Their hats are still ridiculous.
If anyone has any lingering thoughts about the dancing queens, don't worry, they're still around, supporting our next focus.

Stages:
Open It Not, Gaze Not Upon It; Heaven Lies Hidden Behind the Door to Your Rear ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons
Ushirodo-no-Kuni
BGM: "Into Backdoor"
note
Theme: "The Concealed Four Seasons"
note
True Form of the Secret God ~ Hidden Star in Fifth Season
Ushirodo-no-Kuni (Again)
BGM: "No More Going Through Doors"
note
Theme: "Secret God Matara ~ Hidden Star in All Seasons"
note
Spellcard Motif: Secrecy, Seasons, More Secrecy
Sample Spellcards: HSiFS
Back Sign "Halo of the Absolute Secret God," Hidden Summer "Scorched Earth of Abnormal Ferocious Heat," Hidden Fall "Die of Famine," Hidden Winter "Black Snowman," Hidden Spring "April Wizard," "Hidden Breezy Cherry Blossom," "Hidden Perfect Summer Ice," "Hidden Crazy Fall Wind," "Hidden Extreme Winter," Secret Ceremony "Rear Shots of Betrayal," Secret Ceremony "Flames of Ena," Secret Ceremony "Sword of Seven Stars," "The Back Face's Dark Sarugaku," "Anarchy Bullet Hell"
Write-up:
The god of the rear door, hindrances, noh theater, silkworm breeding, outcasts, the Mother Earth, the disabled, stars, etc. Okina Matara has many roles she sometimes plays, but her main identity is as a god of secrets whose true nature is unknowable. Since "secret" isn't the same as "hiding," occasionally she feels the need to stir up some excitement to remind everyone just how mysterious she is. If that confuses you, mission accomplished.
Okina is the source of her back-up dancers' power to manipulate mental and physical energy, and more alarmingly can create and navigate a back door on anything, and anyone. These doors can then be used to distribute energy, allowing her to, for example, pump enough magic into a komainu statue for it to become a youkai. She's also one of the sages behind the creation of Gensokyo, and has been quietly working behind the scenes to keep the realm in balance. Which means that Okina could potentially unmake and rebuild Gensokyo at a whim, but so far she seems content with how Gensokyo is functioning, i.e. so well that no one can fully control it.
Relations:
- Satono Nishida and Mai Teireda (minions)
- Yukari Yakumo, Kasen Ibaraki (fellow sages)
edited 7th May '18 6:12:47 PM by Tacitus
Well, do note I might be rather negative here.
Okina is the third sage of Gensokyo we've seen now. A title she shared with Yukari and Kasen, and one that should bear a high expectation.
So far though, I feel she's not quite as impressive or important feeling as she should be despite the amount of hype(?) that went into her. Her claim to fame is being based off of the Matarajin (a deity that, as far as I know, is pretty obscure), implications of being enemies with a buttefly deity who is now a fairy, causing the seasons incident, and creating Aunn. Which are... things she did.
While being behind the fairly disastrous incident of Seasons was technically impressive and dangerous, we've had Perfect Cherry Blossom already which kind of makes the season incident feel less unique. Creating Aunn might be impressive in-universe, but there's no frame of reference on how hard it actually is (as far as I know). Her being enemies with Tokoyo-no-kami just makes the fairy more impressive instead of Okina.
It doesn't help that, so far, she's been a very "tell, don't show" character. What with a Co LA chapter having characters pause to basically hype up how amazing Okina is (I may be biased though) and a Wa HH chapter where she did it herself.
So, so far, she's not really making me go "whoa" or even stand out all that much. I don't dislike her and I'm probably misunderstanding things, but I'll need to see more of her in action before I can get any impression other than 'braggart backdoor lady'.
So, yeah, my thoughts.
Murdering time and space. Now on Twitter.I wonder what's the cause of all these sages coming out of the woodwork
For a while it was just Yukari and now Kasen and Okina are getting involved, sorta
Forever liveblogging the AvengersAnd then we'll learn that the least expected sage of all was
SinGyoku
Forever liveblogging the AvengersI nominate Genjii. And when someone tells Reimu this, she's like, "Who?"
That might be the point, though. Like, she wouldn't be a very good god of secrets if you plainly saw everything she did. But when she's surrounded by hype that's hard to pin down with witnessed actions, it fits her better.
Didn't the main thread make the comparison to a computer network's tech guy? Someone operating behind the scenes, performing essential services, with an almost absolute understanding of how everything works?
