The mysterious medicine seller (kusuriuri, 薬売り) whose name, age and identity are all unknown; simply refers to himself as a "mere medicine seller". He has shoulder-length grey-brown hair, blue-grey eyes and long pointed ears; he wears what appears to be face paint around his eyes and nose, and is heavily accessorized. Despite not showing any particular interest in women, the latter can often be found admiring his beauty worthy of a handsome young man. His personality is characterized by an apathetic demeanour and pretentious manner of speech; yet when dealing with danger, his behaviour and tone of voice are intimidating and powerful. He does not seem to have a determined goal, simply wandering from place to place exorcising Mononoke. But it is vaguely implied that should Mononoke cease to exist, he would disappear also, due to having lost his purpose. In order to do banish these entities, he carries a mysterious talking sword referred to as the Sword of Exorcism (Taima no Ken, 退魔の剣 voiced by Takemoto Eiji, 竹本英史) which can't be unsheathed unless the Form (Katachi), Truth (Makoto) and Reason (Kotowari) of the Mononoke he is facing are known.
Mononoke
The "Medicine Seller" is a deadly and mysterious master of the occult who travels across feudal Japan in search of malevolent spirits called "mononoke" to slay. When he locates one of these spirits, he cannot simply kill it; he must first learn its Form, its Truth, and its Reason in order to wield the mighty Exorcism Sword and fight against it. He must begin his strange exorcisms with intense psychological analysis and careful investigative work—an extremely dangerous step, as he must first confront and learn about the mononoke before he even has the means to defeat it. The Medicine Seller's journey leads him to an old-fashioned inn where Shino, a pregnant woman, has finally found a place to rest. The owner has reluctantly placed her in the last vacant room; however, as she settles in, it quickly becomes clear that the room is infested by a lethal band of mononoke, the Zashiki Warashi. With his hunter's intuition, the Medicine Seller begins his investigation to discover the Form, the Truth, and the Reason before the Zashiki Warashi can kill again.
