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Yukari Yakumo

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八雲 (やくも)   (ゆかり)
(♫)
Yukari Yakumo
Yukari Yakumo
Yukari Yakumo in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
幻想の境界
More Character Titles
Species

Youkai

Abilities

Manipulation of all boundaries

Age

At least 1,200 years old, older than the history of Gensokyo itself

Occupation

Unknown; she sleeps most of the time

Location

Somewhere along the boundaries of Gensokyo

Music Themes
Appearances
Official Games
Print Works
Music CDs

Yukari Yakumo (八雲 紫 Yakumo Yukari) is the youkai of boundaries who is often seen and referenced. She was first introduced in Perfect Cherry Blossom as the sleepy mistress of Ran Yakumo. During Imperishable Night Yukari teams up with Reimu Hakurei to find those responsible for the fake moon. In Immaterial and Missing Power she actually sings her way from battle to battle stealing everyone's sake, wine, and brandy. Even right from the shrine's altar... however, this is all part of her strategy to save the day. Somehow.

Concept

Name

Her full name is Yukari Yakumo (八雲 紫) The characters for Yakumo (八雲) literally mean "eight clouds" (but can also mean "countless clouds"), and Yukari () could mean "violet".

Chapter 26 of Curiosities of Lotus Asia reveals that Yukari gave herself that name, and Perfect Memento in Strict Sense implies that Yukari didn't have that name 1,200 years ago.

Colors

All of the Yakumo family are named after colors. The light frequencies (energies) of the colors are proportional to their powers: Chen (orange) << Ran (indigo) < Yukari (violet). The energy of violet light is the highest in the visible spectrum, and violet light is the boundary between visible and invisible light. Red light (the symbolic color of Remilia Scarlet or Reimu Hakurei) is another boundary, but they are stronger than Chen. Fittingly, when Reimu and Yukari team up in Imperishable Night, they are called the "Boundary Team". In addition to maintaining the Hakurei Barrier, their colors form the two boundaries between visible and invisible light. In addition, the word "yukari" is uncommonly used to mean "border" or "edge", albeit with a different character.

Occasionally, double rainbows form after rainfall—there's the rainbow one usually sees (red on the top, and violet at the bottom), and another, larger, fainter one above it. The colors on the second rainbow are reversed—red on the bottom, and violet at the top. In other words, the outside edges of the rainbow are violet—or, put another way, violet forms the boundary between the sky and the rainbow. Thus, Yukari's given name strongly signifies the idea of boundaries.

Ancient poem

Yakumo also comes from the first ancient poem written in what would become the Japanese "Tanka" form:

"Yakumo tatsu / Izumo yagegaki / Tsuma-gomini / Yaegaki tsukuro / Sono yaegaki wo"
Definitely in keeping with the character's origin/age in the storyline. The translation into English is:
"Eightfold rising clouds/ Build an eightfold fence / An eightfold Izumo fence / Wherein to keep my bride-- / Oh! splendid eightfold fence."
This poem was attributed to the god Susanoo. Interpretations vary as to the meaning of the poem.


Yukari's name is thoroughly analyzed in chapter 26 of Curiosities of Lotus Asia by Rinnosuke. However, Rinnosuke implies at the end that there may be even more meanings hidden in it.

An illustration of Yukari in The Grimoire of Marisa.

Appearance

In her latest appearance, in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, she had dark golden eyes, long blond hair coiled up into her white mob cap and usually carries a pink parasol. She wears a pink and purple dress, and a pink mob cap with a thin red ribbon tied in the front.

Past appearances

Her first appearance in Perfect Cherry Blossom shows her having purple eyes and long blond hair. She carries a pink lace parasol and a paper fan and rides on a red boundary to unknown destination. She wears a deep purple dress, a pink mob cap, and red ribbons tied liberally on her accessories.

Her appearance in Imperishable Night doesn't differ much from the fighting games. But her hair isn't coiled up into her white mob.

Hexagram

The outfit Yukari wears in Immaterial and Missing Power, Imperishable Night, and Scarlet Weather Rhapsody has two groups of solid/broken lines called trigrams on the front. A solid line represents Yang and a broken line is Yin. The top trigram () is "dui" or "tui" (open) and is associated with west and water. The bottom trigram () is "kūn" (field) and is associated with southwest and earth, as well as Yoni (divine passage). The two trigrams together in that order form the hexagram for "clustering," "gathering together," and "finished." Sounds more fitting for Suika in a way...

The hexagram "Ts'ui" formed by the combination of "tui" and "kun" results in a meaning of gathering together to persevere towards a destination. This hexagram signifies also great wisdom which is necessary for leadership when directing an assembly together to create overall prosperity for everyone (for example a ruler). Yukari herself can be seen as an overseer of Gensokyo. Her ability to create borders would definitely give her the ability to bring everyone together (perhaps by force) while maintaining the harmony of the "created" world. Maybe this design was a critique on her abilities?

Personality

Yukari is known for being a very youkai-like youkai who sleeps all day and lives for the enjoyment of life. Though she rarely leaves her house, she's well-connected and is acquainted with most of the most powerful youkai (such as Suika and Yuyuko) as well as anyone having anything to do with the Hakurei border or the outside world (Reimu and Rinnosuke). She's possibly the most powerful youkai in Gensokyo and has a tendency to toy with her opponents rather than use her full power from the start. If anyone is suited for the role of "mastermind" it's Yukari, and she often has a great deal of insight and understanding about whatever happens in Gensokyo, and possesses considerable intellectual prowess, as well. Though she seems flaky and unreliable most of the time, when the safety or security of Gensokyo is at stake, she won't hesitate to get involved, even if it means using others to do the work for her. For example, in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, she treats Tenshi Hinanawi with much hostility after finding out the plot of the Heavens. She could easily be either a villain or a heroine, depending on her whims.

According to Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, she has no weaknesses but fortunately seems to rarely attack humans. And she is extremely intelligent and good at mathematics, as well as being very experienced due to her long life.