It was my impression that the impressive part of bringing Aunn to life was that it didn't cost her any effort to do so, just a moment's attention. She was saying, "I can do this with half a glance. Imagine what I could do with my full attention!" It's not hard to imagine Gensokyo imploding if all of the latent magic in everything roared out of its hitherto hidden back door.
(Incidentally, I imagine the doors hovering an inch or two from the character's backs, just because the idea of it being a part of their body is so odd.)
So why doors? I get that Okina's portals would appear behind people to keep them hidden, but why do they have frames, hinges and doors on them? Does that imply that she has more control over them than Yukari has with her gaps, or less? Or is it a matter of style, a way to differentiate herself from the gap youkai?
Hmm, we haven't seen Yukari and Okina in the same location at the same time yet, have we?
Okina Matara:
One of Gensokyo's grand sages. The avatar of many different things. Can open backdoors anytime and anywhere, unlocking the potential in anything. Has quite the ego.
Okina remains out of the sight of everyone while playing her part in maintaining Gensokyo. However when the time comes for her to show off how she is, she'll do it effortlessly and bombastically. Willingly throwing the seasons out whack shows that Gensokyo's in the palm of her hands. ...I'm wonder if she destroyed other universes...
So why doors? Style obviously. Doors can be majestic, and what better way to showcase amazing stuff like hidden powers and herself than giving the impression that something magnificent is being unlocked.
And I guess doors can be closed and locked, suggesting that something important is behind them but you just aren't worthy of seeing it. While Yukari's gaps close seamlessly, leaving no evidence there was ever a spatial distortion. Suppose that says something about Okina and Yukari's differing styles.
Come on in...
Quietly cheerful
Confident
A "challenge accepted" face if I ever saw one
Up to something
Glamorous
Dangerous
Lord of her domain
She has a harder time being casual about her portals than her counterpart
Stylized
Monochrome
A mysterious force, acting out of sight
If you have the power, you might as well enjoy it
Per-
sona!
Sometimes it's a mirror...
Other times it's a drum
Miss Door-Chair and the Shoe-Hatted Dancers
With vaguely-creepy back-up dancers
Teaching the little dancers
Having second thoughts
Maternal affection
Filial devotion
I would appreciate some context
But for this one, I don't think it's needed
It's not easy being the strongest
Hell comes to Doorspace
Now get in the van
Similar, but not mirrors
Cute portal monsters
Tension
A, uh, different kind of tension
The most colorful portal-based pairing picture you'll see today
Just imagine them as a Dual Boss
United in trolling
Worse, they made Reimu watch
She's gyate-ing at you from behind your back
Three-portal pile-up
Culture shock
A power beyond mortal comprehension
Slow day
Marisa turns off her targeting computer and trusts her instincts (animated)
So we've got the connection to Eternity due to the whole Hata no Kawakatsu/Matara-jin vs the Tokoyo god angle, and a link to a certain
Crown Prince
from a spell card and some thematic connections, and a relation to Kokoro
because Matara-jin has a connection to Hata no Kawakatsu. I'm looking forward to an updated Touhou character relationship chart.
edited 15th May '18 6:42:02 PM by Tacitus
It is weird how most of the characters seem to have some thematic connections to each other but then again, it isn't limited to Touhou as relations tend to be really complex in most royal families.
Edit: Also, I wonder what her relationship with Gensokyo is?
edited 15th May '18 11:21:51 PM by GAP
"Fan, a Mega Man character."The cat's outta the bag! Okina likes listening to these tunes.
Ominous Weather
Revolving Backdoor
Abyss Gazer
Concealed Hype
God of the Ultimate Secret
Gigant Turnwheel
Collected Fury
Unraveling Sage Arts
Looks like the second and fourth links go to the same song.
![]()
Well, Yukari's got the gap powers and helps maintain the Barrier. So Okina and her backdoor powers would let her... well, it's safe to say she can get in and out of Gensokyo without difficulty.
But I'm thinking that energy-manipulating stuff is more important, like maybe Okina is the plumber, or electrician, who moves magic around to make sure Gensokyo maintains a healthy level of background arcane radiation so all the entities in it can continue to exist. Or maybe she's a sort of conservationist, creating youkai to replenish their numbers and keep Gensokyo's ecology in balance.
A related question is what exactly Kasen brings to this Gensokyo Project, though maybe her Sage-ness is more an upper management role than troubleshooter.
edited 17th May '18 9:04:01 PM by Tacitus
Well, any last thoughts about Gensokyo's newest revealed Sage, before we wrap the thread up with a pair of poor, misfortunate gods?
