A straight line paradise. Transcribing Seiga's profile while listening to various arranges of Desire Drive certainly makes it rather enjoyable. The fact is that I came to the sad realization that I have very few arranges of Byakuren's themes.
Questions can be asked, questions can be answered, but only after you have experienced it can you understand the nature of things. An everlasting harmony even as Nature changes; searching for the balance between Yin and Yang, thus achieving a peaceful life; or action through non-action in accordance to Nature. It's hard to say how Seiga fits into any of these exactly, as she seems to be actively seeking pleasure by coming into contact with humans.
Seiga is supposedly one of the rather few hermits who have lived over a thousand years. She lives for her own interests, and as such her actions are purely motivated by selfish desires. Although she showed up in Gensokyo along with Miko and all, Seiga isn't much of a group person and is far more interested in being with humans and youkai that she likes. Since Gensokyo has many fascinating individuals, she seems to be spending everyday playing around here and there (looking for someone interesting I guess).
Not much new information is given on her ability to bypass walls using her hair stick, though it seems like she is not good with walls made out of soft materials, as she apparently bypasses hard walls but avoids soft ones. Since it is stated that hard stone walls are like tofu before Seiga's hair stick, and given that she is obviously based on the other Seiga from Strange Tales of Liaozhai, where the protagonist receives (from a Taoist) a small spade that can dig through stone bricks as if they were soft soil. So could it be that Seiga's hair stick can only soften hard materials but cannot do the same with things that are already soft (or elastic)? Either way, Seiga is apparently quite content with this ability and doesn't seem very enthusiastic about practicing any other techniques. She knows just enough to deal with assassins from hell every now and then.
The reason why Seiga is called a wicked hermit is because her creation and use of the abhorred jiangshi. A jiangshi can be perfectly controlled by sticking an ofuda with a "to-do list" (or just anything I suppose) written on it on the jiangshi's forehead. Apparently a human who receives a fatal wound from a jiangshi's bite will turn into a jiangshi as well.
Seiga has a very high friendliness level towards humans (she likes humans) yet at the same time her threat level is also high, most likely because even though she might not harm anyone, she would pursue those who catch her interests relentlessly...and leave them once she has had enough. The fact that she has little concern over others is probably also a reason why she is considered dangerous. A very troublesome individual indeed.
I'm not sure why but Seiga is turning out exactly how I pictured her to be, a wicked hermit. She sure is impulsive for a Taoist though, makes me wonder if Miko would really be okay with Seiga's antics, even if Seiga was the one who taught her the ways of Taoism.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name
It's getting too late though.
Thank you for doing these posts. They made me even more interested in getting the new ZUN book.
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