So pair her with Kogasa and you get an infinite feedback loop?
Huh? What makes you say that?
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
Dreams of Revenge
@Latest entry:
I rather like it.
Locking you up on radar since '09
One lives to surprise people, one asks if they were surprised...
Yea, but Kogasa wouldn't repeat what Kyouko said. And she wouldn't surprise Kyouko anyway, since both are youkai. Kogasa surprises humans. In the original Japanese, the phrase Kogasa utters which gets translated to "boo", is "urameshiya". It means "I envy your life", although in context, "boo" is appropriate.
Anyway, I've mentioned before how youkai are lower on the Buddhist karmic ladder than humans haven't I? That's the basis for it. It really wouldn't make sense for Kogasa to say that to Kyouko, since they're both on the same level.
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
The Wicked Hermit That Passes Through Walls
Ability: The ability to pass through walls
Threat level: High
Human friendship level: Very high (loves humans)
Main place of activity: Human Village, etc.
A hermit that acts with wicked thoughts. She has a very unpleasant personality, only concerned with what benefits herself, regardless of what happens to those around her.
Hundred-year-old hermits are fairly common, but the number of hermits that have lived over a thousand years is in decline. She is one of those rare hermits.
Most of these extremely long-lived hermits tend to ascend to higher classes, such as Celestials or divine spirits, so seeing one remain as a hermit is very unusual. She cannot become a celestial due to her personality, but that does not seem to bother her.
Although she arrived in Gensokyo along with Toyosatomimi no Miko and Mononobe no Futo, she does not seem to have a terribly strong sense of camaraderie with them. If she becomes interested in any human or youkai, she will immediately start sticking to them. As there are many fascinating people in Gensokyo, she hovers from one place to the next day after day.
Wall-Passing Chisel
She wears the Wall-Passing Chisel as a hairpin. This chisel can open a hole in any wall instantaneously. Furthermore, after a brief amount of time, the wall is restored and the hole disappears without a trace.
Seiga's mastery of this tool allows her to come and go unimpeded. To her, even a treasury with solid stone walls is like a lump of tofu. She could steal at her leisure.
The fact that she is not interested in material things may be our only salvation.
Seemingly satisfied with only this skill, she doesn't appear to have the drive to train in any other hermit arts. However, at the very least, she has enough power to fight off the messengers of Hellnote .
Jiang Shi
Jiang Shi are youkai that are animated corpses. They lack a soul and, in most cases, are able to move without thinking. She used a jiang shi to guard the Great Mausoleum.
There are many varieties of jiang shi. Those that move based on lingering regrets, those cursed by Taoists to move after death, those who through some great power continue to rampage even after death, and so on.
The common thing among them is that a human that is bit by a jiang shi also turns into a jiang shinote . They could very well be considered vampires without brains. They are loathsome youkai.
That is the kind of youkai Seiga created. She controls with the charm attached to its foreheadnote . Creating one of these detestable youkai along with not respecting the human rights of the corpse she used to create it has earned her the title of wicked hermit.
Approach
Shortly after she attaches herself to a human, she loses interest and leaves. She is a particularly bothersome hermit.
She does not treat others with care, so take caution not to be manipulated by her. Even if she approaches you with good will, if you refuse to deal with her, she should get bored and leave.
As for her passing through walls, it seems that there are some which can be passed through and some which cannot. The harder a wall, the easier it is to pass through, but she avoids soft walls.
Because of this, it might be a good idea to protect your valuables in a rubber cage. Although that may be an overreaction given her lack of interest in material things.
This marks one of the times I'm going to openly disagree with Akyuu. Considering her "soft-wall" thing. In Wa HH, Seiga demonstrates that her chisel is capable of making holes in wall of water. Now, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that water is soft, even without the trope.
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
Still water or a waterfall? Another possibility is the wall collapsing before the hole can refill rather than simply not making the hole, hence only solid materials being used.
Also, every single time I see Wild And Horned Hermit my brain automatically thinks it's Suika.
I think it's Kasen.
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
... I know it's not her. Wild and Horned just seems to take precedence over Hermit.
Lord of Shadows
Current 
for Kasen is that she's actually an Oni. Sepcifically, the same oni whom Kasen's sake-box-thing is named after.
Fandom also think that, if Kasen is indeed an Oni, she's one of the Four Deva.
Hence, Wild and Horned Hermit.
edited 30th Jun '14 10:58:49 PM by Makuta9999
To be seen, stand up To be heard, speak up To be appreciated, shut up
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Wouldn't call it a , considering the hints being dropped. Like for instance, Kasen going "kyaaa!" and covering her face with her arm when Reimu starts talking about throwing beans during Setsubun.
edited 1st Jul '14 1:11:30 AM by joergenjetsam
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
Double post!
