The Medicine Seller is a wandering exorcist who deals in the supernatural. He shows up wherever mononoke need to be dealt with, carrying a large wooden box containing an array of medical supplies, holy tools, and most importantly, an enchanted sword. To actually use the sword, he has to first identify three things about whatever creature he's hunting: its Katachi (shape), Makoto (truth), and Kotowari (reasoning). Once he draws the blade, he undergoes a dramatic transformation into something almost demonic.
His exact origins remain a mystery, but he's definitely not fully human—he has pointed elf-like ears and sharp canine teeth that make his true nature obvious. Even across the years and different arcs, he doesn't seem to age; he appears the same youthful and handsome as ever, though in later arcs he added small red stud earrings and a ring to his appearance.
What's interesting about his character is what he actually fears. During the Umibozu arc, when an ayakashi asks him about his deepest dread, he calmly admits it: the thought that at the edge of the world, there might be no form, no truth, and no reason for anything to exist—and if that's true, then he'd have no reason to exist either.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
