In conjunction with ZUN's wedding, Reitaisai staff have prepared a singing event for ZUN. For more info, please visit here
Hieda no Akyuu
Hieda no Akyuu Hieda no Akyu, Akyu Hieda, Akyuu Hieda | |
|---|---|
 Akyuu on the cover of Akyu's Untouched Score vol.5 Memory of GensokyoMore Character Titles | |
| Species | Human |
| Abilities | Not forgetting things seen once |
| Age | 18 (Born summer of 1994, current incarnation), over 1200 years since Hieda no Are |
| Occupation | Chronicler |
| Location | Human Village, Hieda house |
Music Themes | |
| Show Music Themes | |
Appearances | |
| Print Works | |
| Show Print Work appearances | |
| Music CDs | |
| Show Music CD appearances | |
Hieda no Akyuu (稗田 阿求) is the current "Child of Miare" (御阿礼の子), who is born in the Hieda family once in every 120 to 180 years with the ability to "not forget anything she sees" and record Gensokyo's history. She seems to like red tea and FM Synthesis music.
Despite her young age, her memory goes back 1200 years. It is because every "Child of Miare" of the Hieda family is a reincarnation of the previous "Child of Miare", who inherits the memories of the previous incarnates. She is the ninth reincarnation in the line. The lifespan of the Child of Miare is short, and each Child of Miare works on a written record of Gensokyo's history called the Gensokyo Chronicle. Perfect Memento in Strict Sense is the edition of this record that Akyuu is writing.
Contents |
Concept
Name
"Akyuu" is probably a pun on the Japanese word for 'nine' which is read as "kyuu" (since she is the ninth Child of Miare). Hieda means "millet field". The "Miare" in "Child of Miare" presumably refers to Hieda no Are (稗田阿礼), the oral historian credited with helping compile the Kojiki, Japan's first written historical record.
As seen in the Colophon of Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, the names of Akyuu's previous incarnations as Children of Miare (Aichi, Ani, Ami, Ayo, Ago, Amu, Anana and Aya) are all puns on numbers, with Are standing for zero (零, rei).
Appearance
Akyuu has purple hair and purple eyes and she wears a light pink flower-shaped ornament in her hair which matches flowers on her sleeves. Her outfit resembles a "wa lolita" type or a Japanese-esque maid outfit. It has yellow flower-patterned sleeves, a green vest, and a shortened hakama skirt separated by a red, white laced obi.
Story
Relationships
Keine's article in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense states that Keine has a close relation with the Hieda family, and Keine's uses their records for her lesson. It also reveals Akyuu is not a student at Keine's school. Keine's powers to erase and create history also do not affect the Hieda Family's Gensokyo Chronicles. According to Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth, Akyuu and Keine are acquainted with each other as fellow scholars.
Akyuu and Yukari first 'met' in Memorizable Gensokyo. Yukari's mannerisms when she states it seems to imply she is only referring to the current incarnation of Akyuu, and that she's known Akyuu in her previous lives (possibly as early as Akyuu's first life as Aichi 1,200 years ago). Akyuu looks up to Yukari, referring to her as the "sage of the youkai" with a bit of awe and respect, and she eagerly allows Yukari to proofread and edit the latest edition of the Gensokyo Chronicle. However, Akyu's written article on Yukari in Perfect Memento shows she's aware one can't always trust Yukari's word, and that Yukari's logic is not the same as a human's.
The Hakurei clan and Hieda clan appear to have some relations, as the Hakurei Shrine volunteered to hold a party in 1994 when Hieda no Akyuu was born in the Bunbunmaru newspaper article of her birth. It is unknown if Reimu was present at or born before this time (the earliest known year in Touhou that Reimu's been depicted was 2001 or 2002 in Curiosities of Lotus Asia Chapter 22, but Reimu's age at that time is not stated). Reimu's dialogue in Memorizable Gensokyo shows that she's been to the Hieda Residence before and is familiar with it, but has not met Akyuu in person prior to the events of that story.
Additional Information
Trivia
- Aya's newspaper article on Akyuu's birth states, "With her, there are now nine generations of the Children of Miare (Girl of Are, Boy of Are)." It thus appears that one or more of Akyuu's previous incarnations were male.
- Akyuu states in a footnote to the Bunbunmaru newspaper article of her birth that the only memories left from the past generations are those related to the Gensokyo Chronicles, and she states in her monologue that the memories from ancient times are very unclear. She does, however, retain even some memories of her ancestor Are (who was the first to have the power of Gumonji, the power to remember anything you've seen, who came before Aichi did).
- Memorizable Gensokyo shows that Akyu has several female human servants.
- Hieda no Aichi first started writing the Gensokyo Chronicles at age 18.
- She has a vague resemblance to the stage 4 midboss of Lotus Land Story.
Fanon
- A common nickname for Akyuu is 「あっきゅん」 or "Akkyun" similar to "Yukarin" for "Yukari." However, its resemblance to the "dokyun" of "DQN", which means "trolling and/or being stupid" (due to a popular TV game show in Japan), has led many to joke that it is "AQN".
- This may reference Akyuu's slight tendency to troll people via her descriptions of them in the Gensokyo Chronicle. An example would be what she writes about Marisa at the end of the "Memorizable Gensokyo" comic
