Youmu Konpaku

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Main Profile

	Name:	魂魄　妖夢（こんぱく　ようむ） Youmu Konpaku
	Alternate spellings:	Youmu Kompaku
	Species:	Half-human half-phantom hybrid
	Abilities:	Swordsmanship, concentration
	Age:	Unknown, but less than 60 years old
	Occupation:	Gardener, swordsmanship instructor
	Location:	Hakugyokurou
	Description:	(Touhou 8,9) Her human half has dark blue eyes, short silver hair, carries a katana with a cherry blossom insignia and flower attached, and a wakizashi (short Japanese sword). Wears a dark green and white dress with several ghost insignias along the edges and breast pocket, and a black ribbon placed off-center on her hair. Her ghostly half is a formless phantom as large as her human half. The two halves are always seen together. During her Last Word, her eyes are red. (Touhou 9, alternative outfit) Same as above, but her outfit is a brighter shade of green. (Touhou 7.5, 8, 10.5) Same as Touhou 9 outfit, except she wore short sleeves. (Touhou 7.5, and 10.5, alternate outfit) Same as above, except her dress in purple instead of green and her hair is pink. (Touhou 7) Same as Touhou 9 outfit, except she had bright red eyes and wore long sleeves.
	Relationships:	Yuyuko Saigyouji (Mistress) Youki Konpaku (Predecessor, former teacher)
	Appearances:	Perfect Cherry Blossom (Stage 5 Midboss, Stage 5 Boss, Stage 6 Midboss) Immaterial and Missing Power (Playable Character, Possible Opponent) Imperishable Night (Playable Character) Phantasmagoria of Flower View (Playable Character, Possible Opponent) Shoot the Bullet (Stage 6-2, 6-4, 6-6, 6-8 Boss) Scarlet Weather Rhapsody (Playable Character, Possible Opponent)
	Titles:	See Character Titles

Youmu is one of the stranger entities in Gensokyo, part-human and part-phantom at the same time. Her two halves are not intermixed like one would expect from a cross-breed, but actually exist in physically separate bodies. Youmu has a straightforward and focused personality, which complements her swordsmanship abilities well. However, her personality conflicts with that of her master, Yuyuko Saigyouji, who is very whimsical and playful in nature. Still, she serves Yuyuko as best as she can, tending to the gardens in Hakugyokurou and following her orders.

Youmu commonly wields two blades at once, having studied some under her predecessor, Youki. The longer blade, called 楼観剣 (Roukanken) - Lookout-Tower Sword, is said to be able to kill ten ghosts in one swipe; the shorter blade, 白楼剣 (Hakurouken) - White Tower Sword, is able to cleave through a person's own confusion. However, not much is known about her particular style of swordsmanship, or her parents. What is known is that Youki, also a servant of Hakugyokurou, had begun training a very young Youmu (possibly as a child?) when he suddenly disappeared one day, leaving her style incomplete (and presumably causing her to teach herself). No one currently knows his whereabouts.

During the events of Perfect Cherry Blossom, Youmu was ordered by Yuyuko to gather as much spring essence from Gensokyo as she could in order to get the entire cherry blossom garden, including the legendary Saigyou Ayakashi, to bloom perfectly. Youmu's efforts indirectly caused winter to continue unchecked in Gensokyo, prompting the player to find the source of the problem. Youmu tried to prevent the player from reaching Hakugyokurou, but was defeated. She also tried to stop the player's confrontation against Yuyuko, but was defeated again. In Imperishable Night, she traveled to the world of the living with the intent to fix the moon--although Yuyuko was more interested in having a feasting tour with a "dragon dish" as the crowning attraction. In Phantasmagoria of Flower View, she was minding her own business but kept encountering various people barging into Hakugyokurou suspecting her of being behind the flower incident. When she traveled to Gensokyo herself to behold the spectacle, she immediately noticed what was going on but thought nothing of it. During the events of Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, she set off to investigate, concerned as to how and why someone was slaying ghosts. After a hint from Yukari, she found and defeated the culprit.

Fun Facts

• Youmu is often called "Myon" by fans, as she inexplicably asks Yuyuko why she is present at such a "myon" place in the PCB extra back story. ("Myon-na" is a portmanteau of　"hyon-na" (unexpected) and "myou-na" (strange).) Her phantom half is also sometimes called Myon; it's also occasionally referred to as an "option" (like the ship accessories in Gradius), but this is less common.

• It is generally accepted in fandom that Myon and Youmu are each able to sense what the other feels.

