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Gensokyo (幻想郷, literally Land of Illusions or Land of Fantasy; more accurately romanized as Gensōkyō or Gensoukyou) is the fictional land that the entire Touhou series takes place in. Its culture vaguely resembles that of feudal Japan, with a lot of folktale elements added on.
Gensokyo was originally a desolate, haunted region of Japan ages ago. The youkai that lived there began to terrorize the surrounding lands, and thus powerful, heroic humans were sent to exorcise and exterminate them. The off and on battle between humans and youkai continued on until 1884 A.D., when Gensokyo was sealed off from this increasingly scientific and skeptical world with the creation of the Hakurei Border. There has been little contact between those societies ever since. Today, the only known gateway between Gensokyo and this world is the Hakurei Shrine, which stands in isolation along the border on distant mountains of the far east.
Gensokyo is populated mainly by youkai, but a decent human and rabbit population lives there as well. Some of its inhabitants went there to hide, to escape, to find shelter when no one and nowhere else would accept them. Many of them just like the natural darkness.
Geography[]
Gensokyo, the area encompassed by the Hakurei Border, is a landlocked territory at least some tens of kilometers in diameter, although its exact size has not been mentioned in canon materials. Notable geographic features include the Youkai Mountain with communities of kappa at its base, tengu at its peak, and the Moriya Shrine at a lake near the top; the Forest of Magic; the Bamboo Forest of the Lost where Eientei is located; the Misty Lake surrounding the Scarlet Devil Mansion; the Human Village, which is assumed to be in a fertile valley; and the Sanzu River separating Gensokyo from Higan.
Although passing through the Hakurei Border to the outside world is virtually impossible for anyone besides Yukari Yakumo, it is significantly easier for Gensokyo denizens to access domains of gods, demons, and dead souls which are not strictly part of Gensokyo itself. These include Higan, the Netherworld, Makai, the Celestial realm seen in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, and the underground abandoned Hell where Subterranean Animism is set.
Cage in Lunatic Runagate Chapter 4 reveals that the Youkai Mountain preserves the original appearance of Mount Yatsugatake before Sakuya-hime, the goddess of Mount Fuji, tore it down out of jealousy. In the outside world today, the remnants of the mountain can be seen as the Yatsugatake mountain range in Yatsugatake-Chūshin Kōgen Quasi-National Park between Nagano and Yamanashi Prefectures, providing an indication of where Gensokyo would be located in Japan. Lake Suwa (諏訪湖, Suwa-ko), which Suwako Moriya was named after, is located nearby.
Timeline[]
Translation of a page from the Japanese Touhou Wiki.
The Gensokyo calendar dates from its sealing in 1884, and is based on the phase of the moon- due to calendar drift, it runs approximately two months earlier than ours.
Note that although the Windows games seem to follow a real-time progression as shown in this timeline, the human protagonists, Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame, don't apparently age beyond their mid-teens.
Month names[]
Gensokyo uses the traditional names of the Japanese months, from the old lunar calendar. In outside Japan, these were discarded in favor of simple numbered months (ichigatsu, nigatsu, etc.) with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, but are still commonplace in poetry and historical television. For flavor, they have been literally translated in the Bohemian Archive articles.
- April - 卯月 uzuki, Deutzia Month
- May - 皐月 satsuki, Planting Month
- June - 水無月 minazuki, Month Of Water (Note: The kanji 無 usually means 'none', but here it's used in an archaic form to show possession)
- July - 文月 fuzuki, Book Month
- August - 葉月 hazuki, Leaf Month
- September - 長月 nagatsuki, Long-lasting Month
- October - 神無月 kannazuki, Godless Month
- November - 霜月 shimotsuki, Frost Month
- December - 師走 shiwasu, Priest-running Month
- January - 睦月 mutsuki, Affection Month
- February - 如月 or 衣更着 kisaragi, More Clothes Month
- March - 弥生 yayoi, Sprouting Month
New Year's in Gensokyo is on the 1st of the Deutzia Month.
Historical events[]
- Distant past - Lunarian society is established
- Chinese legend - Chang'e/Jouga drinks the elixir of immortality and flies to the moon
- Kojiki - the white rabbit of Inaba is attacked by crocodiles it tricks and is saved by Lord Daikoku (~3000 years ago)
- Japanese legend (BCE 300 or earlier) - the Great Suwa War
- hard to date due to the difficulty of determining the start of the Japanese Iron Age
- Before Taketori Monogatari - birth of Fujiwara no Mokou (to Fujiwara no Fuhito?)
