the level of a crescent moon. As Sesshomaru perfects the technique the arc will become closer to a circle which will be able to send the entire body of the enemy to the next world or hell. Thus, Sesshomaru finally accepts its potential as a weapon.
Sesshomaru has used this technique numerous times and seeks to improve himself by entering a mountain and training by killing demons living there. Later, he kills the Numawatari (a water demon), which Inuyasha and his companions could not defeat, with a single blow. Currently, Sesshomaru's goal is to perfect his mastery over this technique.
It is clear from the third movie that Inuyasha's father intended Sesshomaru to have Tenseiga because he wished to foster a sense of compassion in his elder son, and to keep him from killing Inuyasha. His intentions have apparently been successful due to the sword's compulsion of Sesshomaru to resuscitate Rin after she was killed by wolves. Her presence has softened something in Sesshomaru's heart, and although he would never admit it, when he remembered his father's words about having something to protect, he was thinking of Jaken and Rin. It could also be possible that Inu no Taisho intended that Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha inherit Tenseiga and Tessaiga respectively so that they could not kill each other. Likely knowing that Sesshomaru despised Inuyasha for being a hanyou and that Inuyasha would have a dangerous life, Inu no Taisho gifted Inuyasha with Tessaiga to protect himself and his loved ones and defend himself against Sesshoumaru. Additionally Tessaiga seals Inuyasha's full demon blood. Sesshoumaru was given the Tenseiga, such that Tenseiga could never be used to kill Inuyasha and can protect him from Tessaiga's attacks. This could be planned by Inu no Taisho to instill brotherly kinship or at least respect among the two brothers.
On a side note the Tenseiga unleashes divine energy on its opponents since it is the sword of Heaven, as opposed to the demonic energy (yoki) unleashes by Sesshomaru's regular attacks or the holy power of people like Miroku or Kagome.