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Sanae Kochiya
Sanae Kochiya kot͡ɕija sanae (♫) Sanae Kotiya | |
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 Sanae as she appeared in Ten Desires. Newbie Goddess of the MountainMore Character Titles | |
| Species | Human (not native to Gensokyo), descendant of a goddess, Arahitogami |
| Abilities | Causing miracles to occur |
| Occupation | Wind Priestess, Shrine Maiden |
| Location | Moriya Shrine, was originally from the Outside World |
Music Themes | |
| Show Music Themes | |
Appearances | |
| Official Games | |
| Show Official Game appearances | |
| Print Works | |
| Show Print Work appearances | |
| Music CDs | |
| Show Music CD appearances | |
Sanae Kochiya (東風谷 早苗 Kochiya Sanae) is a human, but is also a distant descendant of the goddess Suwako Moriya. Her role at the Moriya Shrine is similar to a shrine maiden, but with her inherited power Sanae has also become a minor deity herself. Originally from the Outside World, Sanae migrated to Gensokyo with the shrine and its two resident goddesses, Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya. As a result, she is rather knowledgeable about the outside world and modern living, although her attempts to explain scientific concepts usually just confuse the locals. Her knowledge on things like the youkai of Gensokyo, on the other hand, seems a bit lacking for a shrine maiden.
She was introduced in Mountain of Faith and later became a playable character in Undefined Fantastic Object and Ten Desires. She is a secondary character in the comic Wild and Horned Hermit.
Contents |
General Information
Personality
Sanae is confident, energetic and dutiful, sometimes too much so, and tends to get carried away easily or have trouble thinking for herself. She also appears to be something of a geek, making references to popular culture and having knowledge of advanced scientific concepts. As someone who grew up in the Outside World, much of Gensokyo seems strange and novel to her; she finds unusually great fun in exterminating youkai and solving incidents, seeming to view herself as the hero of a fantasy novel or videogame. Multiple characters have noted that Sanae's dismissive attitude towards youkai and youkai power makes her too much like a youkai herself.[1]
Abilities
Ability to cause miracles
Sanae is capable of invoking miracles through her godly heritage, and many of her spell cards are themed after miracles of various religions or odd events. The exact mechanics of this ability are unknown; it may be simply generic divine power and/or shrine maiden abilities by a different name.
Abilities as a shrine maiden
Sanae is a shrine maiden, but of a different type to Reimu Hakurei. Like Reimu she is capable of summoning gods, granting her some of their powers; while she relies on this ability much more than Reimu, she is only capable of summoning her patrons Kanako and Suwako.
Character Design
Name
The kanji used for Sanae can mean "rice seedling" or "early seedling", and Kochiya "eastern wind valley". The same "east" (東) appears in Touhou (東方), and the same "wind" (風) in Fuujinroku (風神録).
Unusually among Touhou characters, both are real names used in modern Japan. Presumably Sanae's name is derived from the real world person Sanae Moriya (守矢早苗), the 78th head of the Moriya family which claims descent from "Moreyashin" (洩矢神 the god Moreya, "Moreya" is an archaic pronunciation of "Moriya"). This family were supposed to succeed one of the priests of the Suwa Grand Shrine, Jin Choukan (神長官, God Director).
Design
In her first appearance in Mountain of Faith she wears a blue and white outfit similar to a shrine maiden's, with the blue areas covered in light blue polka dots and stripes. She has long light green hair, and yellow eyes (green in Undefined Fantastic Object and Ten Desires, blue in Touhou Hisoutensoku portraits). Wears a snake-shaped hair accessory wrapped around her hair on one side, and a hair clip shaped like a frog's head (both probably meant to represent Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya). She carries a gohei with straight paper decorations as opposed to the typical gohei.
In Ten Desires her hair color is slightly paler, and she wears a shorter skirt with maroon-colored boots instead of aquamarine-colored shoes.
