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The Four Cardinal Points

"We divide by four the twenty-eight regions in the heavens, that seven constellations for each cardinal point and these points are the four gods . . ."

--Emperor Hotohori, "Fushigi Yuugi"

In Seishuku {say-shoe-coo} astronomy, everything is divided up very evenly. You start with the twenty-eight constellations, which I will name later, which are divided into four regions, the north, the west, the south, and the east. Still with me? There's more. The seven constellations in each of the four regions are known collectively as a certain guardian, or "god." The icy winter north is the black/green tortoise, Genbu {gen-boo} (to tell the truth, it is actually a tortoise mating with a snake, but that's a little too complicated [and gross] to get into.) The fierce, breezy autumn west is the White Tiger, Byakko {bee-ah-ko}. The warm summer south is the red bird or phoenix Suzaku {soo-za-coo}. Finally, the stormy spring east is the azure dragon Seiryuu {sare-ee-you}. In ancient China, Japan, and India, these constellations were used much in the same way that astrologers use the zodiac, and also in order to fashion a calender. This calender was based on the lunar month, so a year became roughly the same amount of time it does in the calender we use today (what's a couple of days between friends?) In the anime "Fushigi Yuugi," the stars hold a more powerful and exciting meaning. In the Universe of the Four gods, where the story takes place, there are warriors, each named for one of the twenty eight constellations. They are identified by a glowing sign (in the color of its respective point [ie, Suzaku red, Genbu green]) somewhere on his or her body. The warriors must be gathered together by the priestess (who must be a young girl from a separate world [read "our world"]) in order to awaken the guardian, or "god" of that respective empire. In the anime, the main players are Suzaku and Seiryuu, the Suzaku seven and their priestess Miaka being our "good guys," and Seiryuu seven and their priestess Yui being our "bad guys." Unfortunately, Genbu and Byakko are cruelly underrepresented, each of them having only a few warriors appear. Suzaku and Seiryuu, however, are fully shown, with a unique (and very good looking!) "Seishi {say-she}" or "warrior" for each constellation. Before moving on to a bio on each warrior, let's take a look at each of the constellations.

Yes, let's do that before Tasuki makes us all sick with that squid of his! Click here to go to page three!