Dear Papa Archives

Dear Kallie,
Well, most men tend to have the same balding pattern, and since hair wasn't usually cut in those days, the remaining hair was indeed usually kept in a topknot. So, yes, most random villager men do tend to have the same hair style.

Were you ever ashamed that inuyasha was a half demon? I mean, did you consider what his future would be like when Izyaoi had him, or were you completely disregarding that he would be an outkast? (with all respect of course though)!

*ps* can i please have a hug :)
Sincerely,
Huggles

Dear Huggles,
Well, I personally was never ashamed of him, but I knew he'd have a tough life ahead of him without someone to protect him. ... Unfortunately, I had also assumed I'd be around a little longer to watch after him, but things didn't exactly go according to plan. But he ended up faring fine on his own, despite the prejudice, and has ended up making a lot of friends and gotten quite strong, so I couldn't be prouder of him. *hugs*

Dear My Name,
Of course. Where do you think Myouga came from?

Dear fehBEH,
... Things like that make my head hurt. Some things you're just not supposed to ask.

Dear Blackrose,
Possibly, but unfortunately, most of the youkai that Inuyasha ends up meeting don't care how great his youkai heritage is, but merely how lowly his human heritage is. Not to mention a lot of those youkai are likely too young to know who I was. Jaken called him "Inuyasha-sama" once, and was promptly smacked for it.

Dear Las Piernas,
... Good god, Mouryoumaru's body parts have made it all the way to Mexico.

and is rin's name ri, then, only sesshomaru calls her rin? because it's one of the only names i can think of in the series that doen't end with a vowel. jaken being another one. wait, that ends in an "n" too. erk. . . i don't associate jaken and cute. . .

sorry for babbling. hopefully you get the general drift of my question. -_-
Sincerely,
Green_Shippo

Dear Green_Shippo,
Well, Japanese nicknames are just as varied as English ones, so there is no set "rule" that always applies. True, there are often common cases of making nicknames, such as adding "y" to the end of someone's name in English to make it "cute". But this doesn't necessarily mean that all names that end in "y" are cute nicknames. "Rin" is an actual name, not a nickname.

Did you teach Sesshoumaru how to fight and use his demon powers effectively in battle, as well as the proper way to wield a sword?
Your parents couldn't handle swords so who, if anyone, were you taught by?
Same question with Inu-Yasha, how did he learn these things?
*Nikki pets the fluff* ^_^
Sincerely,
Nikki

Dear Nikki,
I taught Sesshoumaru most of what he knows about fighting, yes. Though, I tended to emphasize patience, which he seemed to forget about once I wasn't around to nag him about anymore. I learned to fight from whoever would teach me, since I spent most of my youth and adolescent years training myself to be strong to avenge my parents' murders. If no one was around, I would train myself, so many of my moves were purely original. The same goes for Inuyasha, who also had little in the way of formal training. He merely taught himself out of necessity.
.... *hugs Nikki*

Dear Riri,
Oh, she was quite independent of me, mostly because we hardly saw each other. One thing that I liked about her is that she didn't force herself subservient to me, since most other people I'd met were either afraid of me or wanted to kill me. Izayoi treated me more like a friend than a superior.

Dear My Name,
There were actually six seasons of Inuyasha, though where they start and end depends on what you consider a "season". Most people go by the change of opening themes, but the DVD releases are also broken into "seasons" of about 24 episodes each.

Dear My Name,
.... Sure I am! I mean, if I can make swords from my teeth, why not kids, too?

Dear Marisha-ten,
Naturally, the easy answer is "because the third movie disregarded canon", but I suppose you could say that, upon death, a body returns to its original form, because there's no power left to sustain the transformed version. ... Which, of course, doesn't explain why Sesshoumaru's arm reverted to human form in the movie after it was severed. That seems kind of backwards... Not to mention it remained a dog paw in the manga.

Dear Kye Arema,
I admit that I've been wasting a lot of time bumming around in the chat room. ... Or, rather, idling in the chat room, then wandering off and doing miscellaneous tasks with people constantly wondering where the heck I got off to. *sweatdrops*

how did you discipline sesshomaru when he was misbehaving as a little kid?

Sincerely,
pitplayer67

Dear pitplayer67,
Eh heh... that's the thing. I didn't, really. Maybe bark at him a bit. ... Maybe that's how he grew up with such a disregard for everything...

Dear LilaFreakk,
.... Suuure, just a sec, let me just stab myself and die back to the living world!
... In all honesty, if I REALLY wanted to, I could probably find some way back to the living world, but... why bother? I had my fun, now it's time for someone else to take over. That's life.

in the 3rd movie what does Myouga call you? the subtitles translated master and it said Izayoi called you sire...she doesnt really call you sire does she????
Sincerely,
kawii

Dear kawii,
Myouga, Toutousai, and Saya all refer to me as "Oyakata-sama" in the third movie, which is just a term of address for a leader. Izayoi... didn't really call me anything, besides "anata", which is a typical term of address from a wife to a husband.

Dear Forest Child,
Actually, off the top of my head, I can't recall Sesshoumaru ever referring to Rin with a pronoun. Mostly because he doesn't talk to her much, anyway. He uses "kisama" with Jaken, but he's only said, like, five lines to Rin this entire time. But I'd kind of guess he'd use "omae" with her.

Dear Keira,
Sesshoumaru made little puppy whimpers, since he was, you know, born a puppy. But since Inuyasha was born human, he was mostly constrained to the usual human "WAAAAAHHHH!!" noises. ... They were both equally grating after a while... *rubs his temples*

Dear Azzi,
Thankfully, Sesshoumaru has a good sense of smell and therefore could tell from a good distance away if we were together or not, and could therefore avoid any sort of embarrassing interruptions. Not to mention I could generally tell where he was, too, and could plan to make sure we really WERE alone in those situations. So, no, we've never had Sesshoumaru, or anyone for that matter, walk in on us.

Dear Kouga's Mate,
Probably because they got smart and left. Or the Gokurakuchou ate them all first. They'd be the more tender ones, after all.

Dear Housenki,
Okay, but if those "Arbiters of Hell" guys ever come back, you said it, not me. ... And what's wrong with a chubby puppy? Don't tell me you're just trying to cover the fact that you're allergic to dogs. I swear, I find your sparkling boogers all over the place nowadays...

Dear Lady Gata,
Physically, yes, because I have a lot of muscle weight, and therefore don't absorb it as quickly. But I can't say I have as high tolerance for the stuff as someone who drinks regularly, so give me enough... and I'd probably end up passed out somewhere... It would take a lot, though.

I'm losing my mind!!! I'm part of this site called ask the characters ([URL removed]) and I have to answer letters for Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, AND Miroku, not to mention other YYH characters.... and I know you get more letters than I do so I have to ask: HOW DO YOU DO IT?!
I mean, the site is like this..... except you send letters to WAAAAY more characters than JUST you.

It bugs me sometimes with the questions I am asked. Do any questions ever bug you? Like the ones about Sesshomaru's mom? I'm glad I haven't had to answer any about those... yet... and I'm betting Torie (who answers letters for you) won't like those either...

Also, any advice on how to answer letters for our staff and how to make sending a letter more appealing? Please check out our site and let us know! Thanks a bunch.... and I'm sure that Bex-san, Torie-san, Ara-chan, and Rachel-chan will want a hug, so can you hug them? *anime sweatdrop*
Sincerely,
Reeo-kun

Dear Reeo-kun,
How do I do it? Well, being dead helps, because then you don't have much ELSE to do. Also, some knowledge certainly helps, coupled with the ability to make up something reasonable on the spot if you don't have a clue what people are talking about. It's the art of BS. I do get a number of letters that I skip, mostly concerning characters' relationships with characters other than myself... because that sort of thing really isn't any of my business. It all boils down to whether I feel I can make a worthwhile reply to the letter I'm given.
And hugs to all of you. *hug* You're gonna need 'em in this line of work.

