Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku continues its expansion of our understanding of the island of Kotaku, known to outsiders as Shinsenkyō, with its introduction of another sentient element found on the island: the mysterious Dōshi. Self-described as the attendants of the Tensen themselves, the Dōshi emerge in episode 10 in yet another battle posed between the Bandit King Chōbei Aza and the inhuman entities found on the island.
Elsewhere, Gabimaru and his group encountered one such Dōshi, accompanied by swarms of Sōshin. As underlings of the Tensen, the Dōshi seem to have enhanced abilities of their own, and yet, unlike the Sōshin, they maintain intelligence and reason. Just what are the Dōshi?
Etymology
The word "Dōshi" is written in Japanese like 道士, using characters for the Tao/Dao and a kanji that is often used to describe a scholar, student or person with a particular qualification when used in tandem with nouns. On its own, this kanji is pronounced the same and has historically been used to mean "samurai" or warrior". "Dōshi" is hence a "student of the Way", or "warrior of the Way". Both of these are valid when describing them due to the role they serve, which is that of students, servants and the military might of the Lord Tensen.
This name is used in description of low-ranking hermits who, like the Tensen, are engaging in the Five Training Methods to Immortality under the guidance of the Tensen who have effectively mastered these methods. As such, the Dōshi receive their training in Hōrai, the middlemost area of Shinsenkyō where the Tensen reside. The Tao, or "the Way" refers to the natural flow and order of the universe; the reality of life itself and the concept or element that is the framework of everything else. As such, the physical appearance of the Dōshi, which varies but is linked by their attire which includes Taoist robes or a changshan, beads and the most telling aspect: the headpiece that bears the Yin-Yang symbol.
Abilities
As beings who can perceive Tao, the Dōshi are quite powerful in combat and are a far bigger threat than their mindless Sōshin counterparts. Their ability to use Tao and their intelligence makes them far more difficult to defeat in combat, and even Chōbei, who survived a battle against one of the strongest entities on the island, found himself struggling to defeat the Dōshi that approached him and Toma. In addition to being able to manipulate their own Tao, the Doshi also boast heightened senses from being able to perceive the flow of Tao in other entities. It's clear from their behaviour that the Dōshi aren't quite at the top of the pecking order on the island, but as the right-hand of the Tensen, their position is one of authority, and this is evident in their command of the Sōshin in the battles against the Bandit Brothers.
Unlike the Tensen, who are the superior beings on the island and have achieved such status through mastery of the Five Training Methods to Immortality, the Dōshi cannot change their gender at will and are exclusively male. The Dōshi who engages Chōbei and Tōma is there on orders from the Tensen, who have sent him to investigate the Bandit Brothers (who should be dead). With knowledge of Tao, the Dōshi is capable of regenerating from attacks that aren't sufficiently boosted by it, and since Chōbei is yet to awaken to such an ability, his attacks only bear minimal levels of Tao and barely harm the Dōshi. Much like the Nen power system of the Hunter x Hunter series, the Dōshi is capable of wrapping itself in Tao and protecting itself from a variety of physical attacks.
History
While yet to be fully revealed in the anime, various entities found on Shinsenkyō are derived from, or the remnants of humanity in some way. The Dōshi are the remains of humans who were either present in the landing party that arrived from China with Jofuku centuries prior to the events of the series, or humans who set out on the quest to find the Elixir of Life, fated to never return. These people were transformed, through unknown means, into servants of the Tensen who do not maintain any of their original memories and have human bodies with malformed, chimeric heads of various kinds, similar to the lower-ranked Sōshin.
Their piety towards the Tensen is related to their training in the ways of Tao, and as evidence of their position towards the top of the Shinsenkyō pecking order, the Dōshi are capable of true speech, reason and have personality, while other monsters on the island do not. The existence of the Dōshi in Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku adds another chilling element to the creatures found across Shinsenkyō. While it has been clear for a while that the flowers strewn across the island emerged from the bodies of human beings, the nature of the monsters has been confusing to the surviving members of the Vanguard Party. The Dōshi's existence, coupled together with that of Hōko, alludes to the use of human beings in the creation of the island's apparent fauna – so, if considered worthy, perhaps even a member of the Vanguard Party could find themselves serving at the right hand of the Lord Tensen.