Yukari manages quite a few things for Gensokyo behind the scenes, be it contracts and deals or manipulating others to act to resolve things for her. She seems to rarely act directly except in particularly egregious situations. In all cases, she rarely lets anyone know what her true aims or goals are, and sometimes these goals are extremely abstract, such as the need to extract a residence tax from aliens simply because they chose to live as humans and paying taxes is a human thing. She may be forcefully taking peoples' sake because she has a greater goal in mind (that she won't tell anyone about), or she may (apparently) be doing something simply for her own amusement such as stealing food, taking game devices, or asking people strange questions just to see what their response is. Sometimes she has a greater goal in mind, and sometimes she doesn't, and she's never telling anyone what exactly is going on. This has led to Yukari getting a well-deserved reputation of being fickle, whimsical, and lying often, and thus many characters in Gensokyo dislike her. For whatever reason, Yukari takes it all in stride and does not seriously deny any of those comments. She even seems to actively try to keep her more obviously-altruistic actions a secret, such as her donations to the Hakurei Shrine in Strange and Bright Nature Deity.

Understanding of technology

In Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 of Curiosities of Lotus Asia, when Rinnosuke had an iPod in his shop, only Yukari knew how to actually use it, and further knew that it was considered a trendy item in the outer world. She similarly knew about the Nintendo Game Boy and DS.

Because of her understanding of technology from the outside world, there are rumours that she lives in the outside world from time to time. It is confirmed that she at least visits there. Reimu mentions in Curiosities of Lotus Asia Chapter 24, that Yukari told her that she gets to enjoy twice the amount of cherry blossom viewings a year because she also goes to watch the blossoms in the outside world, which occurs at a different time from Gensokyo's. In addition, Yukari at the end of Chapter 25 of Strange and Bright Nature Deity is shown viewing the Hakurei Shrine from the outside world (some panels focus specifically on pointing out there are cars driving by).

Marisa once stated that Yukari uses a small box to talk to her shikigami when they are far away from her, which led Rinnosuke to believe that she owns a cell phone (at least two, really). She has given characters cell-phone-like devices in Subterranean Animism.

Story

Perfect Cherry Blossom
Immaterial and Missing Power
Imperishable Night
Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
Subterranean Animism
Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red
Main article: Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red/Yukari

After hearing a fox's cry, Aya Shameimaru went to investigate. She found Yukari beating Ran Yakumo over the head with an umbrella, which Yukari claimed was only for disciplining her. Because Aya is a crow tengu, she feels animal rights are important and was upset by Yukari's "animal abuse."

During the interview Yukari insisted that it was not animal abuse because Ran is a shikigami, which Yukari considered to make her no longer count as being an animal. Yukari explained that as long as a shikigami follows its master's will then it will be as strong as its master. Ran had apparently disobeyed Yukari by doing something she hadn't been ordered to do. Because of that Ran wasn't as strong as she could be and ended up putting herself in danger while relying only on her own strength. This discipline was meant to remind Ran just who her master is so that Ran won't needlessly be in danger by fighting at less than full strength. Aya didn't think that excused it at all.

Yukari also called the Bunbunmaru Newspaper a shoddy paper and offered to make Aya her shikigami too, which Aya refused.

Backstory

Over a thousand years ago, Yukari organized an army of youkai and led them in an invasion of the Moon. The youkai were subsequently routed by the Lunarians, who possessed superior technology and magic, and forced to retreat to Earth. Since that time, no youkai have attempted to expand their territory beyond Gensokyo. While some speculate that Yukari organized the invasion out of selfish hunger for territory and power, others believe she did it to teach the youkai a lesson about starting wars of conquest; namely, that it was a bad idea.

About a thousand years ago, Yukari met and became friends with a human girl named Yuyuko. After Yuyuko died, Yukari continued to be friends with Yuyuko's ghost, although Yuyuko gradually forgot who she had been and why she had died. When Yuyuko requested that Yukari use her power to weaken the border between the Netherworld and Gensokyo, Yukari obliged. She knew Yuyuko's plan to make the Saigyou Ayakashi bloom could never succeed, but was too busy sleeping to say or do anything about it, or to put the border back to normal after everything was finished, which put her on a collision course with the heroines.

Yukari's Sigil in The Grimoire of Marisa.

Relationships

Reimu Hakurei

Yukari is both a friend, employer, and mentor to Reimu. She is a friend as she regularly visits Reimu at the Hakurei Shrine. This is implied or stated in many official works, such as her article in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense where she steals food from Reimu every once in a while, Curiosities of Lotus Asia where she sticks around Reimu's shrine for at least an extra month into the winter even when she is supposed to be hibernating, and is depicted amongst several other characters when Reimu complains about youkai visitors to her shrine in Wild and Horned Hermit. She is an employer as she has given Reimu several missions as the backstory of several games (Subterranean Animism as well as Imperishable Night) and Silent Sinner in Blue, and an offhand comment in the first stage of Imperishable Night shows she compensated Reimu for that. She is a mentor because she is often teaching Reimu not just about Gensokyo (though she does that a lot, too, which is shown several times in Oriental Sacred Place) but also how to do her job as Hakurei Maiden. For example, showing up when Reimu purposefully damages the barrier in Curiosities of Lotus Asia, reminding Reimu of her youkai-crushing duties at the end of the extra stage in Imperishable Night), and making Reimu train hard in preparation for a job in Silent Sinner in Blue (The latter is admittingly rare for her to do, as pointed out in Curiosities of Lotus Asia). Yukari appears to have known of Reimu before the Phantasm stage of Perfect Cherry Blossom, but the events of that game were the first time they met in person (or at least, the first time Reimu saw Yukari). She seems to be secretly looking after Reimu in other ways, as chapter 23 of Strange and Bright Nature Deity shows that Yukari sneaks yen donations into the Hakurei shrine's donation offering box when Reimu isn't looking (Marisa spots Yukari doing it, but doesn't say anything). Like most characters, Reimu finds Yukari extremely annoying (possibly even more so given that Yukari bosses her around), commenting in chapter 11 of Curiosities of Lotus Asia, "She just comes to the shrine when I don’t want her to, and of course, sometimes she doesn’t come when I don’t want her to."