Dear Toothpick,
Well, of course you should still try to be friends. It seems a little petty for her to just NOW start complaining about something that happened four months ago, so there's no reason for you to be just as petty and turn her away because of it. One event shouldn't be enough to end a friendship.
I don't know about chocolate, though. Since I'm dead now, I don't see how it could hurt me, but I can't say I ever tried any in life to be sure. ... *sniffs the muffins* Is there any meat in this? Smells like... sugar and fruit.

I would like to know what exactly Kohaku's weapon is. I heard ninjas used a kusarikama, which description sounds almost like Kohaku's weapon. I know you probably don't know much about human weaponry but I would like to know the specific term, since "chain sickle" or "chain blade" sounds a bit general.
Sincerely,
Melinda-chan

Dear Melinda-chan,
"Kusari-gama", actually, is what the sickle-and-chain weapons are called. They were often used by ninjas, but since the taijiya, with their tight black outfits and hidden arsenals, seem to be somewhat modeled after ninjas, it seems reasonable that they would use the same types of weaponry.

Were gonna have a baby!

And its not yours! ^_^
Sincerely,
Izayoi

Dear Izayoi,
If that's the case, where exactly does the "we're" come into play?

Dear HungeryHippo,
I can, actually, though I couldn't in life. But when one's dead and as all the time in the world on their hands, you learn a thing or two. ... Not like I really need to eat, anyway, but it's still kinda fun.

Dear Inu-Pup17,
Youkai have logarithmic aging. Therefore, we age at approximately the same rate as humans until we hit puberty, around the age of 13. After that, our aging slows way down, so that we age about 1/50th of the rate of humans.

Dear My Name,
I have no idea what year I was born in, so I just assume I'm Year of the Dog, since it makes sense, after all.

Dear Rebekahku-chan,
No, actually, I only raised Sesshoumaru, since I died before I could have much impact on Inuyasha's life. Therefore, Inuyasha was raised by his mother.
... I'm assuming you're going to call my parenting skills into question next, hm?

Dear Yoki,
May 5th is Children's Day in Japan, and is part of the Golden Week celebration that lasts from April 29th to May 5th.

Dear Blackrose,
For the most part. We are susceptible to foodborne illness and other poisonings, but actual viral diseases aren't much of a problem for us. Youkai can also suffer from degenerating health and strength as they grow older, but very few youkai meet a natural end. Most are killed far before old age sets in.

sincerely angel
Sincerely,
angel

Dear angel,
I don't know why he can't have Tenseiga. It seems to follow him everywhere, attached at the hip after all. Probably because he just ignores it most of the time.

sincerely Stephanie
Sincerely,
stephanie

Dear Stephanie,
I'm assuming you meant "Hajimemashite". That one would sound something like "Ha-ji-meh-mah-shte", since often "i" sounds get dropped in certain cases. It, of course, means "How do you do?".

Dear Detective,
It just means I lead a very, very boring life. Er, death.

Dear Inuyasha,
Well, though I've always wondered what it would be like to have a daughter... I'd kinda wish she'd be born as one.

>>I'm better with a little head.
>>If you go too fast, I dribble down your chin.
>>You have to open your throat to get me down.

What am I?

~HINT~
The answer is not PERVERTED! :)

What were you thinking? ;)
Sincerely,
Riddle

Dear Riddle,
It's beer, isn't it? That's the only thing I can think of...

Would you,

A - Sign using Kanji, Hiragana,or Katakana (can you write?)

B - Use one of those stamp thingys

C - Leave a big muddy paw-print

Here's a scritch behind your ears *scritchy scritch scritch*
Sincerely,
Song Bird

Dear Song Bird,
Well, I CAN write, but I can't say I've ever had to sign my name to something before. ... I don't know if I even know how to write my name, considering I never use it. I know how to write "Inu-papa", though. ... Regardless, it'll probably come across looking like a scribble.

Dear baka,
I probably get ten or so a day, so that's 70 or so that I get to peruse every week. I answer maybe 40% of them. This is mostly because of the sheer number and the fact that a lot of questions are repeats or are just random statements that don't contain anything answer-worthy. So, I basically sift out the ones that I really think I could make a good answer to and post them here. I keep them all, though, whether I reply to them or not.

Sincerely,
Inu Yasha

Dear Inu Yasha,
Uh, don't you remember? I have it.

Dear wondering,
Canon is, for the most part, the parts of the story that people consider "the truth", generally stuff written by the original author. Therefore, the manga is the ultimate canon, and fanfiction is not canon. The anime filler episodes and movies are kind of middle ground, because they weren't written by Takahashi, but they were written by the anime staff, who can sort of be lumped into the "creators" department as far as the anime version is concerned.

Dear My Name,
The Sengoku Jidai was from 1467-1573. Since the manga states that Kagome comes from 1996, you can subtract the 500 years and assume that the series takes place in 1496. However, given some things that happen in the series, that's likely not an exact figure. For instance, because the Shichinintai were unfamiliar with guns, rifles must have been introduced from Portugal during the ten years they were dead, which is around 1543. That limits the timespan to 1543-1553. Also, because people knew who Nobunaga was, but didn't think highly of him yet, that limits the years down to 1547-1553. So, just taking the average of that, I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that Inuyasha takes place in 1550 (which, of course, would make the well only go back 446 years, but who's counting?).

Dear person,
You sure are misunderstood.

... What about Sesshoumaru's mom?

Dear Kouga's Mate,
As stated by the girl herself in the first episode, "It's Kagome! KA-GO-ME!"

Dear Papa, 

こんにちはパパさん! ( ^ _ ^ ) お目にかかれて光栄です。どこから犬夜叉の犬の耳は来ましたか? あなたも彼の母親もそれらを持っていません。 それは混乱させています。 

ありがとうございます~♪ 
Sincerely, 
山本よしえ

(Dear Papa,

Hello, Papa-san! (^_^) It's an honor to meet you.  Where did Inuyasha's dog ears come from?  Neither you nor his mother have them. This is a little confusing.

Thank you so much!
Sincerely,
Yamamoto Yoshie)

拝啓山本様、
そうですね…この姿は人間によく似てるけど私の正体は化け犬だぞ。だから犬夜叉の耳や牙や爪はその姿から来た。犬夜叉は半分人間から化け犬に変化するが出来ない。
まあ、いいか。説明かかわらずその耳は可愛いですね。

(Dear Yamamoto-sama,
I see... Well, even though I look like a human, my true form is that of a demon dog. Therefore, Inuyasha's ears, fangs, claws and whatnot came from that. And because he is half human, he is not able to turn into a demon dog.
Oh well. Regardless of the explanation, the ears are still cute, right?)

Dear Blackrose,
Um... Kirara doesn't have a human form. Most youkai don't. Only the most powerful and cunning of youkai can take on human appearance, and only if they feel like they should. My parents couldn't, so I had to teach myself out of necessity. It's sort of like Kouga and his wolves. They're all the same sorts of creatures, it's just the more powerful ones can assume a human form.

what's a snausage?
Sincerely,
BAAACCOOOONNN!!!

Dear BACON,
Snausages? You've never experienced them? They're little dog treats shaped like hot dogs. They're not as good for my teeth as Milk Bones, but I'm allowed to splurge every once in a while, right?

p.s. Can I have a hug? ^__^
Sincerely,
Just curious

Dear curious,
Likely because there are only finite types of ways to kill something, and stabbity death tended to be most effective. So, cultures all around the world, from Africa to Europe to Asia to America, all developed the same sorts of impaling weaponry, just out of different materials and at different points in their histories.
And since I'm not wearing my armor, which also has stabbity spikes, you can have a hug. *hugs*

However, what about the youkia that are not entirly evil or malicious like Kouga for example. is the some kind of middle ground to the jewel when a non evil youkia has a hold of the jewel, or is the jewel still conserdered tainted regardless of whether or not it is being used for evil, and just the fact that it is being used at all, the evil in the jewel is in power.
Sincerely,
Your Name Keh

Dear Keh,
I believe it is based on the nature of the soul of the person using it. For instance, the Shichinintai were all human, yet they defiled the jewel. Especially Suikotsu, whose jewel would be pure or defiled depending on which personality was in control. Therefore, I think it simply has to do with the underlying nature of the person using it. I suppose that this could be taken to mean that Kouga is an underlyingly good person, but... I don't give him that much credit.