• The characters for Konpaku mean simply "soul", and Youmu something like "bewitching dream".

• Although both "Kon" (魂) and "Paku" (魄) are "soul", their elements are different. "Kon" stands for a mental soul, which is separated from a body as soon as human dies and ascends to Heaven; "Paku" is a physical soul, which remains in the body a few days and goes back to the Earth. In this case, "Kon" is Youmu's phantom half, and "Paku" is the human half. The entire Konpaku family is comprised of half-phantom half-humans, as noted by Perfect Memento.

• The kanji that makes up "Youmu" (妖夢) are also part of the kanji for Perfect Cherry Blossom (東方妖々夢).

• Her phantom half is often treated in fanworks as "food" (usually eaten by Yuyuko). In Hisoutensoku this has gone farther; in her script, if she loses to Sanae, the latter asks her how "the marshmallow looking-like thing" tastes.

• In Phantasmagoria of Flower View, Youmu's name is written in Roman letters Japanese style, with her surname first, during pre-battle conversation with her, even though every other character in the game with a Japanese name has their name romanized western-style, with their first names first. This is one of several typographical inconsistencies in the game (another being the inconsistent spelling of Aya's name).

• Because of Youmu's spellcard "200 Yojana in One Slash", she is said to be capable of striking at speeds most would consider physically impossible (200 yojana can be a distance anywhere from 1,320-3,000 kilometers or 825-1,875 statute miles in length). In order to cover that kind of distance in the split-second a typical sword slash takes to execute, she would have to be capable of moving at far beyond hypersonic speed; her slowest sword slashes have been calculated to move at speeds in excess of Mach 70 (70 times the speed of sound, or 53,200 mph/85,120 km/h at sea level), fast enough to circle the entire Earth at the Equator in less than half an hour and around three times the speed required to orbit the Earth, for reference. One doujinshi (Touhou Kaidan Seven #3) went into far too much detail trying to work out the specifics of this, and determined that her theoretical top speed was approximately one quarter of the speed of light...

• Her theme song is titled "Hiroari Shoots A Strange Bird ~ Till When?", named after a story in which a warrior named Hiroari slays a youkai known as the Nue. This is a pun on the storyline. The "strange bird" is a Nue, also called the "Itsumaden", since it makes this cry near unmourned corpses, meaning "How long (will this corpse remain unattended)?"
  Judging from the story of Perfect Cherry Blossom, the heroine plays the role of Hiroari, Youmu is the Nue, and the corpse is probably Yuyuko Saigyouji. (See also Flandre Scarlet and Yukari Yakumo.)

• Ironically enough, considering her species, Youmu is afraid of ghosts, as shown in Imperishable Night's Extra Stage. After defeating Fujiwara no Mokou, Yuyuko pretends there is a ghost under a tree, earning a terrified shriek from Youmu. It is a wonder why she doesn't cower away from Yuyuko, whom herself is a ghost.

• Fanworks occasionally depict Youmu as idolizing Sakuya, most likely because they are similar characters; they are stage 5 bosses who use bladed weapons, have silver hair, eyes that changed colors from red to blue, have power over time, serve a mistress, and reappear in stage 6 as a midboss. In these comics, Youmu addresses Sakuya as "Onee-sama", a title usually used to refer respectfully to an older sister or to an older woman one respects or admires. Additionally Youmu frequently gets parodied crossing over with Jean-Pierre Polnareff of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (a fast-moving sword stand-user), much like Sakuya and Dio of the same series. This is even present in Touhou Hisoutensoku, where one of her alternate palettes turns her completely silver, a subtle reference to Silver Chariot, Jean-Pierre Polnareff's stand.

• Youmu seems to have some knowledge of Chinese legend and history because of her particular win quote against Meiling, in which she asks why the latter does not wield Guan Yu's Green Dragon Blade. By the way, women didn't use polearms traditionally in Chinese martial arts.