Loyal Undead
Yoshika Miyako
Ability: The ability to consume anything
Threat level: Very high
Human friendship level: None
Main place of activity: Cemetery
A jiang shi controlled by a wicked hermit. Jiang shi usually do not last long as they are corpses. However, she does not rot due to an anti-decomposition spell placed on her note .
Being a jiang shi, she has nothing resembling a sense of self. As she doesn't feel pain or fatigue, she can bring out the full potential of her body, displaying incredible strength note .
Her personality is unknown. Rather than not knowing what she is thinking or feeling, it is more like she is not thinking or feeling anything in the first place. She follows the wicked hermit's orders faithfully, since she cannot tell what is going on right in front of her anyway. A job like "Keep an eye on the fish as it cooks" to her is the equivalent of "Stare at the fish even as it's burned to ashes". Even though she is a loyal subordinate, she is probably not a very useful one.
Before Death
It is impossible to tell which era she is from.
As there is not a single person in Gensokyo who remembers her, her corpse belongs to the wicked hermit note . Judging from the anti-rotting spell the hermit cast on her, she is probably not from this era.
In spite of there not being anything wrong with her body, it seems like she died at a young age. After inquiring a medical expert, it was suggested that she may have been killed by poison. Even so, a corpse with no relatives would have no one to investigate the truth behind her death. All her crimes come to the statute of limitations, after all.
But there are times that lead us to believe that she seems to have some memories from when she was still alive. When the charm is removed and she is freed from the wicked hermit's control, it seems that she will revert back to her old behaviors. One time, she was reciting poetry while staring at nothing with the whole cemetery covered in a carpet of fallen leaves. It was a little horrifying.
Approach
She will attack people for no particular reason, so take extra caution.
Most attacks are useless note against her since she does not feel pain. However, as she is slow, it is easy to escape from her. If she targets you, leave the area immediately.
If by any chance you are bitten by her, there is no salvation.
You will become a disgraceful jiang shi, even temporarily. Furthermore, you would be helping to create more jiang shi by unconsciously biting someone else. Just because of this you must absolutely avoid her.
Fun fact. There was actually a Japanese poet by the name of Miyako no Yoshika once, who apparently simply disappeared.
edited 2nd Jul '14 12:41:38 PM by joergenjetsam
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
So did Seiga just find her, or specifically hunt down a poet as her next victim?
Visited a museum of agricultural tools today. Amazing how much of the stuff that would look more at home in the hand of a Chaos marine or Dark Eldar torturer was used for quite mundane, even peaceful reasons. A three-pointed utensil that appears designed to yank a victim's heart out was merely used for collecting hay in lofts, a massive hooked spearhead that is easy to imagine dismounting and disemboweling a horseman in a single movement was instead used to catch tree branches, a grasping apparatus that would look more at home leaving exit wounds the size of a grapefruit was a fruit collector.
Also, the former French president was arrested on charges of corruption, set to a large media circus featuring lots of finger-pointing, whining, and righteous indignation, some by the same person. We're catching up to the US!
That's left ambiguous. Shrug of God, one could say. It's kinda like Sakuya, lot's of speculation, nothing concrete. Same with plenty of other characters.
"She's here, she works for this person. Done. Past? Dunno."
Personal headcanon is that she killed said poet though.
Also, on rereading P Mi SS, I realize that Akyuu doesn't know that Eirin, Kaguya and Reisen are from the moon. Don't know how that passed me by before.
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
What, really? Huh, that means only the protagonists, Moukeine and the power players (though maybe not all) know, then?
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
Yeah, the Eientei crew seem keen on keeping it a secret, but everyone involved in IN knows; barring Wriggle and Mystia it seems. And well, on Reimu's profile in the same book, Akyuu says she always gets really evasive when questioned about the eternal night incident. .
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
What about Remilia, didn't she go to the moon once?
Apparently George RR Martin was in Dijon today. Feels strange, a missed opportunity that isn't one since I don't follow the series.
Remilia was involved in IN...
Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya and Remilia went to the moon in Silent Sinner, got stomped by Yorihime, came back after awhile. They were merely a diversion in Yukari's own revenge scheme.
Yukari ends up playing when diversion no. 2, since Eirin had warned the Watatsukis, both of whom liked Yukari about as much as she liked them. As such, Toyohime went to Earth, and brought Yukari to the Earth as well. (Yukari was faffing about on the moon at that point.) Yukari had accounted for this, and so Yuyuko snuck into their dwelling while both sisters were occupied, and stole some of their sake.
