I gotta start this with a stupid, stupid joke. Humour me, please.

Who walks tall and carries a stick
and is a sex machine for all the chicks?
(Chichiri!)
Ya damn right!

Who is the man
that would risk his neck for his brother man?
(Chichiri!)
Can ya dig it?

Who's the cat that won't cop out
when there's danger all about?
(Chichiri!)
Right on.

You see this cat Chichiri is a bad mother--
(Shut your mouth)
I'm only talkin' about Chichiri...
(Then we can dig it)

He's a complicated man
But no one understands him but his woman
(Chichiri)

*crickets chirping*

*cough cough* Yeah, stupid I know. But I was struck by the urge to do that and my urges are not to be denied.

So, you're wondering, who exactly IS this Chichiri guy who's got me so... excited? What makes him worthy of hundreds of dollars of merchandise and costume accessories, and hundreds of hours of time drawing fanart and assembling said costume?

Well, first let's start with a brief (very brief) description of the manga from which he comes.

The manga is called "Fushigi Yuugi" which translates as "Mysterious Play." The creator, storyteller, artist and all-around genius behind it is Yuu Watase. She was only 18 when she began the series!

The story begins with two best friends, Miaka Yuki and Yui Hongo, anxiously studying for their highschool entrance exams at the local library. Secreted away in the stacks, though, they find a mysterious book called "The Universe of the Four Gods." When they open the book and begin to read, a strange light envelops them, and they find themselves magically transported into the world of the book!

Yui is soon sucked back into the real world when the light returns, but Miaka is stuck in the world of the book, relying on the help of a friendly stranger, Tamahome. Miaka and Tamahome soon find themselves in the palace of the emperor, Hotohori, who is shocked to see Miaka, because she fulfils the legend of the kingdom-- that a young girl from another world would be the one to summon the god Suzaku and bring peace to the kingdom of Konan.

In order to summon the god, however, the priestess (Suzaku no miko) has to gather her seven celestial warriors (shichiseishi) who can be identified by their superhuman powers and the red shichiseishi symbol that each one has on some part of his body. Tamahome is one of them, Hotohori another, and after another (mis)adventure, they find the third, the cross-dressing strongman Nuriko. The fourth Seishi they discover is the one whom I have the most interest in -- the wandering monk Chichiri.

I don't want to give any more of the story away, except to say that it is filled with love, agony, betrayal, honor, and every other adjective that makes a story wonderful and engaging. By the way, Yui does return to the world of the book, and becomes Miaka's enemy! How? Well, you'll just have to read it yourself (or watch the anime.)

~~~~~~~CHICHIRI'S VITAL STATISTICS~~~~~~~

Real name: Ri Houjun ("Hou" --> superior person. "Jun" --> different)
Age: 24
Height: 175cm (5'8")
Blood type: Unknown
Sign: Taurus
Born: May 21, place unknown
Family: Unknown, but they and his fiancee died in a flood when he was 18.
Interests: Fishing
Skills: The magical arts of Tai-Yi Jun, including teleportation and teleparalysis
Location and nature of shichiseishi symbol: On his right knee, "sho" --> well (like one which you draw water from)(Looks like the pound sign on your telephone)

Chichiri's Past:

His past is mostly a mystery. He doesn't like to talk about himself much, and never mentions anything that happened before the tragedy that killed everyone he loved, including his fiancee and best friend, and took out his left eye.

Here is a small excerpt from "Shouryuu den," Chichiri's gaiden novel, where Chichiri himself explains it. I'll expand on his words afterwards. (The ellipses are in the original text)

"...When (Koran) agreed to marry me, first thing, I told my best friend, Hikoh about it. He congratulated me and seemed happy for me... The three of us had been friends ever since we were young..."

"...It happened a few days after that... Koran and Hikoh betrayed me... Koran told me she couldn’t be my wife, and that she would marry Hikoh... instead. My girl’s sudden change of heart, and my best friend’s betrayal... I thought I must have been some idiot for trusting them all that time...you know..."

"Why?! I lost control of my senses, and attacked Hikoh with a dagger. But before I could hear his answer, both of them drowned in the flood..."

The scene from three years ago appeared vividly in Hojun’s mind.

"...No, it would be more proper to say that I killed Hikoh... If only I hadn’t let go of his hand..."

Chichiri tried to kill himself due to the grief of his belief not only in his friend's betrayal but also the knowledge that Hikoh's blood was on his hands. Only many years later would the whole mess be cleared up and explained by Hikoh himself, who had returned from the dead to get revenge upon Chichiri (but fails, and dies repentant after explaining the truth.)

Basically, what actually happened was this: Chichiri proposed to Koran, who was thrilled, and accepted. Chichiri then told Hikou about the news, and Hikou, who was mildly jealous and in love with Koran too, wanted to kiss her just once. He forced a kiss from her, which Chichiri walked in on, causing all three people to run off in shock. A short time later, Koran returns and tells Chichiri that their wedding was off, and that she would marry Hikou instead.

She had the change of heart because Hikou had "fouled" her-- she felt she was no longer pure, and did not deserve Chichiri, and thus must marry the man whose lips had touched hers. Chichiri misunderstood this as her admission that she loved Hikou more than him.

Devastated and in a blind rage, Chichiri stumbled outside into a terrible storm. Finding Hikou, he attacked him with a knife, forcing him off the edge of a small cliff into the rapidly rising waters of a nearby river. But Chichiri's sanity returned as Hikou fell, and he reached out and caught his friend's hand before he was swept away. But the water and weather were too strong. Chichiri could not pull Hikou back up. And when a log, caught in the great current, smashed into the side of Chichiri's face, the shock caused him to release his grip on Hikou's hand and the poor man disappeared into the rushing water.

Chichiri blacked out, and woke later to discover that his left eye had been gouged out and his entire village, and everyone inside it including Koran, had been completely destroyed by the flood.

But why had only he survived? It was a mystery until three years later, when, consumed by guilt and wasting away to nothing, Chichiri tried to commit suicide by throwing himself into a river. He was rescued, though, and nursed back to health, and he started hearing voices; the voice was Tai Yi-jun, Emperor of heaven, telling him to begin his training as a Suzaku shichiseishi. Through training, and getting to know himself and his powers better, Chichiri finally was able to hide his pain underneath a smiling mask (which concealed his eye) and a carefree, devil-may-care attitude.

He also learned that his (at the time) weak and uncontrollable magical powers had acted in reflex to the danger of the flood and, while he was unconscious, he had cast a barrier around himself which withstood the flood.

Finally, at the age of 24 (6 years after the "incident") Chichiri joins up with Miaka to fulfill his role as one of the Suzaku shichiseishi. The other characters consider him very strange and secretive at first, but they quickly learn that not only is he willing to put his life on the line for Miaka and the others, but he is extremely useful in every situation with his amazing range of magical powers.

He becomes a leader among the group, and offers wise counsel and sound advice to all the other characters. he also has an excellent sense of humor, and can make the others laugh and "lighten up" when things start getting grim.

Anyway. That is Chichiri. You can read more about what, specifically, I find so endearing about him on the bottom of this page.

Most images the work of Abby P, aka Lady Millicent, 2002, 2003.