Age: 18
A Buddhist "houshi," or low-ranking, wandering monk, Miroku traversed the rural areas offering services like exorcisms and yokai exterminations to make a living. He is afflicted by a hereditary curse initially placed on his grandfather Miyatsu (also a Buddhist monk) by Naraku. Exploiting Miyatsu's weakness for beautiful women, Naraku took the form of one and reflected one of Miyatsu’s talismans back at him, piercing the palm of his right hand (it appears as his left in the English manga due to mirroring). This resulted in a kazana (air void or "wind tunnel") in his hand, which sucks in anything not secured down, regardless of size.
Miroku uses the kazana as a potent weapon against yokai, but as time progresses, the kazana inevitably expands. If Naraku does not die and break the curse, it will grow too large to control and ultimately consume Miroku himself—a fate shared by his grandfather and father. Likely because of this impending doom, Miroku adopts a hedonistic lifestyle unusual for a proper monk. He is a skilled con artist who fabricates supernatural threats to combat in exchange for food and shelter. Like his grandfather, he has a weakness for attractive women. He habitually asks every pretty woman he encounters if she will bear his child, claiming he wants an heir to continue his pursuit of Naraku should he perish. His hands have a seemingly uncontrollable tendency to wander—something that often earns him harsh rebukes from Sango, his favorite target for groping. Despite his less-than-virtuous behavior, Miroku possesses a deep spiritual core and impressive spiritual powers. ("Miroku" is Japanese for Maitreya.)
