Main Profile
Name: |
西行寺 幽々子(さいぎょうじ ゆゆこ) | |
Alternate spellings: |
Yuyuko Saigyouzi | |
Species: |
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Abilities: |
Can invoke death in mortals | |
Age: |
Dead/Immortal (Existed for at least 1000 years) | |
Occupation: |
Ghost princess | |
Location: |
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Description: |
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Relationships: |
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Appearances: |
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Titles: |
See Character Titles |
Yuyuko is the ghost 'princess' of Hakugyokurou, the netherworld of the "formerly-living", but was once a living human. Long ago, after her death from suicide, her body was used to place a seal on the Saigyou Ayakashi, a dangerous youkai cherry tree, to stop it from killing innocent humans. During the events of Perfect Cherry Blossom, she enlisted Youmu to find a way to make the tree bloom to resurrect the corpse buried beneath it, apparently unaware that it was her own body. Forced to abandon her plan as it would only result in her own destruction and the unleashing of the Saigyou Ayakashi's terror once again, she resigned herself to continuing her previous existence.
She has the power to invite mortal souls to death, and those souls who perish this way wind up in Hakugyokurou rather than Heaven or Hell. Though it might seem dangerous for such a whimsical, seemingly impulsive personality to wield such a terrible power, Yuyuko appears to have a strong sense of responsibility regarding her power, and never uses it recklessly or out of spite, nor does she use it as a weapon. Ironically it was this power that drove her to kill herself in the first place.
Humans fear Yuyuko because of her fearsome power and a general fear of the supernatural, but she is very cheerful and friendly. Unlike many ghosts she resembles a living human, and her playful, good-humored personality, otherworldly beauty, and courtesan charm can have a disarming effect. She often makes bizarre and apparently nonsensical remarks and sometimes seems to overlook the obvious, leading to her characterization as an airhead or a ditz. However, at other times she will reveal an extremely cunning and perceptive side and will also sometimes display an extraordinary level of knowledge. She seems to never take anything too seriously though and she loves to tease her straight-laced and eager-to-please assistant, Youmu, who is her opposite in many ways. She is also known for her incredible appetite and seems to have a food-related metaphor for any situation. Yuyuko is truly "dead and loving it."
Fun Facts
- The characters for Saigyouji literally mean "West journey temple", and Yuyuko something like "Secluded child" or "Ghostly child." 'yuyu' (or 'yuuyuu', as in Yuu Yuu Hakusho) is reportedly the sound a Japanese ghost makes.
- Following Imperishable Night, Yuyuko became famous as a "hungry ghost" due to several "gluttonous" lines uttered during her scenario. She is often depicted in doujinshi as having an immense appetite and/or attempting to eat other characters, most notably Mystia and Youmu's ghost-half.
- The symbol on Yuyuko's hitaikakushi resembles the Sega Dreamcast logo. Many fanworks make fun of this.
- She is sometimes depicted in fan-works as having had brown or black hair when she was alive. This is because her Perfect Memento in Strict Sense entry mentions that she is said to have lighter hair color and skin tone since then.
- It is never stated exactly how she commited suicide but some fan works ofter show her committiing sucide with a knife.
Yuyouko's supposed suicide
Official Profiles
Perfect Cherry Blossom - キャラ設定.txt
○幽冥楼閣の亡霊少女 | |
Ghostly girl in the Netherworld Tower Final boss, formerly the mistress of old Saigyouji clan, currently the ghost princess. Long ago, there was a divinely talented poet in Gensokyo. He loved nature and spent most of his time traveling. When he became aware that the hour of his death drew near, he chose to begin his eternal rest under the most beautiful cherry tree he could find.. That cherry tree has grown even more beautiful since then, charming many people into resting in peace beneath its blossoms. The tree with the mortuary charm developed the powers of a youkai after a while.
In the garden of the Saigyouji clan, there exists a youkai cherry blossom with a story behind it; it is called the Saigyou Ayakashi. For as long as Yuyuko had been there, this cherry tree has never bloomed, even in spring. One day, while browsing through the library as usual, Yuyuko found an old record. It looked so old that it was practically ageless; within it, the following was written...
