Grandpa Higurashi

is often covering for Kagome's absences at school with interesting excuses, which make Kagome's friends worry a lot about her.

Grandpa is identified by his clothing as a traditional Japanese Shinto Priest, apparently the current custodian/guardian/caretaker/owner of the Higurashi Shrine which has been in the family for generations.

Grandpa continually tries to inject some education of the history of the family shrine into everyday life – even to the point of discussing the "history of pickles," much to Kagome's dismay.

Grandpa maintains the shrine grounds, buildings, the sacred tree, handles offerings, and the various Shinto religious ceremonies that are required. He tries to bring in some income to pay the bills by selling various religious paraphernalia, such as the Sacred Jewel key chains (日暮神社 四魂の玉 キ一ホルダ一 ).

He is skilled in handling objects brought to him that need to be blessed, cleansed, or sealed. His abilities save him from death in episode 11, "Terror of the Ancient Noh Mask". But Grandpa's powers are clearly overcome by Inuyasha as he breaks through Grandpa's Ofuda – or "written oracles" in episode 4 "Yura of the Demon-Hair". Although this could be because Inuyasha is only half-demon, it could also be because his charms don't work at all.

In the manga, it is revealed that Kagome's mother is his daughter-in-law who moved to Higurashi Shrine after tragic death of his son and his wife (Kagome's grandmother).

Relationships

 * Mr. Higurashi: Grandpa's relationship with his son is unknown. However, it is clear that he and Grandma were worried about his son's future and still mourns his son's death after being killed in a car accident, having his son as an only child.
 * Grandma Higurashi: His relationship with Grandma and mother of his son is unknown, it is clear he missed his wife. Grandma, along with her son, was also killed in a car accident.
 * Mrs. Higurashi: Although she if the wife of his deceased son, Mrs. Higurashi treats Grandpa like a father, even though he's her father-in-law.
 * Kagome: As Kagome was his first grandchild, he cares for her a lot and tries to teach her about traditional stuffs. He also lied to Kagome's classmates about her illness, which makes Kagome upset and embarrassed.
 * Sōta: Sōta was Grandpa's second grandchild who was born after death of his son and wife. He wanted Sota to become a Shinto priest.
 * Inuyasha: Grandpa doesn't like Inuyasha very much, thinking he is reckless and annoying. He once hired Inuyasha to worked part-time at the Higurashi shrine, then fired him when he knocked over some shelves.

Manga vs Anime

 * In episode 11 of anime, Grandpa battles with the Noh Mask in the fire on the shrine, which caused him to get hospitalized while in manga, he got food poisoning.

Trivia

 * He is actually the father of Kagome's father, not the father of her mother.