Dear THAT person,
It was Toutousai's doing. Toutousai has a habit of making "incomplete" swords that rely on their weilder to gain their full potential. Because the sword was made from a fang, that made it even easier, since the source material was based on devouring energy in the first place. And what do you mean I never made use of it? Where do you think Kaze no Kizu and Bakuryuuha came from, hm?

Did daiyoukai or mononoke ever get sick? What about Sesshy's mom? Did she?

And I feel so unloved! You aren't answering that one question I keep asking...but oh well... I'll just let Britt-cahn keep pounding my head in X_X
Sincerely,
FluffyDogEars

Dear FluffyDogEars,
Well, let's put it this way... if I asked the same question of you, would YOU answer it?
And, yes, we can get sick, though it's usually just food-borne illnesses. We don't "catch" things like humans do. The most we do in that sense is react to the weather, like sniffle when it gets cold or sweat when it gets hot.

By the time you read this, I'll have already changed my e-mail address. I'm sorry for doing this but, you left me no other choice. I know this might comes as a bit of a shock to you - especially because things have been going so well. But I'm sorry – I just need someone that's willing to tell me their first name. I think you're great, but I don't think we're right for each other. First of all, we're not compatible. You're a youkai lord, and I'm a human princess. You like making swords from your teeth, arm wrestling dragons, and fluffies. Those things are simply not for me.

Anyway, I suppose I'm trying to say. I've met someone who means the world to me. I never excepted it to happen, but Takenmaru fills the void in my life left by your death. I know he killed me, but he's really sweet once you get to know him.

But you know what? I still want to be friends. We can totally live in different afterlifes. We had some good times. But please, don't be bitter like last time. That means no chasing cars or running into burning buildings. And look - I won't even make an issue with the fact you stuck a pearl in our son's eye.

So take care of yourself.

Sincerely,
Izayoi

Dear Izayoi,
But... if I told you my name, then I'd have to kill you, and I don't want to do that! I was just looking out for your best interest! Honest! A rose by any other name still smells as sweet, right? You can call me whatever you want, just so you know it refers to me! .... Honey?

..... *curls up under his desk and mopes*

Dear Clueless,
And not only were they long-sleeved, they were also many-layered! The higher your status, the more clothes you wore. That's why clothing was so loose-fitting and had the vents in the sleeves and pants. Because it did tend to get rather toasty.

What's with all the '-chans' '-sans' and such? Please help! I'm American!
Sincerely,
Alanna

Dear Alanna,
Ah, the honorifics. They basically add an extra level of formality (or informality) to a person's name when talking to or about them. "-sama" is the most respectful, and is used on someone of a higher authority, of a noted profession, or on someone whom you just respect a great deal in an "I'm not worthy!" sort of way. Thus "Sesshoumaru-sama", since he's powerful, and "Miroku-sama", since he's a monk. "-san" is the next-lowest, and can be decently approximated to your idea of "Miss" or "Mister". "-san" isn't used in the series that much, but is replaced with "-dono", an older form that means about the same thing. "-kun" is generally used on males, and is used to address a classmate or coworker of equal or lower status. Thus "Kouga-kun" and "Houjou-kun". "-chan" is used on girls who are good friends (and approximately the same age group), or on children, thus "Kagome-chan" and "Shippou-chan".

I have a problem. There's a little girl following me. I don't like her, but I can't leave her to fend for herself. Plus, if I leave her, Jak- I mean, er . . . "Nekaj" will never let me forget it. Help! Sesshoumaru
Sincerely,
Uramuohsses

Dear Uramuohsses,
I think you're talking to the wrong person. You need to consult Apap-uni.

Dear Flip,
Of course we get allergies, too. We just have to hope we're not allergic to dogs, else we'd have to shave ourselves bald or something. I get hay fever sometimes, but nothing horribly severe. *sniffs*

Dear Flip,
The egg, obviously. For something that was not a chicken, but more like a caveman chicken, laid that egg, and a real chicken popped out of it. ... Regardless, I ate them both.

How can you hook up a computer in the underworld that links to the living world? I know Hiten and Manten are powering it, but how does it work?
Sincerely,
Dragon Tamer

Dear Dragon Tamer,
I dunno, Housenki's kind of a lump on the floor, but I wouldn't really call him a "pet". And while I was alive, I had Myouga and whatnot, but they were more of servants than pets. So, no, I didn't personally keep any pets. I probably would have eaten them, anyway.
As for the computer thing... to quote the great master, "I don't think about things like that and neither should you."

Dear Mimi,
Yes, you would have to write their names in katakana, but... how do you know 77 hiragana symbols? I kinda thought there were only 46...

What was your father like?
Sincerely,
mym

Dear mym,
Umm... he was kind of a ruffian, I guess, since he was a wild mountain dog. He wasn't a very powerful youkai, but from the way he talked, you wouldn't know that. I mean, he couldn't even take human form. Granted, neither could Mom, and I had to teach myself out of necessity after they both died. I didn't see Dad that much, since he was always off prowling his territory, but I still loved him just the same.

Dear Hutchinson,
They were on vacation.

Dear Hipparkia,
Well, Japanese is a SOV language (Subject-Object-Verb), but unlike English, a word's ending has more bearing on its usage than its actual place in the sentence. And there's really no way to give a general example of something like that. It's like subject-particle-adjective-object-particle-adverb-verb, in the most general case.

Dear Flip,
I think it just ends up in his stomach or something. That's how Tessaiga got into mine.

Dear wondering,
Takahashi is an extremely common last name in Japan. It's likely equivalent to your "Johnson" or "Brown" or something. Certainly not the most common name, but widely-seen nonetheless.

Sincerely,
hoki

Dear hoki,
Episodes 75-77 were indeed fillers. Episode 79 was filler aside from the first and last minute of it or so. However, 80 and 81 were canon.

Dear Mori,
Would you rather they not wear anything at all? Be grateful.

Just curious
Sincerely,
Snowbound

Dear Snowbound,
It was their leg, actually, but... yeah.

Dear Sesshoumaru,
Sigh... sometimes a sword that makes you immortal just isn't enough for some people...

Dear KallKall,
Unfortunately, she hangs out in the human afterlife while I'm in the youkai afterlife. Thankfully, there are a couple places where the two overlap, so we can occasionally meet up and hang out. As for the dead sleeping with the dead, well... we can fall asleep together, yeah. But as for the meaning I'm assuming you're going for... well... let's just say the dead can't reproduce.

Dear jjhjohoh,
They just gave me some Snausages and we called it even.

Dear My Name,
I believe it's "Yura Yura" by Every Little Thing.

Dear Rob,
Because there is a spell on her called a "designer's note", which states that no matter the action or the angle, her underwear must never be shown.

