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In _Yashahime_ Kirinmaru is shown to have lost both an arm and a horn, and
both of these things took on lives of their own and donned human forms:

> Kirin Osamu and Riku, respectively.

Early on in the events of _Inuyasha_ , Inuyasha cut off Sesshōmaru's left arm.
I gather from reading wiki pages that Sesshōmaru never put that arm back on,
but rather regenerated a new one. Sesshōmaru is a great demon or
[Daiyokai](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/629/19307), just like Kirinmaru.
Thus, I can't help but wonder where that left arm is now....

Obviously, this is a little subjective. So, as for an objective answer to this
question, I'd like two things:

  1. What is the current state of Sesshōmaru's missing arm, as far as what was shown? Was it completely destroyed or something like that?
  2. Do we know anything about the rules for when body parts that fall off demons become new beings? Is it a Kirinmaru exclusive power, perhaps?

Though it's disappointing, I suspect the answer to 2 is we don't really know
anything, so barring any information I'm unaware of, I'll accept an answer
that just gives the details of what happened to Sesshōmaru's missing arm, and
what chapter or episode it was last seen in. Maybe something Naraku did could
be informative though. And if the Great Dog Demon lost any parts, that would
be useful to know as well.


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question
inuyasha yashahime
Could Sesshōmaru's left arm be out there living a life of its own?


## Long Answer

I reviewed episode 7, _Showdown! Inuyasha vs. Sesshomaru_ , which is the
episode where Sesshomaru loses his arm. During the fight, Inuyasha doesn't
just cut off the arm; he slashes up the whole length of the arm (Sesshomaru
was in dog form at the time), likely damaging it extensively. In fact, I
didn't see the arm afterwards. I didn't see it fall off and I didn't see it on
the ground at any point afterwards, which might imply that it was
disintegrated. Even if it wasn't disintegrated, it's likely very badly
damaged.

Now, on to whether it's even possible Sesshomaru's arm could come to life. The
answer is maybe, and it goes back to the Great Dog Demon, his father. The
Tesseiga, Inuyasha's sword, is actually made from the Great Dog Demon's fang,
and the Tenseiga, Sesshomaru's sword, is derived from the Tesseiga. So, just
like Kirinmaru, the Great Dog Demon did lose a part (a fang). Whatever
happened in this case is going to be more applicable to Sesshomaru, given
we're talking about his father here. And what is the case with the Tessaiga
and the Tensaiga? Actually, it seems both do possess some sentience.

From the Tessaiga's [wiki](https://inuyasha.fandom.com/wiki/Tessaiga):

> The Tessaiga also seemed to possess a mind of its own, as it has been seen
> guiding Inuyasha, such as wanting to be drawn or giving him advice in
> certain situations; this was a trait Tessaiga shared with Sesshōmaru's
> Tenseiga.

From Tenseiga's [wiki](https://inuyasha.fandom.com/wiki/Tenseiga):

> Tenseiga had a slight form of sentience, as there could be seen at various
> points where it was communicating with Sesshōmaru, and expressed to him
> things such as a desire to be drawn or prompted him toward certain actions
> for the benefit of others; namely young Rin.

and

> Much like the Tessaiga, Tenseiga shows some degree of sentience. As it
> sometimes requested to be drawn, or in _3000 Leagues in Search of Father_ ,
> Tenseiga told Sesshōmaru to save the life of Kanta's father.

I believe the two swords primarily communicate by pulsing, which is then
interpreted by their wielders. I'll admit I don't feel particularly inclined
to scour all of this very long show to find these moments. Let's just conclude
here that these swords came from the Great Dog Demon's fang, and they might be
alive in some capacity.

Now, I've heard it said that the reason Sesshomaru couldn't reattach his arm
or regrow it was due to it being cut by Tessaiga. The author even said
something to this effect, though I can't find the interview to check what
exactly was said:

From Tenseiga's [wiki](https://inuyasha.fandom.com/wiki/Tenseiga):

> According to Rumiko Takahashi, Tenseiga could not heal Sesshōmaru's severed
> left arm because it was cut off with Tessaiga.

The citations say this come from page 172 of _Zusetsutaizan Ōgikaiden_ , which
seems to be one of those fan-book things and was called _InuYasha Profiles_ by
Viz when they released int in English.

What does this mean as far as Sesshomaru's arm taking on a life of its own? Is
it not possible because it was cut off by Tessaiga? Actually, if I'm not
mistaken, we have an answer for that! That's because Kirinmaru's parts were
also cut off by Tessaiga! Tessaiga was an originally a weapon used by the
Great Dog Demon, and he used it (or a sword that looks like it to me, at
least) to cut off Kirinmaru's arm and horn during their battle. Unless I'm
wrong and that wasn't actually Tessaiga (which is a real possibility, as I'm
not extensively familiar with Inuyasha lore and when things happened), this
means at the very least that being cut off by Tessaiga is _not_ a reason that
Sesshomaru's arm couldn't come to life.

## Short Answer

The body parts of dog demons _might_ come to life when they're cut off, or at
the very least they might have some sentience, but we can't really know for
sure. Sesshomaru's arm _might_ have been too wrecked from that fight to take
on a life of its own afterwards, even supposing that's a thing it could do in
the first place. Frankly, I don't believe the world of _Inuyasha_ is logically
consistent, so the whole discussion might be moot.


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