Mine's to wonder whether a hypothetical fourth Sage will have a theme song that incorporates the same recurring riffs we've seen in Yukari, Kasen and Okina's themes, and whether studying them will help us piece together a grand Theme of Gensokyo.
My last thought is to wonder if the sages started out as a tabard-lovers association before branching out into a pocket dimension administration.
Also, all the tabard colors are all related to red one way or the other. Purple, pink, orange.
Murdering time and space. Now on Twitter.Obviously this means the fourth sage will be associated with just plain red.
Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.So could that color motif be an indication that the Sages behind Gensokyo's creation are moving backward, being left behind, from a modern point of view? Would a Sage with a blue tabard have a radically different viewpoint? And what kind of wacky minions would she have to compare with the shikigami, pet animals and shoe-hatted dancers we've seen so far?
Perhaps time will tell. Until then, empty your wallets and max out your credit cards for...


Theme: "Tonight Stars an Easygoing Egoist (Live ver.) ~ Egoistic Flowers."
Spellcard Motif:
Poverty and Financial Misfortune
Jo'on's Spellcards: Possession Stripping "Slave Robber," Poor Sign "Super Poverty Bomb," "Queen of Bubble," "Extortioner of the 80's"
Shion's Spellcards: Poor Sign "Mischance Scatter," "The Most Despicable and Disastrous God of Destitution and Misery"
Shared: Bad Luck "Welcome to the World of Destitution," Financial Ruin "Pluck Pigeon," Possession Exchange "Absolute Loser"
Write-up:
Twin goddesses of pestilence and poverty, respectively. The flashy and arrogant Jo'on is a parasite who attaches herself to someone, convincing them to blow through their money until there's no funds left to drain, at which point she moves on to her next victim. Shion on the other hand is an apathetic and dour deity who in theory is a guardian entity who saves people from dramatic financial reversal by siphoning away their overall wealth, but in practice is despised as a leaking repository of misfortune.
The Yorigamis recently caused trouble by using Perfect Possession to enhance their ability to rob people, which is to say Jo'on had Shion possess people to hit them with a crippling dose of misfortune. This had the unintended side effect of releasing powerful Dream Selves to rampage through the real world, but you might be able to spin that as additional misfortune. At any rate, the two were set straight by the usual method, and seem to have come out the better for it. Jo'on has learned to focus her swindling on those who can afford it, while Shion might have finally made a friend, if not learned to cook.
edited 21st May '18 6:33:20 PM by Tacitus
First off, I want to bring up that Joon (Jyoon?) is likely the first Touhou character to have a top hat.
Just from Joon (Jo'on?)'s portraits and sprites from Ao CF, we can tell she lives a really fast life. Dressing up all fancy and gaudy with knock-off brands and making a cute face before punching your face with a ring in every finger to mug your life savings. She also literally shakes money off of her targets.
She's so shamelessly criminal, it's amazing.
Murdering time and space. Now on Twitter.And she's the first local deity(?) with that sort of modern-ish fashion sense. And she directly references things like Japan's economic bubble popping in the 80's. So does Jo'on have some sort of Financial Catastrophe Sense that extends through the Border, or has she been popping in and out of Gensokyo as her whims take her? Or is she only picking up on outside events through hearsay, and her wardrobe was updated by the Youkai Tailor, who is the true Border-hopping mastermind?
Sumireko mentions that Joon's stuff is knock-off brands, so it's probably imported from the outside world. That doesn't mean she's familiar with the outside world though, which explains why it's all so tacky.
Perhaps she knows a guy who knows a guy who knows where to get this kind of thing. And obviously she'd be willing to pay any price; it's not her money, after all.
edited 23rd May '18 12:44:02 AM by Clarste
Dammit, Kourin. He's not just dealing in extra-Border contraband, he's peddling knock-offs!
So the AoCF script hasn't been fully translated yet, which is disappointing, because as soon as the Yorigamis were revealed to be poverty gods, there were
jokes about
the two of them being responsible for Reimu's financial status, or even the secret god(s) of the shrine. So I figured seeing her response to meeting them ought to be entertaining.
Pages like dis'un.
If there's someplace else I should be looking, I'll happily be corrected.

That would make sense. Both sisters could just be in an in joke how such characters are relatively flat characters who are more or less servants tot he final boss.
edited 6th May '18 12:13:16 AM by GAP
"Fan, a Mega Man character."