Is Lord Sesshomaru A Crossdresser?

Quoting Yura of the Hair: "Oh! Such pretty silver Hair! I must have it!"

I've got to say the first thing you notice about this guy is most definitely his hair. Why? Well the fact that it sweeps his ankles for one thing, I mean, how many guys to you see with 60 inches of hair? Or for that matter, how many girls do you see with hair that long? Not many!

Now, not knowing how tall he is, it is a bit difficult to say exactly how long his hair is, however knowing that his hair comes to about 6 inches above his ankles (nearly to the ground!) and assuming that his is 5'7" - 5'9" (he is very tall for a Japanese man, and stands 2 or 4 inches taller than any of the other characters in the series), we can come to a rough estimate of the fact that his hair is approximately a whopping 60 inches long!

To realize just how long 60" of hair is, consider this: when you see a woman with long hair, usually her hair will be 15 - 18 inches long, or falling to just above her elbows. Lord Sesshomaru's hair reaches down to his ankles and nearly sweeps the ground as he walks. This guy has got a lot of pretty silver hair to manage. Speaking as a woman with 20-inch long hair myself, I can tell you, that it takes a lot of care to manage long hair, and the longer it gets, the harder it is to care for.

Here is something to consider: Lord Sesshomaru is a warrior. He fights battles. He is a demon who can fly. He does a lot of flying. He does a lot of fighting. He does a lot of flying while he's fighting. All that jumping around in battle and than all that flying around in clouds (and clouds are humid), is complete and utter total murder on your hair, and yet, this guy has got the shiniest, smoothest, most perfect, silky smooth, untangled glossy hair the world has ever seen!

There's only one answer to this: this guy spends A LOT of time combing, brushing, washing, and over all fussing over those lovely silver locks of his, and when I say a lot, I mean a lot, we're talking 4 or 5 hours a day here.

Sure, we don't see that in the show or in the books, that'd be boring, but think about it: we do see him standing there bored out of his mind, twiddling with his hair, while he rolls his eyes to sky as he listens to InuYasha yelling at him.

We have seen him flick his hair in a very Cher-like manner, just before pulling out his sword, choping everyone up, flicking his hair again, puting his sword away, and than walking away like nothing happened.

Uhm . . . o . . . k . . . so . . . how many other warriors in the show (or any other show), do you see taking the time to stop and flick their hair between chopping people up? None, Sesshy is the only one who does that.

And let's take this notion one step farther. Who here is a major fan of his? All hands raised? Good. Now I ask you, which one of you doesn't know what a pompous peacock he is? Oh I know, fan girls don't want to admit it, but come on, just listen to how this guy talks! I mean, he not only is the best looking most powerful demon, he knows it and he'll tell you so while stomping you into the ground, because you are so far below his social standing. How many times have we heard him complain about half-breeds and low-lifes and his favorite phrase: "pathetic humans"? The first time we ever see him, he's commenting on what a waste of his time it is to bother with anyone below him. This guy thinks way too much of himself, which ultimately becomes his downfall and results in the death of the only person he ever did care about. (But that's another story which I have already devoted an entire lens too.)

Well, knowing how vain and smug he is to begin with and than combining that, with the fact that he's got this mega-long ultra perfect hair . . . that sure spins a new light on his already undying vanity! Lord Sesshomaru's hair is just yet another sign, in a long row of other signs, that this guy has a major vanity problem, but does is that alone enough to make him a cross dresser? Granted he's got mega long hair, but there are a lot of long haired men around.

Guyliner: The art of guys wearing eyeliner.

Never let it be said I do not like guys in eyeliner. I think all of my favorite guys wear eyeliner, I can't think of a single one who doesn't, and Sesshy is no exception. The guy not only wears eyeliner, he also wears pretty pink eyeshadow too.

Ignoring the Youkai markings he was born with (blue crescent moon on his forehead and purple stripes on his cheeks and wrists), this guy is wearing makeup. I've only noticed three men in the InuYasha series who wear eyeliner and eyeshadow: Naraku, Jakotsu, and Lord Sesshomaru. Naraku wears blue, Jakotsu wears purple, and Lord Sesshomaru wears a shocking shade of neon pink.

Once again, alone, wearing eyeliner does not make a guy a cross dresser, however, when combined with all the other elements, it certainly makes our Lord Sesshomaru look like he is.

Oh, and Jakotsu, btw, for those who know the series but are now asking which character this is, is the cross dressing younger brother of the Band of Seven, the "girl" wearing the pink furisode kimono, and carrying that crazy snake like sword.

Lord Sesshomaru's make up, while it may seem a bit outlandish today, was at one time rather fashionable and a very real style worn by women every day. Note here, that men did not wear this style make-up, only women did.

