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Touhou Gumon Shiki ~ Perfect Memento in Strict Sense
(aka: Touhou Gumon Shiki)

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Touhou Gumon Shiki ~ Perfect Memento in Strict Sense (Literature)

Touhou Gumon Shiki ~ Perfect Memento in Strict Sense is a book written by ZUN and released on 27 December 2006, with illustrations by Aki★Eda, Genji Asai, Monoji Tsukuri, TOKIAME, Yagi Shinba and Yamai. It is a Universe Compendium containing lore about several Touhou Project characters and locations (specifically, those seen or mentioned throughout the first Windows generation, which spans from Touhou Koumakyou ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil to Touhou Bunkachou ~ Shoot the Bullet).

The book is written in-universe by Hieda no Akyuu (who was previously introduced in Yougakudan no Rekishi ~ Akyu's Untouched Score), a historian living in the Human Village who is the reincarnation of the historical figure Hieda no Are. She's the "Child of Miare", who reincarnates every 100 to 150 years to write a new edition of the Gensokyo Chronicle, but only lives around 30 years each cycle.

While some of the book's information is unreliable due to a combination of Executive Meddling, dubious sources and Akyuu's own biases, it is still a valuable resource for learning about Gensokyo and its inhabitants.

Perfect Memento in Strict Sense is accompanied by a one-shot manga titled Memorizable Gensokyo, in which Akyuu is visited at different times by Yukari and by Reimu and Marisa, as well as a CD named Yougakudan which contains 3 tracks composed in the PC-98, two of which are original and one of which is an arrangement of an unused track from Seihou.


This book contains examples of:

  • Ambiguous Syntax: The account for the Vampire Incident claims that the vampire had to be stopped "through the efforts of the most powerful youkai". Since "youkai" is its own plural (on account of Japanese not having distinct singular and plural forms for nouns), it's unclear whether the incident was solved by one youkai or several.
  • Darker and Edgier: Most of the series at this point had presented Gensokyo in a whimsical light, where characters engage in humorous antics and Non-Lethal Warfare, then get on good terms after the conflict is over. This book describes Gensokyo as a dangerous place, and youkai as fearsome and potentially deadly, even assigning characters a "threat level" and a "human friendship level".
  • Epileptic Trees: In-Universe. Akyuu comes up with a story about Sakuya being a former vampire hunter who became Remilia's servant after being defeated by her, and that Sakuya isn't her original name but one that Remilia gave her. However, all of it is explicitly pure speculation on Akyuu's part, and Sakuya's past remains a mystery to this day.
  • Executive Meddling: In-Universe. Many characters get Akyuu to rewrite their articles to make them seem more badass or fearsome, while in Memorizable Gensokyo, Yukari is shown visiting Akyuu and saying she wants to make some changes to her chronicle before it's released.
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: The draft for the Spell Card rules, contained in the book, contradicts the existence of nonspells in the games, since it claims that "combatants may not deliver attacks that do not have meaning".
  • Glass Cannon: Magicians. In her article about them, Akyuu claims that youkai magicians are very strong and can take on other youkai with adequate preparations, but that their bodies are just as frail as those of humans.
  • Leitmotif: The CD's second track, "Child of Are", is Akyuu's own theme.
  • Let's Fight Like Gentlemen:
    • Yuuka's article notes that she prefers to fight within predetermined rules.
    • The book contains the draft for the Spell Card rules, which establish the framework for dueling in Gensokyo and enforce Non-Lethal Warfare.
  • Retraux: The CD's tracks were all composed on the PC-98, the system the first five Touhou games were made for. The PC-98 had already been phased out when the book was written.
  • Universe Compendium: This book contains information on many of the characters and locations that had been introduced to the series at the time. Unlike most examples, the book also exists in-universe.
  • Unreliable Narrator: Akyuu's accounts aren't always accurate, and her entries on the various characters should be taken with a grain of salt. A lot of it has to do with various youkai getting her to describe them as more fearsome than they really are. Furthermore, in some cases it's Akyuu's sources that are unreliable, rather than Akyuu herself.

Alternative Title(s): Perfect Memento In Strict Sense, Touhou Gumon Shiki

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