The New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium!

Didn't SOPM have a little joke about that?

• "So I've become something like a god?"
• "No, you were already a god."

I decided to open with a write up this time. It's going to me one of my normal "opening big rambles" but really, I like to think I have a lot to say.

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The Crown Prince

Toyosatomimi no Miko was once effectively the ruler of Japan. While her official title was crown prince, her wisdom and political status as regent allowed her to basically control the country. However, in secret, she wanted more. She became horrified at the prospect of death, and desired some way to pacify the people. Both were answered by Seiga Kaku, the Taoist hermit from China who took a shine to Miko. Seiga taught Miko and her followers the ways of the Tao, and they used it on their quest to become immortal. Seiga then pointed out that Taoism isn't a very good faith to use to control the masses, and suggested, why not make use of that other religion coming over from overseas? Miko and her followers then manipulated the Buddhist Soga and the Shinto Mononobe into war and had the later wiped out, allowing Buddhism to spread across the land.

Then Miko got sick due to her experiments and nearly died.

In order to save her life and prolong their reign, Miko and her followers performed the shikaisen ritual and faked death. (Though only two of the three survived the ritual. Funny story about that...) The item Miko chose to swap with in the ritual was her Seven Star Sword, while the others used relatively more mundane things.*

So one could say that Miko is carrying around her own corpse.

The plan was for Miko to sleep a bit, then revive as a God-Saint-King to free Japan from the oppressive tenants of Buddhism and reign forever. However, Buddhism had more staying power than Miko thought, and her Mausoleum kept getting sealed by Buddhist monks.

Then Prince Shotoku became the stuff of legends, and Miko was finally able to awaken in Gensoukyou...

So enough about backstory.

Miko's ability is the ability to listen to ten people at once and respond to them as if she were speaking to each of them individually. This doesn't just apply to voice, but also actions, mannerisms, and even their desires. In this sense, Miko's ability is extremely useful, as she can more or less perfectly predict and counter the actions of ten foes at once, and by reading their desires, Miko can know everything about them. Akyuu compares it to mind reading, though she goes on to say that instead of reading thoughts and memories, Miko reads their constitution and future.

Of course, while this is a mighty ability to use when working, it's rather troublesome when just going about your business, so Miko makes use of special earmuffs to protect her sensitive ears.

Once she awakened (and was defeated by the heroines) Miko retired to her own little pocket world between the cracks, though she does reappear among the humans in the village from time to time and will appear to protect people from youkai. She claims that she simply wishes to work towards gaining enlightenment and becoming a Celestial, though she did jump a bit at the opportunity to become the ruler of the humans. Old habits die hard, or is she still dreaming of becoming God-Saint-King?

She and Byakuren don't get along, obviously, though during SoPM doesn't seem to be so much violent hate as it is more of a passive aggressive thing that verges on friendly as Miko gets more and more drunk.

While she doesn't live with Tojiko and Futo anymore, I do feel she keeps in touch with them and works with them on...whatever it is she does nowadays. Even in this Gensoukyou, they are her faithful servants, after all. She'd rather not be associated with Seiga though.

She is apparently looking forward to the chance to "fight" shinigami. I guess no one told her that while they do "test" hermits, they don't actually reap or really do much fighting on the job. Oh well.

I wonder what the future will hold for the prince of the past?

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How drunk precisely does Miko get at the symposium? Like, mildly tipsy or completely smashed?

Song of the Sirens

I am not sure actually. I just know that she gets more and more friendly, while at the same time being more and more open about her threats.

I don't think anyone gets drunk enough where it actually becomes a problem though. So I'd say "rather tipsy"?

edited 4th Jan '13 8:04:40 AM by Otherarrow

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Doesn't she make her threats in a jokey way?

Song of the Sirens

Something like that.

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In my experience that's something that happens a fair distance along the wobbly road of inebriation.

Song of the Sirens

On the difference between Satori and Miko's powers, I like to think of it as "Satori casts detect thoughts, Miko casts detect good/evil/chaos/law".

I.e. Satori can tell what you're thinking right now, but not why you're thinking it. Miko can figure out all your personality and motives, but not whether you like pickle sandwiches. Small-scale vs. large-scale.

edited 4th Jan '13 8:12:03 AM by Prime32

As mentioned in my write up, Akyuu makes a similar comparison. People like Satori can read your thoughts, while Miko can read your character. I do think that Miko's ability is more useful, as once she knows everything about your character and desires, she can predict your thoughts and actions without the hassle of actually mind reading.

If that makes sense.

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People love Miko and hate Satori. Probably because Miko doesn't finish their thoughts. And is also nice enough not to spill their darkest secrets.

Anyway, I wonder if choosing a legendary sword was arrogance. Ain't no way Miko was gonna end up a simple stick. Or I wonder if its close association with her helped pull off the ruse.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers

I always thought it was arrogance.

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So, in -very- brief, while I consider how to write it up in full, my current thinking is that while Satori looks into your very being, Miko simply takes profound external cues (Including your body's desires, now), and uses that along with her vast political experience to know who you are.