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
And now, for one of my fav Touhou characters, the immortal saint/hermit/god we all know and love.
Imperial Taoist
Ability: The ability to listen to ten people at the same time
Threat level: Low
Human friendship level: Very High
Main place of activity: Elusive
A saint awakened from a long sleep. From the moment of her birth, she possessed extraordinary talents, and was one who was fated to surpass humanity.
She's capable of understanding ten people speaking to her at once, and giving precise replies to each. As a child, it is said she created statues of the Four Heavenly Kings out of Chinese sumac trees and built the Shitennou temple for them. As an aside, one anecdote says that she was born in a stable, but that seems to be merely a mild joke (According to her, "It is inconceivable that noble such as me would be born in such a smelly place."). note
Currently, she's a hermit who has surpassed humanity. However, it appears that she hasn't completely severed her connection to the secular world, and has a tendency to become involved with human society. This is most likely a remnant from her days as a ruler.
Her personality is unexpectedly casual, and she jokes around. But in a direct confrontation, not only does she display no vulnerability, but her opponent feels as if she sees through them completely, and feels awe.
Ability
Her ability is simple and unsophisticated, but a natural gift, and it is believed that she actually possesses other superhuman abilities. She could be called a natural-born superhuman.
Incidentally, it's not an easy task to comprehend listening to multiple people at once. I have the ability to remember every word I hear, but I can only remember them in sequential order. If two people talk to me at the same time, it often happens that I can only recall one or the other. Furthermore, I am only capable of remembering, so for one to be able to understand and reply was thought to be humanly impossible.
However, due to this, her ears are supposedly so sharp that it even makes it difficult for her to live a normal life. She wears earmuffs, an item for maintaining a tranquil mind by shutting out people's voices. Conversely, they can also be aimed to focus on a single faint, weak voice. One might say that her ears are her tools of the trade.
Moreover, she can read a person's desires to a certain extent from their manner of speech, expression, gestures, and so on, even if they don't directly put them into words. This is thought to be due to the power of her inference being far superior to a human's. In an instant, she can read what a person desires, and the main factor that caused the desire to shape the person. Her power is close to mind reading, but it differs in that while the latter reads a person's memories and current thoughts, the former reads their constitution and future.
Buddhism and Taoism
She faithfully practiced Buddhism, or so people thought, but to her, it was actually just a political tool.
Buddhism's goal is the release from all suffering. It must have been convenient in the world of politics, where it's necessary to strive for peace. Through their belief in Buddhism, the masses were convinced that rebelling against authority would not offer them any gains.
At that time, there was also another religion introduced along with Buddhism: Taoism. The fundamental concept of Taoism is to understand the natural universe itself, and to render it one's own. It's an attractive religion to ambitious humans, yet unlike Buddhism it's easy to imagine that the world would go into disarray if it ever spread. That's because in order to fell influential figures who have acquired power, one must overcome them with an even stronger power.
While she utilized Buddhism for political purposes, she longed for extraordinary powers. The power she wanted most of all was the same one countless figures of authority had desired: the power of immortality. Apparently, that was the reason she practiced Taoism, as the ultimate objective of Taoism is actually to achieve immortality.
Countermeasures
I've heard that many humans from the village wish to become her disciples. It's true that one's ordinary life would change utterly if one could acquire the arts of the hermits.
However, she doesn't appear to think of those disciples as anything more than mere servants, which is quite natural, as in terms of "hermit's disciples", they are just pawns or couriers. note
Therefore, even if you wish to gain superhuman powers as well, it seems it would be best to avoid becoming her disciple on a whim.
Also, supposing you've acquired powers like those of a hermit, Shinigami may make attempts on your life because of it. It can't be very pleasant.
Incidentally, she herself is cooperative with humans, so there's no need to fear her. If you're ever pursued by youkai, she should provide you refuge at her residence. However, the entrance is hidden and no one knows where it is...
edited 3rd Jul '14 12:50:07 PM by joergenjetsam
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
Missed the "involved in IN" part.
So she can read people's futures and desires? Could be useful in rooting out the better-hidden cult members.
edited 3rd Jul '14 12:37:32 PM by Chabal2
Pretty much. Her ability gives her an instant personality and background summary of a person, as well what their future is likely to be.
Here, from TD:
Miko: You are truly a wonderful human. I have much to learn from you. Well, there's nobody who doesn't have something they could learn, I suppose...
Reimu: How long have you been watching me?
