Main Profile
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Name: |
聖 白蓮 Byakuren Hijiri | |
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Alternate spellings: |
Byakuren Hiziri | |
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Species: |
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Abilities: |
Ability to use magic | |
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Age: |
Unknown, At least 1000 | |
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Occupation: |
Monk | |
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Location: |
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Description: |
Has long, wavy, light brown hair that seems to fade to purple at the top, with hazel or light brown eyes. Wears a black and white dress with long strips of black fabric going across the middle and white fabric across the arms. Along with this dress, she wears a long cape. She also holds a giant, magical scroll-like object. | |
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Relationships: |
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Appearances: |
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Titles: |
See Character Titles |
The stage 6 boss, Byakuren has said that she was once a human and worked with her younger brother as a monk. When he died, she feared death, but she was able to maintain her youth with her power. However, she feared that she might lose her power, so she helped youkai in many ways. But she didn't hate humans either, because she wanted humans and youkai to co-exist. She was ultimately sealed away in Makai by humans. During the events of Undefined Fantastic Object, the youkai she has saved reappear to break her free from the seal. Her fate depends on which heroine is chosen by the player.
Based on events in Undefined Fantastic Object's Extra and later on in Touhou Hisoutensoku, she made a temple near the Human Village.
Fun Facts
- Byakuren's name (聖 "Saint" or "Virtuous Monk" or "Itinerant Monk" + 白蓮 "White Lotus" or "Purity") can be read literally as "Saint of the White Lotus", "White Lotus Saint", drawing upon the cultural reading of the white lotus as a symbol of purity: "Pure and Saintly" or "Saint of Purity", or drawing upon the modern definition of 聖 (read as Hijiri, meaning a world-trekking Buddhist monk), "Roaming Monk of the White Lotus" or "The Pure and Itinerant Monk".
- Byakuren is the only character so far to have text on any of her cut-in portraits. Written in ZUN's hand on her final cut-in is 南無三!, which is short for 南無三宝 - roughly, "Hail to the three treasures of Buddhism" (the Buddha, dharma, and the clergy). It's used to request salvation in a moment of danger.
- Because of her and Minamitsu Murasa's relationship and character designs, some fans have described them as newer versions of Yumemi Okazaki and Chiyuri Kitashirakawa
- Her 4th spell card looks identical to Shinki's next-to-last attack, and it even has the characters for "demon god(dess)" (魔神) in its name. This has caused fans who expected Shinki or Mima to return after a lot of interest in the idea to hold her in contempt for stealing Shinki's moves and to believe ZUN is trolling them for wanting the aforementioned two back in a new game. This is strongly reinforced by the fact that Hijiri is a Magician that is fought in Makai.
- A theory is starting to develop that Byakuren has a broken arm, because it's depicted at such an awkward angle.
- Because she is a bit more mature acting, and possibly because she is a Stage-6 boss like Kanako & Yuyuko (Who are often portrayed as much older than the norm for the Touhou girls.), some fan artists portray her as being an "Old lady", or lumped into the same grouping as such: this is perhaps a bit ironic in Byakuren's case, considering how her profile states that she became a Magician to retain her youth.
- It is interesting to note that in her stage, the fairies at one point move in a "Space Invaders" or "Galaga" pattern: shooting bullets, then slowly moving down.
- Battling Byakuren reminds some fans of Yuyuko Saigyouji, as both have similar spell card designs and use butterfly-shaped bullets. Both also have interesting and intricate designs behind them as they cast their spell cards.
- Some fans have suggested that Byakuren's clothes are similar to Rozen Maiden's Suigintou's.
- Byakuren's first spell card strongly resembles Yukari's "Bounded Field 「Boundary of Life and Death」", her second uses Yuyuko's butterfly bullets, her third has a similar name to Marisa's Milky Way spell card, and her fourth looks like one of Shinki's patterns. ([1]). Perhaps Marisa isn't the only thief type magician now?
- Byakuren is one of the few Touhou characters with nothing on her head—no hat, no ribbons, no non-human attributes.
- She is considered something of a saint among some fans, especially when compared to the ruthless and self-centered nature of the heroines, who reject her ideals for peace. Other fans have argued that from the point of view of someone from a world where humans are oppressed, her appeals for human-youkai equality wouldn't make much sense.
- Some western Touhou fans compare her to Jesus Christ because she fought for youkai but got sealed away for their sins. Because of this, fans have affectionately dubbed her "Youkhrist" or "Youkai Jesus".
- Byakuren appears on the cover of the UFO case.
- During her second to last (fourth) spellcard on Easy, the stars under the health bar show she has two lives left. She does, but on higher difficulties.
- Byakuren's actual hair color is somewhat up in the air. Most fans depict it as it appears (purple on the top, fading to brown), but other fans believe her hair is entirely brown, and it was the lighting of the stage or her scroll that made it appear purple.
- Byakuren's deceased younger brother Myouren Hijiri is the sixth known male character (after one form of the guardian Shingyoku, the turtle Genjii, the half-youkai Rinnosuke, the half-ghost Youki, and the Nyudo Unzan)
Undefined Fantastic Object - Omake.txt
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○6面ボス 封印された大魔法使い 種族:魔法使い 白蓮の弟、命蓮は伝説の僧侶であった。 白蓮は、年老いてからその弟に法力を学んだ。 しかし、命蓮は白蓮よりも早く亡くなってしまった。 若返りを自分の物にし、寿命が亡くなった彼女が次に怖れたのはその 妖術が失われる事、それは人間が完全に妖術を排除する事に他ならない。 彼女は妖怪を敬ったが、それは人間と敵対する為ではない。 突然現れた若い僧侶。 そして、彼女の思いと人間達の期待とのギャップが、悲劇を生んだ。 | |
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○Stage 6 Boss The Sealed Great Magician Species: magician Byakuren's sibling Myouren was a famous monk. Myouren's days were spent easily tossing around enormous pots that contained great storehouses and curing sick people's illnesses in remote places. Byakuren, getting along in years, learned Buddhist magic from Myouren. She normally lived on Tobikura, which was packed with Myouren's Buddhist power, and so naturally Byakuren gained power of her own. However, Myouren died before Byakuren. After having mastered the power of youth and left behind a normal creature's lifespan, the next thing she came to fear was someday losing her power. The only way to lose that black art was for Humanity to reject it entirely. She had great respect for youkai, but not because she disliked humans. This youthful monk who'd suddenly appeared before the youkai... And so the gap between her wishes and the expectations gave birth to a terrible tragedy. | |