Inu-Yasha discusses his parents very fairly, but from what he has mentioned he did not seem terribly close to either of them, even though he seemed to love them both very much.

It is never established when or how his father died, but his mother died when he was a young boy. Sessho-maru uses Inu-Yasha's love for his mother in an attempt to kill him and claim the sword of their father, the Tetsusaiga, as his own.

Sessho-maru is able to create a spirit that resembles Inu-Yasha's human mother, and she traps him by lulling him into a false sense of security. This spirit attempts to absorb him, but thanks to Kagome's help, Inu-Yasha is able to fight off the demon before it is too late.