Grandpa Higurashi is the elderly paternal grandfather of Kagome and Sōta Higurashi, making him the father-in-law of Kagome’s mother and the great-grandfather of Moroha. He serves as the caretaker and custodian of the Higurashi Shrine, a position that has been in his family for generations. He is traditionally dressed as a Shinto priest and maintains the shrine grounds, the sacred tree, and officiates religious ceremonies.

His background includes the tragic loss of his only son and his wife in a car accident, after which his daughter-in-law and her children continued to live with him at the shrine. Outside of his family duties, he often tries to generate income for the shrine by selling religious paraphernalia, such as key chains modeled after the Shikon Jewel.

Grandpa Higurashi’s personality is characterized by a deep, if sometimes eccentric, devotion to tradition and his family’s spiritual legacy. He has a habit of sharing long-winded histories of the shrine and its artifacts, much to the dismay of his granddaughter Kagome, and is known for creating unusual excuses to explain her extended absences from school. He is very caring and protective of his family, though his methods can be unorthodox; he frequently gives his grandchildren alleged demon artifacts as gifts, which are often useless or mundane.

His primary motivation is the preservation and prosperity of the Higurashi Shrine. He is dedicated to passing on its history and importance to the next generation, particularly to his grandson Sōta, whom he hopes will one day become a Shinto priest. He also shows great pride in his family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and deeply cherishes his role as the family patriarch.

In the story of Yashahime, his role shifts from a background figure to a more active participant in the modern-era setting. He provides a home and a sense of normalcy for the time-displaced Towa and later welcomes the arrival of Setsuna and Moroha from the feudal era. He and the rest of the Higurashi family become key supporting figures for the three young heroines, offering them shelter and assistance. He is present during the initial emergence of the demon Mistress Three-Eyes at the sacred tree and witnesses the arrival of Moroha and Setsuna in the modern world. As events escalate, he also interacts with the mysterious Osamu Kirin, who inquires about the shrine's Shikon Jewel key chains during a time of temporal distortion.

Key relationships define his role in the narrative. He has a close, familial bond with his daughter-in-law, who treats him as a father, and with his grandchildren. He acted as a father figure to Sōta after the death of Sōta's father. While he was often annoyed by Inuyasha in the past, considering him reckless, his most significant relationship in Yashahime is with his great-granddaughter, Moroha. He bonds with her quickly, recognizing her spirit and a resemblance to Kagome. He takes pride in teaching her martial arts during her stay in the modern era, and he affectionately gives her peculiar gifts, such as a mummified kappa hand, which she genuinely appreciates.

While Grandpa Higurashi does not engage in direct combat, he possesses notable spiritual abilities rooted in his role as a priest. He has a degree of spiritual awareness and sensitivity; he can sense the presence of evil entities, including powerful demons, and detect ominous signs from the sacred Tree of Ages. This intuition allows him to perceive impending calamities, such as the supreme demonic power of the Grim Comet, even when others cannot. He is also skilled in performing blessings and creating ofuda. However, his practical spiritual power is limited, as his charms have been shown to be ineffective against powerful beings like Inuyasha.