Ginko

Ginko, whose real name is Yoki, is the main character who is followed throughout the series solving mushi cases. He appears to be a very serious person on the outside, but he treats humans with respect and stresses that the mushi are not evil, but merely trying to survive like everyone else. He rarely comes back to the same show location more than once, to reinforce his 'wanderer' status. His age is unknown but likely in his mid 20s to 30s.

Appearance
Ginko has white hair and an unearthly green eye (his left eye is actually glass, but he gave it to Sui in episode 2), and has been like this ever since he was a child after he was affected by a mushi.

He also wears more modern clothes compared to other characters, by wearing slacks, a button up shirt, and occasionally a trench coat.



Ginko, during his younger years before being affected by the Ginko mushi, had dark hair and black eyes, and had a darker skin tone.

Personality
Ginko appears as a rather laid-back type, though he can become serious and concerned when need be.

Early Life
When Ginko was a child, he was found by Nui, a Mushishi who had the same white hair and a green left eye. Before his mushi incident, Ginko's name was Yoki, and even as a child he could see the mushi.

While walking through the mountains with his mother, a wrong turn was taken, and on the strange road they continued down, a mudslide killed Yoki's mother. This is when Nui found him, brought him to her home, and looked after him. For many days Nui took care of Yoki as his broken leg healed, showing him the different types of mushi that lived in the area around her home in the mountain. As Yoki's leg healed he found out that the cause for Nui's transformation was observing mushi called "Ginko" for too long.

After he and Nui were eaten by the Tokoyami, he escaped by sacrificing his left eye and his memories, while Nui was swallowed by the Ginko. The only name Yoki remembered was "Ginko", and he gave that name to himself. After wandering the forest for a few days, he came out into a clearing, where he was discovered by a man who housed him for a small time, then Ginko ran away. In a later chapter, it is discovered that he wandered around the country living with several different people, all of which were Mushishi in some way, which is how he learned how to become a Mushishi himself.