Suekichi

Suekichi (末吉（すえきち）, "Unfortunate") is the best friend of Tarōmaru. He takes his place as the child sacrifice for the false water god. He is later saved by Inuyasha's crew.

History

Suekichi's village had been plagued by severe floods that were caused by a yōkai posing as their Water God. He demanded that the children of his village were to be sacrificed to him to cease the floods. The child would be chose when a white arrow landed on roof of their home. When the arrow landed on the house of the Tarōmaru, his father told him to hide and had Suekichi pose as him to be sacrificed instead.

When Inuyasha and his friends discovered that the village was sacrificing their children to the Water God, they offered to aid them in their time of need. The headman of the village refused their offer under the pretense that he did not trust them, but it was actually to hid the fact that replaced his son with Suekichi to be sacrificed. Tarōmaru soon came out of hiding to asked Inuyasha and the others to save Suekichi.

When Suekichi arrived at the Shrine of the Water God, he realized that he was not the son of the village headman due to the poor condition of his hands. Suekichi begged him to be the chosen sacrifice instead of Tarōmaru. The fake Water God grabbed Suekichi by his face, and promised to send him back to the village in pieces during the next flood. Inuyasha and the others arrived in time to save him. He used the Trident of Amakoi to transport them underneath the lake outside the shrine. He transported Suekichi, Tarōmaru, Shippō, and Kagome back to his shrine chambers. He was prepared to eat Tarōmaru. Suekichi tried to hit him with a lamp, but was subdued by his elongated arms. Kagome fired her sacred arrow to rescue him. They escaped the shrine and hid in a shed nearby. The fake Water God destroyed the shed, and was about the kill them when Inuyasha arrived to save him.

Miroku and Sango were able to rescue the real Water Goddess and met up with the others. Together, they recovered the Trident and destroyed the fake Water God.

Tarōmaru and Suekichi returned to the village. They looked of at the distance as they were grateful for what Inuayasha and the others did for them and their village.

Personality

Suekichi cares greatly for Tarōmaru. He is willing to sacrifice himself for his safety.

Manga vs. Anime

• In the manga, it is stated by Tarōmaru that Suekichi is the son of one of his father's servants. In the anime, Tarōmaru simply states that he and Suekichi grew up together.
• In the manga, the village headman apologizes to Suekichi after the fake water god is destroyed for having him pose as Tarōmaru. This is not seen in the anime.

Media appearances