• Welcome to Touhou Wiki!
  • Registering is temporarily disabled. Check in our Discord server to request an account and for assistance of any kind.

Youkai Mountain: Difference between revisions

From Touhou Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
mNo edit summary
Line 84: Line 84:


:During the events of the [[Wild and Horned Hermit#Chapter Four|fourth chapter]] of ''Wild and Horned Hermit'', the kappa living in the valley were approached by the members of the [[Moriya Shrine]] with the idea of engineering a dam. However, in their impatience and eagerness, the kappa caused a landslide and created a natural dam, blocking the river and risking a flood. [[Kanako Yasaka]] promptly handled the problem, and within no time the kappa began work on building a mechanized dam. It proved to be a fruitless endeavor however, as kappa do not work well in teams, and the project was cancelled.  
:During the events of the [[Wild and Horned Hermit#Chapter Four|fourth chapter]] of ''Wild and Horned Hermit'', the kappa living in the valley were approached by the members of the [[Moriya Shrine]] with the idea of engineering a dam. However, in their impatience and eagerness, the kappa caused a landslide and created a natural dam, blocking the river and risking a flood. [[Kanako Yasaka]] promptly handled the problem, and within no time the kappa began work on building a mechanized dam. It proved to be a fruitless endeavor however, as kappa do not work well in teams, and the project was cancelled.  
:During the sixth day of [[Impossible Spell Card]], [[Seija Kijin]] finds herself in the valley, where she first has a dialogue and a short battle with [[Mamizou Futatsuiwa]], and then confronts [[Aya Shameimaru]], [[Hatate Himekaidou]], [[Momiji Inubashiri]] and [[Nitori Kawashiro]]. Even after Seija]] left the area, the tengu spread rumors about her actions, making more people going after her.
:During the sixth day of ''[[Impossible Spell Card]]'', [[Seija Kijin]] finds herself in the valley, where she first has a dialogue and a short battle with [[Mamizou Futatsuiwa]], and then confronts [[Aya Shameimaru]], [[Hatate Himekaidou]], [[Momiji Inubashiri]] and [[Nitori Kawashiro]]. Even after Seija left the area, the tengu spread rumors about her actions, making more people going after her.
 
===Giant Toad's Pond===
===Giant Toad's Pond===
:The {{Nihongo|'''Giant Toad's Pond'''|大蝦蟇の池|Oo-gama no Ike}} is a small, mysterious pond that can be found halfway up the mountain. It was first introduced by name in ''[[Perfect Memento in Strict Sense]]'', and was later featured as a stage in ''[[Phantasmagoria of Flower View]]''.
:The {{Nihongo|'''Giant Toad's Pond'''|大蝦蟇の池|Oo-gama no Ike}} is a small, mysterious pond that can be found halfway up the mountain. It was first introduced by name in ''[[Perfect Memento in Strict Sense]]'', and was later featured as a stage in ''[[Phantasmagoria of Flower View]]''.

Revision as of 22:20, 13 August 2014

妖怪の山 (ようかいのやま)
Youkai Mountain
Youkai Mountain
Youkai Mountain as seen in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.
Location

Somewhere in Gensokyo

Residents
Appearances
Official Games
Print Works

Youkai Mountain (妖怪の山 Youkai no Yama) is Gensokyo's largest mountain and volcano. As its name implies, it is inhabited almost exclusively by youkai, primarily kappa and tengu, and where humans are generally not welcome.

Initially described in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, it later became a key location in Mountain of Faith when the Moriya Shrine was transported near to the mountain's summit.

General Information

Smoke rising from the mountain as illustrated in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense.

The Youkai Mountain is a rocky landform covered by a large expanse of forest named The Great Youkai Forest at its foot, with waterfalls and rivers flowing from the lakes at the mountain top. It is known to have been a highly active volcano in the past, but it has been a long time since it last erupted.[2] Smoke is still seen rising from the mountain from time to time. Commonly, when someone says "The mountain" ( yama), it usually refers to the Youkai Mountain.