Maybe you can help me with something. See, there's this freshman who follows my friend around and sits with her (and consequently us) at lunch. She wants him to go away and stop bugging her, but she said "Hi" to him once out of politeness at the beginning of the school year and now he thinks they're best friends. He doesn't seem to have any other friends, at least we never see him talking to anyone else, and my friend is to kind to tell him to go away. And frankly, none of us want to tell him either, but he's really annoying. All he ever talks about is bugs. I mean, he INTERRUPTS us just to talk more about bugs. And he REEKS. You have no idea. It's so hard to eat around him. Maybe we should pour soap on him, or something...Anyway, what should we do? Anything? Nothing? He's driving us crazy!
Sincerely,
Neko Hime

Dear Neko Hime,
Oh my, I've heard of people like this. I mean, in my case, since I'm another guy, I could just go up to him and beat him up, but I don't think that would work very well in your case. Maybe you should find some other male friends to hang around just to intimidate him a little. He's really just desperate for attention, so you need to find some way to show him that you're not willing to give him your attention. Or make Jello. I hear they're scared of Jello.

Dear leon,
You mean Souryuuha? Eh, he didn't exactly "learn" it, he just kind of pulled it out of his butt in the third movie. It's like the attack that Toukijin always had, he just finally decided to call it something. It is not an attack that exists in canon, however.

Dear Curious Kitty,
It has to do with the ever-troublesome long vowels that English speakers just can't seem to figure out what to do with. The names Kikyou, Shippou, and Ryouga all have a long "o" sound in them, which in Japanese is represented as "ou". "Kagome", on the other hand, does not have a long "o" sound. The reason for the "Kikyo", "Shippo" and "Ryoga" spellings is because often times the long vowel representation is merely ignored, because there is no counterpart in English. Unfortunately, usually the difference between a long and short vowel changes the meaning of a word, since "Shippou" means "the seven treasures", while "Shippo" means "tail".
And Japan is a very "mature" society, I guess you could say. They control themselves very strictly and generally look down upon acts of spontaneity and immaturity. That's not saying that they don't have fun in private, as they are the origin of anime and video games, after all, but in public places, they tend to behave themselves.

I haven't had a chance to see the third movie that has you in it. And I was wondering, what does your voice sound like? Is it deep,or gruff, or is it more soft sounding.

Heh, don't mind me but I'm like a seriuos voice person, and I really love Inuyasha's deep semi-rough voice, and Sesshomaru's smooth deep voice. Thats why I wanted to Know.

Oh, and I guess I should ask the name of your seiyuu?
Sincerely,
Your Name Mysterious Miko

Dear Mysterious Miko,
My voice? It's certainly deep, and has a ring of authority in it, yet can be kind when the situation arises. Sort of giving off the impression, "I'm in charge, but I'm a nice guy". Ohtsuka Akio provided my voice. Currently, I have not been given a voice in English, so I wouldn't be able to go into any description there.

Also another thing about Inuyasha's pants, how exactly are those things put on? Is that bow thingy a belt or is it part of the pants, it looks like its tyed in more than one place. And what is up with the slits going down the sides of his pants? Are those intentional, do they serve a purpose?
Sincerely,
Your Name Keh

Dear Keh,
Hakama? They're tied. There's a cloth strap on both the front and back flap that are tied separately. You tie the back half to your waist first to hold it up, then tie up the front half. The slots in the sides are for airflow and ease of movement, plus make the pants a sort of one-size-fits-all.

Dear family VII,
Nah, just give him a bone and he'd gnaw on that for hours. It's wonderful that puppies are easily amused. If that didn't work, he sometimes chewed on Jaken.

Dear Neko,
Er... why would she age? That's like asking why walking doesn't make you wider, since you're passing through space.

I don't know why, but my attention keeps on wandering. Sometimes I'm obsessed with something like a certain anime, and then I lose interest and go to something else before coming back to the anime.
The biggest problem right now is that I started a fanfiction story but never finished it because I lost interest in the subject. I got reviews saying that they really wanted me to finish it, but whenever I sit down to try to write it, I just couldn't write anything.
What's wrong with me?! Help!!!
Sincerely,
Tatiana Lee

Dear Tatiana,
There's nothing wrong with you. It's perfectly normal to grow tired of something you've been doing for a long time. Everything is exciting at first, but as time goes by, it takes more and more to hold your interest. You just have to wait for the right inspiration to come along and put you in the mood.

Did people recognize you..like when u walked into a village or something. Did they bow or anything?
Sincerely,
hugglesy

Dear hugglesy,
Not really. Most humans associated me with a giant dog, so if any ever saw me in human form, I was just "that weirdo in the fluffy armor". Youkai were more likely to bow in respect if they saw me, since they could typically recognize me by scent no matter what form I took.

so now..i've been wondering, did you have an entire wedding when you umm..how can we say?...declared? izyaoi your wife. Or did u just..umm..mark her your territory with a scratch or something?
Sincerely,
Flaggy

Dear Flaggy,
Neither, really. It was more of a:
"Hey, wanna be my wife?"
"Sure."
sort of deal, and then *poof*, we just accepted those roles for each other. I still don't understand how this whole idea of "marking" came about, since a dog claims his wife simply by mating her and then kicking the asses of anyone who tries to take her away.

I'd like to a little bit of fact checking into the origins of Jaken if you don't mind. In your updated dear papa responses on 1/9/05 you mentioned

"Jaken was actually Sesshoumaru's mother's servant, who by default came into my service when we got together."

However, i've downloaded fan-subs of the inuyasha episodes and I'm pretty sure that Jaken was a little imp king until Sesshomaru accidently saved his life. Afterwards Jaken decided to become Sesshomaru's vassal. Is this accurate?
Sincerely,
Mr Inu-fan

Dear Mr Inu-fan,
I did say that. And, as I said earlier... or, actually later, since these replies are in reverse chronological order... I tend to disregard non-canon elements when posing arguments for my opinions. So, this is just a case of, "I don't like how the filler story handled that, so I'm coming up with my own." I am the Papa. I'm allowed to do that.

I think I've fallen in love with Tetsusaiga. How am I going to tell Kagome that not only do I love both her and Kikyou, but now I love my pulsing, throbbing, fuzzy and now scaly red sword? Do I need help?
Sincerely,
Inuyasha

Dear Inuyasha,
Awww... no, I'll take that as a compliment. You inherited that pulsing, throbbing, fuzzy, scaly, red sword from me, after all.

*MEOW*

Sincerely,
a Siamese Kitten

Dear Siamese,
As far as I know, they're both girls.

.... I'm sure that will raise even more questions. I don't quite get it, myself.

So, uhm... What's the deal with kissing Sesshoumaru? Did you forget he was a son and therefore MALE or something? Either way, thinking he was a girl is just as icky.

The caption in the papers upholds the excuse that Sessy won a kiss from you in a contest. That may very well be true, but... What kind of contest was it??! Surely, if the grand prize was kissing the Almighty Cute Doggy One it would be mostly fangirls, ne? What was he doing there anyway??
Sincerely,
A Confruzzled Fangirl

Dear Confruzzled,
Sigh... It's a sad state the world is in when fathers are no longer allowed to kiss their children. In jest or in love.

Who is Housenki and Bokusen'ou? You always talk about them in your answers to people's questions..but i have no idea who they are! lol please help
Sincerely,
FrillyMillypoo

Dear FrillyMillypoo,
Housenki is a daiyoukai and a master of jewels. He's also dead and my current roommate in the afterlife, living in the skeleton with me and all. Bokusen'ou is a centuries-old magnolia tree who supplied the bark used to create Tessaiga and Tenseiga's sheaths.

Dear Blackrose,
It doesn't have "heavenly" powers, merely "otherworldly". I just called it "Tenseiga" because, well, it sounds nice, and compliments "Tessaiga" rather well. It is merely a blade that can slay the dead.

Dear abunai,
I would correct your spelling.

and for reading this, you get a new pet tree. *hands over pot* ^-^ thanks.

Sincerely,
HUGme

Dear HUGme,
Wow, a pet tree, just what I always wanted! I always figured this place should have a spare restroom.
And, yes, the sleeve slits are for mobility, since that type of sleeve was originally designed for archers, so that their arm could move freely without straining the fabric. It eventually just became a commonplace style.