Ran Yakumo

Ran is Yukari's main shikigami and possibly her only one, depending on whether Zenki and Goki are Ran's shikigami, or if they're Yukari's instead. Yukari is generally very strict about keeping the relationship on a user-to-shikigami level, and is more than willing to physically discipline Ran when Ran 'forgets' she is a shikigami (purely out of love, according to Yukari). This relationship is analogous to a user and its computer in the outside world, and Yukari insists heavily whenever asked that Ran is not a fox, but is a tool to be used. Even in Yukari's own thoughts and from her own perspective, she constantly refers to Ran in computer terms, such as programming her shikigami and debugging it, but Ran is still meant to be more advanced than a computer, so Yukari sometimes attempts some philosophical discussion or non-lateral thinking with Ran from time to time. [1] With that said, she still loves Ran very much, albeit in terms of how one would love a tool that they own. Using a tool often and keeping it in good shape (by "disciplining it such as whacking Ran over the head with an umbrella when she acts of her own initiative, which a computer is not supposed to do) are all things one does to show how much they love their shikigami (at least, according to Yukari). For her part, Ran accepts this and seems satisfied with her lot in life. It appears that Ran came to be Yukari's shikigami because of all the power it promised, and is quite satisfied with the result despite losing her freedom. [2] Yukari is also the one that gave Ran her current name. As stated in her profile as well as various dialogues in official works, Ran does tend to "forget" she is a shikigami, however, and sometimes takes matters into her own hands without Yukari ordering it. This can't really be helped because of how often her master is asleep.

Chen

Ran also has a shikigami named Chen. As Ran's shikigami, Yukari may borrow Chen's power too, as displayed by some of her spell cards in Immaterial and Missing Power and it is stated that Chen follows the will of both Ran Yakumo and Yukari Yakumo in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense. However, it is unknown to what extent Yukari interacts with Chen, as there has never been a canonical moment where the two have interacted in any official work. Even in Oriental Sacred Place chapter 12 at a youkai festival at the Hakurei Shrine, Ran is shown to be with Chen while Yukari was actually at a booth at the completely opposite side hanging out with her friend, Suika. The closest thing to give any indication of how Yukari views Chen is one line in Subterranean Animism, which seems to indicate that Yukari views Chen as both Ran's shikigami and their pet (likely because Chen tends to "forget" she is a shikigami so often) [3] Chen also hasn't ever been referred to as "Chen Yakumo" in any official work, unlike Ran Yakumo (even when "Chen" and "Ran Yakumo" show up in the same sentence, like in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense).

Yuyuko Saigyouji

Yukari was friends with Yuyuko even while Yuyuko was alive more than a thousand years ago, and continued to be Yuyuko's friend even after she became a ghost. Yuyuko seems to be the only one who truly understands Yukari, as she immediately catches on to what Yukari is trying to accomplish in Silent Sinner in Blue and Immaterial and Missing Power and Yukari knows this as well, trusting that Yuyuko will know what to do despite not directly stating it (in Silent Sinner in Blue) and not bothering to tell Yuyuko what she's missing because Yuyuko should already know, unlike every other character (in Yukari's win quote to Yuyuko in Immaterial and Missing Power). The two don't think exactly alike, however, which results in Yuyuko sometimes acting in ways that surprises Yukari (such as stealing sake from the moon instead of an extremely valuable treasure. ...or forgetting what she ate for breakfast when Yukari asks her about the flower blooming incident in A Beautiful Flower Blooming Violet Every Sixty Years. The latter appears to have resulted in Yukari venting this frustration to Akyuu for Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, since it is unknown how else Akyu would have come across such a fact about Yuyuko). Yukari is willing to do favors for Yuyuko such as weakening the boundary between the Netherworld and Gensokyo, although she never actually fixed it afterwards despite Yuyuko asking her to do so (Yuyuko may not have pressed the issue very much). Of note is that this friendship between Yuyuko and Yukari does not extend to Yukari's shikigami Ran, and Yuyuko does not mind Reimu, Marisa, and Sakuya beating Ran up[4]

Suika Ibuki

Suika is another one of Yukari's old friends, from before the oni went underground. Yukari cares about Suika, as shown in her storyline in Immaterial and Missing Power where attempts to stop Suika because she's worried that if Suika goes too far, the wrong type of people will find out and they won't be as forgiving as Yukari is. Suika is also willing to do favors for Yukari such as rebuilding the Hakurei Shrine for her and the two have danmaku battles with each other to pass the time, as shown in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody. In Oriental Sacred Place Chapter 12, Yukari was also seen together with Suika at the New Year's Festival at the Hakurei Shrine. Being an oni, Suika does tend to get annoyed with Yukari's "dirty tricks", but the anger never extends beyond Suika making a brief comment about such things being dirty. It is unknown how or whenwho Yukari and Suika first came to be friends, especially given Yukari's dishonest nature (although Suika herself is stated to be slightly less honest than other oni). As an aside, in Immaterial and Missing Power, Suika states to Alice that Yukari was able to resist her power to gather, and states to Youmu not to trust Yukari because her very existance was fraudulent. The latter could be either simple snarkiness, or an indication of just how much Suika actually knows about Yukari (who's existance could be called a fraud in most theories of her origins).

Youmu Konpaku

As the friend of her master, Youmu respects Yukari very much. As shown in Immaterial and Missing Power as well as Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, Yukari meanwhile attempts to help Youmu improve by giving Youmu hints in Youmu's investigations and letting Youmu figure out the rest instead of just outright stating the answer.

