Kaede

Kaede is Kikyou’s younger sister, and assumed to be her only living relative. Kaede idolizes Kikyou very much, and was usually seen at her sister’s side. She practiced archery as hard as she could to try to be like Kikyou, and is very happy when her sister praises her when she walks by. Kaede also listens to everything her sister tells her without questioning. When Kikyou is resurrected and Kaede tries to stop her from attacking Inuyasha, Kikyou gets angry saying that her younger sister would never go against what she said. Even though Kikyou is not as obvious as Kaede, the girl obviously means a lot to her as well. A demon tried to kidnap Kaede as a hostage in order for Kikyou to give up the Shikon no Tama, but Inuyasha rescued her in time. Though technically Kikyou is a kind person and probably would have saved anyone who got kidnapped for that purpose, I think the demon knew how much Kaede meant to her and could probably get Kikyou very angry by kidnapping her. The two sisters seemed to have a strong bond.

Before Kikyou met Inuyasha, Kaede notices how other girls Kikyou’s age were wearing pretty outfits and wearing makeup and doing other frivolous things that Kikyou was not. She wishes that her sister could have fun like the other girls and not have to carry the weight of so much on her shoulders. When she observes Kikyou putting on the lipstick that was given to her by Inuyasha, she admires her sister’s beauty. She wishes that her Kikyou could be the “beautiful sister” instead of the “shrine maiden sister”. Kaede obviously notices how happy Kikyou was putting on the lipstick and thinking of Inuyasha, and she wants her sister to be happy. Kikyou is all she has, and she wants to be with her at all times. When Kaede gets bad notions from Onigumo, she immediately tells Kikyou, who just laughs it off. She tries to be like her older sister, but cannot shake the feeling that something bad will happen to her sister. Kaede once again has the same feeling when Kikyou leaves in the morning to go bring Inuyasha the Shikon no Tama. She hopes that nothing will happen to her and says how lonely she feels when Kikyou is away. Kaede loves her sister very much.

Kikyou’s love for her sister shows through when she fails to protect Kaede from the demons that attack the village. Kaede tries to help her sister, but is not strong enough to defeat the demon and it ends up taking her eye out. Kikyou is incredulous when she sees blood pouring from her sister’s eye and is unable to focus fully on defeating the demons. She completely blames herself for her sister’s injury because she was not strong enough. It took Kaede be wounded to make Kikyou realize how her power was weakening tremendously because of how much her sister meant to her. Otherwise, it never would have hit Kikyou that her power was decreasing.

Fifty years later, Kaede still has the same wish for her sister. She wants Kikyou to be able to rest in peace and not be forced to walk among the living. She wants her to be happy, just like when she was alive. Kaede also goes to the point where she gets wounded in order to try to protect her sister’s grave, and after it is robbed, she sets off to get the bones back despite her injuries and old age. Her beloved sister is still important to her, even after she dies. Kikyou does not see Kaede much after their first encounter once she is revived, and therefore the two sisters end up growing apart. I personally believe that Kikyou does not want to trouble Kaede with her problems, as well as is slightly afraid of what her younger sister thinks of her new body of clay and bone. When Kikyou asks young girls what they think of her, I think she is doing that partly because it would be like asking her sister what she thinks of her. Kaede’s thoughts are obviously still important to Kikyou, and she probably does not want to lose the image of her little sister that loved and idolized her. Kaede also more than likely reminds Kikyou of her situation because of her appearance. Her younger sister is now an old lady and Kikyou looks exactly the same as she did fifty years ago. As unfortunate as it may be to both, Kaede would only dig up bad memories of Kikyou’s past.

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