Dear Neko,
Yeah, sometimes. I was the guardian deity of quite a few human villages for a long time, and eventually the later generations would forget why exactly they had a youkai prowling around their land and would try to chase me out. And because I protected human villages from malicious youkai, said malicious youkai weren't typically very fond of me either. Although, those who stood up against me typically didn't live very long.

Dear BillyBobJoe,
*shrugs* It's just a popular naming scheme of the time, just like having a girl's name end in "ko" is a popular naming scheme of the present era. I could ask why the heck all the people on your side of the world have "middle" names. Isn't a given name and a family name enough?

Dear person,
Whose name?

(Ahhh... I'm so mean...)

Dear Mana,
It's like Bokusen'ou said, unlike Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru keeps calm when backed into a corner. That's likely because he's too damn stubborn to realize he's in trouble until something gets chopped off. *sighs*

Again, I ask something of higarana (Or even Katakana for this case). You said that 'N' was the only single consanent, yet I seen some other words too.

For example, Bakkin, double 'k'. Or even your own son's name, Sesshomaru, double 'S'... How can these be written at all, if 'n' is the only consanent...
Sincerely,
Dragonfaeriex

Dear Dragonfaeriex,
Other double consonants are merely an English approximation of a "rest". Japanese is pronounced through beats, and the meaning of a word can change if you hold a vowel an extra beat, or if you add a short "rest" in the middle. In hiragana, this phenomenon is represented with a small "tsu" character. In the English representation, the consonant sound of the character following the "tsu" is doubled to indicate that pause.

Dear WTF,
A Daiyoukai is simply a youkai of notable status, whether because of size, power, age, or authority. A mononoke is a type of youkai, and in the Inuyasha universe, typically refers to one of animal type, or one that uses the art of deception to take a human form.

Whenever I'm around Inuyasha, his woman smells funny during cetain times of the moon cycle. Why? It makes me get all sweaty and strangely anxious. Please explain, father.

I have an insatiable urge to relieve this anxiety with the nearest tree bark...
Sincerely,
Secchan

Dear Secchan,
.... Okay, you have the sex drive of a piece of lint, yet you're bothered by the pheromones of someone you don't even like? You need some serious help, my boy.

If this is the question, then what is the answer?
Sincerely,
^_^

Dear carrot-line-carrot,
Yes.

Dear confused,
Probably because I'm dead and therefore have no internal heat source.

Dear claws,
I wasn't aware that demons were required to have claws. Kouga actually doesn't have claws, either. A youkai is a youkai, regardless of what shape or form it takes. You might note that Myouga doesn't have pointed ears like other youkai do. That's just how he is.

Dear Mi Ao Chi Chan,
I think I can relate to the multiple personality thing... *coughs*. Though, I wouldn't really call it a "disorder", since it's not harming anything, is it? If you can function perfectly well with it, then by all means, just stay the way you are. It's what makes you interesting.

Dear Mori,
The red above both my eyes and Sesshoumaru's eyes is indeed a form of eyeshadow. Accenting one's eyes draw's people's attention to them, allowing you to stare them down. In your era, it may be an effeminite form of beauty, but in mine it was a symbol of power.
And I'm not really sure where the sheath came from. Maybe Myouga just had it in his basement or something.
The music on my computer is just a random assortment of whatever Housenki has, plus a couple of Inuyasha soundtracks that I just randomly have lying around. I'm not all that picky with what I listen to, as long as it breaks the quiet.

Dear Ami and Shivani,
Because you're very considerate people and want to give me something to do! Death is rather boring, after all.

Dear Flip,
... Fanservice?

Dear person,
.... She wasn't a man, either.

(I know, I know, just givin' ya a hard time. *hugs*)

Lets just SAY that I have this really big crush on my second best friends boy friend... And lets just SAY that I liked him way before she did. And Lets ALSO say that we would be way better together. And while we are at it, lets just SAY that I feel really, really guilty about this whole thing.

What advice you give me?
Sincerely,
Lost

Dear Lost,
Even though you liked him before she did, you apparently never acted on those feelings, so it doesn't seem like you should have any right to try to steal him away from someone else now that you've missed your chance. Just remember that if you want something to happen, you have to take action or else the opportunity is just going to pass you by. This is just something you're going to have to accept and get over.

Dear Bob,
In the third movie, yes, I did. However, I have a bad habit of disregarding anything that didn't happen in the manga as mere hypothesis, and therefore come up with my own hypotheses if the ones presented in the movies and fillers are not to my liking.
And since I rather dislike myself, the greatest youkai to ever live, being depicted as meeting my end by way of burning building, I tend to fall back on other interpretations of canon information.

Dear Ryoga,
Um... if you're in Hokkaido, I believe heading south would be a much more convenient way to get to Nerima, else you're going to end up going most of the way around the world if you go north... As for finding south, just wait for the sun to rise, put it to your left, and go to it.

Dear Rakuen,
Yes, the song used in the long trailer is indeed "Rakuen", performed by Do As Infinity.

Dear Blackrose,
Hm, well, in the series at least, "Shikigami" seems to refer to the ability to summon avatars from inanimate objects, such as paper dolls. Kagome and Kikyou have holy powers, which deal more with purification than with summoning.

I noticed that you've accumulated quite an archive of questions and responses. Have you ever thought about doing a "Best of Papa" page with some of your favorite and wittiest Q&As?

Sincerely,
Papa Fan

Dear Papa Fan,
Hm... not sure. Given that I pick and choose through all the letters that are sent me already, the ones that get posted are already a sort of "best of" in their own right. But I suppose a trip down memory lane one of these days wouldn't hurt.

Dear Inu-Pup17,
China, I guess. The Fire Rat is a mythical Chinese creature, and I only ever came upon the cloak by chance when I helped out a Chinese merchant. I'm not really sure whether he gave it to me in gratitude or simply threw all his possessions at me in an "oh my god please don't kill me!" panic, but... I ended up with it, regardless. And because of the random nature in which I obtained it, even I'm not sure of everything it can do, but I would guess through observation that it can resize itself to fit its owner and also heal minor battle damage.

Dear drkangel6,
Er, because he's not "Lord of the Western Lands". I was. Well, sort of. Such a title has never been used in the series in any form, and Sesshoumaru has only ever been referred to as "Son of the Dog General", so if he's taken over, it's not widely-recognized. I died, and with it fell anything I had claim over. Sesshoumaru is working to build his own claims and reputation, but currently doesn't have near the status I did. And to do such things, naturally one has to be a wanderer, so having a "mansion" isn't horribly practical.

Was Jaken you servant also, was he like..passed down to sesshoumaru? And also, did you have any other servants?
Sincerely,
Blafhliginham

Dear Blafhliginham,
Jaken was actually Sesshoumaru's mother's servant, who by default came into my service when we got together. Myouga was my only real "subordinate", and he was subordinate to me by choice, not by obligation. Others, such as Toutousai, Bokusen'ou, and Housenki were merely acquaintences of mine and didn't actually "work" for me.

Dear Lakshmi,
You know, I can't really recall Sesshoumaru really having that many friends as a child, or even interacting with other youkai children. And it's not like Jaken would ever make fun of him. Sure, sometimes he'd go up against an opponent who would be like, "Ha ha, you're just a little brat!", but said opponent would always be a smoldering heap of mangled flesh a few seconds later...

Will you be the guest of honor at our next frat party?

Toga! Toga! To-Ga! To-Ga! TO-GA! TO-GA! TO-GA! TO-GA! TO-GAH!!!

Sincerely,
Delta House

Dear Delta House,
.... That sound you hear is my forehead repeatedly connecting with my desk.

*thud* *thud* *thud*

Dear person,
Er, I'm pretty sure her name didn't mean "hat", no.

Dear Rain,
Because life is what happens while you're asleep.