Story
- Mountain of Faith
When humans on the Outside World began losing their faith in her and Kanako Yasaka, the shrine's actual deity, Kanako decided to move the shrine to Gensokyo where at least youkai might have faith in them. During the events of Mountain of Faith Sanae tried threatening the Hakurei Shrine in order to establish the Moriya Shrine as the dominant one, not realizing how powerful humans like Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame were. In response to the threats Sanae was defeated by the heroine followed shortly after by Kanako and Suwako Moriya's defeat. However, the residents of the Moriya Shrine have since come to an understanding with their new neighbors and live in peace with the other residents of Youkai Mountain.
- Main article: Reimu Arc
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- Main article: Marisa Arc
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- Subterranean Animism
- Main article: Reimu and Yukari Arc
<Insert Summary>
- Main article: Reimu and Suika Arc
<Insert Summary>
- Main article: Reimu and Aya Arc
<Insert Summary>
- Main article: Marisa and Alice Arc
<Insert Summary>
- Main article: Marisa and Patchouli Arc
<Insert Summary>
- Main article: Marisa and Nitori Arc
<Insert Summary>
- Undefined Fantastic Object
In each scenario of Undefined Fantastic Object, Sanae is ordered with a different task. Depending on this, her secondary bullet will become a snake or a frog.
- Main article: Sanae A Scenario
Kanako Yasaka's task is to to train her own abilities by hunting Youkai.
- Main article: Sanae B Scenario
Suwako Moriya's task is to to find the Treasure Ship.
- Touhou Hisoutensoku
- Main article: Touhou Hisoutensoku Story
In Touhou Hisoutensoku, thinking that a gigantic robot appeared in Gensokyo, Sanae is in pursuit of the giant figure, when she stumbles into a giant pit to the nuclear reactor run by Utsuho Reiuji and learns that Suwako Moriya is responsible for creating the "robot" figure, Hisoutensoku.
- Ten Desires
- Main article: Ten Desires Story
Sanae notices the strange spirit at the Moriya Shrine in Ten Desires and knows what they are: divine spirits, born from humans due to powerful fears, desires and feelings. She takes the opportunity to gather the divine spirits, as it is the same as gathering faith from humans. She can't, however, figure out why all these divine spirits have appeared in the first place.
Relationships
Sanae serves as the shrine maiden of Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya, and moved with them to Gensokyo. Sanae is also Suwako's distant descendant. During the events of Mountain of Faith, Kanako sends Sanae out to collect faith. Much like Yukari Yakumo's use of Ran and Chen, Sanae can summon Kanako and Suwako in her spell and skill cards in Touhou Hisoutensoku.
Sanae appears to have a friendly relationship with Reimu Hakurei, as she has been seen visiting the Hakurei Shrine on numerous occasions, both in the Prologue of Undefined Fantastic Object and in Wild and Horned Hermit; Sanae is even tasked with minding the shrine while Reimu is training with Kasen Ibaraki.
Sanae frequently meets Marisa on her visits to the Hakurei Shrine, and they seem reasonably friendly.
Spell Cards
| Name | Translated | Comments | Games | Stage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total: 23 | ||||||
| 秘術「グレイソーマタージ」 | Esoterica "Gray Thaumaturgy" | MoF Soku TD GoM |
St. 5: E/N Use Use ---- | |||
| 秘術「忘却の祭儀」 | Esoterica "Forgotten Ritual" | MoF Soku |
St. 5: H Use | |||
| 秘術「一子相伝の弾幕」 | Esoterica "Secretly Inherited Art of Danmaku" | MoF | St. 5: L | |||
