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Hermit
Hermits (仙人 sennin, literally "transcendent people" or "mountain people") are beings endowed with supernatural abilities acquired through their training of Shuugyoku. They may live for thousands of years but are not actually immortal, like celestials. However, although a celestial is a type of hermit, they are poisonous to youkai, though hermits of earth are considered a delicacy; a youkai who has eaten a hermit would ascend to a higher rank or form, and any ordinary animal that consumes the flesh of a hermit will become a youkai.
Hermits spend most of their days reciting sutras every sunrise and sunset. They consume very little food, and those older than 500 only have to ingest mist and haze to survive. Occasionally (about once every century), an assassin from Hell will attack the hermit; if the hermit has slacked off even the slightest in the pursuit of Shuugyouku, the hermit is immediately sent to Hell.
Since hermits have not completely discarded all their worldly desires, they would often come to help humans in need. It is said that some youkai exterminators become hermits as a result of their work.
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Sub-Species
Celestial
- Main article: Celestial
Celestials (天人 tennin, literally "heaven people") are a sub-class of hermits who reside in Heaven. An earthly hermit can become a celestial by further advancing their training, or a normal human can be transformed into a celestial directly.
Xian
Xian (仙, 仚 or 僊, Pinyin: Xian/Xiān/Xiān) is a Chinese word for an enlightened person. Xian shares the kanji 仙 with sennin, the Japanese word for hermits. Like hermits, xian are similarly long lived and develop roughly the same abilities, and are described by Victor H. Mair as such.
They are immune to heat and cold, untouched by the elements, and can fly, mounting upward with a fluttering motion. They dwell apart from the chaotic world of man, subsist on air and dew, are not anxious like ordinary people, and have the smooth skin and innocent faces of children. The transcendents live an effortless existence that is best described as spontaneous. They recall the ancient Indian ascetics and holy men known as ṛṣi who possessed similar traits.
Shikaisen
Shikaisen (尸解仙, Pinyin: Shījiě xiān, lit. "Escaped-by-means-of-a-stimulated-corpse-simulacrum Immortal" or "Corpse Untie Immortal") is a class of xian mentioned in Baopuzi. Considered the lowest level of immortality one can attain, it is required that a person "fake" their own death by substituting a bewitched object like a bamboo pole, sword, talisman or a shoe for their corpse or slipping a type of Death certificate into the coffin of a newly departed paternal grandfather, which deletes their name and allotted life span. Mortals who choose this route must cut off all ties with family and friends, move to a distant province, and enact the Ling bao tai xuan yin sheng zhi fu (靈寳太玄隂生之符 -- “Numinous Treasure Talisman of the Grand Mystery for Living in Hiding”) to protect themselves from heavenly retribution. So, the body is considered immortal, but immortality may only last as long as a sīmìng (司命) -- "Director of allotted life spans", lit. "Controller of Fate" allows, agents of death from the underworld can be fended off or life prolonging talismans found. Like hermits and celestials, it is not "true" immortality. Also like celestials, some shikaisen may also serve heaven.
Hermits in Touhou
According to Seiga Kaku's profile in Ten Desires, at one point in time, hermits of Taoism were common in her land in the outside world. During her conversation with Youmu Konpaku, Seiga possibly refers to Toyosatomimi no Miko's ressurection similar to the western propet Jesus Christ but of course claiming Miko's to be far more grand and divine. It is unknown if Seiga has witnessed this event or simply heard of it some time later, but if the first were true then this form of ressurection using Taoism or at least something similar may have been common throughout the old world (Or Seiga just wasn't impressed).
Japan appeared to be one of the few places around this area that wasn't sufficiently populated by the hermits of Taoism presumably due to the Yaoyorozu no Kami of Shinto and the more recent arrival, the Buddhist who were fighting eachother for supremacy. Taoism seemed to have disolved more successfully into Japan than Buddism because its' concept of immortality appeared to be more appealing.
It is known from Wild and Horned Hermit and Oriental Sacred Place that hermits are allys of humans.
Byakuren Hijiri believes that there are probably a number of hermits among the tengu.
Characters under this Bestiary
- Kasen Ibaraki
- Tenshi Hinanawi (Celestial)
- Seiga Kaku (Shikaisen/"Wicked" Hermit)
- Mononobe no Futo (Shikaisen)
- Toyosatomimi no Miko (Shikaisen/Saint)