Can I have a hug too please?
Sincerely,
random fan-girl

Dear random fan-girl,
Er, yes, "Papa" is just "Papa" in Japanese, since it's a word borrowed from English or some other language that uses that word, but such a word actually didn't exist back in my era. Sesshoumaru calls me "chichi-ue" and Inuyasha calls me "oyaji".

This is Overwhelmed With Tears I send you a letter before, I hope you weren’t that worried about me. I stop have thoughts of killing myself and I’m in drama club school activity and I’m in a school play! I have to sing in front of a lot of people I’m so scared! And I met a lot of new friends and there is evan a new guy friend...but he is much older than me, but anyways oh and I found out I’m a little Japanese! YAY! But the bad thing is I can’t really speak it! And I also found out I have noble blood in me! Me happy! And I talked things out with my friends and told them how I felt and they now don’t leave me out and all the good stuff. I got rid of my old consoler and I have a new one. But she was making feel very bad about myself. I also talked to my mom and dad of how I feel and they understood! And my dad now talks to me more. And I thank you so much thank you for pushing me in the right direction and also thanks for caring thank you for giving me a reason to live! *GIVES YOU A BEAR HUG* Can I have a hug back?

P.S. Plz write back!

Sincerely,
Overwhelmed With Happiness

Dear Overwhelmed,
Awwww, good for you! *huggles* And hopefully your success story will give other readers the hope that they can work out their problems. Bravo, bravo, I'm very proud of you! *gives another hug*

Dear WB,
You must understand that no REAL person could ever match the dashing good looks of myself and my children, not to mention that many things would look strange outside of an animated setting, so I'd say that they're fine in the format that they originated in. Some things... are better left drawn.

your name is inu no taisho right? So..the "a" is japanese makes the "ah" sound and the "i" makes the "ee" sorta sound...so..uhh..is your name pronounced:
-Inoo Noh Tayasha
-Inoo Noh Taheesho
or -Inoo Noh Tayeesha
I am so confused..ive been trying to figure it out LOL i hope my question made sense ;)

Sincerely,
Fleh Meh and Beh

Dear Fleh Meh and Beh,
Well, my "name" isn't "Inu no Taishou", that's just my title as the Dog General. And my title is pronounced "ee-noo noh Tah-ee-shoh", though obviously you wouldn't put so much distinction between the syllables when saying it normally.

Dear lovely fan,
.... Fingers? ... I dunno, I've never really questioned why...

Whatwas you pick up line to get Izyaoi *cant spell it* to start going out wif you..for some reason it just tickles me to think of inu's daddy flirting *snicker*
Sincerely,
BLAH

Dear BLAH,
Pickup line, eh? ... Let me think... What WAS the first thing I ever said to her? ... Oh yeah, I believe it was "YOU again?!" ... Somehow, that doesn't seem very romantic.

Oh yes, and happy new year!
Sincerely,
Yayoi

Dear Yayoi,
Well, the Heian era was quite a long stretch of time, and I believe Murasaki Shikibu predated Izayoi by a few hundred years. She wasn't exactly anyone I was familiar with at the time, and I'd only heard of her after I died and her writing became famous. Not to mention that, at the time, there were very few printed copies of the Genji Monogatari, so if we ever did hear it, it was just bits and pieces through word of mouth.

Dear Naraku stalker,
In hiragana, her name would be いざよい, which is the sixteenth lunar night, which I believe typically corresponds to the full moon.

Dear Tammashi,
The official guidebooks list Inuyasha being the equivalent of 15, but obviously there's some leeway granted in the "looks to be" category, as opinions can differ. His actual age is never specified in canon, but the movies place him being at about 200 years old. And, yes, he will age, since he was obviously a child once and isn't so anymore. He'll just age much more slowly than humans.

Dear dark_wolf_youkai,
I'm pretty sure they call that "Social Anxiety Disorder", but please don't resort to blaming your problems on some disease that you may or may not have. Most people who say they have a personality disorder actually don't, and just use it as an excuse for their behavior. Now, being shy is perfectly normal. The only thing abnormal would be if you actually fear people and do everything you can to stay away from them. The best way out of this is to force yourself into a group situation where everyone has to participate and communicate with each other. It's amazing what necessity can do.

Maybe I don't know much about the japanese language, but I would have thought that people in the sengoku jidai ( Inuyasha included) would speak a sort of older version of Japanese, which would have been differrent and likly not easily understandable to some one of the mordern era, because Kagome would speak a newer or modern form of Japanese. But Kagome and Inuyasha understand each other well, and Inuyasha nor Kagome have any trouble understanding each other, which I think is a bit odd because I think I've heard it stated that Shippou talks a little country like or what ever.
Sincerely,
Your Name Sit Boy

Dear Sit Boy,
I would suppose some linguistic liberties were taken for the sake of the readers, since not only would Kagome not be able to understand what anyone was saying, neither would anyone reading or watching the series. Or you can just assume that the literature was "translated" into modern speech for ease of reading.

Dear Yuki,
Well, look at it this way: Do you honestly think that he or many of the other characters had the chance to go through the five or so years of schooling necessary to know how to read at an even elementary level? There are better things to do when you have a short life.

Dear Lady Assassin,
As far as I can tell, it's just gibberish, with a few actual words littered throughout it. It's obviously somewhat derived from "Sengoku o-togi Zoushi" ("A Feudal Fairytale"), which is "Inuyasha"'s subtitle. And then there's "gokutsubushi" randomly thrown in there, which means "worthless".

Dear just asking,
No, the pedestal's over there. This desk is... .... Where DID this desk come from? *randomly looks underneath it as if this will somehow solve the mystery* I think there was some carpenter youkai down here or something who was just churning these things out so fast that he littered the underworld with them, so naturally one must've turned up in here... And... um, sorry. This mousepad is mine.

Can I have a hug? Please?
Sincerely,
Wierd American Girl :)

Dear American Girl,
It wasn't exactly customary for anyone to cut their hair in my era. You simply let it grow and tied it out of the way. Well, unless you were a monk, in which case you shaved all your hair off. I mean, can you think of ANY character in the series who has cropped hair? Even Miroku and Shippou have ponytails. Since regular villagers didn't have all those newfangled conveniences that you people have, personal grooming was faaaar down the list of priorities.
So, if you can take a hug from a guy who lets his hair grow out, then be my guest. *hugs*

By the way...if your eyebrows aren't just floating there than are your bangs under your eyebrows, attached to your head?
Sincerely,
Two silly stupid sisters

Dear silly stupid sisters,
Eh? *fingers the end of one of his eyebrows* I believe they're drawn that way to represent being able to see them through my hair. I mean, it's not like they're fake and are peeling off or something. *tugs on the end some more* ... At least, I hope not...

Dear butt-kicker,
Well, it's only natural for someone to stand up for a sibling or other loved one who has some sort of condition that makes them unable to fend for themselves. I know your society has rules against how far you're allowed to punish someone yourself, but honestly... anyone who picks on someone weaker than themselves just because they can deserves a serious ass-whipping.

Dear YB,
Ironically enough, Izayoi asked me the same thing. I still don't know why. I know it's common for a person's body hair to not match the hair on their head, but not usually to that degree of difference. I think I'm just going to say that, had we been given white eyebrows, we would have looked like old men. Yeah, I was starting to get some gray hairs. ... Not that anyone else could tell...

Dear Yasha boy,
Well, the first couple of times, it was good that Inuyasha had someone to put him in his place, but after that, it became a tad excessive and mostly unnecessary, so I'm a little disturbed every time I see it. On the other side of things, I'm also a little disturbed that Inuyasha's been with Kagome this long and still bad-mouths her.

Dear Meitantei Conan,
That depends on your definition of "colorblind". I think humans are colorblind because they can't see ultraviolet light. In the end, I'd say it's just impossible to tell without looking through the other person's eyes.