• In the game "League of Legends" is an Item called "Youmuu's Ghostblade" as tribute to Touhou

Official Profiles

Perfect Cherry Blossom - キャラ設定.txt

○幽人の庭師 　　魂魄　妖夢（こんぱく・ようむ） 　　５面のボス、幽霊と人間のハーフ。 　　西行寺家の専属庭師二代目兼お嬢様の警護役である。 　　主に剣術を扱う程度の能力を持つ。 　　妖夢は、一振りで幽霊１０匹分の殺傷力を持つ長刀「楼観剣（ろうか 　　んけん）」と、人間の迷いを断ち斬る事が出来る短剣「白楼剣（はく 　　ろうけん）」を使い、庭を手入れしている。 　　先代、魂魄 妖忌（こんぱく ようき）は、３００年程庭師を務めたあ 　　る日頓悟し、まだ幼すぎる妖夢に後を継がせ幽居する。妖夢の剣術は 　　まだ未熟であり、成熟までには日々の修行を欠かせない。師匠である 　　はずの先代は行方をくらましてしまい、妖夢でもどこに居るのか知ら 　　ない。これも教えなのだろうと彼女は思う。 　　今回、西行寺お嬢様の命令により西行妖（さいぎょうあやかし）を満 　　開にさせるため、幻想郷中の春を集めていた。 　　ここ白玉楼には、西行妖の他にも桜が数多くあるが、毎年西行妖だけ 　　は花を咲かせる事は無かった。先代は満開を見たことがあるそうだが、 　　「それは凄い桜だったが、もう二度と咲くことは無いだろう。」と、 　　言っていたのである。 　　妖夢は、そのときはまだその意味も、西行寺お嬢様が命令を下した本 　　当の理由も判らなかった。 　　妖夢は、（もちろんお嬢様の誇張だが）幅２００由旬にも及ぶと言わ 　　れる西行寺家の庭を受け持っている。この庭には恐ろしい程の桜が備 　　わっていて、冥界中の住人の花見の名所となっている。春になると、 　　妖夢は後片付けに大忙しである。 　　今年も例外ではなく、近年まれに見る見事な花模様に幽霊達も大感激。 　　誰もが「幽霊やってて良かった」と言ったという。そんな姿に、半分 　　人間の妖夢は「半分幽霊やってて半分良かった」と半分同調する。 　　後は、西行妖の開花を待つのみであった。

Ghostly Gardener Konpaku Youmu Stage 5 boss, a being of half-human and half-phantom. She's both the second gardener for the Saigyouji clan and the guardian of their mistress. The ability is swordsmanship. Youmu arranges the garden with two swords: Roukan-ken is a longer sword that has the power of killing ten ghosts; Hakurou-ken is a shorter one that can slash the human's confusion. Konpaku Youki, the former gardener, had been the one for about 300 years, but suddenly became a hermit after having made a very young Youmu be his successor. Youmu's ability of swordsmanship has still been in progress, so she needs daily practice. Though Youmu herself has no clue where her master is, she recognizes it by a lesson from him. This time, following the order the mistress of Saigyouji gave her, she has gathered all of spring essences in Gensokyo to make Saigyou Ayakashi bloom fully. Here in Hakugyokurou, there are so many cherry blossoms besides Saigyou Ayakashi, which has never bloomed. The former gardener said, "I've seen the fully-bloomed Saigyou Ayakashi before, but this might be the last time." At that time, Youmu had no idea what he meant and why the mistress of Saigyouji gave her an order. Youmu sweeps the garden of the Saigyouji family; it's about 200 yojanas long (The mistress exaggerates, of course). This garden has a large amount of cherry trees, where is a good site for residents all over the Netherworld. When spring comes, Youmu is very busy in sweeping. (Note: Yojana is a unit of the distance that ancient India's imperial army could move per day. 1 yojana equals about 10-15 km. In other words, the Saigyouji's garden is about 2,000-3,000 km. long... Is that so?) This year isn't the exception, too. The ghosts are really thrilled by the wonderful cherry trees. Everyone said, "I'm happy to be a ghost!" On the other hand, Youmu, the half-human saw this raving scene and got a half sympathy, "I'm half happy to be a half phantom!" Now, all she should do is wait for the blooming of Saigyou Ayakashi.

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

○半分幻の庭師 　　魂魄　妖夢（こんぱくようむ） 　　種族：人間と幽霊のハーフ 　　住処：冥界にある白玉楼 　　能力：剣術を使う程度の能力 　　　白玉楼で住み込みで働く庭師。半分人間で半分幽霊、半分生きていて 　　半分死んでいる、半分実在していて半分幻という半人前。でも剣は二本。 　　　性格は何事にも一所懸命だが、それが報われることが少ない。癖のあ 　　る連中が多すぎる幻想郷では、真っ直ぐ過ぎてからかわれやすい性格で 　　もある。 　　　体術は半人前ながらも非常に優れている。妖術も半人前ながら優れて 　　おり、実はバランスが取れている。妖怪が鍛えたという楼観剣と白楼剣 　　を操り、敵だろうが霊だろうが弾幕だろうが人の悩みだろうが斬ること 　　が出来る。斬れない物は少ししかない。 　　　楼観剣（長い方）は一振りで幽霊10匹分の殺傷力を持つ。白楼剣は、 　　人間の迷いを斬る事が出来ると言われているが、勿論、両方とも生身の 　　人間を斬ることも出来る。

