"One day he called upon Ame no Uzume, ordering her to "Please escort Sarutahiko no Kami back to his hometown of Ise. Then you shall take his name, and serve him."
Since their first meeting, Ame no Uzume had become very close to Sarutahiko, and with much joy she accompanied him to Ise, and the two enjoyed a delightful honeymoon-like trip."
Vocabulary
月日が経つ つきひ・た time passes, the days and months go by
貫禄 かんろく presence, dignity
郷里 きゅうり home town, place of one's birth
新婚旅行 しんこんりょこう honeymoon
ひらめ flounder
ほたて Japanese scallop
すずき sea bass
ちょうちんあんこう football fish
裂く さ to cut up, to cleave, to cut open
引き摺り込む ひ・ず・こ to drag in, to pull in
真相 しんそう truth, real situation
うららか bright, clear, fine
"Well, after escorting Sarutahiko with no issues, Ame no Uzume returned to the cape of Kasasa. There she called upon many kinds of fish, such as the sea bream, flounder, urchins, scallops, octopi, squid, tuna, flying fish, sea bass, football fish, sea cucumber etc...
"You all, will you serve as the food for Ninigi no Mikoto?" She asked.
"We will serve," came the replies, except for the sea cucumbers which were piled up without saying a word. Ame no Uzume angered, took out a small knife, "Does this mouth truly say nothing?!" And sliced open their mouths. It's a horrid story, but even today it is said that the split mouths of sea cucumbers is due to Ame no Uzume."
Kami
底度久御魂 Sokodokumitama, the part of Sarutahiko no Kami's spirit that appeared when he sunk to the bottom of the sea
都夫多都御魂 Tsubutatsumitama, the part of Sarutahiko no Kami's soul that appeared in the middle of the sea
阿和佐久御魂 Awasakumitama, the part of Sarutahiko no Kami's soul that appeared on the surface of the sea
大山津神 Ōyamatsumi no Kami, the father of Konohanasakuya-hime and Iwanaga-hime
木花之佐久夜姫 Konohanasakuya-hime, the youngest daughter of Ōyamatsumi no Kami
石長姫 Iwanaga-hime, the eldest daughter of Ōyamatsumi no Kami
"On a bright clear day, while Ninigi no Mikoto was walking along the beach if Kasasa, he met a maiden as beautiful as the flowers...
"I am the daughter of Ōyatsumi no Kami, Konohanasakuya-hime..."
"I would like to marry you."
"I cannot answer, you will have to ask my father..."
Later on, Ninigi no Mikoto sent a messenger to Ōyamatsumi no Kami. Having been asked this, Ōyamatsumi no Kami was thrilled. With many gifts, he decided to send the two sisters together to Ninigi no Mikoto to become his brides.
With much joy, Ninigi no Mikoto went to receive the two women. However, the eldest sister Iwanaga-hime's face was incredibly hard to look at, "You, return home!" And he sent her back to her father's place. Only the beautiful Konohanasakuya-hime went to his place and spent the night together."
Do you remember how all the reincarnations of Hieda no Are died at 30 years old, and Hieda no Akyuu became a weird case because she reached 30 a couple of years ago and hasn't officially died yet?
Well, the events of Touhou 20 might provide a solution to Akyuu's predicament, along with an out-of-universe reason why ZUN kept her alive a little beyond her expected lifespan. But this involves entering Spoiler Territory, so I'll go into detail under the Read More.
In the official manga Forbidden Scrollery, it had already been established that Akyuu prayed to Iwanagahime for longevity, and the previous reincarnations of Hieda no Are were probably already doing this as well. Those prayers were seemingly being ignored, and with the debut of Ariya Iwanaga in Touhou 20, we're discovering why: Iwanaga had been sealed for a long time by the Lunarians.
With Iwanaga now being free once again and Akyuu having somehow managed to delay her eventual demise for long enough to witness this, the tragedy of the Child of Miare could finally be avoided, and both Akyuu and any descendants/successors she may have could finally get to live long and prosper without sacrificing their passion for recording history.
(And those annoying "Akyuu's funeral" memes would be rendered obsolete)
(And Akyuu X Kosuzu would no longer be Doomed Yuri)
A bunch of posts I found about real-life inspirations for Touhou lore and a few interesting fan-theories (and my own thoughts on them)
I had originally put all this together for a Reddit post, but now I've decided to post that here as well, even though almost all my sources are already from Tumblr. I'll also translate it all to Spanish.
Two or three months ago, "Levander" a.k.a. @chireikiden (currently, the main English translator of official Touhou print works by ZUN and fan-made Touhou print works by other artists that get published as part of Strange Creators of Outer World) got an ask on their Tumblr blog and provided the following answer:
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[15-04-2026]
An ask by an anonymous user for @chireikiden:
"Are the Watatsuki sisters considered kami? Could Yorihime summon her sister Toyohime out of the blue?"