Rinnosuke Morichika

Rinnosuke is a business partner of sorts with Yukari after chapter 11 of Curiosities of Lotus Asia. The relationship has been a long one involving 'monthly fees', and Yukari has taken several other objects 'arbitrarily' which she has never returned. Yukari provides Rinnosuke fuel for his heater in exchange for various other items from the outside world, typically electronic entertainment devices, confirmed cases being an iPod and a Gameboy. Whether this is because Yukari enjoys such things, or because such things could somehow dangerous in the hands of a native of Gensokyo, as displayed when the iPod actually made Rinnosuke cross to the Outside World through his thoughts, is unknown (the danger of the Gameboy was likely just a hilarious misunderstanding by Rinnosuke, but there could also possibly be some underlying truth to his fears regarding the device, which would expain why Yukari took it considering what the iPod did to him). As Yukari has stated that no matter what the fuel type was, she would be able to get an unending supply of it (which would logically mean she probably would be able to get a Gameboy whenever she wanted to, also), there might be an ulterior reason why she'd bother with this business relationship in the first place. For his part, Rinnosuke would prefer to not have to interact with Yukari (who tends to be frustrating to deal with), but he doesn't really have much choice when he needs fuel for his heater. Rinnosuke has commented in Chapter 26 of Curiosities of Lotus Asia that although he realizes he owes her a lot for keeping Gensokyo and the Outside World separate, he doesn't like her because whenever she's around it's as if she's looking right through him.Interestingly enough, as mentioned with the iPod, Rinnosuke has once shown the ability to traverse the border to the Outside World in his dreams while leaving his thoughts in Gensokyo. The other time this was depicted in an official work was when Maribel Hearn did the same thing, albeit in reverse (with her travelling to Gensokyo in her dreams), and her friend Renko Usami had to make a choice that would either allow Maribel to stay in Gensokyo by telling her it was real, or stay in the Outside World by telling her Gensokyo was an illusion. In this case, Yukari chose the "tell Rinnosuke the whole thing was just an illusion" option, which would keep him in Gensokyo (the options were reversed in Renko's case), and the next chapter shows she (or something else) may have possibly manipulated Rinnosuke's memories on the matter to keep it that way.

Marisa Kirisame

Marisa first met Yukari in the Phantasm stage of Perfect Cherry Blossom, where she went after Yukari to get her to repair the boundary between Gensokyo and the Netherworld. All it resulted in, however, was Yukari playing a prank on Marisa by keeping Marisa up way past bedtime. Since then, Yukari drops by Marisa's house randomly, as pointed out by an annoyed Marisa in Seasonal Dream Vision and implied in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, where Marisa complains that Yukari never uses the door. In the case of Seasonal Dream Vision, it was because Yukari was curious as to Marisa's thoughts on the matter regarding the flower incident, so presumably many of Yukari's other visits to Marisa are for her own amusement, as well. Marisa for her part would rather not have to deal with Yukari (like most other characters). In Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, Marisa comments that running into Yukari was a greater misfortune than running into the tengu and decides not to sneak into heaven just because Yukari is going there. She is still willing to go after Yukari in the case of suspected incidents, however, as shown in her storyline for Immaterial and Missing Power as well as her attacking Yukari in the Boundary Team's storyline in Imperishable Night.

Remilia Scarlet

Yukari uses Remilia as part of her scheme to extract the residence tax and get revenge on the Lunarians in Silent Sinner in Blue. She has never referred to Remilia by name, but only refers to Remilia as "the vampire" (or collectively, "the vampires", sometimes, depending on how things are translated). Remilia herself seems to have an unexplained rivalry of sorts with Yukari, as she wanted to get to the Moon in her own way to get there before Yukari can and surprise Yukari. This rivalry might be due to the power struggle mentioned in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense between the vampires, the youkai of which Yukari is the sage of, and the tengu, and may have started as early as the vampire incident. In fact, just moments ago, part of Remilia's reminiscing included her mocking Yukari to Ran about Yukari trying to not get outdone by the tengu. The rivalry is mostly a friendly one (and only Remilia seems to care about it), as Remilia has no objections Yukari staying for the party at the end of Silent Sinner in Blue or Yukari assisting her with her investigation in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody. Dialogue leaves open that Remilia might already know who Yukari is before the events of Immaterial and Missing Power, despite there being no depiction of the two meeting before then (this can be contrasted with Patchouli Knowledge, who is also a resident of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and yet clearly never even heard of Yukari before Immaterial and Missing Power in her storyline). For example, in Remilia's storyline, she is 'impressed' that Yukari bothered to be obedient after their battle, possibly indicating that Remilia already knew that Yukari was normally hard to deal with (later in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody when Yukari drops by after Remilia's investigation catches her curiosity, Remilia would also refer to Yukari as "the most suspicious character yet."), and in Yukari's storyline, the two don't need to waste time with introductions beyond Remilia's initial surprise at an uninvited guest being at the mansion. It is possible they met at the vampire incident mentioned in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, assuming the Scarlet Sisters are the vampires in the vampire incident (a logical enough assumption, as the very next article is Remilia's, where Akyu states that any time one says "the vampires", it must be referring to the Scarlet Sisters, but Remilia and Flandre are still never stated by name in the vampire incident). The vampire incident ended with powerful youkai defeating the vampire and a contract being formed where they would no longer attack the humans of Gensokyo in exchange for humans from the outside world for food, although it is not directly stated who was the specific person that signed this contract with them. It is, however, shown at the colophon of Perfect Mememto that Yukari wrote a book on vampire contracts, which could be an indicator that Yukari was the one that made the contract with Remilia (Yukari managing these sorts of things on the behalf of all the youkai of Gensokyo has precedence. Her deal with the oni where other youkai wouldn't go underground, for example). Furthermore, in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, one of Remilia's victory quotes against Yukari has Remilia either requesting that Yukari bring in more humans from the outside (although she does not specifically state the reason she wants this) or at least showing an interest in how Yukari does it (depending on how you interpret the line). Flandre's profile in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil as well as Hong Meiling's article in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense imply that the Scarlet Mansion continues to get a supply of humans for food.

