The Shikon Jewel is the central plot piece in the anime Inuyasha, and it is also called the Jewel of Four Souls or simply the Sacred Jewel. Demons seek it and humans safeguard it. It is even stated that if it is used to turn a demon into a human, then it may cease to exist altogether. Generally, however, it is used by humans and demons alike to increase their power and wreak havoc upon the realm.
Inuyasha is about a young girl who falls into a well and through a dimensional gateway into the warring states period of Japan. On her first day there, a jewel is ripped from her body and shattered into thousands of pieces. She must team up with Inuyasha, a half-demon, to recover all of the pieces before they can be taken and used by demons.
History of the Shikon Jewel
The four souls referenced by the jewel’s name are taken from Shinto philosophy and are the wild soul, the harmonious soul, the wondrous soul, and the fortunate soul. And while philosophy states that the four souls together can be used for great evil or good, the jewel in this world seems to be only used for evil.
Kagome learns early in the show that the jewel was originally created centuries before by an extremely powerful priestess, named Midoriko, who could purify the souls of powerful yokai or demons. In her final battle, many evil yokai bound themselves together and anchored their souls inside the heart of a human who lusted after Midoriko. In this final battle, she also realized that she was unable to defeat them herself and chose instead to allow them to consume her. While inside the jaws of the beast she seized their collective souls and trapped them within her own heart. This heart then became the Shikon jewel within which her battle still rages.
When the jewel is wielded by evil, the demons begin to win the fight, however when it is purified she once again prevails. Since the time of Midoriko, only two humans have been known that contained spiritual power enough to purify the gem, Kikyo and her reincarnation Kagome. This power makes them incredibly powerful for the side of good, and thus a major target for the forces of evil.
Kikyo and the Jewel
Kikyo guarded the jewel well for many years until a demon named Naraku tricked both her and Inuyasha in a bid to corrupt the jewel with their hatred for one another. While his plan failed, it did result in Kikyo’s death and Inuyasha’s imprisonment. She was granted, in a twisted sense, two of her wishes by the jewel. Firstly to take it into the afterlife with her, however, it also got reincarnated with her into Kagome, and secondly to see Inuyasha again which can be argued to have either been fulfilled when her reincarnated soul in the form of Kagome meets Inuyasha, or when her body and soul are reanimated by a witch.
Later, it is revealed that Naraku was actually a puppet of the demon within the Shikon jewel, and since Kikyo burned the jewel with her body, it doesn’t return to feudal Japan until Kagome herself does. She shatters the jewel into hundreds of shards that are then used by demons and humans alike. When the jewel is completed, a final battle of sorts takes place over the newly whole power.
The Fate of the Jewel
The shards of the jewel are unable to grant wishes in the same way that the whole jewel itself can. However, they can still confer wonderful powers upon their bearers. Physical strength was granted to all, especially in whatever region of the body they were implanted, and often spiritual strength as well. Other powers ranged from allowing the bearer to travel in the bone-eaters well, Kagome and a few others, bonding body parts together, Sesshomaru, and turning the bearer into demons, a common weasel, while breaking powerful seals for many others.
In the final battle over the jewel, Kagome and Naraku both get pulled into the jewel, due to wishes having been made, in an effort to replace Midoriko and the demons in their eternal fight. Inuyasha follows her into the jewel and finds that Kagome is trapped with the demons as they try to convince her to make a wish. Together the two of them realize that the only wish that will truly end the conflict is to wish for the jewel to disappear from existence. Her wish was the only good wish to have ever been made upon the jewel, as other users all wanted it for selfish purposes. It was granted, and this destruction of the jewel released Midoriko’s soul and purified the souls of the yokai within. The disappearance of the Shikon jewel also brought some semblance of peace to Naraku. With that final battle over, the saga of the Shikon jewel had reached its end.