The answer by @chireikiden (https://chireikiden.tumblr.com/post/813991281994924032):
"In terms of family trees and mythologically recognizable characters, the likes of Eirin, Sagume and, indeed, the Watatsuki sisters are pretty unambiguously Heavenly Kami, that is, the Japanese gods. (By extension, we have to assume Kaguya is a Heavenly Kami as well; although the original Princess Kaguya is a fairytale character with no specific religious status, it isn't much of a leap to call her one, even within the original Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.)
Beyond that, the Ephemeral Moon Vignette saga (that is, both Silent Sinner in Blue and Cage-in Lunatic Runagate) make it explicit that both Reimu and Yorihime are also summoning Lunarian gods when they do their thing. With Yorihime being able to summon the likes of Amaterasu, I have to assume she could summon Toyohime too, yeah. Note that we're putting aside any unknowable questions about whether she'd be allowed to do so without 'the proper measures' or 'permission' (chapter 6 of Cage-in Lunatic Runagate).
It's specified (most explicitly in chapter 6 of Silent Sinner in Blue) that gods, including those with physical bodies, are simply cloned when summoned into a new location. This would also apply to Toyohime. I guess that's a good reason not to try to summon her.
-----
That said, as a tangent: although the Lunarians' 'summonability' seems to be one of the least ambiguous things about them, there's a lot about the Lunarians' exact nature that gets into the territory of what I'd call 'dubious by omission': stuff that isn't directly contradictory per se, but has been left ambiguous and starts getting more and more dubious the longer it goes without being mentioned or clarified in any way, even when the Lunarians otherwise come up. It's really hard to see Lunarians running on very similar rules as Earthly Kami such as the ones at the Moriya Shrine or the Aki sisters, but they may have simply outgrown such concerns when they moved to the Moon and chose a new form of immortality. And of course, the ones we're most familiar with –Eirin and Kaguya– also have the Hourai Elixir as an added complication.
I think a lot of the Touhou lore surrounding the Moon exists in a kind of confusing state partly because Touhou 8 (released in 2004) was a very early entry of the series from the era when its setting was still pretty unformed, yet the Ephemeral Moon Vignette saga (published from 2007 to 2009) ended up discussing it at quite some length and then more games (namely, Touhou 15 in 2015 and Touhou 20 in 2025) kept on coming back to the subject. But the boundaries around the status of kami being very fuzzy is appropriate for both the Touhou universe and real-life Shintou lore, anyway."
Tags added by @rosymerry (https://rosymerry.tumblr.com/post/813991600822829056):
"The lore about kami and the Lunarians in Touhou is delightfully ambiguous. I'm currently re-reading through all material, hoping to get insights on them (particularly how Heaven relates to the Lunar Capital), but I don't expect their status/nature will be truly clarified in canon."
A reply by @clarste:
"Bunrei."
-----
The reply by "clarste" mentioning the bunrei, along with this part of Levander's answer...
"It's specified (most explicitly in chapter 6 of Silent Sinner in Blue) that gods, including those with physical bodies, are simply cloned when summoned into a new location."
... reminded me of the following piece of Touhou lore and its possible basis on real-life Shintou religious practices:
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[25-11-2023]
A post by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/734999981348552704):
"Where's the f***ing thing about splitting up kami, leaving each bit as whole instances of that kami, that I know I've read once? 'Infinite chocolate' type guys.
(By the way, this is the basis for my idea that there are variants of each Heavenly Kami in Gensoukyou and in the Lunar Capital at the same time.)"
A reply by @sukimas:
"It's in Strange and Bright Nature Deity, the second manga of The Three Fairies of Light (published from 2006 to 2009). It's also at the beginning of Silent Sinner in Blue."
-----
I had read about a process in real-life Shintou religion called "kanjou", as well as the "bunrei" or "wakemitama". The whole thing reminds me so much of this bit of Touhou lore that @occasionaltouhou and @sukimas were talking about, that I can't help but wonder if the lore from Strange and Bright Nature Deity and Silent Sinner in Blue was inspired by this. I'll copy-paste it here from Wikipedia; it should be a good enough summary:
"Bunrei or wakemitama [「分霊」] is a Shintou technical term that indicates both the process of dividing a kami to be re-enshrined somewhere else (such as a house's kamidana or miniature altar), and the spirit itself produced by the division.