Patchouli Knowledge

Patchouli first hears about Yukari from Yuyuko when she is trying to find an old youkai that might know what the mist is in Immaterial and Missing Power, and gets Yukari's name from Reimu before finally meeting the youkai, herself. It is questionable to what extent Patchouli's own storyline in Immaterial and Missing Power actually happened, but regardless, her ability to investigate Suika seems to have caught Yukari's attention, as by Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, Yukari has placed Patchouli in charge of watching the underground in her victory quote to Patchouli. Patchouli later noticed the evil spirits rushing out of the geysers and seeing Yukari about it in the prologue of Subterranean Animism. Yukari's refusal to act due to the arrangements with the youkai of the underground frustrate Patchouli frustrates Patchouli, but Yukari finally concedes because "I can't let you all just do whatever you want again". It is unknown (even to Patchouli, who is confused by the comment) which incident Yukari is referring to (known possible incidents are the vampire incident, the scarlet mist incident, the vampires going to the moon of their own accord in Silent Sinner in Blue, or some other unknown incident). Like most characters, Patchouli doesn't like dealing with Yukari very much, as Subterranean Animism points out that she went to see Yukari "grudgingly'. In both Immaterial and Missing Power as well as Subterranean Animism, Patchouli only resorted to seeing Yukari because Yukari was old enough to know about these issues that Patchouli's books otherwise had no info on. However, Patchouli appears to have retained her interest in the magic of the outside world after Silent Sinner in Blue, so she still may see Yukari about it from time to time, as shown in Yukari and Patchouli's victory quotes to each other in Touhou Hisoutensoku where they talk about how the magic of the outside world is advancing. Patchouli also appears to continue to collabarate with Yukari on issues that could affect Gensokyo as a whole (or at least the issue of the underground), as she informs Yukari of the Palanquin Ship in another one of her victory quotes to Yukari.

Alice Margatroid

Yukari set up Alice's dolls off-page to allow for long-range communications in Subterranean Animism. Alice has been seldomly depicted interacting with Yukari in official works, but her dialogue towards Yukari in her storyline of Immaterial and Missing Power show that she was familiar with Yukari before the events of that game. Like most characters, Alice is suspicious of Yukari by default. Yukari's and Alice's victory quotes to each other in the various fighting games is small talk about dolls with the exception of Immaterial and Missing Power, where she is instead advising Alice on how to be more youkai-like. For whatever reason (it could possibly be familiarity, or maybe knowing that Yukari makes allowances for power), Alice is willing to confront Yukari in Immaterial and Missing Power despite otherwise avoiding strong youkai (such as Remilia and Yuyuko).

Keine Kamishirasawa

Yukari and Reimu first meet Keine at the human village in Imperishable Night. After they defeat her, Keine points them in the direction of the true culprit behind the incident of the moon. Although Keine hides the village by hiding its history, her ability seems to have no effect on Yukari, to the point where Yukari appears to not have known Keine was using such an ability in the first place. It is unexplained why this is the case. Perfect Memento states history and reality are linked in Keine's section, and both history and reality come up very often in many ways for Yukari in multiple works, so there are many possible reasons why. Yukari also seems to dislike Keine for being a human-faced beast (although Keine protests that it is a full body transformation), equating the concept to that of gozu-mezu (beast-faced humans in hell), which angers Keine into attacking.

Maribel Hearn

Yukari is associated with Maribel by the fandom, although their exact relationship is never directly stated. When asked what their relationship was, ZUN said a cryptic remark about Lafcadio Hearn, a real life writer who would change his name to Koizumi Yakumo. This seems to confirm there is a relationship and it has some analogy to Lafcadio Hearn (and possibly is directly analogous, which would mean Maribel and Yukari are actually one and the same person). See Maribel's page for details.

Additional Information

Trivia

  • Although Ran appears to be Yukari's primary shikigami, Yukari was seen in Silent Sinner in Blue utilizing two crows, Zenki and Goki, in a shikigami fashon as well. These two might be Ran's shikigami instead, however, as Ran uses them in a spell card in the phantasm stage of Perfect Cherry Blossom. One of the two crows was killed by Watatsuki no Toyohime, and it is unknown if it was ever somehow ressurected (if that's even possible). Yukari also cheerfully attempted to get Aya Shameimaru to be her shikigami in Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red.
  • A silhouette of Yukari occupies the front of Perfect Cherry Blossom's jewel case.
Yukari's different color palettes from Hisoutensoku. The 2nd one corresponds to her second color palette in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, while the 3rd one corresponds to her Immaterial and Missing Power palette.
  • For some reason, Yukari's appearance in spell card 222 in Imperishable Night, is different from other characters. Instead of using the new image in Imperishable Night, a modified image from Perfect Cherry Blossom is used (she has blue ribbons instead). What is more strange is that the background used in the spellcard, which is also from Perfect Cherry Blossom, uses Yukari's original cut-in image with red ribbons. Yukari's sprite in Shoot the Bullet also sports blue ribbons.
    Spell Card 222
  • Although not expressly stated, Yukari is commonly considered one of the most powerful—if not the most powerful—youkai in Gensokyo, although a few other youkai like Yuuka Kazami and Suika Ibuki have been considered to be around her level. However, she might still lose spellcard battles to humans or youkai.
  • She is the only Phantasm boss in the series.
  • There is a train service in Japan called Yakumo. In Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, one of Yukari's spell card spawns a train to mow her opponent down. Possible connection?

Fandom

  • Popular fan-nicknames for Yukari include "Sukima" ("gap"), "Yukarin" (a contraction of "Yukari-chan"), and "Babaa" (roughly, "old hag"). This latter is because she is known as one of the oldest youkai in Gensokyo. 
  • In some fanworks, Yukari insists on being 17 years old. Usage in fanworks is possibly a parody of Kikuko Inoue, who claims that she is 17 years old despite being way over that age. Musou Kakyou: A Summer Day's Dream casts Kikuko Inoue as the narrator (probably Yukari), in a nod to this in-joke.
  • There are several running gags involving her in fan works. One plays on the fact that she sleeps a lot and leaves most of her work to her shikigami Ran. Another plays on her relatively old age compared to most of the characters in Gensokyo, with other characters calling her "old hag".
  • Yukari is also often depicted with Kanako Yasaka and Eirin Yagokoro. This is due to their family names containing the character (pronounced "Ya") which, when misread, can mean old hag.
  • Yukari is sometimes seen riding on top of a train in fan-made videos, likely due to her most powerful spellcard in SWR and Touhou Hisoutensoku, in which she summons a train to run over her opponent.