It has served as the home of youkai since long before the time of man and is a high threat to humans.[3] Consisting of a close-knit societies of kappa and tengu, the mountain is closed off from outsiders and its inhabitants lead peaceful communal lives.[3] Outsiders that attempt to climb the mountain, youkai or human, are chased out relentlessly by the tengu patrols. Because no outsiders are allowed, and because the kappa and tengu keep their secrets so close, many things about the mountain remain a mystery to other dwellers of Gensokyo.[3] Additionally, the ruins on the western side of the mountain are inaccessible to both humans and youkai.[4]

There are rumours stating that there exists a large hollow cavity within the mountain, where a futuristic utopia just like the Outside World is being built, but the tengu's newspapers may not be telling the truth. The sun's light shines all day long there, and an automated factory produces the necessary items to meet the needs of everyday life, and the youkai drink sake while reading the newspaper and discussing the news, living blissfully. Within this hollow cavity, the forbidden act of opening a hole that connects to the outside world through the boundary is perpetrated, so other humans and youkai are not allowed to enter.

Geography and people

Their stable habitat has allowed the tengu and kappa to develop highly advanced technology.[3] Many technological facilities such as factories and research centers can be found here. Kappa facilities specialize in ironworks, creating weapons and tools, whereas tengu factories include printing presses for newspapers and other publications (Bunbunmaru Newspaper and Kakashi Spirit News among them).[3] The Underground Geyser Center, a facility where a variety of experiments and research projects are carried out, lies deep under the ground beneath the mountain.

Notable tengu that live here include Aya Shameimaru and Hatate Himekaidou (both Crow tengu), Momiji Inubashiri (White Wolf tengu) and Tenma, leader of the tengu. It is unknown exactly where the tengu's settlement is located on the mountain or what it is like, but it is most likely to be located high up the mountains above the waterfalls, near to where the heroine faced off against Aya Shameimaru in stage 4 of Mountain of Faith.

Bhavaagra, a realm within Heaven, can easily be reached from the mountain top, presumably due to its closeness to the sky.[citation needed]

Incidentally, the mountain was used in the naming of Aya's Mountain of Faith theme, Youkai Mountain ~ Mysterious Mountain.

History

Before being sealed inside of Gensokyo by the Great Hakurei Barrier, the mountain was known as Yatsugatake.[2] It was once much taller than Mount Fuji, but it was torn down in a fit of jealousy by the goddess Konohana-Sakuyahime, who couldn't stand there being a mountain greater than her own Mount Fuji.[2] Sakuyahime's elder sister, Iwanagahime, tired of her sister's attitude, moved to Yatsugatake and settled there, where she remains to this day.[2] The smoke rising from the mountain is produced by her,[2] but due to its long inactivity humans have come to think that the smoke comes not from the volcano but from the many factories located in the mountain.[2]

The mountain was formerly ruled by the oni, with the tengu and kappa as their subordinates.[5][6] However, due to the creation of the Great Hakurei Barrier and the rapid decline of dedicated oni exterminators, the oni grew tired of how uneventful Gensokyo had become and left the mountain.[5] With their superiors nowhere to be found, the tengu and the kappa were quick to take charge, with the tengu building upon what was left behind by the oni.[5]

The Moriya Shrine and a great lake named The Wind God's Lake were brought over from the Outside World some time before the events of Mountain of Faith. Its goddesses and shrine maiden caused a great disturbance among the mountain's original inhabitants, but the conflict was eventually settled and now they are accepted as residents of the mountain.

Locations

An area within the mountain seen in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.
The Untrodden Valley in stage 3 of Mountain of Faith.
The Giant Toad's Pond as illustrated in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense.
The Waterfall of Nine Heavens in stage 4 of Mountain of Faith.
The Wind God's Lake as seen in the final stage of Mountain of Faith.
Kasen's home as seen in Wild and Horned Hermit.

The mountain is composed of several sectors, settlements and landmarks.

The Great Youkai Forest

The Great Youkai Forest (妖怪の樹海 Youkai no Jukai) is a great forest located at the foot of the mountain. It is a dark forest that sunlight does not penetrate, and its atmosphere is heavy.[7] It was featured in stage 2 of Mountain of Faith with the theme The Road of the Misfortune God ~ Dark Road.
Hina Kagiyama, a curse goddess, lives here.

The Untrodden Valley

The Untrodden Valley (未踏の渓谷 Mitou no Keikoku) is a valley located at the very base of the mountain through which a river running from the Waterfall of Nine Heavens courses. The kappa's hideout, the home of the kappa as mentioned in Wild and Horned Hermit, lies somewhere on land in this area.[8] The Untrodden Valley was introduced in the 3rd stage of Mountain of Faith with the theme The Gensokyo the Gods Loved.
During the events of the fourth chapter of Wild and Horned Hermit, the kappa living in the valley were approached by the members of the Moriya Shrine with the idea of engineering a dam. However, in their impatience and eagerness, the kappa caused a landslide and created a natural dam, blocking the river and risking a flood. Kanako Yasaka promptly handled the problem, and within no time the kappa began work on building a mechanized dam. It proved to be a fruitless endeavor however, as kappa do not work well in teams, and the project was cancelled.
During the sixth day of Impossible Spell Card, Seija Kijin finds herself in the valley, where she first has a dialogue and a short battle with Mamizou Futatsuiwa, and then confronts Aya Shameimaru, Hatate Himekaidou, Momiji Inubashiri and Nitori Kawashiro. Even after Seija left the area, the tengu spread rumors about her actions, making more people going after her.