Lord Sesshomaru's make-up comes from the Tang Dynasty of China (circa 627 - 907). Women of the Tang Dynasty wore elaborate facial make up. They started out by powdering their faces white.

On their foreheads were painted crescent moons or flower petals. These crescents were made out of feathers, seashells, fish bones, pure gold, or painted on dye. This was called Shouyang or Plum Blossom Make-Up.

At the sides of their eyes were painted red stripes, extending to the cheeks. This was called Morning Sun Make Up because the stripes were the color of a rose sunrise. This type of make up was done by women who sought to mimic the look of Xue Yelai, Emperor Coa Pi's favorite imperial concubine, who had a red scar on her face.

It has already be determined that Sesshomaru lived in China during the 800's putting him in the Tang Dynasty at the height of this fashion. For more info on Lord Sesshomaru and historical accuracy see my essay here:

The biggest thing that screams cross dresser about Lord Sesshomaru is the fact that he is wearing a Furisode. A Furisode for those not in the know, is a type of kimono worn ONLY by unmarried women.

When men wear a kimono, they wear a kosode or small sleeved kimono. No man in his right mind would even consider wearing a furisode or swing sleeved kimono. So tell me, why is Lord Sesshomaru wearing a Furisode with long swinging sleeves that rival his long hair in length? Only a cross dresser would wear a furisode.

If we were to look at the armor worn by Samurai men throughout history we see many styles, but never do we see any quite like the one worn by Lord Sesshomaru. Men going to battle wear huge armor. You don't have to watch the show for more than one or two episodes before you see samurai marching to battle. Take a good look at what they are wearing, than look at the armor Lord Sesshomaru wears. Did you you notice anything strange? Like, the fact that it doesn't look anything at all like the armor worn by the other samurai?

To find battle armor like Sesshy's, we have to look to Samurai women, who wore a "corseted" style breastplate, with a lotus petal skirt. Quite a few of these samurai women show up in the show. The first one we see is the samurai priestess who created the sacred jewel. Princess Abi of the Birds (see picture at right --->) wears armor almost a duplicate of Sesshomaru's, only difference is the color, and the shape of the shoulder plate. We see her show up in nearly 10 episodes. There are several different samurai women, warrior priestesses, and the nun turned demon, all of whom wear the same tight fitted, and long skirted battle armor we see Lord Sesshomaru wear.

One can not help but ask the question: If he is not a cross dresser, why than, is Lord Sesshomaru wearing women's battle armor?

And here it is: the reason Lord Sesshomaru attracts more oogle-eyed, love-struck, crazed fan girls than any other Bishie boy: that furry fluffy thing.

I once saw a fan created picture that quickly explained the fan girl obsession with Lord Sesshomaru. It was screen shot taken of Lord Sesshomaru while looking very fierce and was combined with a second screen shot of a woman "in love". Over this altered picture was the words: "Fear me, damn it!" followed by: "But you're so cute and fluffy!".

Women love furry things. Women love all things cute and cuddly. Women love all things soft and fluffy. Women go wild over men draped in fur boas. Wait, why is a man wearing a fur boa?

Of course those of you who only know Lord Sesshomaru from the TV show and not from the book, will be interested to know that while the show portrays him as a man wearing a 4 foot long fur boa, the book from which the show was based on, portrays him as a man with an 8 foot long tail which he drapes over his shoulder to keep it from dragging on the ground.

Also in the book, but not on the show, is the fact that he can only be mortally wounded if his tail is injured, which has happened twice resulting in his near death each time, again, not in the show, only in the book.

If you've never seen the difference between the skimpy boa of the show and the monstrously huge tail of the book, here's a picture from the book:

I got to say, the original book version of Sesshy is much better than the "edited" tv show version of him that came along seven years later.

Here we have Lord Sesshomaru, evil incarnate, son of the gate keeper to hell, a human-eating hell-hound in his true form, a villainous beast feared by everyone human and demons alike, and . . . with two small human children in tow? When questioned by other demons why he has these children, he can provide no answer and ignores the question. Outwardly he tells everyone he hates, reviles, and utterly despises humans. Yet, when ever Rin's life is threatened, we see him risk his own life to save her, often getting badly wounded as a result.

Perhaps there is nothing which raises more eyebrows or seems more out of place in the InuYasha series, than the close bonded relationship between Sesshomaru and Rin. Though he claims to love no one, he clearly loves Rin. In fact, there is no other pair in the story who has a bonding that can even compete with the bond between Sesshomaru and his beloved Rin. We see this bond between them shine even more clearly after Rin's death completely devastates Sesshomaru, causing him to give up his quest for the sword. (See my "Rin's Costume" lens, for a detailed look at their relationship and the story of her death.)

The first time his mother saw him with these children, her response was to ask if he had brought them along as a snack, and was than shocked to learn the Lord Sesshomaru no longer makes a habit of eating human children. Apparently it was something he did quite regular in the past.