Shrines conduct bunrei in order to distribute kami to 'child' shrines elsewhere. The spirit of the kami does not decrease through this act, and a bunrei functions the same way as the original spirit. The reason for conducting bunrei is often to make a kami more accessible to worshipers far from the main shrine."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunrei
"Kanjou [「勧請」] in Shintou terminology indicates a propagation process through which a kami, previously divided through the process of bunrei, is invited to another location and re-enshrined there.
It was originally a Buddhist term: called 'abhiṣeka' ['अभिषेक'] in Sanskrit, it initially referred to the request of the buddha's sermon with a sincere heart; later, it came to mean the urging of a buddha or bodhisattva to remain in this world to preach and save other human beings, and then the concept evolved further to mean the act (and the actual words) of asking buddhas or bodhisattvas to descend to the altar during a Buddhist service. In Japan, the word entered Shintou vocabulary and gradually assumed the present meaning of enshrinement of a buddha or kami in a building for the first time.
Inari is the kami that has been subjected to the process of kanjou more often than any other."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanj%C5%8D
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In turn, this reminded me of a bunch of other cool Touhou theories and ideas proposed by @occasionaltouhou, whom you can also find as "godmedallion" in Archive Of Our Own. Most of them are related to either the Lunarians or Iwanaga-hime, and they also inspired me to come up with my own thoughts on the matter:
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[25-11-2023]
A post by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/734950414258241536):
"To be honest, if Gensoukyou can't survive heat death, I doubt the Hourai Elixir could either. Because, ultimately, that stuff is still fuelled by human belief in an elixir of immortality. Arguably, that's its active ingredient."
A reply by @every1sno1fangirl:
"Is the Hourai Elixir fuelled by human belief? I wouldn't think so, I don't think the Lunarians are in the same way people of Gensoukyou are."
The response by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/734998492673703937):
"Lunarians are just kami, the same as the ones who live in Gensoukyou. So yeah, they're dependent upon human belief, the same as anything else. They'll never f***ing admit it, though.
(As a general rule, treat anything the Lunarians say as suspect. The instant Kaguya said they invented youkai, I knew they didn't know s***.)"
A reply by @derxwnakapsyla:
"Now I'm just imagining a future where Gensoukyou (including all associated sub-realms) is just drifting through space, mostly unaware that the entirety of the universe is gone, because Utsuho is producing an artificial Sun and Eirin is producing an artificial Moon, so little has functionally changed for them."
The response by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/734998492673703937):
"In an empty universe, Earth remains, and it is simply vibing."
Tags added by @monikatouhou a.k.a. @monidoll (https://monidoll.tumblr.com/post/734998846620434432):
"I think Lunarians are now an indistinguishable mix of actual kami and newly immortal humans; this way, since technically there are humans on the Lunar Capital, its system is internally self-sustaining. At least on the timescale of centuries and millennia, it should be stable enough; millions and billions of years is probably too long of a time to consider here in the first place."
The response by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/734999566825472000):
"This actually gives me the chance to bring up an idea I've had for a while: I don't think the Lunarians are a mix of gods and humans, nor do I think they're trying to turn themselves into humans – humans, prone as they are to life and death, are inherently beings of kegare/impurity.
I think they're attempting to turn themselves from kami into proper, capital-G Gods, and I think that the Moon Rabbits are there to maintain the system: they're artificial worshippers who provide the faith required to sustain the Lunarians.
Unfortunately for them, this is a ridiculous plan because it hinges upon the fact that they exist as things humans came up with in the first place. Their isolated system only works as long as someone who's actually real and wasn't imagined into being thinks they might exist – this would remain true even if they were able to turn themselves into humans, because they'd still have turned themselves into humans who don't experience human things like... you know... getting sick and dying."
A reblog by @that-which-isnt:
"I'm not really at all familiar with Chinese mythology, but my understanding from Wikipedia-level browsing was that Lunarians are essentially the same thing as Celestials like Tenshi, which is to say, humans reborn in a Pure Land because of good karma or favouritism from gods and made functionally immortal through the continual consumption of heavenly foods. The difference between Lunarians and regular Celestials is just that the Moon-dwellers made their own Pure Land rather than having one given to them by the gods.
The Moon Rabbits are anyone's guess and one of the biggest mysteries in Touhou in my opinion, but personally, I think the idea of them being engineered beings created to act as slaves and a faith farm is probably correct. My only question is if they were made from scratch, or if there used to be a lot more Lunarians and a lot fewer Moon Rabbits."
The response by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/735003769968918528):
"The thing about the Lunarians being Celestials is that it's pretty explicit that the Lunarians are meant to be the Heavenly Kami, because every Lunarian we've been given the name of is a Heavenly Kami. The Celestials are all off in Heaven; the Lunar Capital is a counterfeit. Given that it was designed by Eirin, it was probably intended to piggyback off the idea of the Moon being inhabited by Celestials – after all, the Lunarians think of themselves as being equivalent, and do everything that they can to ensure that it is the case (which is, of course, not something an actual Celestial would ever need to do)."