| 奇跡「白昼の客星」 | Miracle "Daytime Guest Stars" | MoF Soku GoM |
St. 5: E/N Use ---- | |||
| 奇跡「客星の明るい夜」 | Miracle "Night with Bright Guest Stars" | MoF | St. 5: H | |||
| 奇跡「客星の明るすぎる夜」 | Miracle "Night with Overly Bright Guest Stars" | MoF Soku |
St. 5: L Use | |||
| 開海「海が割れる日」 | Sea Opening "The Day the Sea Split" | MoF Soku |
St. 5: E/N Use | |||
| 開海「モーゼの奇跡」 | Sea Opening "Moses's Miracle" | MoF Soku GoM |
St. 5: H/L Use ---- | |||
| 準備「神風を喚ぶ星の儀式」 | Preparation "Star Ritual to Call the Godly Winds" | MoF | St. 5: E/N | |||
| 準備「サモンタケミナカタ」 | Preparation "Summon Takeminakata" | MoF | St. 5: H/L | |||
| 奇跡「神の風」 | Miracle "God's Wind" | MoF | St. 5: E/N | |||
| 大奇跡「八坂の神風」 | Great Miracle "Yasaka's Divine Wind" | MoF GoM |
St. 5: H/L ---- | |||
| 秘法「九字刺し」 | Esoterica "Nine Syllable Stabs" Esoterica "Nine Character Pierce" |
SA Soku |
St. Ex Use | |||
| 奇跡「ミラクルフルーツ」 | Miracle "Miracle Fruit" | SA GoM |
St. Ex ---- | |||
| 神徳「五穀豊穣ライスシャワー」 | Divine Virtue "Bumper Crop Rice Shower" | SA | St. Ex | |||
| 蛇符「神代大蛇」 | Snake Sign "Orochi of Ancient Times" | Snake Sign inferred from Great Snake Swimming in the Clouds | UFO | Use | ||
| 手管の蟇蛙, 蛙符「手管の蝦蟇」(DS) | Wily Toad Frog Sign "Wily Toad" |
UFO DS |
Use St. Ex | |||
| 祈願「商売繁盛守り」 | Prayer "Charm of good Commerce" | Soku | Use | |||
| 御籤「乱れおみくじ連続引き」 | Omikuji "Random Omikuji Barrage" | Soku | Use | |||
| 蛇符「雲を泳ぐ大蛇」 | Snake Sign "Great Snake Swimming in the Clouds" | Soku | Story | |||
| 奇跡「ファフロッキーズの奇跡」 | Miracle "Miracle of Fafrotskies" | Soku | Story | |||
| 奇跡「弘安の神風」 | Miracle Sign "Divine Wind of the Kouan Era" | DS | St. Ex | |||
| 妖怪退治「妖力スポイラー」 | Youkai Extermination "Bewitching Power Spoiler" | DS | St. Ex | |||
Additional Information
- In Mountain of Faith, her spell card Sea Opening "The Day the Sea Split" is extremely similar to Alice Margatroid's second attack in Mystic Square's Extra Stage.
- One of Sanae's Spell Cards in Touhou Hisoutensoku strongly resembles Shin Akuma's "Misogi" from Capcom vs. SNK.
- In her last stage of Touhou Hisoutensoku, despite the fact that Sanae is fighting against Suwako Moriya, Sanae can still use skills summoning Suwako to her aid (e.g. Using Summon Earth's God: Metal Ring), to attack Suwako.
- In Touhou Hisoutensoku Sanae's character portrait shows her having blue eyes, but her sprite has yellow eyes.
- Also in Touhou Hisoutensoku, Sanae has alternate colors that resemble Rumia's, Fujiwara no Mokou's and Mystia Lorelei's outfits.
- Conversely, one of Reimu's alternate colors resembles Sanae.
- When in Wild and Horned Hermit a conversation occured about a "electric rat", a thought bubble showed up with a censored Pikachu from Pokémon.
Fandom
- Since the release of Undefined Fantastic Object and Touhou Hisoutensoku, Sanae's popular image has shifted from soft spoken and demure to markedly eccentric with her knowledge of robots, anime and enthusiasm for aliens.
- Mountain of Faith hinted at this eccentric streak long before Undefined Fantastic Object came out, but since this happened only in the endings it remained relatively obscure.
- Sanae's appearance in Subterranean Animism was unexpected by many. Due to that, the fact that she says "You can't let yourself be held back by common sense in Gensokyo, right!?", and her "Miracle Fruit" spell card sounding cute and girly while all of her other spell cards from Mountain of Faith sound much more stoic has earned her the nickname of "フルーツ（笑）" ("Fruits (lol)"), based on the "スイーツ（笑）" ("Sweets (lol)") label, referring to airheaded girls who follow fads without really understanding them. In other words, Sanae is seen as kind of a ditz.