- 672-707 A.D. - Taketori Monogatari, beginning of Imperishable Night backstory
- Kaguya and Eirin flee from the moon and establish Eientei
- Fujiwara no Fuhito, on whom Prince Kuramochi was modeled, lived from 659~720
- 712 A.D. - Hieda no Are compiles the Kojiki
e - ~1200 years ago (~800 AD?) - Hieda no Aichi, first child of Miare, begins the Gensokyo Chronicles
- Compilation began around Aichi's 18th birthday
- over 1000 years ago (~900 AD) - Legends of Mt. Shigi (set during reign of Emperor Daigo), Myouren Hijiri passes away.
- a bit over ~1000 years ago - Yuyuko's father passes away beneath the Saigyou Ayakashi
- the historical figure Saigyou lived from 1118 to 3/23/1190 (2/16 old calendar), and entered the priesthood in 1140
- ~1000 years ago - Yuyuko dies, Saigyou Ayakashi sealed, Yuyuko given reign over Hakugyokurou
- "over 1000 years ago" - War for the Moon's Surface
- almost 1000 years ago - Aya Shameimaru settles in Gensokyo
- several hundred years after Taketori Monogatari - Tewi comes to Eientei
- 1430-1476 A.D. - Vlad "Dracula" Tepes' reign
- "over 500 years ago" - Youkai Expansion Project
- ~1502 A.D.- Remilia Scarlet's birth
- ~1507 A.D. - Flandre Scarlet's birth
- ~300 years ago - Youki Konpaku becomes Hakugyokurou's gardener
- ~100 years ago - period of the 8th Child of Miare, Hieda no Aya
- During this time, humans begin becoming powerful enough to seriously challenge youkai
- Akyuu was the first Child of Miare after the border's creation, so Aya probably died before 1885
- 1872-1885 A.D. - first official circulation of Japanese paper money (predates Hakurei Border)
- 0 (~1885 A.D.) - creation of the Great Hakurei Border
- last time dragons were seen in Gensokyo (Perfect Memento: Dragons)
- travel between Gensokyo and the human world becomes difficult
- 60-year cycle year
- 60 (1945 A.D.) - 60-year cycle year / conclusion of World War II
- the first time the Great Hakurei Border weakens
- 84 (1969 A.D., 20 July) - first Lunar expedition, Neil Armstrong plants a flag on the moon
- 84-?? - Lunar War
- Lunar modules Apollo 11 through Apollo 17 land from 1969 to 1972
- Apollo 13 is damaged en route to the moon in 1970 due to high pressure in oxygen tank #2; only the Lunarians know the real cause
- ~35 years ago - Reisen arrives in Gensokyo
- night of a full moon
- after the Lunar War began, before the 100th year of Gensokyo, about 30 years ago in Bougetsusho
- 90-100 (1976-1986 A.D.) - Ghost Immigration Plan (Perfect Memento: Yuyuko Saigyouji)
- ~110 - Kourindou established
- ~113 - Youki Konpaku retires, Youmu becomes the new gardener
- 7/109 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Presenting the Ninth Are Maiden"
- before 1998 A.D. - Vampire Incident (Perfect Memento: Reimu Hakurei)
- Scarlet Devil Mansion appears in Gensokyo, but it isn't clear if its always been there originally or always under Remilia's control.
- Akyuu believes Remilia came to Gensokyo after this incident
Previous works[]
Highly Responsive to Prayers to Mystic Square
Present era[]
7/1/113 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Sudden Location Change for Poltergeists' Live"
10/1/114 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Is the Middle Prismriver Daughter Going Solo?"
5/4/115 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "In Search of a New Sound"
8/4/115 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Mysterious Luxury Goods arrive in Kourindou"
8/2/116 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Demon Lurks in Darkness, in Broad Daylight"
2001/11/18? - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 21 (flashback)
9/2/117 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "The Mysterious Truth about the Secret History Association"
Year 118 (2003)[]
Summer[]
7/15/118 - Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
8/4/118 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Succeeded in Taking a Picture of Crime Scene of Midsummer's Continual Sneak Thief"
Autumn[]
9/5/118 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "The Crimson Rainbow and Angel's Wings That Straddle The Earth"
Winter[]
Winter - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapters 1-5
3/21/118 - Perfect Cherry Blossom
Year 119 (2004)[]
Spring[]
4/1/119 - Perfect Cherry Blossom Extra/Phantasm Stage
5/1/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "In the Prolonged Winter, Ceremony to Ask for Spring"
5/3/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Mysterious Flower Petals Beneath the Cherry Trees"
5/3/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "First Radio Broadcast in Gensokyo a Failure"
5/3/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Fairy Mischief? Invisible Rainstorm is Heavy"
Summer[]
6/3/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Large Number of Straw Effigies Found In Forest Behind Shrine"
Rainy season - Curiosities of Lotus Asia Chapters 6-7
7/-/119 - Immaterial and Missing Power
7/4/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Out of Season, the Great Setsubun Festival at the Scarlet Devil Manor"
Summer - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapters 8-9
Autumn[]
7/15/119 - Imperishable Night
8/3/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Strange Treasure Hunter Lopes Around the Night"
8/3/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Youkai Practices Animal Abuse"
8/4/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Mysterious Fire in the Bamboo Forest"
8/5/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Ghost Procession on a Midsummer Afternoon"
8/15/119 - Imperishable Night Extra Stage
9/2/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "The New Insects' News Service"
9/4/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Mysterious Patterns in Flower Field"
Autumn - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 1 "Unrelated Mound of Higan Flowers"
10/2/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "The Field Where the Cats Gather"
Winter[]
12/1/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "In Modern Gensokyo, a New Dream Medicine"
Winter - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapters 11-13
1/4/119 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Daring Monetary Offering Fraud"
Year 120 (2005)[]
60-year cycle year.