Spell Cards

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Name Translated Comments Games Stage
Total: 47
結界「夢と現の呪」 Barrier "Curse of Dreams and Reality" PCB
GoM
St. Ph
結界「動と静の均衡」 Barrier "Balance of Motion and Stillness" PCB St. Ph
結界「光と闇の網目」 Barrier "Mesh of Light and Darkness" PCB
GoM
St. Ph
罔両「ストレートとカーブの夢郷」 Evil Spirits "Dreamland of Straight and Curve" PCB St. Ph
罔両「八雲紫の神隠し」 Evil Spirits "Yukari Yakumo's Spiriting Away" PCB St. Ph
罔両「禅寺に棲む妖蝶」 Evil Spirits "Bewitching Butterfly Living in the Zen Temple" PCB St. Ph
魍魎「二重黒死蝶」 Sinister Spirits "Double Black Death Butterfly" PCB
GoM
St. Ph
式神「八雲藍」 Shikigami "Ran Yakumo" PCB
IaMP
SWR
GoM
St. Ph
Use
Use
「人間と妖怪の境界」 "Boundary of Humans and Youkai" PCB St. Ph
結界「生と死の境界」 Barrier "Boundary of Life and Death" PCB St. Ph
紫奥義「弾幕結界」 Yukari's Arcanum "Danmaku Barrier" PCB
GoM
St. Ph
境符「四重結界」 Border Sign "Quadruple Barrier" IaMP
IN
SWR
Use
Use
結界「魅力的な四重結界」 Barrier "Charming Quadruple Barrier" IaMP
SWR
Use
Use
式神「八雲藍+」 Shikigami "Ran Yakumo +" IaMP Use
境符「二次元と三次元の境界」 Border Sign "Boundary of 2D and 3D" IaMP
SWR
Use
Use
結界「客観結界」 Barrier "Objective Barrier" IaMP
SWR
Use
Use
符の壱「四重結界」 Sign I "Quadruple Barrier" IaMP Story
符の弐「八雲卍傘」 Sign II "Manji-Parasol of Yakumo" IaMP Story
符の参「八雲藍」 Sign III "Ran Yakumo" IaMP Story
外力「無限の超高速飛行体」 Outer Force "Infinite Superspeed Flying Object" IaMP Story
幻想「第一種永久機関」 Fantasy "Perpetual Motion Machine of the First Kind" IaMP
GoM
Story
境界「永夜四重結界」 Boundary "Quadruple Barrier of the Imperishable Night" IN Use
「深弾幕結界 -夢幻泡影-」 "Profound Danmaku Barrier -Phantasm, Foam and Shadow-" IN LW
境符「色と空の境界」 Border Sign "Boundary of Form and Emptiness" StB St. Ex
境符「波と粒の境界」 Border Sign "Boundary of Wave and Particle" StB
GoM
St. Ex
式神「橙」 Shikigami "Chen" SWR Use
幻巣「飛光虫ネスト」 Fantasy Nest "Flying Noctilucae's Nest" SWR
SWR
Use
Story
空餌「中毒性のあるエサ」 Aerial Bait "Addictive Bait" SWR Use
廃線 「ぶらり廃駅下車の旅」 Abandoned Line "Aimless Journey to the Abandoned Station" SWR Use
光弾「ドップラーエフェクト」 Photon "Doppler Effect" SWR Story
捌器「全てを二つに別ける物」 Splitter "Thing That Splits All Into Two" SWR Story
空餌「狂躁高速飛行物体」 Aerial Bait "Hyperactive High Speed Flying Object" SWR Story
「八雲の巣」 "Yakumo's Nest" SWR Story
魔眼「ラプラスの魔」 Magic Eye "Laplace's Demon" Soku Use
「不可能弾幕結界」 "Impossible Danmaku Barrier" ISC St. 10
「運鈍根の捕物帖」 "Casebook of Luck, Resilience and Perseverance" ISC St. 10
「無人廃線車両爆弾」 "Unmanned Abandoned Railroad Car Bomb" AoCF Use
式神「八雲藍&橙」 Shikigami "Ran Yakumo & Chen" AoCF Use
境界「溢れ出る漂流物」 Boundary "Overflowing Flotsam" AoCF Use
*その綺麗な足をくれ!* *Lend Me Those Beautiful Legs!* AoCF Use-LW
憑坐 (マスター) の憂鬱」 "Spirit Medium's (Master's) Melancholy" AoCF Story
「完全憑依と夢想封印」 "Perfect Possession and Dream Seal" Co-owner with Reimu AoCF Story
憑坐 (マスター) 神霊 (スレイブ) の境界」 "Boundary of Spirit Medium (Master) and Divine Spirit (Slave) " Co-owner with Reimu AoCF Story
「秘神結界」 "Secret God Barrier" Co-owner with Okina VD Nightmare Saturday - 1
「弾幕結界を撃ち抜け!」 "Shoot the Danmaku Barrier!" Co-owner with Marisa VD Nightmare Saturday - 4
「許可無く弾幕は撮影禁止です」 "Unauthorized Danmaku Photography is Strictly Prohibited" Co-owner with Reimu VD
GoU
Nightmare Saturday - 6
紙符「結界中のESPカード手裏剣」 Paper Sign "Barrier-Enclosed Zener Card Shuriken" Co-owner with Sumireko VD Nightmare Diary - 3

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Official Profiles

Perfect Cherry Blossom - キャラ設定.txt

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Yukari Yakumo PCB  ○神隠しの主犯

  八雲 紫(やくも・ゆかり)

  春になると目が覚めるすきま妖怪。
  主に、あらゆる境界を操る程度の能力を持つ。

  幽々子とは旧知の仲であるが、別に幽霊ではない。幻想郷の中でも、もっとも辺境にひっそりと棲む妖怪である。ここから、博麗大結界を見つつ暮らしている。

  たまに幻想郷に人間が紛れ込むのも、紫が境界に揺らぎをつくったりするからである。人間は神隠しと呼ぶ現象も、結局神の仕業ではなく、この妖怪少女の仕業だと知ってしまったら、何の神秘性も失われる事だろう。

  紫は普段は余り動くことは無く、代わりに式神の藍を操り生活をしている。でも殆どが睡眠時間の為、寝ている間は藍はほったらかしで、何をしているか良く知らない。

  その式神の藍が何者かにやられた事を聞き、ちょっと驚いたが二度寝をした。

  ニ度寝から目を覚ましたとき、ようやく、あたり一面がすっかり春になっていたことに気が付いた。実は10日程も前から春になっていたのだが、そのことを寝る度に忘れ、起きるたびに驚いていたのだ。

