Hakkai

Hakkai is a Japanese given name and a term that appears in various literary and media contexts. The meaning of Hakkai depends on the kanji used to write it; when written as 八海, it can be interpreted as “eight seas,” but other kanji combinations are possible, giving different nuances. As a personal name, Hakkai is relatively uncommon in Japan and may be chosen for its phonetic sound or poetic associations.

In popular culture, Hakkai is most closely associated with Cho Hakkai, a major character in the manga and anime series Saiyuki (also known as Gensom Saiyuki and its adaptations). The work is a reimagining of the classic Journey to the West. Cho Hakkai is depicted as a former demon who has taken human form and travels with three companions to recover the sacred sutra. He is portrayed as calm, cultured, and compassionate, with significant internal power and a long, often painful past.

The name also appears in other Japanese adaptations of Journey to the West, where the pig demon Zhu Bajie is rendered in Japanese as Chō Hakkai, linking the term to that character in certain translations. In these contexts, Hakkai functions as a proper name rather than a common noun, contributing to the cultural footprint of the Journey to the West mythos in Japanese media.

Beyond fiction, Hakkai may be encountered as a given name or in compound forms written with different kanji, reflecting the flexible nature of Japanese naming conventions.