Chichiri

**Houjun Ri**, best known as **Chichiri,** is one of the main characters from the *Fuushigi Yuugi* anime and manga.

Chichiri, a wandering monk, has trained for several years with Taiitsukun, the creator. A 24-year-old native of a village on the Shōryū River (near the northern Kōnan-Kutō border), he variously wields a shakujō staff, kasa hat, and kesa mantle to fight and employs various magical techniques taught by Taiitsukun, the first of which was the ability to form a barrier around himself.

In the TWA fics, Chichiri debuted in Twisted World Animania - Fuushigi Yuugi.

## **Appearance**

Chichiri wears a mask with two closed eyes and a smile, hiding the symbolic scar on his left eye. Underneath this cover, his eyes are red. He has blue hair that goes round his head and a curvy line of his remaining hair goes atop, as if floating; some is tied behind and is not actually seen much. Chichiri rarely takes the mask off, and when he does, it means that he is serious. He wears a dark-blue cape with circles and a necklace, assuming to have been given to him by Taiitsukun (which he never takes off even when taking a bath).

## **Personality**

Chichiri is a good-hearted man, always doing his best to be useful. He values his friends greatly, and goes through any length to protect them and ensure a bright future for Konan. He gives a lot of advice, helps the group and sticks the group back together when they seem to be torn apart; a very significant characteristic that reveals his wisdom and experience, natural seeing as he is the eldest of the group, older than Mitsukake by two years, and most of the others by about 6 years. Though he is actually very detached from the group when personal matters are involved and only opens up his feelings during extremely rare moments, he is, in general, cheerful and happy-go-lucky, and is the subject of numerous running gags in the manga and anime, making more jokes and acting funnier, much like Tasuki, than most of the other characters. Chichiri does show a very collected character, controlling his personal feelings and desires well, but in reality he is a very troubled man with a past that is tearing him apart from inside. He was never shown revealing his true emotions, but he explodes immediately when two people are mentioned; Hiko and Kouran.

His favorite activity seems to be fishing, even though there isn't usually any fish.

## **Abilities**

Chichiri has the ability to do magic. He was training under Taiitsukun for three years. Chichiri also wields a Shakujo staff, which he uses when doing magic.

He has the ability to impersonate someone, even Nakago. Chichiri's power is mainly magic, but he also has the abliity to create forcefields as well. His specialty seems to be transportation, as we see him transporting people from region to region, even country to country, as seen when he transports from the Konan palace, to the Kutou palace and back again. He can also make clones of himself. Chichiri is not much on the offensive side, but he has some few offensive power shown on the 2nd and 3rd OVA.

The weakness of his power to impersonate is that when you look straight into his face, you will see two con-cave lines and a convex line, and this is his trademark. He can also go into a chibi form people call "pint-sized Chichiri".

## **Trivia**

* Chichiri's Shakujo Staff resembles a Buddhist staff.
* Chichiri is the only warrior whose clothing hasn't changed in the series, or even in the OVA.
* In some respects, there is the practical lack of "na no da"/ "no da" (or "ya know") in the OVA 2 episode "Transience of a Water Mirror" (Ova 2, Ep 5)
* Chichiri's birthday is on May 21 and he is a Gemini.