Spring[]
Spring - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 14
Spring - Eastern and Little Nature Deity chapter 0
Spring - Phantasmagoria of Flower View
3/4/120 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Enormous Shooting Star Explodes in Mid-air"
4/1/120 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Flower Viewing Continues at the Shrine"
4/1/120 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Patchouli's Pressed Flower Exhibition Opening Soon"
5/1/120 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Formula Discovered for Calculating Width of the Stygian River"
Summer[]
6/1/120 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Ice Fairy Eaten by Giant Toad"
Rainy season - Eastern and Little Nature Deity chapter 1
7/23/120 - Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red "Wind's Extra"
Summer - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 15
8/3/120 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "The Strange Reverse Rainbow in the Summer Noon"
Autumn[]
9/23/120 - Eastern and Little Nature Deity chapter 2
10/13/120 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Night Sparrow's New Promising Enterprise"
11/1/120 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Moon Capital Exhibition Now In Progress at Eientei"
11/2/120 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Rabbit Mob Protests Shrine Festival"
11/17/120 - Eastern and Little Nature Deity chapter 3
Autumn - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 16
Winter[]
Winter - Eastern and Little Nature Deity chapter 4
2/1/120 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "The Midwinter Moon's Great Explosion"
Winter - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 17 "Price of a Paper at Luoyang"
Winter - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 18 "Moon and Kappa"
Winter - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 19 "Dragon's Camera"
Winter - Eastern and Little Nature Deity chapter 5
Year 121 (2006)[]
Gensokyo calendar dates are unknown for this year.
Summer[]
06/21/121 - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapter 1
8/26/2006 - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 20
Autumn[]
09/29/121 - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapter 3
10/26/2006 - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 21
Winter[]
12/26/2006 - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 22
12/27/2006 - Hieda no Akyu's Gensokyo Chronicle published
1/2/121 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "What Is the Future Of The Worn Out Tool?"
01/25/121 - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapter 4
2/26/121 - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 23
Year 122 (2007)[]
Gensokyo calendar dates are unknown for this year.
Moriya Shrine arrives in Gensokyo
Spring[]
Spring - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapters 7-8
4/26/2007 - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 24
05/01/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue Prologue
Spring - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapters 9-10
6/26/2007 - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 25
Summer[]
07/16-17/122 - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapters 11 and 12
07/29/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue chapter 1, Cage in Lunatic Runagate chapter 1, Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth chapter 1
07/30/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue chapter 2, Cage in Lunatic Runagate chapter 2, Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth chapter 2
08/~04/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue chapter 7
Summer - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 26
Autumn[]
8/17/2007 - Mountain of Faith
08/28/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue chapter 3, Silent Sinner in Blue chapter 8 (moon part)
Autumn - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapters 13 and 14
09/25/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue chapter 4, Cage in Lunatic Runagate chapter 2 and chapter 7 (flashback), Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth chapter 4
Autumn - Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth chapter 5
10/26/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue chapters 5-6, Cage in Lunatic Runagate chapter 3
November - Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth chapter 6
November - Silent Sinner in Blue chapter 8 (Gensokyo part)
11/07/122 - Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 27
Winter[]
11/10/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue chapter 9, Cage in Lunatic Runagate chapter 5 (part 1), Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth chapter 9
11/12/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue' chapter 10, Cage in Lunatic Runagate chapters 4 and 5 (part 2)
11/17/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue chapter 11 (first part), Cage in Lunatic Runagate chapter 5 (part 3), Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth chapter 11
11/--/122 - Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth chapter 22
11/23/122 - Cage in Lunatic Runagate chapter 5 (part 4)
11/24-25/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue chapters 11 (second part), 12 to 19, 20 (flashback), Cage in Lunatic Runagate chapters 5 (part 5), 6, 7 and final chapter first half
12/07/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue chapter 20 (first part, Yuyuko part)
December - Cage in Lunatic Runagate final chapter second half (part 1)
December - Cage in Lunatic Runagate final chapter second half (part 2)
12/25/122 - Silent Sinner in Blue chapter 20 (last part) and final chapter, Cage in Lunatic Runagate final chapter second half (part 3)
December - Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth chapter 7
12/31/122 - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapter 15
01/01/123 - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapter 16
Year 123 (2008)[]
Gensokyo calendar dates are unknown for this year.
