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Staff of Heads: The Nintoujou Staff

The Nintoujo, mostly known as the Staff of Heads, is basically as its name depicts it to be. It's a magical staff that consists of two heads, one of an old man and another of an old woman. It is also Jaken's primary and prized weapon in the series.

The first time we're introduced to it was in anime episode 5 and manga volume 2, along with Sesshoumaru and Jaken. At the time, it was used by Jaken to detect and point the location of Inutaisho's (Sesshoumaru's father) hidden tomb. The location was basically determined by how the heads react when Jaken stamps it on the ground. If the man's head laughs, it's positive- which probably means the location is close by. On the other hand, if the woman's head belts out a terrifying scream- it's negative in that they're most likely quite far off from target. How nifty. ^^;

As I've already mentioned in the weapons section, Jaken did not always carry this staff. He only started using it after he met Sesshoumaru. In fact, the Nintoujou can probably be considered the first and probably most important gift Sesshoumaru has ever bestowed upon Jaken. So here's a little history on the staff as well as what we know of its capability so far.

Origin

In anime episode 79, we were first introduced to a Jaken that did not yet know Sesshoumaru. And as we learn more about how Sesshoumaru and Jaken met, we also saw how the Staff of Heads came to be under Jaken's possession. After diligently following Sesshoumaru for a long time with the intent of serving him, Jaken was finally granted the chance but only if he was capable of fulfilling one condition that Sesshoumaru had required of him. This condition was the ability to make use of the Staff of Heads.

As the story went, Jaken had been quietly following Sesshoumaru for quite a while when Sesshoumaru suddenly came to a stop in front of a waterfall. Sesshoumaru had stared at the waterfall for a bit until he finally reached beneath the sheet of water only to retrieve the staff. Turning around to face Jaken, Sesshoumaru threw the staff at him and plainly said he would allow Jaken to serve him if he's able to use the staff. Of course this makes Jaken extremely happy, and we already know that he has eventually learned how to use the staff in accordance to how Sesshoumaru wants. Afterall, Jaken is still around to serve Sesshoumaru. But one interesting thing to take note of is the fact that the staff must not accept everyone- or at least a special ability is most likely needed to be able to use it properly. Otherwise, Sesshoumaru would probably not have presented that condition for Jaken.

Anything beyond that, we don't really know the true significance of the Staff of Heads and where it really came from. We know it was located behind the waterfall but we don't know why it was there to begin with. Did Sesshoumaru keep it there until a day when he'd return to it? Or was it something Sesshoumaru knew of and have been traveling to find it? Whichever is the case, it does seem like the staff is somehow related to Inutaisho's hidden tomb- only because it was the primary lead they had in locating and opening the tomb's "gate" so to speak. If that's the case, we may also consider that it was somehow related to Sesshoumaru's family. Food for thought.

Abilities

It quickly becomes obvious that the Nintoujou is a staff with relatively powerful magical abilities. The heads are seemingly alive and they can do quite a few nifty things. And I also believe that there's probably still more yet to be seen in what else it can do. Below are some examples of what we've seen so far.

• Locating Ability: As mentioned above, the Staff of Heads is capable of locating Inutaisho's hidden tomb with something akin to a Hot or Cold game. This is apparently done by stamping the staff on the ground. I'm not sure if Jaken has to mutter a spell to activate it, but the question is probably whether it can be used to locate anything else other than Inutaisho's tomb. We haven't seen it done yet even when Sesshoumaru was in search of Naraku- so perhaps it's only relative to the tomb?
• Spit Fire: Jaken probably uses this ability most often. In fact, he's probably used it on just about every battle he's participated in. Like a dragon, the fire is produced from the male head's mouth and can shoot pretty far. Quite powerful though obviously not much use in some cases if he doesn't have enough space or leverage in between him and his target.
• Produce Water: This ability may perhaps be better described as activating a magical water scroll. In anime episode 79, Jaken had used the staff to stamp at a rock- which in turn produced a whole gush of water and turning the area into a "natural" hot spring. Again, this shows the staff as having quite a range of capabilities.
• Magical Activation: This probably should go hand in hand with the abillity to create water, but I thought it could use a category of its own. In the beginning episodes when Sesshoumaru finally found the secret to Inutaisho's hidden tomb, the staff also played an important part. It was in fact the key item to activating the black pearl so that the portal to Inutaisho's tomb could be opened. We don't know how it works, exactly- but it also lends theory to the fact that the staff may be related to Sesshoumaru's family somehow.
• Thwacking: Hee. I know this isn't really an ability but Jaken probably uses the staff to smack people more often than he's used it to spit fire. ^^; Some of those moments are quite funny though I always wondered how the heads felt since their faces are obviously being used to smash against something. XD

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