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Yukari Yakumo
(♫) Yukari Yakumo | |
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Yukari Yakumo in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody 幻想の境界More Character Titles | |
Species | |
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 | |
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Appearances | |
Official Games | |
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Print Works | |
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Music CDs | |
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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 (紫) 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.
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. Yukari mentions in Oriental Sacred Place chapter 10 that radio towers fall into Gensokyo every once in a while. Presumably her cell phones use those in order to work.
Story
- Perfect Cherry Blossom
- Immaterial and Missing Power
- Main article: Immaterial and Missing Power Story
- Imperishable Night
- Main article: Imperishable Night Story
- Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Main article: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody Story
- Subterranean Animism
- Main article: Subterranean Animism Story
- 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.
Relationships
Yukari has always had a close tie to the Hakurei Shrine maidens, as one meaning of her name is she controls the shrine maidens of Gensokyo. Reimu first met Yukari when she asked her to repair the border between the Netherworld and Gensokyo in Perfect Cherry Blossom. However, Yukari indicated she is already familiar with Reimu to an unspecified extent.
Yukari is a friend, employer, and mentor to Reimu. As a friend, she often visits Reimu at the Hakurei Shrine. Yukari steals food from Reimu in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, stays at Reimu's shrine for at least a month into the winter in Curiosities of Lotus Asia, and is among several characters when Reimu complains about youkai visitors to her shrine in Wild and Horned Hermit. She sometimes visits to discuss philosophical matters like in Seasonal Dream Vision, or Strange and Bright Nature Deity where she gave Reimu out-of-season taro roots from the outside world, asking her to think about their meaning.
As an employer, she's given Reimu several missions (Subterranean Animism, Imperishable Night where she also came along, and Silent Sinner in Blue). An offhand comment in the first stage of Imperishable Night shows she compensated Reimu for it.
As a mentor, she is often teaching Reimu not just about Gensokyo (she does that a lot, too, shown several times in Oriental Sacred Place) but also how to do her job as Hakurei Maiden. She shows up when Reimu purposefully damages the barrier in Curiosities of Lotus Asia to tell her not to do that, reminds Reimu of her youkai-crushing duties in Imperishable Night's extra, and makes Reimu train hard to prepare for Silent Sinner in Blue (Curiosities of Lotus Asia states the latter is rare for her). The latter included Yukari attacking Reimu at unnannounced times.
She seems to be secretly looking after Reimu in other ways, as she sneaks yen donations into the Hakurei shrine's donation offering box when Reimu isn't looking in chapter 23 of Strange and Bright Nature Deity (Marisa spots Yukari doing it, but doesn't say anything).
Like most characters, Reimu finds Yukari extremely annoying. Yukari doesn't mind, clearly joking "How rude!" or "What a greeting!" to such things.
Ran is Yukari's main shikigami. Yukari gave Ran her current name. An interview with Aya implies 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. Ran was not born before the Genso-Lunar War, so she must have become Yukari's shikigami sometime after that.
Yukari keeps the relationship on a user-to-shikigami level. This relationship is analogous to a user and its computer in the outside world, and Yukari insists heavily that Ran is not a fox, but is a tool to be used. Yukari's own thoughts and perspective in Chapter Five of Cage in Lunatic Runagate refers to Ran with computer terms, such as programming or debugging. Ran is still more advanced than a computer, so Yukari attempts philosophical discussion with Ran from time to time, but typically gets boring responses involving numbers and calculations. Yukari loves Ran very much, but in terms of how one would love a tool they own.
Ran often "forgets" she is a shikigami, taking matters into her own hands without Yukari's orders. This can't be helped because Yukari sleeps a lot. Yukari will physically discipline Ran when this happens (by whacking her with an umbrella). Using a tool and keeping it in good shape (via discipline) shows love for your shikigami (according to Yukari).
Ran accepts and seems satisfied with this, and also seems to care for her master, attempting to encourage Yukari after the second Genso-Lunar War failed (as far as Ran knew). But she won't disagree that her master is annoying and is often driven to much frustration by Yukari's double-speak and secrecy.