- Another nickname among the Japanese fans is "絶対許早苗" ("Zettai Yuru-Sanae"), a pun of "絶対許さない" ("Zettai Yurusanai", or "absolutely unforgiving"). This is due to her aggressiveness towards youkai, particularly Kogasa Tatara. The nickname is usually combined with a picture of her smug expression from Undefined Fantastic Object against a yellow-and-red-striped background (the Flag of Macedonia), which is a parody of a famous meme of Futaba Channel, "Maji-resu", a serious reply to a troll/joke post.
- Some fans have diagnosed Sanae as suffering from Chuunibyou.
- Since Sanae is originally from the Outside World, some fans draw her in a schoolgirl uniform.
- Sanae is often shown in fanart as rather large chested, with a few characters being jealous, mainly Reimu and Sakuya.
- Sanae's sleeves are detached from her shirt, just like Reimu Hakurei's. As a result, it is possible to use Sanae as the subject of the "armpit joke" rather than Reimu. However, Sanae armpit jokes are rare compared to Reimu armpit jokes.
- Since Sanae's outfit is similar to Reimu's, fans often refer to her as "Player 2 Reimu" or "2P Reimu", a character who, just like in most computer games, will take over Reimu's position if Reimu (as Player 1) is knocked out.
- "Sanae is a good girl" has surfaced as a meme, in the English speaking community, as a result of page 29 from one of Happy Flame Time's comics, entitled Cold Wind but Warm Winter.
- Some Western Touhou fans have noticed that when Sanae moves horizontally in Undefined Fantastic Object, her pose resembles Superman.
- Because of Sanae's appearances in numerous titles, many fans in the west have drawn parallels with her to Aya Shameimaru and refer to her as ZUN's "other girlfriend". In addition, since Sanae is often seen as somewhat ditzy and large-chested, as well as the fact that she is strongly associated with both the miko and schoolgirl fetishes, various Japanese fans (including a number of doujin artists) also portray her in a similarly lascivious manner.
- The backlash is very slight but longer lasting compared to with Aya, mostly from people who are annoyed at the lack of Sakuya and those that are increasingly annoyed at how the Moriya Shrine is gaining plot relevance. This has some people mockingly joke that Sanae will become the new main character.
- Undefined Fantastic Object and Touhou Hisoutensoku have made Sanae rather popular though the true extent is hard to tell as she's been placed below the top 10 in recent popularity contests.
- Fangames where Sanae is playable often give her a "Faith Meter" which must be built up to use her more powerful abilities, based on her preparation spells in Mountain of Faith and her Kanako/Suwako gauges in Touhou Hisoutensoku.
Official Profiles
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○５面ボス 祀られる風の人間 東風谷 早苗（こちや さなえ） 種族：人間 一子相伝の秘術を持つ人間である。 元々は、風の神様を祀る人間だったらしいのだが、秘密の多い秘術で雨や風を降らす奇跡を起こしているうちに、周りの人間は秘術を行う人間自体を信仰するようになっていった。 つまり、風の神様が起こしていた奇跡を、いつの間にか人間が起こしていると勘違いし始めたのだ。 それにより、彼女ら秘術を扱う人間は人間でありながら信仰を集め、神と同等の扱いを受けるようになった。現人神である。 早苗は幼い頃から、口伝でしか伝えられていない奇跡を呼ぶ秘術をマスターしていた。子供でありながら奇跡を呼ぶ彼女は、多くの信仰を集められる――筈であった。 しかし、外の世界は大きく様変わりしていた。神徳の多い神様でさえ信仰する人間が激減していた。当然、人間でありながら神となった現<人神など、信仰する人間は殆ど存在しなかったのだ。
神様は信仰を失うと力も失う。神徳も出せなくなる。 神奈子は決断した。人間から信仰を集めるには限界がある。これからは妖怪の信仰を集める事も考えないといけない、と。 早苗はその具体的な計画を聞き驚いた。我が国には昔から『幻想郷』という世界があった。その世界は今でもひっそりと存在しているのだという。幻想郷では外の世界で失われた（幻想になった）物が集まる。
彼女は幻想郷の人間を正直なめていた。唯一の博麗神社を脅せば幻想郷自体、自分達の思い通りになると考えていたのである。彼女は霊夢に脅しを入れに行き、そして今回のように逆に痛い目にあってしまったのだ。 幻想郷に住む人間は、彼女が思う以上に厄介であり、そして力を持っている事を彼女は思い知らされた。 ここでは、彼女は特別な存在ではない。現人神なんかではなく、ただの人間となっている事に気付いたのだ。 |
Deified Human of the Wind