  藍の修復が完了するまで、おちおち寝てもいられないなぁ、と思いつつ三度寝をする。

  そんなときに、今回の騒動で薄くなった幽明の境を修復して欲しいと幽々子から依頼を受ける。自分で弱くしておいて修復もへったくれも無いな、と思いつつ眠い目を擦り出発する。

  久しぶりに冥界に訪れた紫は、妙な賑わいぶりに不思議に思う。西行寺家はもっと静かじゃなかったか?と思ったが、幽々子の趣味が変ったんだろうと勝手に納得した。

  途中で庭師の妖夢に会い、詳しく事情を聞いた。妖夢の話し振りではどうやら酷い目に遭ったらしいが、紫にはどう聞いても自業自得にしか聴こえなかった。


  皆、あの妖怪桜に狂わされていただけの様に見える。あの桜は人の精気を吸いすぎている。常々危険だと思っていた。思ってはいたが、自分の力ではどうしようも無い事も分っていた。
  紫は幽々子が生きていた頃から知っている。実は、幽々子が妖怪桜に封印されているのではなく、幽々子の亡骸が妖怪桜を封印している、という事も。

Mastermind behind the spiriting away

Yukari Yakumo

The youkai of boundaries, who awakens at spring.
Her main ability allows her to manipulate boundaries of all sorts.

She and Yuyuko have known each other for a long time, but Yukari is not a ghost. She lives in the remotest place in Gensokyo. Her lifestyle involves a lot of staring at the Hakurei Border.

When humans from the outer world wander into Gensokyo, it's all thanks to fluctuations in the boundary caused by Yukari. There is an enchanting element about the phenomenon which people like to call "Spirited Away"; if it is ever discovered that spiriting away is not the work of gods, but the meddling of a youkai girl, the term will lose all of its mystique.

Yukari usually doesn't act on her own, preferring instead to have Ran handle the details of daily life. But, since she is almost always asleep, she has no idea what Ran does while she sleeps.

When she heard that Ran had been defeated by someone, she became mildly surprised before going back to sleep.

After waking up from her nap, she finally noticed that spring had graced her place of residence. The truth is that spring had been around for the past 10 days, but she forgot it whenever she went to bed and woke up just as surprised the next time.

She couldn't sleep carelessly until Ran fully recovered, but she opted to sleep on the problem.

The next time she woke up, she received a request from Yuyuko asking her to restore the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead. It was a ridiculous request since Yuyuko was the one who weakened it to begin with, so Yukari rubbed the sleep from her eyes and set out for repairs.

It had been quite a while since Yukari's last visit to the Netherworld, and she was curious to see that it was bustling with excitement. She thought the Saigyouji family were more quiet, laid-back folk, but she shrugged and decided Yuyuko had just had a change in taste.

She met the gardener, Youmu, along the way and heard about the situation. Youmu admitted that they seemed to be in quite a mess, but it sounded like well-earned punishment to Yukari.


Everyone always seemed to be bent out of shape about that youkai cherry tree, and nothing else. Surely, it had drained the spirit from too many human lives. Yukari knew it was dangerous. However, she realized there was nothing she could do about it.

Yukari had known Yuyuko since before her death. She also knew that it was not Yuyuko who was sealed by the Saigyou Ayakashi...

... but that it was Yuyuko's body that was sealing the Saigyou Ayakashi.

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Immaterial and Missing Power - 上海アリス通信.txt

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Yukari Yakumo IaMP  ○幻想の境界

  八雲 紫(やくもゆかり)

  種族:妖怪
  住処:不明
  能力:境界を操る程度の能力

   幻想郷の妖怪。文字通り妖しくて怪しい。幻想郷の境にある屋敷にすむと言うが、その場所は知られていない。何故か外の世界にも詳しい。
  非常に胡散臭い。

   性格は理解不能だが、決して良い物ではないという所はは誰もが認める所である。出来る限りなら会いたくないと思われている。普段は霊夢位しかまともに相手をしてくれない。

   体術も、人間の基準とは異なる動きをする。速くもなく重くもない。
  強いのか弱いのかすら計り知れない。遊ばれている様に見える紫の行動は、例え勝ったとしてもなんか腹立たしい。

   しかしながら、彼女ほど幻想郷と真摯に接し、幻想郷を愛している者もいない。

*Border of Phantasm

Yukari Yakumo

Species: Youkai
Location: Unknown
Ability: Manipulation of boundaries

A youkai living in Gensokyo. As these letters (妖怪) tell, she is dubious and suspicious. It's said that she lives in a mansion located at the edge of Gensokyo, but nobody knows where it really is. For some reason she knows a lot about the outside world too.
That makes her very suspicious.

Her personality is hardly understandable, but everyone agrees that it's not something pleasant. Many people don't want to meet her, if possible. Usually, only Reimu bothers to deal with her.

Her fighting style is completely different from a human's measure. It's neither fast nor heavy-hitting. It is uncertain whether she is really tough or not. Her attitude makes you think as if you're being teased by her, which is really irritating even if you manage to defeat her.

However, no one can match her in sincerely caring about Gensokyo, and loving it with all her heart.

</toggledisplay>

Imperishable Night - Manual

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Yukari Yakumo IN  ○境界の妖怪 八雲 紫(やくもゆかり)

  幻想郷の境に住む妖怪。
  境界を操る程度の能力を持つ。どの位長く生きているのか不明だが幻想郷の歴史よりは長いはず。
  誰から見ても心が読めない性格は、長く生きる者特有の嫌味を感じない。
  割と近寄りがたいが、その理由は威圧感と言うより、胡散臭さにある。
  一人の式神を遣い、雑用を任せっきり。本人は気楽なものである。
  式神はある意味人質を取られてる様なもんだからたまんない。
  境界(結界)を操る事がどれだけ危険で強大な力なのかは計り知れない。
  紫の様なちょっと変わった妖怪か、力の重圧に耐えられる者で無いとその力は扱えないのだ。