A reply by @paradizetobefound:
"Can it be said that the Moon merely reflecting sunlight instead of being a legitimate source of sky illumination provides further symbolism to Lunarians being counterfeit Celestials in a forgery of Heaven?"
-----
[25-11-2023]
A post by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/735001095414382592):
"Anyway... Yeah, the Lunarians are... like... basically just one version of the Heavenly Kami. They're not even the genuine article, because there isn't one for kami, that's not how they 'work'. And I know in my heart that this eats them up inside. Wretched little shadows of the Heavenly Kami, hiding on the Moon with all their fake worshippers.
(I can feel myself slipping into Yukari Mode. I need to go eat something.)"
-----
[25-11-2023]
An ask by @tennco for @occasionaltouhou:
"I saw that post about the Hourai Elixir and was wondering: what happens to belief or faith when no one's around to... well... believe? Does it have to come in a constant supply? Does belief persist after the death of the one who originated it? Are the dead allowed to believe?"
The answer by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/735000275731054593):
"We know that youkai can provide faith, so it follows that the spirits of the dead can do so too. My theory is that, provided that people believe in some kind of afterlife, those spirits can provide (a very small amount of) belief in stuff. But that only holds true so long as there are people who believe in a world beyond death.
But yeah, it'd have to be a constant supply – that's why they had to build the Hakurei Barrier when they did: because you can't really get back what was already lost once nobody believes in it anymore, even if you re-develop that belief afterwards – or at least, it wouldn't be the same as what was there beforehand.
(So long as the idea of the youkai exists and they're believed in, the individual variants can just appear in much smaller amounts, on account of the fact that they were already existing. I hope this helps.)"
-----
I find this part interesting:
"[...] even if you re-develop that belief afterwards, [...] it wouldn't be the same as what was there beforehand."
I've read a long fanfic a while ago (if I remember correctly, it was "Powerless Hakurei Tales" by "Carmichael_Micaalus") that briefly addresses what would happen to youkai if they could peacefully coexist with humans in Gensoukyou, instead of needing to eat humans and depending on humans' fear of youkai as well as their belief in them.
The answer the author came up with is that yes, it's possible for Gensoukyou's humans to still believe in the existence of youkai and even their powers, and interact with them without fearing them. In this scenario, youkai could still exist and even keep their previous physical forms and powers, but at a more fundamental, existential level, they'd be something different; they'd not be exactly the same as the youkai they used to be.
However, I'd suggest that y'all take this (and any other thing relative to my personal interpretation of canon and my tastes in Touhou fanfiction) with a grain of salt: as it can be deduced from this other post I wrote a while ago (https://mashounen2003.tumblr.com/post/820008374765764608), the way I tend to envision Gensoukyou and the interactions between all its inhabitants, while not necessarily being incongruent with Touhou canon, is probably much more optimistic and idealistic than what would be allowed by the current fandom consensus (as an example unrelated to the topic of this post: I have the opinion that, when the Spell Card Rules were introduced, life in Gensoukyou was no longer "business as usual" and Reimu coming up with that idea was a big change and marked a turning point in Gensoukyou's history by proposing a way to solve issues that didn't require humans and youkai to fear and hate and kill each other).
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[26-11-2023]
A post by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/735004757194932224):
"The Lunar Capital is a masterwork: home to incredible wonders, technology far in advance of that of the surface... But it is a forgery – a forgery among forgeries, certainly, but a forgery nonetheless, made by some rather small-minded beings trying desperately to ignore the truth of their own existence. As always: don't get tricked, alright?"
A reply by @itspurvis:
"Forgeries own.
Han van Meegeren is a better and more accomplished artist than Vermeer ever was."
The response by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/735030980178477056):
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not dismissing forgeries, nor the work put into them – creating an imitation Heaven is something only a genius like Eirin could pull off.
My point was that it's not Heaven, and the Lunarians are not Celestials, and when you really dig down, the Lunar Capital is simply an exercise in trying to ignore the stuff you don't want to deal with (kegare, being reliant on human belief, the general concept of entropy) by plugging your ears and hoping that they eventually stop mattering."
A reply by @itspurvis:
"If I may be slightly more serious for a moment: it seems that the crux of this is that Lunarians are 'Fake' and Celestials are 'Real'. Where is that coming from, exactly?
I've always kind of assumed that the Lunar Capital and the Celestials' realm are both sub-sections of the Gods' Realm (one of the 6 Buddhist Realms, which is also where the Animal Realm comes from), two different flavours of the same thing, particularly since the Dragon Palace seems to exist in both."