Dear Curious,
He... doesn't. The manga even stated so explicitly, but the anime wanted to make sure they could make my kids duke it out for years to come, so cut all reference to to the statement that Inuyasha doesn't want to kill Sesshoumaru.

Sincerely,
Inu-Pup17

Dear Inu-Pup17,
What would who have done? I wouldn't have cared. Jaken would have fawned. Myouga would have refrained from sucking her blood until she was older. My first wife would have said, "Let's try that again", while Izayoi probably wouldn't have minded one way or the other.

Dear yuki,
Illiterate means being unable to read (and thus unable to write). Many people of my era were illiterate aside from noble classes. If a person grew up in a poor village, chances were he never learned to read.

Dear Twig,
Like a drowned rat, probably. He just hasn't mastered the fine art of taking care of his hair, so keeps it pulled up and out of mind.

Dear Ku,
Well, there's fundoshi, which are loincloth-like things that men wear. But, no, generally there are no form-fitting undergarments. Villagers' kimonos are short because, yes, they grow out of them and can't afford to buy new ones. Generally children are given oversized kimonos for them to grow into, but there's a limit to how oversized they can be, and eventually the children outgrow them.

Anyways, why do people hate hanyous so much? They r soooo KAWAII!!! ^-^
the people were so mean to InuYasha when he was a little kid. :( they even took his ball. WHY???!
Sincerely,
HUG me

Dear HUG me,
Well, if you insist. *hugs*
And people just hate those who are different from them. I mean, most humans hated me simply because I was a youkai, but they had good reason to hate youkai, since most of them are dangerous. It's just nature to fear something you aren't familiar with. If people were open and caring about every new and unexplainable thing that came their way, well, they wouldn't live very long because inevitably one of those new things would be out to hurt them. So, you're afraid of everything until it's proven harmless, but a lot of the time people don't give things a chance to prove themselves harmless.

Dear gyruekbghrew,
Yes, I do know, thankfully. ... That good enough?

Since your like 500 years old or something, did you like..watch inuyasha's mom grow up, and have your eye on her ;)
Sincerely,
Your Name

Dear My Name,
Eh heh heh...... No. I didn't meet her until she was 15. I may have greatly exceeded her in age, but I don't know ALL the goings on of EVERYONE around me, especially a human family that, up until then, I had no business with.

Dear Mwah,
Kanji are characters taken from Chinese. Their readings are typically one to four syllables long, and vary depending on how they're used in a word. Generally they're used to add extra clarification of meaning, since Japanese has a limited number of sound combinations. Hiragana is the basic 46 sounds, and if you really felt like it, the entire language could be written using it. Katakana is the same as hiragana, but is generally used to put emphasis on a word, or approximate a foreign word.

So how did they write a character for 'n', as if they were to write 'Tenseiga'?... Or single consenents for that matter?
Sincerely,
Dragonfaeriex

Dear Dragonfaeriex,
"n" is the only single consonant sound in Japanese. "Tenseiga" is broken down as "te-n-se-i-ga".

Dear Sesshoumaru,
That's wonderful, but you're going to............. need...... to talk.......... more slowly.................. next time.

Dear Pogo Puppy,
... Wow, I honestly cannot think of a witty reply to this one, but it amused me too much not to post. Congratulations.

Dear Housenki,
The friggin' stop pulling your pants down!

Dear Minzu Ami,
Well, she was fired in a kiln, so the real question is why she doesn't shatter. Or how she can even move without being rigid.

Dear crazy,
I think it's just a stream of consciousness.

Dear Yashi,
... Phew, I was almost concerned that Izayoi had actually lost her fidelity, but then I saw your name. Don't scare me like that!

Dear Nora,
My parents died when I was still a child, so, unfortunately, they never met any of my children or spouses.
And I have, in fact, been getting a lot of Christmas-related questions, even though it's a holiday I don't personally celebrate to much of a degree. I gave Housenki a present, but he had it coming to him, anyway. I don't like feeling obligated to shower people with gifts. I believe they should get what they deserve at the time that they deserve it.

Dear Mori,
Er... I hope not all at once, for that is one orgy I would most certainly decline to attend.
And, hard as this may be to grasp, we're men. We're possessively protective, need to show ourselves off, and can solve anything with a fight. Deal with it. If you want someone more submissive, you'd have better luck with women.

Dear marlene,
... Sometimes, I have to wonder how people came to the conclusion that I have "educated" advice when it comes to relationships. But, oh well, I'll take my best guess.
Well, the age gap itself isn't the problem, but rather the timing of the gap. He's an adult and you're still a child. If what other young girls have told me is any indication, human girls have a hard time discerning real love life from their fantasy life. They'll point out all the flaws with their partners, then turn around and say that they're fine with the relationship and can't leave it for whatever reason, real or imagined. Now, I'm going to guess that this relationship isn't all sunshine and roses, else you wouldn't be questioning it. In my opinion, unless there is honestly absolutely nothing you would change about your relationship right now, I'd say you should wait a few more years and get some more life experience under your belt before declaring "he's the one". You've got a long road ahead of you. You don't need to make this decision now.

Dear Starry-Eyes,
In your case, it would likely be something like "Warui kedo, nihongo ga hanasemasen". Though, trust me, if you go to Japan, the only word you need to know is "sumimasen".
Watashi wa jagaimo ja nai. Tamanegi mitaina mono da zo.

Dear Punny,
Since I'm one step away from Hell, naturally they give us Windows.

Dear My Name,
*sniffs* ... Smells like dog to me.

Dear Lady Assassin,
Wasn't it "Sengoku-goku-goku-gokutsubu-tsubushi-otogi-togi-togi-mugi-toide-doki-doki"? Or was it the other one, "Sengoku-goku-goku-akamakigami-otogi-togi-togi-aomakigami-sengoku-goku-goku-kimakigami-otogi-togi-togi-akamakigami-aomakigami-kimakigami"?
Piece of cake. ... Now if only I could master "toy boat"...

Dear Bish-nish-tish,
... Given the circumstances, that would have likely been an offense punishable by death. Izayoi was heartily into the whole "abstinance" thing, even until years after we'd met. Though I'm still not sure how I felt about her reasoning behind holding off having children, I supported her decision, anyway and tried to help her uphold her chaste lifestyle. Any and all suitors would be forcefully dismissed, which is probably why she and I first became friends, because we weren't interested in each other physically at the time.

Dear Near Sighted,
Huh? Does this mean he has six fingers on his right hand? YOU KILL MY FATHER! PREPARE TO DIE!

Dear lightbulb,
Static cling.

Can I have a hug?
Sincerely,
Takemaru

Dear Takemaru,
... Wow, that makes a... scary amount of sense...

... Stay away from me.

Dear Flip,
Because Takemaru wandering around trailing a giant white dog paw a hundred times his size would have looked very, very silly.

Dear cheese,
Izayoi died quite a few years after I did, but since I hadn't yet gotten that whole "peer into the world of the living" thing worked out by then, I'm not horribly sure of the specifics. I mean, since she was the mother of a hanyou, I would guess that the rest of humanity had no great value for her life, so I'm sure it was a lonely end. ... Though I don't really want to think about it...
Ryuuketsusei? Since when did I ... Oh, wait, maybe you mean Ryuukotsusei. Yeah, well, the movie writers figured I couldn't be all heroic and show off all my swords whilst saving Izayoi if I was fighting a giant, lightning-spitting dragon in the process, so they decided to make the setting of my death quite a bit more humble. But, psh, that's just because they underestimated me. I could've beaten that stupid dragon while carrying Izayoi on my back. ... Not that I would actually try, since that's just dumb.

I have seen two cosplayers dressed as you, so I was wondering what you think of people cosplaying you?
Sincerely,
Curious

Dear Curious,
Well, they do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

Dear Stupid,
Oh no, now my songs are fighting each other?! I'd better reorganize my playlist before it gets ugly. Thanks for warning me.