In the TV show Lord Sesshomaru only has one child in his care: his dearly beloved Rin. In the book however, he has adopted two children, the little girl Rin and a little boy named Kohaku. Even in the book though, it is Rin whom Sesshomaru shows the most attention too.

His fierce protection of and utter devotion to these two human children, is probably the most shocking and out of place series of events in the entire InuYasha series. One that has opened up a whole world of debates. It is also an aspect that belongs here on this lens, as his tender loving care of these children, shows us yet another feminine side to this otherwise fierce bloodthirsty demon.

There certainly is enough evidence to suggest that Lord Sesshomaru is indeed a cross dresser. However, if you know the show and the books very well, there are also indications that a demon's mind does not think as clearly as a human's. We are told more than once that a demon thinks rashly and acts of pure impulse, a fact that we see carried out with Lord Sesshomaru's many violent crimes, a few of which he later regretted, once he had had the time to think about what he was doing.

Can we assume than, that this irrational and impulsive behavior, is seen not only in his treatment of others, but also in his mode of dress as well? There is a high likelihood, he is not even aware of the fact that he is wearing cloths normally worn by women.

It must be remembered too, that when we see Lord Sesshomaru in his humanoid form, what we are actually seeing is an illusion. Lord Sesshomaru is a shape shifter. His true form is that of a giant white dog. His humanoid form is one that he originally took on in order to allow himself to get close enough to human children to be able to capture and eat them. His human form is thus an illusion, you are only seeing what he has chosen to allow you to see. Since his original intention was to lure children to him, it stands to reason that he would have chosen a more feminine humanoid form. Children are more likely to trust a female or motherly figure, than a male. This fact would than weigh heavy in his choice of what to look like.

Sesshomaru is considered to be a feral demon, as opposed to a domesticated demon, such as InuYasha, Shippo, or Kirara. A feral demon is one that was raised in the wilds, among other demons, with very little, if any contact with humans. On the other hand, a domestic demon is one that was raised among humans and thus neither fears nor threatens them.

Because of their rearing, feral demons have a tendency to fear humans and more often than not, alleviate that fear, by slaughtering and eating as many humans as they possibly can. These demons often use illusions and trickery to lure humans to them. One of the most common illusions used by feral demons, is to transform themselves into an alluringly beautiful human. As a general rule, the more beautiful the human transformation is, the more deadly the demon behind it.

Another factor that must be considered here, is that male dogs by nature are better raised and handled by female humans. They are more loyal to female owners, less aggressive with female trainers, and more open to being petted by female strangers. Male dogs are often assigned female vets and nurses, based on the fact that scientific studies show that male dogs are simple more receptive to and less fearful of female humans. Now, taking this bit of information, we look once again at Lord Sesshomaru and his true form verses his illusionary humanoid form.

In his true feral form, Lord Sesshomaru is in fact a giant white dog. When asking if Lord Sesshomaru is a cross dresser, we must take into consideration, the fact that he is a feral demon casting an illusion. He is not a human, nor does he look human in his natural form and, with the exception of Rin and Kohaku, he has had very little actual contact with humans at all. He is a male dog, and a very aggressive one at that. In distancing himself from humans, he has never had enough contact with any of them to really take much notice as to who is wearing what. We can thus take this fact and ask, is he trying to look very feminine or does he just not know the difference between male and female humans, and like any other aggressive male dog feels less threatened by female humans and thus chose the form which he himself was the most attracted to and less threatened by, with out any regard to the fact that he a male now appeared to look very female?

......

Now, not knowing Japanese, I have never read the actual words of the oiginal Japanese versions of the books. I have only read the English translations, which did not get translated into English, until AFTER the TV series was translated into English.

So, here's the way I hear the rumor goes, as to why Sesshomaru looks like a girl: In the original versions of the book, he WAS a girl!

Did you know that in the original version of the InuYasha manga in Japan that Sesshoumaru was a girl but the translators who did the anime thought that an older brother would be better than an older sister, so "recast" the character, and that is why Sesshoumaru looks so feminine?

Is this true? I actually do not know. However, looking at the story (book version, not TV show version) it certainly makes more sense, especially with the fight over the sword being given by the father to the younger brother, not the older brother. That never made sense to me. Traditionally the older brother would inherit the father's sword. However, an older sister, would not, and that would certainly make for a logical reason why InuYasha and not Sesshomaru inherited the sword. It would also explain why he is so clearly dressed like a woman and takes to caring for the orphaned children.

Strange how much a story can change when written in one language and than translated into another. A character who was a girl, can be mistranslated as a boy, and than everyone world wide, including the original author, accepts the change as being for the better, so soon, there is no one left who remembers that the character we now know as a Lord was originally called a Lady.