The response by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/735088321947156480):
"While the Lunar Capital being fake is not exactly a thing ZUN has said 'outright', there's a bunch of stuff that can easily lead one to that impression. But the main thing is that... you know... it was made: it was designed, by Eirin, specifically to be a Pure Land. Meanwhile, as far as we know, the Celestials' Heaven simply 'exists' out there, as the other Buddhist Realms do – and it doesn't have a firm location in the way the Lunar Capital does: it's simply 'above the clouds'. Arguably, the Dragon Palace existing in both cements the idea of the Lunar Capital being a fraud.
The thing is that the Lunar Capital exists as a mirror to Gensoukyou: it is the totalitarian, walled-off form of Gensoukyou, the version that ignores the possibility of growth in favour of unchanging perpetuity. And for that to work, thematically speaking, it needs to be built off the same principles – it wouldn't work if it wasn't a false Heaven."
A reply by @sukimas:
"I will note that Izumo, the other vibes-based inspiration for the Lunar Capital, is also explicitly a 'constructed paradise'."
The response by @occasionaltouhou:
"It's artificial Heavens all the way down."
-----
[26-11-2023]
An ask by an anonymous user for @occasionaltouhou:
"Since the topic of the day seems to be the Lunarians, do you have any recommendations for writing/playing one in a TTRPG?"
The answer by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/735031704708890624):
"First, read all of Silent Sinner in Blue. Then, for good measure, look up a bunch of Eirin's manga appearances and read those too. Now that you have a taste, we can dig into specifics.
I'd say that, when playing a Lunarian, you need to keep these things in mind:
=> They're extremely confident, both in themselves and in the strength & stability of the Lunar Capital.
=> They're xenophobic, but not to an absurd degree (they'll work with non-Lunarians if they need to).
=> They're kind of clueless. These are people who spend all their time in a bubble they made for themselves, where everything simply continues, no matter what – putting one into a situation where they're at a disadvantage might make them start acting increasingly irrational.
=> As far as they're concerned, Earth is a prison that they made for humans and youkai (this is not true, but they believe it).
=> Whichever Heavenly Kami you pick as their base, they can do what that kami would be able to do. A Lunarian is simply a single instance of a specific kami who decided to be an idiot on the Moon.
=> They generally have great respect for the higher-ups of the Lunar Capital (Tsukuyomi, Eirin, other high-ranking Heavenly Kami) and little to no respect for the Moon Rabbits.
=> The 'lunatic' in 'Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom' (the English title of Touhou 15) refers to them: only a lunatic would put their faith in the Lunar Capital.
That's all I got off the top of my head. There's probably more, though."
-----
All of this is very helpful, even though the kind of game I'd make is either a MetroidVania like Luna Nights, or a classic linear 2D platformer, or maybe a clone of Mega Man Battle Network in a similar vein to ShangHai.EXE: Gensou Network. Then, the plot of this game would have Lunarians involved. (TTRPGs never caught my interest, sorry about that)
Just imagine... Koumajou Densetsu 3: Edgy 2000s Vampire Hunter Reimu Goes to the Moon (and pisses on it, like Dr Eggman in Snapcube's real-time fan-dubs) in Revenge for the Lunarians' BS.
I'll say, though, that making a game with a plot strongly connected to the Lunar Capital will be complicated: sure, Lunarian society is doomed to collapse in the far future, but at present, individual Lunarians like Yorihime are still OP, and the gameplay would be obligated to show that. Unless...
Unless, for some plot contrivance, this game's setting is the Outside World, so both the characters from Gensokyo and the Lunarians are brought down to the same power level due to entering a "belief-less" environment.
It'll also take work to imagine why Lunarians would even bother to intervene directly in any Earth matters to begin with. However, after the events of Touhou 20 (Yuiman being freed, the Lunar Capital losing their "purification mountain" facilities where they used her as their AI), they might be getting desperate; that could work as the plot for another Touhou game where the Lunar Capital starts a new incident. Namely, the 3rd point in the list made by @occasionaltouhou above...
"[...] putting a Lunarian into a situation where they're at a disadvantage might make them start acting increasingly irrational."
... makes me think the Touhou 20 aftermath might be enough to make Lunarians lose their marbles.
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[31-01-2024]
An ask by @d6b-onion for @occasionaltouhou:
"What do you think about Misumaru? Personally... I don't know, maybe it's unfortunate, but she doesn't look like a particularly interesting character.
People joke and talk about how 'she's a MILF' or whatever, and... Sure... But somehow, with her, it gives her a boring vibe. It feels... like... contrary to all other Touhou characters: she isn't just vibing.
I personally don't really like her design: Tenshi did the rainbow thing better, and Misumaru's pose is kinda silly.
