CHO HAKKAI

Height: 181 cm
Weight: 69 kg
Age: 22
Birthdate: September 21
Zodiac: Virgo
Blood type: AB

Voice actor: ISHIDA Akira
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Unfailingly polite, neat, soft-spoken, and cheerful, Cho Hakkai is a paragon of stability and compassion -- thus sticking out like a sore thumb in a group of rowdy young men with the appetites of wild beasts, and the attitudes to match.

Hakkai is the self-appointed "nanny" of the group, who makes sure everyone is comfortable and in (relatively) good health. He cooks well and keeps the supplies and inn accommodations in order. Of the four, he is the most markedly domestic. He lived with Sha Gojyo for three years, apparently keeping house for him, since Gojyo "couldn't even remember when garbage days are."

He moves deliberately and prefers to avoid violence. This isn't to say he is too complacent to be smart, or too laid-back to be brave. His powers of observation are astute, and his reasoning abilities have gotten the group out of trouble more than once. He has no weapon, preferring to channel his ki (spiritual energy) into offensive blasts, or into shields.

The following block of text contains semi-spoilers and has been hidden for the sake of the voluntarily innocent. You have my word on it that it won't spoil the flow of the whole story for you, but it MAY kill a little of the mystery surrounding Cho Hakkai. Highlight the big blank space if you still want to know what it says.

He has a reputation for being good with kids. He used to work as a schoolteacher, back when he was called Cho Gonou. At the time, he also lived in a peaceful home with a girl named Kanan, whom he loved deeply. But this little paradise wasn't to last; Kanan was abducted by a particularly nasty demon.

Alone in his rage, Gonou murdered many of the men in his village, and wiped out two demon clans -- bringing the death toll to 300 humans and 1000 demons. Gonou failed to rescue Kanan despite all this, and she died in captivity.

Now there is a legend that says if a human has killed 1000 demons, he will become a demon, himself. This proved true in Gonou's case. Gonou had to start wearing "youryoku" limiters in the form of clips on his left ear to stay in human form. In other words, he is now a demon disguised as a human.

In shock and bleeding from a huge gash in his stomach, he wandered out of the site of the massacre, into the rain. He was found by Sha Gojyo, who took care of him until he was well enough to at least move around. Afterwards he was pursued and eventually captured by Genjo Sanzo, and brought to judgement. So it was that the Cho Gonou who went in to plead guilty to his crimes "died," and the rehabilitated Cho Hakkai was "born."

Hakkai has short brown hair and green eyes. He wears a monocle on his right eye, but otherwise he doesn't stand out. Just by looking at him, you would be able to mark him down as "the plain one who doesn't want to attract attention."

Don't let this low-lying look fool you; he's pretty strong. It's been suggested that he goes out of control when his limiters are taken off.

He has great luck with gambling, and also seems to have a slightly mean side. He can deal insults with the best of them, smiling all the while. Not even the stolid, dignified Sanzo is safe from his biting tongue.

Cho Hakkai is the recognized keeper of the little white dragon Hakuryuu ("Jeep" in the manga), an adorable creature who transforms into a formidable rough-terrain vehicle...also called a jeep. ;P

Original chara: Chu Pa Chieh

As with Genjo Sanzo and Sha Gojyo, there is a VAST difference between Cho Hakkai and his legendary equivalent, Chu Pa Chieh. For one thing, the name means "Pigsy," and the original "Pigsy" had exhibited traits commonly associated with the nickname: sloth, gluttony, shameful hedonism.

For another thing, Chu Pa Chieh used to be a Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds in the Heavenly River, way back when he was still in the gods' favor. But he got a little too...familiar with the Goddess of the Moon. As punishment, he was turned into a piglike monster with huge ears and a drooping mouth, and banished to Earth.

(When I read this, it seemed to me that Gojyo may have inherited Pigsy's sins in the past life. But I don't think I can say that for sure. :P)

He had attacked Kuan-yin in her travels, but when he realized she was the Lady who saves from Three Calamities and Eight Disasters, he begged her forgiveness. Kuan-yin made him promise to do penance for his past sins (seem like she's the one who deserves all the credit yet...?) and tasked him to become a disciple of the "purest" person she had yet to find. The demon did so gladly, and so was he granted the religious name of Chu Pa Chieh -- "Pigsy."

Cho Hakkai's becoming a demon because of the 1000 demons' blood spilled on his person belongs to an entirely different legend, one I'm not familiar with as of now...will be adding more info when I find it.

It seems Hakuryuu, too, had a parallel role in the Hsi Yu Chi. Kuan-yin released a white dragon from imprisonment. The dragon had set fire to his own father's palace, destroying the magic pearls within. This dragon transformed into a white horse and became Tripitaka's faithful steed thenafter.

The one in charge of Tripitaka's white horse was not originally Chu Pa Chieh, but Sha Monk. Chu Pa Chieh was in charge of the luggage. But in Saiyuki, it turns out that Cho Hakkai, the "Pigsy" persona, is in charge of everything travel-related: supplies and transportation.

This reversal of responsibilities appears to be in line with the character discrepancies.

Other main characters:

Genjo Sanzo
Son Goku
Sha Gojyo