He's just... Yougen
Literally... don't worry about it he's a youkai too lol. I've reread this for 1000th times and I still don't know what he is...
My guess was he is the child of the forest, so ayakashi love him. Or maybe he is the forest power itself that need a body.
The only other explanation is that he is forest god or guardian. That's why he can use Buddha power like cleansing and what not
does anyone know what sougen is supposed to be? like does it actually correlate with any mythical creature?? or is it just a vague “yea dw about him not living long enough hes a monster too”