Ken (ケン) was one of three monkey brothers along with Gon and Bun that served the Monkey God.

History

Ken and his brothers guarded the shrine of the Monkey God while they also trained but the shrine was on set on fire one night due to war. The three of them escaped the shrine with the sacred stone that contained the Monkey God. They stopped after they arrived at the outskirts of the forest where the shrine was. They suddenly became distracted after started picking up some surrounding acorns. They left the stone by the forest and soon forgot about it. They believed that it was stolen by the humans of a nearby village and began ruining their fields in order to find it.

During the story

Inuyasha and his friends arrived at the village during their search for Naraku. The villagers thought that Inuyasha was a dog god and asked him to save their fields that were being ravaged by the monkeys. Inuyasha reluctantly agreed to help villagers. Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippō soon encountered a giant monkey in the forest. It soon transformed back into the three little monkeys after Inuyasha threw a single punch at it. They whispered with each other about what to do after their disguise was broken. They decided t admit defeat and present Inuyasha with a sacred stone as a peace offering. It wall all a trap the get Inuyasha to hold the stone while it transformers into a giant boulder that would be stuck to his hand. They mocked Inuyasha for foolishly accepting their trick, but he hit them and claimed that he still had one free to clobber them with. The three monkeys run away. Kagome and Shippō chase after them in order to break the spell while Inuyasha was forced to wait due to his boulder. The two of them soon caught up to the monkeys and Kagome offered each of them a lollipop. She asked why they were ravaging the villagers' fields, but they explained that they were only doing it to look for the stone of the Monkey God. They knew to search in the village because each of them received message in a dream from the Monkey God. Ken's dream was that the place the Monkey God was in was cramped and suffocating. They suddenly heard a large sound that was coming closer. Kagome asked them to undo their spell on Inuyasha, but the monkeys claimed they couldn't because they forgot how. Inuyasha suddenly appeared and hit each of them again after he heard that they forget how to undo the spell. They claimed that the Monkey God could undo the spell. They all returned to the village in order to find the stone. The villagers had no idea where the stone was, but decided to help the monkeys find it in order to protect their village.

Everyone searched the village, but were unable to find them. Miroku and Sango returned to the village at sunset. Miroku said that he could use his powers to find the stone, but bluffed that his powers would only work in the morning as a way for him and the others in order to be treated well by the villagers during the night. Everyone except the three monkeys knew or suspected that he was lying. Kagome soon saw an aura that was emanating from a bowl of pickled vegetables that was being carried by one of the villagers. The three monkeys instantly recognized the aura as belonging to the Monkey God. Inuyasha and the monkeys were about to tear through the fields to find the stone, but Kagome used her "sit" command to stop them. She had the villagers take her to where they pickle their vegetables. They saw a stone on top of the pickling tub. Kagome and the monkeys could see sacred aura surrounding the stone. A villager said he found it just outside of the village. The monkeys thought that villagers were lying, but then suddenly remembered that they left after they got distracted from picking up acorns and forgot about it. The Monkey God emerged from the stone and was reunited with his three servants. The villagers promised to build new shrine for the Monkey God in exchange for his protection.

Personality

Ken and his brothers are quite mischievous. They use trickery against their opponents and tend to speck to them in a mocking tone. They are also shown to be quite forgetful and easily distracted. They start to collect acorns after the escape with the stone of their Monkey God and forget all about it. They also can not remember how to under the stone spell on Inuyasha. They are very loyal to their Monkey God and go to great lengths to find his sacred stone after they lose it.

Powers & Abilities

• Transformation (変化, へんげ, "Henge"): Ken, Bun, and Gon can transform themselves into a bigger monkey in order to intimidate opponents. They are also able transform into one long yellow balloon-like object in the form of a banana.
• Magic: They are capable of using a few weak but effective magical tricks similar to the Fox Magic of a kitsune. They can restrain their enemies with a stone that enlarges when it is given to them.
  • Sacred Stone: They use this technique in the form of a ruse. They pretend to surrender to their enemy, and offer them a sacred stone as a peace offering. It is all a trap to get them to hold the stone while it transforms into a large boulder and becomes stuck to their hand.

Manga vs. Anime

• In the anime, the three monkeys develop a friendly rivalry with Shippō.
• In the anime, Ken throws another stone on top of the one Inuyasha is already stuck to while he his brothers escape.
• In the manga, after the three monkeys trap Inuyasha with their sacred stone, they immediately ran back to the Monkey God's burned shrine while being pursued by Kagome and Shippō. In the anime, Shippō battles with the three monkeys after he and Kagome pursue them.
• The scene when the three monkeys and Inuyasha search the entire area (the mountain, river, valley) for the stone of their Monkey God after hearing tips from the villagers is not in the manga.
• The ending scene of them throwing acorns at Inuyasha's group and saying goodbye is not in the manga.

Media appearances