Giant Toad's Pond

The Giant Toad's Pond (大蝦蟇の池 Oo-gama no Ike) is a small, mysterious pond that can be found halfway up the mountain. It was first introduced by name in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, and was later featured as a stage in Phantasmagoria of Flower View.
The pond's water is said to have divine properties necessary for Shinto rituals, and lotus flowers can be seen growing on its surface.[9] There is a small shrine located near to the pond about which not much is known. It was built so long ago that no one knows who it was built by or for whom anymore. Humans sometimes leave offerings here.[9]
It is home to the Giant Toad, the protector of the pond. It is said to violently attack those who desecrate the pond, but be otherwise passive. It is said that he protects those who leave it offerings, and that a sign of its protection is to be trailed by toads.[9]

The Waterfall of Nine Heavens

The Waterfall of Nine Heavens (九天の滝 Kyuuten no Taki) is one of the many large waterfalls of the mountain. White Wolf tengu patrolers such as Momiji Inubashiri hide behind the waterfall watching for intruders and launching surprise attacks if any such are spotted. Stage 4 of Mountain of Faith took place along this waterfall. The theme Fall of Fall ~ Autumnal Waterfall is associated with this location.
It is likely the waterfall receives its name from Li Bai's poem "View of a Waterfall at Lushan", where the famous Tang Dynasty poet expresses his admiration of the majestic waterfall in Mount Lu:
Sunlit, the Incense Summit, aglow in smoke and steam;
To afar like a shimmering curtain, a waterfall hangs up-stream:
Rolling, flying, fluttering ~ plunging three thousand feet,
As if ‘twere the Silver River, falling from Heaven Supreme.[10]
日照香爐生紫煙
遙看瀑布掛前川
飛流直下三千尺
疑是銀河落九天
"Nine Heavens" is the literal translation of 九天 (Kyuuten), though the translator here has opted its metaphorical meaning "Heaven Supreme".

The Wind God's Lake

The Wind God's Lake (風神の湖 Fuujin no Mizuumi) is a great lake located at the heights of the mountain. It was transported into Gensokyo by Kanako Yasaka before the events of Mountain of Faith along with the Moriya Shrine, which is also located nearby. It was the location of the battle between the heroine and Kanako in the final stage of Mountain of Faith. The stage's theme is Cemetery of Onbashira ~ Grave of Being.
The lake is named after Kanako Yasaka who, although revered as a goddess of mountains, is in fact a goddess of wind and rain.[11]
Large pillars known as Onbashira (御柱) surround the lake's perimeter, and these are decorated with shimenawa and shide. Onbashira, literally meaning "honored pillars", are part of a festival held at Suwa Grand Shrine named the Onbashira Festival (御柱祭). It is held every six years at the shrine, and involves the replacement of previous wooden pillars with newly chopped ones.
As with the Moriya Shrine and the Suwa Grand Shrine, the Wind God's Lake is based on and perhaps intended to be Lake Suwa, although unlike the former there is nothing in its name to suggest a correlation besides the proximity between the lake and the Moriya Shrine.

The Moriya Shrine

The Moriya Shrine (守矢神社 Moriya Jinja) was among the things transported over from the Outside World into Gensokyo. Its inhabitants are Kanako Yasaka, Suwako Moriya and Sanae Kochiya. It was featured in the 5th stage of Mountain of Faith with the theme song The Primal Scene of Japan the Girl Saw.

Kasen Ibaraki's Mansion

Kasen Ibaraki's home lies somewhere deep within the mountain close by the Moriya Shrine. It is described in Wild and Horned Hermit as being a large mansion by Sanae, though Kasen herself refers to it as a dojo.[12] A scroll with the 8th stage towards enlightenment depicted in Ten Bulls, namely "Both Bull and Self Transcended", can be seen hanging from her wall.

Peony Field

Eirin Yagokoro grows a field of chinese peony somewhere on the mountain for pharmaceutical purposes.[13]

Books and articles

References