Where's my Christmas present?!

Sincerely,
Housenki

Dear Housenki,
I gave you a lump of coal, just like you wanted! Sheesh...

What does "Mattaku" mean, and is "kimi" a form of you only used by guys or can girls ude it too?
Sincerely,
Your Name Sit Boy

Dear Sit Boy,
"Mattaku" literally means "completely", but used alone, it is typically an exclamation of exasperation. Inuyasha often shortens it to just "'ttaku". And, yes, "kimi" is a word more commonly used by men when referring to people whom they like.

Also was there any stigma attached to these women, for being concubines, or was there kind of of ranks for non-wife women, where they in the same catergary as prostitutes with just maybe slightly higher regard or something

Did Japan even have "brothels" back in the feadal era?
Sincerely,
Your Name Slap Stick

Dear Slap Stick,
Well, youkai society doesn't really have much of a distinction, since any female who'll bear your kid is technically your "wife". But human society has this whole obsession with "legitimacy", so only women who are declared "wives" may bear legitimate heirs, while concubines are merely there for pleasure. To me, a kid is a kid and a mother is a mother, regardless of what title the woman holds at the time of birth. In my cynical mind, the human idea of "concubines" was brought about so that human lords could carelessly father children and not have to worry about granting them all equal rights.

Dear Friend,
I believe it was in jest. The only way they'll get the go-ahead for the fifth movie is if the fourth movie does acceptably in theaters, and since the fourth movie has not even premiered yet at this time, it's too early to tell for sure. At the moment, it's nothing but wishful thinking. .... Besides, if they actually DO make a movie about Hawaiian youkai, I'll have to come back to life and hurt some of them very badly.

Dear fanatic,
1. Maybe. No.
2. His fluffy and armor.
3. Because I rock.
4. I found it on the ground.
Well, that was certainly food for thought. Phew!

Dear Tomo's friend,
It's very difficult to assign a "meaning" to a name without its kanji, so I wouldn't be able to tell you. Heck, my first wife would sometimes call me "Inu no Taishou" in jest whenever I got happy (written with different kanji, "Inu no Taishou" can also mean "a dog's laugh").

Dear spic,
... Um, I would assume so...

Were you always friendly and affable with humans or did Izayoi(sorry if I misspelled...) have to change your opinion about them? Also, do you have the same stripes on your forearms as Sesshoumaru-sama does?
Sincerely,
Noorjahan

Dear Noorjahan,
Well, I wasn't exactly "friendly" with them in that I held them in higher regard than fellow youkai, but I didn't really mind them that much. I did tend to stand up for humans more, simply because they require more protection than youkai, but it was more an act of obligation than one of friendship. Even after meeting Izayoi, she was more of a special case than a representation of my feelings for humanity as a whole. I mean, I wouldn't get cozy with a girl just because she was human!
As for forearm stripes, no, I don't have such things because I don't have Sesshoumaru's poison abilities. Much like red frogs or red berries, his red stripes serve as a toxicity warning.

(Allow me to just practice my Japanese a little here....)

Watashi no shitsumon o kotaeruno wa doumo arigatou gozaimashita.

This is really sad. 3 years of Japanese and I'm still not sure if I said "Thank you for answering my question" correctly. Did I?0_o Quite aware that I should probably be more polite in the presence of a daiyoukai, but yeah...no brain for keigo right now. :p

Drat, I was hoping "less wild" meant that Takahashi-sensei originally planned for you to be some scholarly geeky poet guy who also happened to be insanely powerful and could kick ass. Oh well, you are cool as you are. :)

I hope you don't mind if I ask another question related to the Japanese language? This time I think it might actually be from your era (Heian, correct?). I was watching some anime and I noticed that sometimes a character would have a sort of nickname which none of the subbers explained beyond saying "it's a nickname." For instance, in Hundred Stories (er, Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari, I believe is the Japanese title), a character named Mataichi was called "Mata no ji" by his comrades, and in Otogizoushi, a character named Kintarou was called "Kin no ji," also by a comrade. I was wondering what the kanji was for the "ji" part (since I'm assuming the "no" is the possessive, as in "of"), if there is even a kanji, and what it meant.^^; Otogizoushi being set in the Heian era, I thought perhaps you'd know what I was talking about. :)

Ack, I'm sorry I keep sending these non-IY related dorky questions! I'll try to be more on topic. Er...yeah, here's something I've always wondered. How powerful is Ryuukossei compared to Sesshoumaru?

Thanks for your time and expertise. :) (And could you please pass on to Patches-san that she should post that cute Inu-papa in modern clothing thing on her oekaki page?^_^ You look quite dashing. It's certainly the eyebrows, they go with any outfit.)
Sincerely,
Yayoi

Dear Yayoi,
Eh, I don't care about politeness, especially considering this is the internet, where politeness is dead.
As for the "nickname" question, I'm not horribly familiar with human naming schemes, but it sounds like the "ji" they're using is probably the kanji for "character/letter". Therefore, "Mata no ji" would be "the character for 'Mata'", and "Kin no ji" would be "the character for 'Kin'" ... Don't ask my WHY they do this, but it might be like saying, "Hey, you who has 'Gold' for the first letter of his name!" or something.
And compared to Sesshoumaru... I'd say Ryuukossei is more powerful, provided Sesshoumaru doesn't have a weapon. But not more powerful by much, since I was low on energy at the time I was defeated.
And I reiterate: I am not the webmaster. Any questions you have regarding the site should be taken up with her.

If you were dead like, 500 years before now, then how come you have technology?
Sincerely,
Dreamer

Dear Dreamer,
Simple! The world of the dead transcends time, so we can have whatever we want from whatever era we want! Heck, we've even got stuff from beyond your era, which is why I can post messages to the living world from beyond the grave.

Dear Mia,
According to the movie, all three of them were. That's one of the few things about English that I've noticed is actually useful. You have this thing called "plural" that specifies whether or not there's more than one of an object you're talking about. In Japanese you just have to base it off context, and since there's not much "context" in the phrase "Tenka Hadou no Ken", it could go either way.

Oh, one more question. I remember reading somewhere that Inu-Yasha is infertile, because he's a cross-breed between two different species (assuming that humans and inu youkai are different species, which I'm pretty sure they are). According to biology the child of a cross-species mating is automatically infertile. Granted, your human form might get around it, but are you sure? Because while there have been a handful of other hanyous seen in the series, there sure as heck haven't been any quarter demons.

And while we're talking about kids, d'you want to be an Inu Grand-Papa? ^_^

Sincerely,
Halfling Rogue

Dear Halfling,
Well, since Inuyasha has never actually TRIED to prove the old "cross-breeds are infertile" thing wrong, I really don't know. I'm crossing my fingers that he'll eventually have some grand-puppies in store for me, though.

Sincerely,
Worried

Dear Worried,
Nope, he was pretty much always as he is now. That's what he gets for being born priviledged. He takes everything for granted, even though I tried my best to teach him otherwise. I guess it's a mother's specialty to teach the children humility, being the physically weaker parent, but since all Sesshoumaru had to look up to was the awesomly indestructable godly being that was myself, he figured he could do no wrong.

There's a rumor that Izayoi was married to Takemaru before you met her. Was this true?
Sincerely,
Kite

Dear Kite,
I killed him, so does it matter? Human contracts mean nothing to me, even if he WAS. Which he wasn't, since he doesn't canonly exist.

Dear Lady Assassin,
It's just a continuity error, just like the random fact that Inuyasha still had to sniff out his opponents youki to perform a Kaze no Kizu, yet for some reason could perform Bakuryuuha, which requires him to be able to perform the Kaze no Kizu at will. That's because the movie writers like messing with our heads and writing the scripts without actually seeing the series.

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