What drives me up the wall is that she's a boring character... who crafted Reimu's Yin-Yang Orbs! When was the last time we got actual, bona fide Reimu lore before that?! There could be all sorts of connections to the Hakurei God... but she's kind of a nothing-burger. It's a shame, really. Maybe you disagree."
The answer by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/741021778815713280):
"Misumaru, huh... She's definitely a character who hasn't gotten her time to shine. Misumaru is actually kind of a 'Big Deal' in a lot of ways. First and foremost, at least based on her name, she's Tama-no-Oya-no-Mikoto, which means she's a Heavenly Kami who's closely tied both to the provenance of a clan that technically predates modern Japan itself, and also to the myth of Amaterasu in her cave – which, of course, also theoretically ties Misumaru directly to the Lunarians. And just to top it all off, Tama-no-Oya-no-Mikoto is also the creator of the Yasakani-no-Magatama, which is... you know... about as big of a deal as it gets in Japanese mythology.
So, just from which kami she is, she's already got a lot going on. And she is, of course, the creator of the Yin-Yang Orbs – why wouldn't you hire a master craftsman to create the go-shintai for the kami used as a lynchpin of Gensoukyou?
There are a few more interesting facets to her, one of which is the very fact that she hasn't shown up before or since Touhou 18 – she's specifically protecting her interests in Youkai Mountain. She's firm and competent, she provides guidance and aid, and she's about as selfish as we've seen of any kami. The only reason she showed up is because people were taking rocks she claimed as hers!
So, she's a Heavenly Kami... but not a Lunarian. Also, it's worth noting that there aren't many shrines to Tama-no-Oya-no-Mikoto; really, she's only a step or two above Hina in terms of being a so-called 'feral kami'. She doesn't really seem to have any allegiance to Gensoukyou, or to the Hakurei Shrine (or else... you know... she'd probably have shown up at any other time). She's just kind of a weird artisan. And she makes magatama and balls. And she throws them at people for fun. What's better than this?"
-----
[02-11-2023]
An ask by an anonymous user for @occasional-touhou:
"Could you please explain the 'Iwanaga-hime is the Hakurei God' theory?"
[For context: at 09-02-2023, @occasionaltouhou had posted the designs of two Touhou OCs, one of them being a character inspired by Iwanaga-hime; the post in question included summaries where the author mentioned a theory that Iwanaga-hime is the true identity of the Hakurei God. The link to the original post by @occasionaltouhou is https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/708805168606691328.]
The answer by @occasionaltouhou (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/732913388035915776):
"The quick + shrimple explanation is that Iwanaga-hime is the most relevant kami of Gensoukyou as a whole, so it'd make sense for the shrine most significant to Gensoukyou to also be related to her. To elaborate...
First and foremost, Youkai Mountain is the real-life Yatsugatake mountain range, that is, Iwanaga-hime's mountain (mythologically, the Yatsugatake mountains are the remains of Iwanaga-hime's mountain, and Youkai Mountain could be interpreted as the original form of said mountain before it was destroyed). We know this from Mokou's chapter of Cage-in Lunatic Runagate, one of the most critical Touhou lore objects. I feel like, right from the start, it needs to be emphasised how crucial it is that the main thing differentiating Gensoukyou from the Outside World –potentially and arguably being a lynchpin of its existence– belongs to a myth about Iwanaga-hime specifically (in case you're curious, there's no contradiction in both Iwanaga-hime and Yasakatome/Takeminakata/Kanako being the Kami of Youkai Mountain, though I imagine Iwanaga-hime isn't happy about it given who Kanako is as a person).
The second reason is that the Hieda clan –and Akyuu in particular– also worship Iwanaga-hime. In fact, they're specifically noted to do so in a way that you don't really get for basically any other kami . Akyuu does so hoping for the gift of longevity (because... you know... Akyuu...), but that doesn't really elaborate on why the rest of the family does beyond that it's a thing that they do.
Iwanaga-hime is extremely important to both the giant f***ing rock in the middle of Gensoukyou and also its main chronicler, someone who is arguably as critical as the Hakurei shrine maidens to maintaining the status quo of Gensoukyou. At the very least, Iwanaga-hime would absolutely have been a part of the negotiations for the development of Gensoukyou right from the start, if nothing else. She's 'kind of important'.
So, you know, you have this kami whose whole thing is making sure things last, who's crucial to Gensoukyou's existence, and whose go-shintai is a huge f***ing rock. Are you picking up what I'm putting down?"
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There are a few things introduced in Touhou 20 that might throw a wrench into things, but everything else described here still fits too well in the current Touhou canon, so I still adhere to this theory, which also gave me ideas for a few things I'd like to work on.