Half-phantom Gardener Konpaku Youmu Species: Half-human Half-phantom Location: Hakugyokurou in the Netherworld Ability: Fighting with her swords A gardener who works in Hakugyokurou and lives there. She's half-human and half-phantom, half-dead and half-alive, half-phantom and half-reality, and altogether half-baked. Yet she has two swords. She applies herself as hard as she can to anything and everything, but it hardly ever pays off. Compared to the quirky cast of characters that inhabits Gensokyo, her all too straightforward personality is very easy to understand. She's very good at fighting arts for someone so half-baked. She's also quite good at magic for such a half-baked character, and actually has a good sense of balance between the two. Using the Roukanken and Hakurouken, which were said to be forged by youkai, she can cut through enemies and ghosts and bullets and people's worries. The things she can't cut through are next to none. Roukanken (the longer one) has the power to kill ten ghosts in one slash. Hakurouken is said to be able to cut through people's confusion, but of course, both of them can also kill living humans.

Imperishable Night - Manual

○半人半霊　魂魄 妖夢（こんぱくようむ） 　　人間と幽霊のハーフ。 　　冥界に住む半人半霊。剣術を扱う程度の能力を持つ。 　　楼観剣と白楼剣を使う二刀流。体も人間と幽霊の二つを持つ中途半端に便利な少女。 　　幽々子様の剣の指南役のはずだが、取り合えず庭師扱いを受ける毎日。 　　性格は幼さゆえストレートで判りやすく、憎めない。ただ、その為からかわれる事が多い。 　　幻想郷の周りの人間は一癖も二癖もある奴らばかりなのだ。 　　武器は真剣。必死という意味もあるかも知れない。 　　　　備考 　　　　今回は幽々子と組む。 　　　　低速移動は単独使用時のみの性能である。 　　　　狭い攻撃範囲と癖のある使い魔の攻撃で、使いこなすのが難しい。 　　　　スペルカードも使用すると自キャラの制御が不可能になる。 　　　　スペルカードも使い難いという……。 　　　　ちなみに半幽霊の位置は、妖怪切り替えを行うと自分の位置に補正する事が出来る。 　　　　使いこなすには超重要である。

Half-human Half-phantom Konpaku Youmu Both human and phantom being. She's a half-human and half-phantom in the Netherworld. Her ability is swordsmanship. She attacks her enemy with Roukanken and Hakurouken. She has two kind of body: human and phantom. This means she's incompletely useful girl. She's supposed to be a swordsmanship teacher of Yuyuko-sama, still, she's treated as a gardener so far. She's so immature you can't help liking because of her straightforward and pure character, yet she's always made fun by anybody for her nature. The nature of residents in Gensokyo is beyond simplicity. Main weapon is the swords, and her effort. Notes: This time, she makes her trip with Yuyuko. Focused movement is only available when she's alone. It's hard to use because of her narrow range of attack and the unique movement of her soul figure. When you use Spell Card, you can't attack for a while. Besides, Spell Card is also hard to use... By the way, you can return the soul figure back to Youmu by changing to Yuyuko. This matter is absolutely important to use her.

Imperishable Night - キャラ設定.txt

○半人半霊 　　魂魄　妖夢（こんぱく　ようむ） 　　Youmu Konpaku 　　種族：人間と幽霊のハーフ 　　能力：剣術を扱う程度の能力 　　冥界にある白玉楼の庭師。 　　本来はお嬢様の剣の指南役である。 　　生きているのか死んでいるのか、人間なのかそうじゃないのか、本人 　　にも判らない。でも人より寿命が長いが、死は訪れるらしいので、や 　　はり生きているのかも知れない。魂魄の剣は主に霊体向きの剣ではあ 　　るが、生きている者も斬れる。

Half-human half-phantom Youmu konpaku Species: Comprised equally of human and phantom Abilities: Master of Swordsmanship She's the gardener of Hakugyokurou (which is in the world past death), but originally she was a swordmanship teacher for Yuyuko. Even she herself is not certain either she is alive or not, human or phantom. However, she slowly but surely grows older as time passes, so maybe she's alive. Konpaku's swords were designed primarily for use against ghosts and spiritual beings, but they still seem to work well against "pre-deads".