Ran also has a shikigami named Chen. As Ran's shikigami, Chen follows the will of both Ran Yakumo and Yukari Yakumo. It's implied she's quite a handful, and unlike Ran, Yukari views Chen as both Ran's shikigami and their pet, saying in Subterranean Animism, "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."
Unlike Ran Yakumo, Chen is never called "Chen Yakumo", even when "Chen" and "Ran Yakumo" show up in the same sentence in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense.
- Zenki and Goki
Two crows that Yukari and Ran use as shikigami. They might be temporary names for all shikigami crows, as one gets killed by Watatsuki no Toyohime, yet three more spy for Yukari later in Chapter 20 of Silent Sinner in Blue.
Yukari and Yuyuko were friends even while Yuyuko was alive more than a thousand years ago, and continued to be Yuyuko's friend after she became a ghost.
Yuyuko seems to be the only one who truly understands Yukari. Yukari knows this as well, often just assuming that Yuyuko knows what she's talking about or what's going on (this is clear whenever the two interact, including victory quotes). The two don't think exactly alike, however, which results in Yuyuko acting in ways that surprises Yukari. Yukari will do something just because Yuyuko asked and vice-versa.
Of note is that this friendship between Yuyuko and Yukari does not extend to Yukari's shikigami Ran, and Yuyuko does not mind others beating Ran up.
Yuyuko's servant. Yukari helps Youmu with lessons and advice every once in a while, like in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.
Yukari believed the tree ate too many human lives. She was always aware Yuyuko's body was sealing it. It's possible Yukari is the one who sealed it using Yuyuko's body, herself.
Yukari was Suika's friend before the oni went underground. It is unknown how or when they became friends. Yukari looks out for Suika]] in Immaterial and Missing Power and Suika does favors for Yukari, such as rebuilding the Hakurei Shrine in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody or helping to investigate the underground. The two play danmaku battles with each other, though it's been a while since the last one before Scarlet Weather Rhapsody. In Oriental Sacred Place Chapter 12, Yukari is with Suika at the Hakurei Shrine New Year's Festival.
Suika does get annoyed with Yukari's "dirty tricks", but doesn't go beyond snapping that they're dirty. Suika may know some of Yukari's secrets, as she's referred to Yukari's existance as fraudulent in Immaterial and Missing Power, and stated to Yukari that it was rare to see her "on this side of the world" in broad daylight.
One of the oni (presumably Suika is another) that Yukari made a deal with. In exchange for keeping the evil spirits of former hell in control, Yukari would give them their own place in the underworld and keep the overworld youkai from intruding. Unlike Suika, Yukari does not seem to have any personal attachments to Yuugi.
Yukari and Rinnosuke mostly have a business arrangement. In exchange for fuel for his kerosene fan heater, Yukari takes merchandise she likes and occasionally provides information on items. While he is grateful, Rinnosuke also doesn't like dealing with her all that much and makes note of how ominous she seems. Although he can't remember it, Yukari once prevented Rinnosuke from being spirited away to the outside world.
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.
Yukari uses Remilia as part of her scheme to extract the residence tax and get revenge on the Lunarians in Silent Sinner in Blue, although it's revealed later that Remilia was aware she was being manipulated but simply didn't care because she was bored. 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's Vampire article, and may have started with the vampire incident. 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 in Immaterial and Missing Power seems to imply they've already known each other before that game. It is possible they met at the vampire incident mentioned in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, and that Yukari was the one that signed "the contract" with Remilia.
Patchouli first finds out and meets Yukari in her storyline in Immaterial and Missing Power. By Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, Yukari has placed Patchouli in charge of watching the underground in her victory quote to Patchouli. Patchouli later informs Yukari about the evil spirits coming out of the undeground in the prologue of Subterranean Animism, and Yukari finally agrees to act because she "can't let them all just do whatever they want again". It is unknown (even to Patchouli) which incident Yukari is referring to (there are many possible ones). Patchouli appears continue to collaborate with Yukari on issues regarding the underground, as she informs Yukari of the Palanquin Ship in one of her Touhou Hisoutensoku victory quotes.