Species: Human A human who possesses the knowledge of a secretly inherited art. Wind Priestesses were originally a devotees of the wind god, but as they used their secret abilities to create miracles such as summoning the wind and rain, the people around them began to believe in these humans with mysterious abilities. In short, over time, people began to mistake the miracles caused by the wind god as being caused by them. In addition, as keepers of secrets, they began to accrue faith and be treated as gods, even though they were humans. They became living gods. When she was young, Sanae had mastered the secrets to call upon miracles that had been passed down through her family. A young girl that could call upon the power of miracles would certainly collect great amounts of faith --- one would expect. However, the outside world had changed a great deal. Faith in even gods with many divine virtues had been decreasing rapidly. There were few who would worship even a living god who had attained divinity during their life as a human. Though she didn't really have much faith, Sanae was able to live as a normal human without any real problems, but this would not do for the god she worshiped, Kanako. When people lose faith in gods, the gods lose their power. They can't manifest their divine virtues. This is the same as death, for a god. Kanako came to a decision. There were limits to the amount of faith that could come from humans. From now on, she would have to also look to youkai as a source of her faith. Sanae was surprised to hear the details of her plan: a world called "Gensokyo" has existed within our nation since time immemorial. It is said that this world still exists, hidden.
Gensokyo has collected a number of things that have become lost - or, become fantasy - in the outside world. One could say that even people's faith in gods is in the process of moving to Gensokyo. Sanae was afraid of leaving the world of humans, but as a person with the power to call on miracles, the anticipation she felt for going to a world of miracles outweighed her terror. She did not take the humans of Gensokyo seriously. She thought that if they threatened the only shrine in Gensokyo, the Hakurei Shrine, Gensokyo itself would submit to their every wish. She went to deliver her ominous message to Reimu, and then was in turn defeated. The humans who lived in Gensokyo were more troublesome than she'd imagined, and in time she learned of the power they held, as well. Here, she was nothing special. |
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○山の新人神様 東風谷 早苗（こちや さなえ） 種族：人間 妖怪の山にある守矢神社に住む巫女さん。妖怪退治は不慣れ。 普段は神様と妖怪達に囲まれて暮している為、人間の話し相手が欲しいと思っているが、麓の人間は妖怪染みた人間ばかり。 神奈子に言われて妖怪退治の真似事をしてみたり……幻想郷に慣れようとしている。 |
The Newbie Goddess of the Mountain
Species: Human The Shrine Maiden living in Moriya Shrine in Youkai Mountain. She is not used to youkai hunting. She wishes to talk to humans more, because she lives with gods and youkai, but most of humans living around the foot of the mountain are youkai-like humans. She is worried about becoming like them. As may be expected of a living god, she is as strong as youkai, but she is also somewhat innocent. She tries to do something like youkai hunting on Kanako's recommendation, and... she makes an effort to get used to Gensokyo. |
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○祀られる風の人間 東風谷 早苗（こちや さなえ） 幻想郷に来てから早二年経とうとしていた。 もう、多少の事では驚かないと思っていた。 彼女は、守矢神社から見える巨大な人影を見ていた。 その人影は、彼女には昔アニメで見た巨大人型ロボットに見えた。 しかし、ロボットと言うには動きが滑らかすぎた。 その事を神奈子に報告すると、それは「ブロッケンの妖怪」だと教えてくれた。 実際何らかの気象現象かなんかであろう、そう考えてしまう自分の思考回路が面白くなかった。 そう、アレは決して霧に映った影などではない。 |