Phantasmagoria of Flower View - Manual

○半人半霊の半人前　　魂魄 妖夢（こんぱく ようむ） 　　人間と幽霊のハーフさん。 　　冥界にある白玉楼の庭師。剣術を扱う程度の 　　能力を持つ。 　　本来はお嬢様の剣の指南役である。 　　　幻想郷は花でいっぱいであることを知り、 　　ちょっと様子を見に出て 　　きた。花に隠れて幽霊も多くなっていることに 　　気付いたが、取りあえ 　　ず見て見ぬふりをしていた。

Half-human Half-phantom and Half-baked Konpaku Youmu Ms.Half-being, half-human and half-phantom. A gardener of Hakugyokurou in the Netherworld, whose ability is swordsmanship. Originally, she's a swordsmanship teacher of her mistress. Knowing that there're in full bloom in Gensokyo, she came to see the scenery. Though she saw lots of ghosts when she hid behind the flowers, she pretended not to find anybody.

Phantasmagoria of Flower View - キャラ設定.txt

	○半人半霊の半人前 　　魂魄　妖夢（こんぱく　ようむ） 　　Konpaku Youmu 　　種族：人間と幽霊のハーフ 　　能力：剣術を扱う程度の能力 　　　冥界にある白玉楼の庭師。 　　　本来はお嬢様の剣の指南役である。 　　　幻想郷は花でいっぱいであることを知り、ちょっと様子を見に出て 　　きた。花に隠れて幽霊も多くなっていることに気付いたが、取りあえ 　　ず見て見ぬふりをしていた。
Half-human Half-phantom and Half-baked Konpaku Youmu Species: Both human and phantom Ability: Swordsmanship A gardener of Hakugyokurou in the Netherworld. Originally, she's a swordsmanship teacher of her mistress. Knowing that flowers are in full bloom in Gensokyo, she came to see the scenery. Though she saw lots of ghosts hidden behind the flowers, she pretended not to see them.

Scarlet Weather Rhapsody - chara.html

	○半分幻の庭師 　　魂魄　妖夢（こんぱく　ようむ） 　　種族：人間と幽霊のハーフ 　　職業：庭師 　　住家：あの世に存在する白玉楼 　　能力：剣術を使う程度の能力 　　性格：自分のスタイルを気にしない。色々な事に一生懸命。 　　　　　　はっきりと自分をさらけ出すが、我侭は言わない。
Half-phantom Gardener Youmu Konpaku Race: half human half phantom Occupation: gardener Place of residence: Hakugyokurou, in the afterlife Ability: the power to use sword techniques Personality: doesn't pay too much attention to her own style. Tries very hard, in many ways. Wears her heart on her sleeve, but isn't self-indulgent.

Book Synopsis

Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red

Main article: Article and Interview: Youmu

Aya catches wind of an enormous gathering of ghosts flying around Gensokyo and immediately rushes out to investigate. The ghosts are all being led in the same direction by Youmu Konpaku. While in mid-flight, Aya asks her why this is happening. After Youmu explains everything, she warns the readers not to become attached to any stray ghosts.

Aya comes back for an interview after a year has passed. Despite Youmu's efforts, ghosts are still plaguing Gensokyo. Aya has gotten used to it, while Youmu is unhappy with the situation. Youmu believes that the natural way is the true way, but with life still working normally, is now uncertain about her purpose. The interview ends with Youmu in tears over having no pay and no vacation and with Aya wondering if the natural way is really always the right way.

Perfect Memento in Strict Sense

Main article: Perfect Memento: Youmu Konpaku

• The Konpaku family is a family of half-phantoms and half-humans. Currently the only one that is known is Youmu, the gardener of the Hakugyokurou.
• Her appearance does not differ from a normal human but she has a much longer lifespan than one.
• The phantom-half of Youmu is different from a normal phantom like herself not being like a normal human
• She has been seen frequently in the human world, particularly so due to the weakening of the border between the two worlds.
• She is a very powerful swordswoman who uses two swords, the Roukanken and the Hakurouken. Furthermore, she patrols daily around the Netherworld on the morning and at night. She is very dedicated in her work.
• Unlike normal youkai, she does not attack all of the sudden unless provoked, and one could probably get her to not attack you if you apologized to her. Still, if you get into a fight with her one should start praying...

The Grimoire of Marisa

Main article: The Grimoire of Marisa: Youmu Konpaku's Spell Cards

• Insert Summary Here