Spring[]
Spring - Fairy Wars
Spring - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapters 17-18
05/20/123 - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapters 19-20
Summer[]
Summer - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapters 21-22 Summer - Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
- The Hakurei Shrine destroyed by an earthquake, rebuilt, and then destroyed again.
7/2/123 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "The Hakurei Shrine Collapses"
Autumn[]
According to the prologue of Undefined Fantastic Object, the harvest this year was poor because of the weather disruptions that happened during Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.
8/1/123 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "Incident on the Youkai Mountain?"
Autumn - Strange and Bright Nature Deity chapters 23-25
Winter[]
Hakurei Shrine has been rebuilt.
December/January - Subterranean Animism
December/January - Subterranean Animism
- Palanquin Ship released from underground by geyser
01/08-11/123 - Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth chapter 20
February - Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth chapter 21
3/2/123 -(Kakashi Thought Report) "Instant Hina Dolls Popular"
Year 124 (2009)[]
Gensokyo calendar dates are unknown for this year.
Spring[]
Spring - Undefined Fantastic Object
May - Oriental Sacred Place chapters 1, 2
Late spring/early summer? - Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth 24-27
Summer[]
Summer - Touhou Hisoutensoku
Late August - Oriental Sacred Place chapters 3, 4
Autumn[]
8/1/124 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "A Super Accurate Extreme Local Weather Forecast!"
8/3/124 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "A Step in Translating with the Mysterious Zombie", "The Buddhist Service for the Youkai at the Night of Summer"
Late summer/autumn - Oriental Sacred Place chapters 5, 6
Autumn - Double Spoiler
End of autumn - Oriental Sacred Place chapters 7, 8
Winter[]
Year 125 (2010)[]
Gensokyo calendar dates are unknown for this year.
Spring[]
4/5/125 - (Kakashi Spirit Report) "A Secretly Broken Up Great War"
Spring - Wild and Horned Hermit chapter 1
Summer[]
Start of summer - Oriental Sacred Place chapter 9
Summer - Oriental Sacred Place chapter 10
Summer - Wild and Horned Hermit chapter 2
Autumn[]
09/22/125 - Oriental Sacred Place chapter 11
11/22/125 - Wild and Horned Hermit chapter 3
Winter[]
12/30-31/125 - Oriental Sacred Place chapter 12
12/4/125 - (Kakashi Spirit Report) "Aliens From a Brightly Burning Ball of Fire?"
Winter - Wild and Horned Hermit chapter 4
Winter - Oriental Sacred Place chapter 13
Year 126 (2011)[]
Spring[]
Spring - Wild and Horned Hermit Chapter 5
Spring - Ten Desires
Summer[]
Early summer - Wild and Horned Hermit Chapter 6
Early summer -Oriental Sacred Place Chapter 14
6/5/126 - (Kakashi Spirit Report) "The Legend of the Veil Marriage Act"
7/1/126 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "A Savior for the Falsely Accused Victims?"
Summer - Wild and Horned Hermit Chapter 7
Summer - Oriental Sacred Place Chapter 15
Autumn[]
Autumn - Wild and Horned Hermit Chapter 8
Autumn - Oriental Sacred Place Chapter 16
10/4/126 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "A New Trend in Youkai Music"
Winter[]
Winter - Wild and Horned Hermit Chapter 9
Winter - Oriental Sacred Place Chapter 17
12/4/126 - (Bunbunmaru Newspaper) "A New Business in the Busy Time at the End of The Year"
Winter - Wild and Horned Hermit Chapter 10
Winter - Oriental Sacred Place Chapter 18 (final)
Winter - Symposium of Post-mysticism
Year 127 (2012) - Year of Moon, Winter, and Water[]
Early spring - Wild and Horned Hermit Chapter 11
Late spring - Wild and Horned Hermit Chapter 12