A shrine maiden who spent fifty years protecting her village after her sister Kikyo died. She's the one who first realizes Kagome is Kikyo's reincarnation. Best known for being the group's go-to source on demons and spiritual stuff, Kaede earns respect from basically everyone—Kagome, Sango, Shippō, Miroak, and even InuYasha when he bothers to listen. InuYasha's temperament means he's constantly irritated with her, though he does heed her advice when it actually matters.
There's a common myth that she lost her right eye when InuYasha attacked the village hunting the sacred jewel. The real story, revealed in the anime flashback arc, is darker: a yokai attack left her blind in that eye. At the time, Kikyo was too emotionally compromised—her feelings for InuYasha had weakened her spiritual power—and couldn't protect her sister during the assault. So Kaede paid the price instead.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