For now, here's what I thought up when I looked for a way to reconcile the idea of Iwanaga-hime (or Ariya Iwanaga, in this case) being the Hakurei God with the more recently established Touhou canon.
The big question here is how Ariya could have participated in the creation of Gensoukyou if she was still sealed in the Pyramid. Maybe Yukari or any of the Sages invoked Iwanaga's power or something like that, and they achieved this by using the Yatsugatake mountains as a substitute for Ariya herself (this mountain range is Ariya's go-shintai after all, and it'd still be there, no matter if she was sealed under them); they managed to make it work, but Ariya couldn't control it in the state she was in.
(Also, this reminded me that Ariya probably was able to at least vaguely/subconsciously sense, not only the Sages using her mountains to create Gensoukyou, but also the Hieda family praying to her for longevity while still being unable to answer those prayers. Now that Ariya has been freed, she can do something for Akyuu, but... Damn, remembering all those prayers that went unanswered, all the times Akyuu died young and had to reincarnate because Ariya couldn't prevent it or even mitigate it in any way, and the feelings of guilt from that, must still be eating Ariya from the inside if this is all true.)
While Ariya's power over permanence and the immutable would be useful to upkeep Gensoukyou, the incident in Touhou 20 proves this is a double-edged sword: she unleashed her power indiscriminately, which stopped the normal flow of time and was going to leave Gensoukyou devoid of kegare, and that threatened Gensoukyou's whole existence (it's pointed out at least twice in Touhou 20 alone that the complete absence of kegare, which happens in the Lunar Capital and would have happened in Gensoukyou if the incident hadn't been solved, is comparable to being dead).
Now, when "occasionaltouhou" initially proposed this theory (that was at least two years before the release of Touhou 20 featuring Ariya Iwanaga, and if we count from when they posted their Iwanaga-inspired OC and mentioned this theory for the first time, it was even before the release of Touhou 19), they speculated that Iwanaga-hime would not like to share Youkai Mountain with someone like Kanako. Now that Ariya was introduced and she has a strong grudge with the Lunarians, she might find common ground with Kanako on sharing this grudge at least (and if the story also decides to delve into Yuiman's past and Kanako's old friendship with her, Ariya and Kanako could also find common ground in wishing the best for Yuiman, but this is just the shipping-obsessed part of my brain talking). More importantly to the roles of both Ariya's power and Youkai Mountain in Gensoukyou, and something that addresses the issue I talked about in the previous paragraph: after the Touhou 20 incident, Ariya would understand that her power of immutability is necessary but must be used with moderation as well (both to keep Gensoukyou alive and to not follow on the Lunarians' steps), and Kanako is pragmatic and willing to accept change (she even tries to present herself as a kami of innovation); with Ariya and Kanako sharing the role of "the Kami of Youkai Mountain", they might be able to arrange a sort of "work relationship" where they balance each other.
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This is it for now. I just wanted to take all this interesting stuff proposed by other Touhou fans, put it all together and organised in one place, and share it here for anyone interested. Feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments (and also give credit and go follow/subscribe to all the people mentioned here, of course).
I had deep reasons for giving both of my daughters to you. If you took Iwanaga-hime as your wife, then even when snow falls or wind blows, like a boulder your life would be unchanging.
If you took Konohanasakuya-hime as your wife, then your reign, like a flower in full bloom would prosper.
Thus this pledge was accepted by the kami. However, by turning away the eldest sister Iwanaga-hime in contempt, and taking only her younger sister as your wife, your life, like the blossoms of a flower will quickly fall.—
It is said from this time onwards, human lifespans became shorter."
Vocabulary
御代 みよ imperial reign
咲き誇る さ・ほご to be in full bloom, to blossom in full glory
侮辱 ぶじょく insult, slight, affront
娶る めと to marry, to take as a wife
寿命 じゅみょう lifespan
身籠る みごも to become pregnant
産み月 う・づき final month of pregnancy
認知 にんち acknowledgement, recognition
身に覚えの無い み・おぼ・な having no knowledge of, coming out of the blue
塞ぐ ふさ to close up, to block up, to plug up
誓う ちか to swear an oath
火を放つ ひ・はな to set fire
凄まじい すさ terrific, amazing, intense
噴く ふ to emit, to spout
恥じ入る は・い to be ashamed, to be abashed
獲る と to catch, to take, to capture
狩り か hunting
獲物 えもの prey, game, kill
"Doubting her Ninigi no Mikoto replied, "Am I to believe we conceived after only one night together? That child is most assuredly not mine. Surely without doubt it is the child of a Kunitsukami!"