For whatever reason, Alice is willing to confront Yukari in Immaterial and Missing Power despite otherwise avoiding strong youkai such as Remilia and Yuyuko. Yukari also set up Alice's dolls off-page to allow for long-range communications in Subterranean Animism. Her dialogue towards Yukari in Immaterial and Missing Power show that they knew each other before then. Like most characters, Alice is still uspicious of Yukari by default. Alice is aware of various youkai roles and agreements (including to not go underground) that Yukari is constantly preaching, but actual details of any association is unknown.
Along with Reimu, Yukari confronted Eirin and Kaguya to restore the full moon in ]]Imperishable Night]], making Yukari one of the few characters who knows they're from the moon (and is presumably keeping it a secret from the public). After the incident was resolved and the moon restored, the girls all had a round of moon viewing sake with each other.
Unknown to each other (or at least to Yukari), Eirin and Yukari's own history actually goes back farther than that. As mentioned by Toyohime at the end of chapter 17 of Silent Sinner in Blue, one thousand years ago Eirin set up a trap to catch someone who'd try to invade the moon. Yukari is well aware of the trap, apparently having already triggered it before (assuming her "make-believe" story in Cage in Lunatic Runagate actually happened). Yukari seems to bear a grudge against the Lunarian sage (Eirin) that set this trap, referring to her as "the much-despised Lunarian sage".
However, it doesn't seem like Eirin and Yukari have realized who each other is. Neither of them make special note of each other in Imperishable Night and are amicable with each other in the ending. Near the end of Silent Sinner in Blue, Yukari remarks to Ran that she's unsure if "the Brain of the Moon" (Eirin's title in Imperishable Night) had actually settled on earth. Eirin's "Brain of the Moon" title appears to be something only the player is aware of, although Yukari knows that at the very least, Eirin is a spy for the Brain of the Moon. Eirin, if she didn't already know during Imperishable Night, likely figured out who Yukari is (something that's public knowledge), as she figures out most (but not all) of Yukari's scheme in Silent Sinner in Blue and prepares the Watatsuki sisters for it.
When Yukari senses Shiki approaching in Seasonal Dream Vision, she and Yuyuko leave immediately, as even together, they were no match for the yama. Although specifics are unknown, Perfect Memento in Strict Sense notes that being assisted by Shiki at least once and trying to avoid her is normal for long-lived youkai.
Yukari is associated with Maribel Hearn 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 confirms there is a relationship and it's analogous to Lafcadio Hearn (and if directly analogous, Maribel and Yukari are actually one and the same person). See Maribel's page for details.
- Other Minor Meetings or Associations
They met and fought at the human village in Imperishable Night. Keine's ability to hide history has no effect on Yukari, who didn't even know she was using her ability in the first place. It is unexplained why, but history and reality are mentioned regarding Yukari so often that there are many possible reasons. Yukari also disliked Keine for being a human-faced beast.
Yukari fought Mokou in Imperishable Night's Extra stage. Yukari wasn't sure Mokou was human before Mokou had a chance to reveal her immortality (which Yukari didn't know about), indicating she may have already been familiar with Mokou for another reason.
Yukari first(?) met them in an omake to Eastern and Little Nature Deity, asking if she could join in on their pranks. The fairies ran away from her. Later, in Strange and Bright Nature Deity, Yukari needed to repair a tree that was part of the Hakurei Border. She did so by moving the three fairies into it, but only after testing that they were too weak to cause serious trouble. They failed the test with flying colors, so Yukari let them move in. Sunny's ability to reflect light (and thus block some of Yukari's danmaku) did impress her a bit.
Additional Information
Trivia
- A silhouette of Yukari occupies the front of Perfect Cherry Blossom's jewel case.
- 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.
- 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?