Yuyuko had read that breaking the seal on the Saigyou Ayakashi, making it bloom fully, would cause someone to be resurrected; she started gathering spring's essence out of curiosity. Basically, almost everything in the netherworld exists as ghosts with no physical body. It is for that reason that she wondered about the corpse lying under the Saigyou Ayakashi with great interest, going as far as to consider breaking the seal. Her ability only enables her to bring death. Bringing life to something already dead would be a first.
No one would have imagined that a living human, bearing a tiny drop of spring, would visit. A battle for that last remaining bit of spring ensued...
In the beginning, Yuyuko was only able to control some dead spirits. Unconsciously, that power grew stronger, eventually becoming the ability to invoke death. Terrified by her own ability, she commited suicide. After becoming a ghost, she thoroughly forgot everything about the time she was alive, and started to enjoy being able to invoke death. The reason Yuyuko can neither reincarnate nor vanish is because of the seal on the Saigyou Ayakashi. Once the boundary is breached, the time that was frozen will continue to flow, resulting in her death again. Reviving the corpse will destroy Yuyuko's ghost, so it's no wonder that the near-success of the revival ended in inevitable failure. Yuyuko is only able to bring death after all. The only person who knew the whole story, Youki Konpaku, grew slowly older due to the nature of half-humans, and disappeared with the belief that Youmu could inherit the truth about Yuyuko. For all time, Yuyuko will remain as the princess of Netherworld and mistress of long-dead Saigyouji clan.
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Immaterial and Missing Power - 上海アリス通信.txt
○天衣無縫の亡霊 | |
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Imperishable Night - Manual
○華胥の亡霊 西行寺 幽々子 | |
She exists in the netherworld as a ghost maiden.
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Imperishable Night - キャラ設定.txt
○華胥の亡霊 | |
Dreaming Ghost Species: Ghost Yuyuko is a ghost princess who lives in the netherworld. Like typical ghosts, she is quite the opposite of what humans call "down-to-earth", and her whims distract Youmu all the time. Unlike typical ghosts, her form has legs and feet. She is a ghost—the form of humans after death. There is no doubt that Yuyuko "lives" a whimsical life, but she doesn't unleash her ability lightly, so neither humans nor youkai have a reason to attack her. Still, many beings across the land fear her within their hearts. |
Scarlet Weather Rhapsody - chara.html
○天衣無縫の亡霊
職業:お嬢様 住家:あの世に存在する白玉楼 能力:死を操る程度の能力 性格:惚けているが、余裕のある落ち着いた物腰 | |
The Ghost of Flawless Immaculate Beauty
Occupation: Lady Residence: Hakugyokurou, in the afterlife Ability: the power to control death Personality: plays dumb, but has an incredibly calm demeanor. |
Book Synopsis
Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red
- Main article: Article and Interview: Yuyuko
The article covers an incident shortly after the end of the main scenario of Perfect Cherry Blossom. The incident was about the large amounts of cherry blossoms that where appearing when the buds had yet to blossom. It was discovered that Yuyuko was the one responsible as she was "giving Gensokyo its spring back."
Aya never understands where the scattered blossoms came from and was lead in a circle during the followup interview.
Perfect Memento in Strict Sense

- Main article: Perfect Memento: Yuyuko Saigyouji
- The mistress of the Saigyouji family who resides in Hakugyokurou in the Netherworld.
- It is said that she died over 1000 years ago, so she is a spirit with an extremely unusual lifespan.
- Impressed by her unwillingness to curse people and her ability to control spirits, she was appointed by the great Yama to manage the souls of the dead.
- In return she was permitted eternal residence in the Netherworld.
- She has the ability to manipulate death, meaning she can kill someone with no resistance.
- Of course, once they're dead, she would be able to control their spirit, as well.
- She is not different from the human in the appearance and shape.
- She stays in the Netherworld most of the time, and if she has business in Gensokyo, she usually has one of the spirits go in her stead.
- Her personality is so extraordinarily easygoing that it is said she doesn't remember how long she's been in the Netherworld.
- It seems she doesn't even remember what she had for breakfast.
The Grimoire of Marisa
- Main article: The Grimoire of Marisa: Yuyuko Saigyouji's Spell Cards
- Insert Summary Here