Honestly, it's still something I'm kind of swirling around in my head and haven't really settled on a steady interpretation for.

Hm. Another way to view it is that everyone wears a mask; Satori sees through the mask, while Miko looks at everything else (gestures, body, tone of voice etc.) and determines your identity from that. You can't hide who you are from either, but for different reasons.

edited 4th Jan '13 12:07:56 PM by Antimatter625

I write some fanfiction. Satori's Tale is done... but I'm not.

I always thought of Miko's power as the ultimate Sherlock Holmes method of deduction taken to its logical extreme. The ability to instantly analyse everything about a person in a single glance and from that determine their personality and thier desires.

And now I want to see Miko as a detective.

The eyes are the windows that let us gaze upon the soul.

Sounds interesting.

Another power or ability Miko seems to have is the ability to turn vulgar spirits into divine spirits.

Now I'm not sure what exactly is a divine spirit, but in the game it is stated that the vulgar spirits are bundle of desires that sensing her resurrection created the incident.

I'm pretty sure there was no transformation of any sort going on, just one side mistaking something for something else (I'm not thinking clearly enough to remember who was right).

Ok I did a quick research.

So divine spirits are the bundle of Human desire.

And the spirits where hoping for Miko to change them into divine spirits, but yeah no transformation...I think, what a weird incident.

edited 4th Jan '13 4:42:53 PM by asellus111

Thanks for putting all the quotes in one place.

So, first humans have desires (represented by vulgar spirits), and then the desires are sublimed and anthromorphized into gods (divine spirits), sometimes by projecting them onto ancestors, or historical figures... But what does that have to do with Miko? Was she supposed to absorb those vulgar spirits (i.e. answer humanity's prayers and demands to Prince Shoutoku) and turn into a full god?

Also note that the location of the final stage is "The Divine Spirit Mausoleum" (same as the game title), and Miko's Overdrive is "The Great Cosmos of Divine Spirits".

It's always been like that in Touhou anyway, ever since PCB. There's a surface layer of events (Reimu beats up people), and then there's an underlying layer of what truly matters, which is obscure and cryptic.

edited 4th Jan '13 5:23:34 PM by atrican

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I am pretty sure the divine/vulgar spirits weren't supposed to do anything. They just gathered around Miko as a side effect of her resurrection, but were otherwise irrelevant to it.

I think the two things mentioned just refer to all the divine spirits in the area.

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But why do human desires gravitate toward a deified historical figure at all? Don't take things for guaranteed too easily. Think a bit harder.

"You may think you could understand the story better if you've played the games, but even if you have, the story would still be difficult to understand. Touhou Project is not intended to be easily accessible." - ZUN in Shanghai Alice Correpsondence, SABND.

edited 4th Jan '13 5:36:43 PM by atrican

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No, I am pretty sure they explictly say in game that the spirits gathering around Miko is just a unintended side effect of her resurrection, and a unwanted one at that (though it's a nuisance at most). They are drawn to her both due to her power as a saint and due to her ability to hear desires, but are otherwise worthless.

Sorry if I come off as rude here, but you are looking for hidden messages that aren't there and are coming off as a smug prick about supposedly seeing something that others don't. Quit it. Saying I am just too stupid (oh, sorry "not thinking hard enough") to see the so called obvious meaning isn't helpful for conversation, it's just being an ass.

edited 4th Jan '13 5:49:53 PM by Otherarrow

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Sorry, I was just thinking out loud, and the "think a bit harder" was almost said to myself, not wanting to make myself appear smarter or anything.

The characters find them a nuisance doesn't mean anything though. They are Touhou characters. Being lazy is what they do.

"The dialogue is random and meaningless, don't look too deep into it." - ZUN, every Touhou game manual's Qand A section

edited 4th Jan '13 5:57:22 PM by atrican

Stop atrican from crawling out of the dumpster! Touhou status updates

The story is told primary through dialouge, and ZUN was probably not being serious. (I don't think he ever is, to be honest.)

If we throw out the dialouge, we throw out 90% of the story in the games, and could probably extend to throwing out everything. If characters talking doesn't "count" why should what they write or do count either? It's a very slippery slope is all I am saying.

Now, there is the issue of some characters being better sources of info over others depending on the case, but I do think Seiga, Miko, etc know what they are talking about.

edited 4th Jan '13 6:02:15 PM by Otherarrow

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Well..back on topic Miko also mentions that she actually governs the divine spirits, on a funny side note Marisa can also hear the vulgar spirits but since she doesn't have the ability of Miko, she can't control them.

I like to think that she doesn't control them in the sense that she can wave her hand and make them dance, but in the sense that since she can read them using her ability, she knows what to do to make them do what she wants.

Marisa can't because Marisa has no magic ten desires ability.

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heh True, but it seems that the divine spirits are very special. After all Miko calls the space they reunite as Gensokyo's Akashic Records.

edited 4th Jan '13 6:17:48 PM by asellus111