Konohanasakuya-hime, was not expecting to hear such a reply. In order to clear up the doubts that came out of nowhere, she had a large windowless birthing hut built with the exit plastered in dirt to seal it off.
"This child in my belly, if it is of someone aside from you, it will not survive being born. If it is your child, it will be born safely." Swearing an oath, she set fire to the birthing hut, and within those flames the children were born."
Places
大三島 Ōmishima, an island in the Seto Inland Sea where Ōyamatsumi no Kami and Iwanaga-hime are enshrined at Ōyamatsumi Jinja 大山祇神社 and its auxillary shrine Anaba Jinja 阿奈波神社 respectfully
銀鏡神社 Shiromi Jinja, located in Saito City, Miyazaki, is the location of a mirror that according to other stories Iwanaga-hime threw away into the mountains after seeing herself and becoming ashamed
"The child born when the flames started is Hoderi. As the flames were burning, the child known as Hosuseri was born. As the flames were dying down, the child known as Hoori was born.
Thus, the three boys were born without incident, and she was able to prove they were Ninigi no Mikoto's children in a spectacular manner."
Kami
火照の命 Hoderi no Mikoto, the eldest child of Konohanasakuya-hime and Ninigi no Mikoto, also known as Umisachihiko 海幸彦
火須勢理の命 Hosuseri no Mikoto, the middle child of Konohanasakuya-hime and Ninigi no Mikoto
火遠理の命 Hoori no Mikoto, the youngest child of Konohanasakuya-hime and Ninigi no Mikoto, also know as Yamasachihiko 山幸彦
"After many years had passed, the eldest son Hoderi, called Umisachihiko, lived as a sea dweller, catching fish. The youngest Hoori, called Yamasachihiko, lived in the mountains and plains, hunting as a mountain dweller."
Meditate. Feel the wind that blows within me. I am the Goddess of Rock, I bring you steadfast strength. Your mind and body will not be shaken by rain, wind, or bitter cold. Connect with the immovable rock within you. It will never change. You are safe now.
Themes
Unwavering Strength
Grounding
Safety
Card Message
"Iwanagahime, daughter of the kami Ōyamatsumi no Kami, is the spirit of the rock, hard as a boulder, eternal. She also presides over the longevity of life.
The rock is the very earth that forms this world, grounding you firmly in this world. This card advises you on the importance of keeping your feet on the ground.
When the energy form is separated from the body, you feel as if your mind is always wandering. In daily life, your hands and feet get cold, you tend to stumble easily, you forget things, you can't understand what other people say, it affects your health, and it starts to interfere with your real life.
Iwanagahime will help you to properly connect your energy form with your physical body. Grounding is the source of mental and physical health.
The rock of Iwanagahime is not an inflexible solid energy. Try meditating. Inside the rock of the kami, the wind of nothingness blows and sings.
When you connect with the energy of the immovable rock within you, trust is born. Iwanagahime brings you the energy of stillness, stability, security, and strength, as well as the energy of longevity.
If you are feeling anxious right now, Iwanagahime will help you to get rid of your anxiety. Even in tough situations, if you remain calm, inspiration will come to you.
It doesn't matter if it's somewhere nearby. Go for a stroll and get in touch with nature. Why not wear a pedometer and walk?"
Shrines
磐長姫神社 Iwanagahime Jinja, Hyōgo Prefecture
伊砂砂神社 Isasa Jinja , Shiga Prefecture
雲見浅間神社 Kumomi Sengen Jinja, Shizuoka Prefecture
This is the final card from the 日本の神様カード Gods and Goddesses of Japan Oracle Deck!
I do want to emphasize, that I’m sharing these because I find them interesting. Shinto has their own practices regarding divination and fortune telling, and Tarot and Oracle are western practices that recently came over to Japan. Please do not think that because I am sharing these that I’m saying Tarot and Oracle Cards are a Shinto practice.
I have 3 decks, 2 Oracles by the same author and artist, and 1 Tarot Deck, that I’ll be sharing cards from every Tuesday and Thursday. If you don’t wish to see them block the tag Tarot Days! I won’t be posting these with the Shinto tag since they’re not explicitly Shinto in nature.
“She is a kami in Japanese mythology. She is god of immortality. She is also the daughter of Ōyamatsumi, and sister to Konohanasakuya-hime. She is said to be enshrined at Kifune Shrine. Her father offered both her and her sister as wives to Emperor Ninigi, however he rejected Iwanaga-hime. Her father told Ninigi that he offered both of his daughters so that the emperors would live forever, like the rocks. But, since Iwanaga-hime was rejected, the emperors will live short lives as punishment. Another version is that she was angered by the rejection and cursed the emperors, and all other beings to live ephemeral lives, like tree blossoms. This story is used as an explanation for the shortness of human life.”