  武器は式神。道具扱い。

    備考
    今回は霊夢と組む。
    高速移動は単独使用時のみの性能である。
    式神に任せっきりの人生。式神は一度ロックすれば、ショットを止めるか敵が死ぬまで
    ロックしっぱなしになる。ただし、最初のロックはある程度正面の敵しかロックしない。
    まったりこそ人生、という人向け。

Youkai of Boundaries, Yukari Yakumo

A youkai living at the edge of Gensokyo.
Her ability allows her to manipulate boundaries. It is uncertain how long she has been alive, but her existence at least predates the history of Gensokyo itself.
Her personality is hard to understand; unlike other long-lived entities, she displays none of the bitterness commonly associated with old age. She is difficult to approach, but that's due more to her deviousness than any uneasy feeling that people may have around her.
She owns one shikigami, and lets her shikigami do all her daily chores for her. Yukari herself always leads an easy life. From that shikigami's perspective, it's like her master is holding her hostage, so it's quite maddening.
The danger and potency of the power to manipulate boundaries is beyond imagination. It's something that can only be controlled by those who are able to withstand its stress, or some weirdo youkai like Yukari.

A shikigami is a potent weapon. Yukari treats hers like an item.

Notes
She teams up with Reimu this time.
Normal speed only applies when she's used as a solo character.
As in daily life, she leaves all the work to her shikigami. Once locked on to a target, her shikigami pursues and attacks it until either Yukari stops shooting or the target falls.
Be aware that you must move in front of an enemy to acquire a target lock.
Recommended for players who believe that a laid-back life is best.

</toggledisplay>

Imperishable Night - キャラ設定.txt

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Yukari Yakumo IN  ○境目に潜む妖怪

  八雲 紫(やくも ゆかり)
  Yukari Yakumo

  種族:妖怪
  能力:境界を操る程度の能力

  幻想郷の境の何処かにすむ妖怪。
  境自体は普通の人には見えない為、何処に住んでいるのか不明。
  最低でも同じ境上にある神社ではない。

  幻想郷に住む妖怪の中では、かなり昔から存在し力も強大である。今では幻想郷そのもののことを良く知っている者は、妖怪の中でも数少ない。彼女は胡散臭く見られるが、それは人間っぽさが少なく、行動が理解出来ない所為でもある。その能力は、困ったら簡単に幻想郷を潰す事もできる危険な妖怪でもある。

Youkai that lurks in the boundary


Yukari Yakumo

Species: Youkai
Ability: Manipulation of boundaries

She lives somewhere on the boundary between Gensokyo and the outer world. Since most people can't see the border, no one is certain exactly where she lives. They know only that she does not live near the Hakurei Shrine, which is also located on the boundary.

She is one of the oldest beings in Gensokyo and has the power to prove it. Gensokyo's origins have been long forgotten by humans and even most youkai, but it seems that she still remembers some part of it. She is often described as devious; that's mainly because she doesn't think like a human, so others find her actions quite difficult to comprehend. She easily has enough power to annihilate all of Gensokyo if she so desires, so it's probably a good thing that she is somewhat weird...

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Scarlet Weather Rhapsody - chara.html

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Yukari Yakumo SWR   ○幻想の境界

  八雲 紫(やくも ゆかり)

  種族 : 妖怪
  住家 : 幻想郷と外との境界にあるといわれる家
  能力 : 境界を操る程度の能力
  性格 : 冷静にして人に避けられやすい

Border of Fantasy

Yukari Yakumo

Race: youkai
Residence: said to be a house outside the borders of Gensokyo
Ability: the power to manipulate borders
Personality: very collected, and easily off-putting

</toggledisplay>

Subterranean Animism - キャラ設定.txt

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 ○境界の妖怪

  八雲 紫(やくも ゆかり)
  Yakumo Yukari

  種族:妖怪
  能力:境界を操る程度の能力

  普段は何処にいるのかよく判らない神出鬼没の妖怪。
  今回は会話できる陰陽玉を作った。

  地底は地上の妖怪達とは違う社会を築いているので、余り干渉したがらない。突然の怨霊の出現に戸惑う。
  何か大きな異変だったら嫌だなと、影響力の小さい霊夢に調査を依頼した。

The youkai of boundaries


Yukari Yakumo

Species: youkai
Ability: Power to manipulate borders.

A youkai who comes and goes where she pleases; no-one ever seems to know where she is.
This time, she's made yin-yang orbs that let you talk to her.

Since the underground youkai have built up a society separate from that of the youkai above ground, she doesn't seem to want to interfere. The sudden appearance of the evil spirits puzzled her. She didn't want it to turn into some major event, so she sent Reimu, who had relatively little influence on things, to investigate.

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Rough

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Yukari Yakumo MAGNet interview ・ちょっとボスらしく戦闘

 モードに。(式神使役モード)
・藍が中華風なのは紫が
 中華風だからです。
・髪は長髪だが、戦闘モード
 ではキャップの中に詰めてあります。
・ちょっと複雑すぎるかもしれないですが
・側面(うで無)
・チャイナ部分
・チャイナ取り除き
・家の中では帽子はかけない

· In battle mode, kind of like a boss. (Shikigami Deployment Mode)

· Ran is in Chinese style dress because Yukari is in Chinese style dress.
· Her hair is long, but in battle mode she has it tucked in her cap.
· Maybe this is a little too complex.

<ref>Mag-Net!. "Mag-Net! 第5回 東方Project". Retrieved 11 September, 2011. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

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Official Sources

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References

  1. Cage in Lunatic Runagate Chapter 5
  2. Ran's interview with Aya in Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red Aya: So that's how it is. I don't think I could keep making pre-determined actions. It'd be too constricting. Ran: Even if you could fly many times faster than you do now? Even if you could become many times stronger?
  3. Subterranean Animism Reimu and Yukari's scenario stage 5. "(Hm, I wonder where our cat went off to? It's such a pain when she just suddenly disappears like that. I wish you'd take care to program your own familiar properly. Without any bugs.)" Yukari seems to be speaking this line to Ran off-screen and Reimu just happens to hear it. She refers to Chen as both "our cat" and as a familiar that needs to be programmed without bugs. This is the only moment in an official work where Yukari is depicted talking about Chen.
  4. Perfect Cherry Blossom Extra Stage Prologue. "Well, my friend's helper isn't my friend."