The Nanushi (
History
When the fake water God usurped the real Water goddess, he started demanding child sacrifices from the nearby villages or it would be plagued with floods. The sacrifice would be determined when a white arrow would land on the roof of a house in the village. When the arrow landed on the roof of the house of the headman, he hid his own son and replaced him with his servant's son as the child sacrifice.
During the story
When Inuyasha and his friends arrived at the village, they saw a palanquin that contained the child sacrifice. It was being escorted by the headman and several villagers. The others pleaded with him to reconsider the sacrifice, but he replied that it was necessary to sacrifice the children in order to protect the village. Inuyasha suddenly appeared before the villagers and claimed that the Water God was actually a yōkai. The headmen and the villagers were startled by him and thought that he was a yōkai. Miroku then intervened and claimed that he would appease the Water God after hearing about the village's trouble. The other villagers were taken in by Miroku's claims, but the headmen told them that he was just conning them and accepting his offer would only bring down the wrath of the Water God. He continued by saying that he couldn't justify asking for their help to save the village when it was his child's turn to be the sacrificed and that doing so meant that he could not face the villagers who already sacrificed their children. He insisted that they hurry up with the ritual as soon as possible and the villagers continued on.
It was soon discovered by Inuyasha's group that headman had actually switched his own son, Tarōmaru, with Suekichi to be the child sacrifice when Tarōmaru secretly asked for their help to rescue Suekichi.
After Inuyasha and his friends defeated the fake Water God, Miroku blackmailed the headman by saying he would reveal to the village that he would sacrifice another child instead of his own under the pretense of telling the village how bravely his son acted against the fake Water God. So, the headman offered Miroku a cartful of lavish gifts as payment.
Personality
He acts hostile towards Inuyasha's friends when they try to assist his village in their time of need. He is also arrogant as he thinks his switch can fool the Water God. He is shown to be hypocritical for switching his son for another child when he would tell the other villagers to sacrifice their children for the good of the village. He does, however, love his son very much and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect him.
Physical description
He is a middle-aged man with black hair that is balding. He ties up what remains of his hair in a topknot. He has very long eyebrows that gives him and angry appearance (a trait that his son has inherited). He has a mustache that is shaved in the middle.
Outfit
He wears a dark green yukata with two parallel stripes that run along the collar to the upper arms. He wears a sleeveless blue haori over it. He also wears a gray umanori hakama and a pair of zōri on his feet.
Manga vs. Anime
- In the anime, after Inuyasha claims that the Water God was a yōkai, the headman states that his village is peaceful and that yōkai, referring to Inuyasha, are not allowed in it.
- In the manga, he apologizes to Suekichi after the fake Water God is destroyed for having him pose as Tarōmaru. This is not seen in the anime.
Trivia
- His title's term means "village headman" and was primarily used in the Kanto region.