seishi

We always hear the word 'seishi' here in the Fushigi Yuugi world, but do we even know what it means? We know that it's different than the word 'senshi', which is a soldier. So that leaves us with the impression that a seishi is something entirely different, something more extreme. But there are so many different angles to this word and it's defination that most people just accept that it means, "protector, or whatever". I've always wondered if that was the case, so for years, ever since I started obsessing FY, I've been collecting data for this term.

The first definition of any kind that I got from the word seishi was during random internet search years ago. It was then I discovered that seishi was deprived of two words: sei and shi. The definition of sei in english is 'spirit, companion, energy' and shi is 'death'. However, the definition of the entire word, seishi, is 'life and death'. So, because of those vague definitions I already began to grasp at the importance of 'seishi' and what they symbolize, which is something way different than any soldier or bodyguard.We get the idea that a seishi is more than a protector, more than a bodyguard. It is someone who is not only a companion or friend, but would risk everything for the protection one human being. They are not bodyguards, but were born for the one purpose and exist for one ideal; to protect their miko even in their own death.