- It is not stated who sealed the Saigyou Ayakashi. It was someone who held Yuyuko Saigyouji very dear, judging by the record ("My wish... is that she will never again reincarnate, and never again suffer pain..."). Yuyuko's profile describes the hypothetical breaking of the seal as "breaching the boundary". The boundary sealing the Saigyou Ayakashi is apparently the boundary between life and death, as this is what the BGM that plays during the Saigyou Ayakashi's reflowering represents. Boundary of Life and Death is one of Yukari's spell cards. This possibly implies it was Yukari who sealed the Saigyou Ayakashi. Yukari's profile reveals she knew all along that Yuyuko's body was sealing it, and gives a clear motive, as the tree was killing too many humans. As another possible indication, Grimoire of Marisa brings up butterfly dream regarding Yuyuko's spell card during the Saigyou Ayakashi's reflowering, which is a theme associated with Yukari.
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 八 (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
<toggledisplay showtext="Show spellcards" hidetext="Hide spellcards">
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 | |||
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" |
AoCF | Story | |||
「完全憑依と夢想封印」 | "Perfect Possession and Dream Seal" | Co-owner with Reimu | AoCF | Story | ||
「 |
"Boundary of |
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。 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。
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Mastermind behind the spiriting away Yukari Yakumo The youkai of boundaries, who awakens at spring. 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.
Yukari had known Yuyuko since before her death. She also knew that it was not Yuyuko who was sealed by the Saigyou Ayakashi...
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Immaterial and Missing Power - 上海アリス通信.txt
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○幻想の境界 八雲 紫(やくもゆかり) 種族:妖怪 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。 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。 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 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. 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. |
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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。 武器は式神。道具扱い。 備考 |
Youkai of Boundaries, Yukari Yakumo A youkai living at the edge of Gensokyo. A shikigami is a potent weapon. Yukari treats hers like an item.
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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) 種族:妖怪 幻想郷の境の何処かにすむ妖怪。 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
Species: Youkai 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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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) 種族:妖怪 普段は何処にいるのかよく判らない神出鬼没の妖怪。 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。 |
The youkai of boundaries
Species: youkai A youkai who comes and goes where she pleases; no-one ever seems to know where she is. 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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<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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- 2003/08/17 Perfect Cherry Blossom - Phantasm Stage dialogue; キャラ設定.txt (official profile)
- 2004/08/15 Imperishable Night - Border Team Scenario; Border Team Extra Stage; キャラ設定.txt (official profile)
- 2004/12/11 Curiosities of Lotus Asia - Chapter 11
- 2004/12/30 Immaterial and Missing Power - 上海アリス通信.txt (official profile)
- 2005/08/11 Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red - Article and Interview: Yukari
- 2005/10/01 Seasonal Dream Vision/A Beautiful Flower Blooming Violet Every Sixty Years
- 2005/12/30 Shoot the Bullet - EX Stage Spell Card comments
- 2006/12/27 Perfect Memento in Strict Sense - Youkai of Boundaries: Yukari Yakumo
- 2007/06/08 ~ 2009/04/09 Silent Sinner in Blue
- 2008/05/25 Scarlet Weather Rhapsody - chara.html (official profile)
- 2008/06/25 Cage in Lunatic Runagate - Chapter 5
- 2008/08/16 Subterranean Animism - Reimu/Yukari's Scenario; Reimu/Yukari's Extra Stage; キャラ設定.txt
- 2008/10/25 ~ 2009/01/26 Strange and Bright Nature Deity - Chapters 23-25
- 2009/07/28 The Grimoire of Marisa - Yukari Yakumo's Spell Cards
- 2010/08/26 Oriental Sacred Place - Chapter 10
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References
- CS1 errors: dates
- Characters
- Characters in Perfect Cherry Blossom
- Characters in Immaterial and Missing Power
- Characters in Imperishable Night
- Characters in Mountain of Faith
- Characters in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- Characters in Subterranean Animism
- Characters playable in Touhou
- Characters playable in a fighting game
- Returning 1st Windows Generation Characters