Human of the Worshipped Wind Sanae Kochiya It had already been two years since she came to Gensokyo. At first, she was so frightened by the bizarre monsters that she simply couldn't perform the rituals of a shrine maiden, but now she had become familiar with them, and carried out her daily jobs without any discomfort. She thought that she wouldn't be surprised by some things any more. Of course, thinking like that in Gensokyo ensures that you will be surprised. That is Gensokyo's strong point, not present in the outside world. She saw the huge figure from the Moriya Shrine. The figure was far bigger than the shrine. She guessed that, to use a classical comparison, it was about as big as a ten-story building. The figure seemed to her like a giant robot from some old anime she had watched. But its movements were too smooth to be a robot's. The figure moved as if it were alive, occasionally overlooking the mountain, occasionally shooting a glare at the village. Then, it was suddenly shrouded in mist, and disappeared with an uncanny silence. When she reported it to Kanako, she told her it was the "Brocken specter." The Brocken specter is a meteorological phenomenon caused by a reflection of your own shadow on mist that seems to the observer to be a giant. In reality, be it a meteorological phenomenon or something else, thinking like that wasn't interesting. So she decided to think of that shadow as a giant robot attacking the village. Because that would make thinking about it more fun. That's right, that definitely wasn't a shadow reflected in mist. After all, the mist hadn't appeared until after the figure was already there. More than anything, though, because this was a place where nothing was too strange to happen: Gensokyo. |
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東風谷早苗 皮相浅薄な人間 少し前にできた、山の神社の巫女 |
Sanae Kochiya The superficial and thoughtless human The shrine maiden of the shrine that was recently built on the Youkai Mountain. |
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○山の新人神様 東風谷 早苗（こちや さなえ） 種族：人間 妖怪の山にある守矢神社に住む巫女さん。妖怪退治は不慣れ。 普段は神様と妖怪達に囲まれて暮している為、人間の話し相手が欲しいと思っているが、麓の人間は妖怪染みた人間ばかり。 神霊は神社にとって重要な霊。人間の信仰心を煽るにはこういった神霊を集める事が重要だと考えている。 |
The Newbie Goddess of the Mountain
Species: Human The Shrine Maiden living in Moriya Shrine in Youkai Mountain. She is not used to youkai hunting. She wish to have human friends to keep her company, since she lives constantly surrounded by gods and youkai, but most of humans living around the foot of the mountain are youkai-like humans. The thought of becoming like one of them eventually, is somewhat disconcerting to her. As may be expected of a living god, she is as strong as youkai, but she is also somewhat of a airhead. Divine spirits are very important spirits for a shrine. She thinks that in order to stir up the faith among humans, it is imperative that she must collect these spirits. |
Official Sources
- 2007/08/17 Mountain of Faith - Stage 5 dialogue; Character Settings.txt (official profile)
- 2008/02/09 Silent Sinner in Blue - Chapter 9
- 2008/08/16 Subterranean Animism - Extra Stage dialogue
- 2008/08/26 Strange and Bright Nature Deity - Chapter 22 (appearance only)
- 2009/07/28 The Grimoire of Marisa - Sanae Kochiya's Spell Cards
- 2009/08/15 Undefined Fantastic Object - Prologue; Sanae's scenario dialogue (A, B, A Extra, B Extra); Character Settings.txt (official profile)
- 2009/08/15 Touhou Hisoutensoku - Sanae's scenario dialogue; Sanae's Vs. dialogue; official profile
- 2009/12/30 Touhou Hisoutensoku OST - Cover
- 2010/03/14 Double Spoiler - Stage EX spellcard comments
- 2010/09/25 ~ current Wild and Horned Hermit - Chapter 2 ~ current
- 2011/08/13 Ten Desires - Prologue; Sanae's scenario dialogue; Extra Stage dialogue; Character Settings.txt (official profile)
- 2012/04/27 Symposium of Post-mysticism
References
- ↑ Double Spoiler Hatate's comment: Youkai Extermination "Bewitching Power Spoiler"
- ↑ "登場人物 [Character]" (in Japanese). Tasogare Frontier. http://www.tasofro.net/touhou123/chara.html.
- ↑ "キャラクター紹介 [Character Introduction]" (in Japanese). Ichijinsha. June 2011. http://www.ichijinsha.co.jp/special/toho_ibarakasen/.
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This page is part of Project Characters, a Touhou Wiki project that aims to write proper descriptions for all official characters of Touhou Project. |