Miko: I have looked back to before you were born to watch you.
Reimu: Hm?
Miko: I have seen your occupation as a youkai exterminator, but I have also seen your camaraderie with youkai. You are friends with the youkai monks who aimed to deny my resurrection, are you not?
Reimu: You mean Byakuren? She's just a business rival. (In a religious sense.) Anyway, what was that about looking into the past?
Miko: While I was alive, I had the ability to understand ten people's words simultaneously.
During my long sleep, I acquired the power of faith, and now, I can hear humans' desires.
Desire tells of a human's true character.
To understand the ten desires of a human is to know them fully.
In the past, the present... And the future...
Next, you say this:
Reimu: Hey, hey, wait a minute!
Give me a chance to talk, too! I've come all this way, you know!
Miko: There is no need for that. Because I have already seen through all of your actions. That's right, you will now bare your fangs at me. Without any reason to do so.
Reimu: That's right. Without any reason to do so!
Marisa's route is similar. Miko predicts that Marisa will fight her, then proceed to attempt to control the divine spirits which are actually vulgar spirits around them. Turns out, unless you can listen to all their desires at the same time, it's impossible to do so, as Marisa found out after a while.
Also, this profile contains a translation quirk that I loathe!
It originally said "Shitennou-ji temple". I've edited it to just "Shitennou temple". Care to guess why?
edited 3rd Jul '14 1:01:23 PM by joergenjetsam
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
-ji means temple/the extremely condensed form of a complicated insulting tirade involving one's progenitors and the extraordinary genetic variety thereof?
The first one...
But honestly, I either rage or die a bit inside whenever I see Myouren-ji temple. You'd be surprised at how many fanfics get that wrong.
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
The Sutra Chanting Yamabiko
Kyouko Kasodani
◊
Ability: The ability to reflect sound
Threat level: Low
Human friendship level: Extremely high
Main place of activity: Youkai Mountain, Myouren Temple
Youkai yamabiko dutifully reply whenever someone shouts at the mountains. They are your everyday youkai that have been around since olden times and can been found in any mountain.
They are bright and cheerful youkai that will respond to happy voices with a cheerful reply and return an equally furious retort at shouts of anger, but in recent years it seems their population has been declining.
This is due to the rumor that the truth behind the voices of the yamabiko are just the reflections of sound starting to spread among the humans of the village, so the number of humans who shout to them in the mountains has decreased. With many yamabiko losing their purpose in life, it seems they naturally became extinct.
Thinking she had no other purpose in this world, she entered the priesthood. She is now apparently training at the Myouren Temple. She says that her training is to sweep up the main gate every day. She has apparently memorized most of the sutras from hearing them from inside the templenote . Of course, she doesn't understand what they mean.
As can be surmised by looking at her big ears and short tail, she was originally an animal youkai. However, she does not possess any of the savage habits a carnivore does. Despite her speaking in a loud voice, she is comparatively timid, and when she encounters mountain climbers, she flees quickly. After that, she'll yell out from a distance "So? Were you surprised?". It is believed that ones who shout from far away are basically timid.
Incidentally, she is supposedly a well-behaved youkai when she's alone, but lately it appears that she has started to mumble sutras to herself. Perhaps she might be under a bit of stress.
A Collection of Yamabiko Replies
Yamabiko reply when you give a shout in the mountains. While the standard is to reply with the same words, there are special cases in which they reply differently. I've documented those I know.
"Ya-ho!" -> "Yahoo!" The basic form, replies in the pronunciation that they're used to.
"You idiot!" -> "What did you just call me?!" The adolescent form, also called the delinquent form.
"My apologies!" -> "No, it was my fault!" Adults have proper manners.
Yama!" -> "Kawa!" This is limited to Mr. Yamakawa.
"What time is it?" -> "Well, it's about...!" The wristwatch form, they know the approximate time.
"One plus one is...?" -> "..." The bad-at-math form.
Approach
Unless you initiate the attack, there's no particular danger. She's a youkai with an especially gentle personality. It should be fine to enjoy shouting at the mountains on a nice day.
Recently, she is often seen at the Myouren Temple, but avoid raising your voice there as it will cause a disturbance.
On the other hand, if you're too noisy you may end up attracting other youkai in the mountains, so use moderation.
Right... so regarding Akyuu's footnote. According to the wiki, it's based on a japanese proverb which goes "an acolyte stands before the gate, reads an unknown sutra." It means someone will pick up on things they're exposed to often.
Also, Kyouko has the highest Human friendship level out of the entire Myouren crew, which I like.
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable