Touhou Project

Touhou Project
Logo of Touhou Project, written as "東方プロジェクト"
GenresBullet hell, fighting, block breaker
Developers
Publishers
  • Team Shanghai Alice
  • Alliance Arts
CreatorZUN
Platforms
First releaseHighly Responsive to Prayers
August 15, 1997 (C52)
Latest releaseNew Classic: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
September 10, 2026

Touhou Project (Japanese: 東方Project), also known as Touhou, is a bullet hell video game series created by independent Japanese developer Jun'ya "ZUN" Ōta. The sole member of doujin circle Team Shanghai Alice, ZUN has developed and published twenty mainline games, thirteen spin-offs, and one remake since 1997. ZUN has also produced related original music albums and print media.

The first five Touhou Project games were developed for the Japanese PC-98 system. ZUN sold the block breaker Highly Responsive to Prayers and bullet hell Story of Eastern Wonderland at doujin convention Comiket in August 1997. After three other bullet hell releases and entering hiatus, he relaunched the series for Windows with Embodiment of Scarlet Devil in 2002. Since then, he has collaborated with doujin developer Twilight Frontier on seven fighting game spin-offs while also releasing six bullet hell spin-offs. Mountain of Faith, released in 2007, served as a soft reboot for the series with a new game engine. Since 2017, ZUN has consistently distributed new games digitally on Steam. In 2026, he founded Shanghai Alice Reprise to develop remakes, the first of which was published and officially localized outside of Japan by Alliance Arts.

While the bullet hell games have their individual mechanics, they feature common elements such as a vertical playing field, a small player hitbox, player shots and bombs, and boss fights. The series is set in Gensokyo, a fantasy land sealed from the outside world and primarily inhabited by humans and creatures from real-world folklore—including yōkai, fairies, gods, and spirits—that are personified as women in a moe style. Miko Reimu Hakurei resolves incidents and problematic occurrences caused in and around Gensokyo; she is joined by magician Marisa Kirisame after the events of the second game. Battles are narratively non-fatal and follow customary spell card rules.

Touhou Project has become notable as a prominent source of doujin content, with the series spawning a vast amount of fan-made works such as video games, artworks, music, literature, and Internet memes. Because of this, it has gained a large cult following outside of Japan. The popularity of the series and its derivative works has been attributed in part to the few restrictions placed by ZUN on the use of his content. Unofficial works are frequently sold at conventions like Comiket, where the franchise has often held the record for circle participation, and Reitaisai, which is exclusively Touhou-related.

Games

Release timeline
Twilight Frontier collaborations marked with an asterisk (*)
199701. Highly Responsive to Prayers
02. Story of Eastern Wonderland
03. Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream
199804. Lotus Land Story
05. Mystic Square
1999
2000
2001
200206. Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
200307. Perfect Cherry Blossom
200408. Imperishable Night
07.5. Immaterial and Missing Power*
200509. Phantasmagoria of Flower View
09.5. Shoot the Bullet
2006
200710. Mountain of Faith
200810.5. Scarlet Weather Rhapsody*
11. Subterranean Animism
200912. Undefined Fantastic Object
12.3. Touhou Hisoutensoku*
201012.5. Double Spoiler
12.8. Great Fairy Wars
201113. Ten Desires
2012
201313.5 Hopeless Masquerade*
14. Double Dealing Character
201414.3. Impossible Spell Card
201514.5. Urban Legend in Limbo*
15. Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom
2016
201716. Hidden Star in Four Seasons
15.5. Antinomy of Common Flowers*
201816.5. Violet Detector
201917. Wily Beast and Weakest Creature
2020
202118. Unconnected Marketeers
17.5. Sunken Fossil World*
202218.5. 100th Black Market
202319. Unfinished Dream of All Living Ghost
2024
202520. Fossilized Wonders
202606NC. New Classic: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil

Touhou Project is a doujin video game series created by independent Japanese developer Jun'ya Ōta (known as ZUN). Beginning with the block breaker game Highly Responsive to Prayers (1997), the main series consists of twenty mostly bullet hell (danmaku) installments. Official spin-off games include seven fighting games developed in collaboration with Twilight Frontier and six minor bullet hell games. One remake of a main-series game has been released.

The fan community of Touhou Project divides the series between the PC-98 and Windows era, the latter of which is further divided into two or three generations. The first Windows generation includes games between Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (2002) and Phantasmagoria of Flower View (2005), while the second Windows generation includes games after Mountain of Faith (2007). Another approach defines a third Windows generation from Double Dealing Character (2013).

PC-98 games

Cover art for the first five Touhou Project games

ZUN developed the first five Touhou Project games for the PC-98 system while he was a student at Tokyo Denki University, using its 6-channel FM synthesis audio. The games were published by the student game development club Amusement Makers, which he was the director of. Originally intending to compose music for fighting games, he opted for creating his own games as a means to publish his music.

Highly Responsive to Prayers was part of ZUN's programming exercise that he started in 1995 and first displayed in 1996 at the College of Science and Engineering's Hatoyama Cultural Festival. Inspired by Arkanoid, the player controls the miko Reimu Hakurei who throws a yin-yang orb to uncover all tiles in a stage while dodging projectiles. ZUN had envisioned the concept of a game based on miko from his high school years. The second game, Story of Eastern Wonderland, is a bullet hell game that features more complex projectile patterns, a genre that would become a staple in the series. ZUN sold the two games at the biannual doujin convention Comiket in August 1997 (Comiket 52), totalling to 30 copies of the first game and 50 copies of the second.

Within the year that followed, ZUN released three more games at a consistent pace. The third game Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream, released at Comiket 53 in December 1997, is a split-screen bullet hell game in which the player competes against a computer opponent in scoring points. Lotus Land Story was released at Comiket 54 in August 1998, while Mystic Square was released at Comiket 55 in December. The PC-98 exhibited performance issues for action games and provided a limited range of graphics and sounds. Since it was already in decline at the time, the series remained largely unknown. Overall, ZUN sold around 1,000 copies of the PC-98 era Touhou Project games.

Windows games

Following the release of Mystic Square, ZUN graduated from university and took a hiatus from developing Touhou Project. During this time, he worked at Taito as a game developer and composed music for various games created by members of Amusement Makers. In 2001, ZUN formed the one-man doujin circle called Team Shanghai Alice and relaunched Touhou Project for Windows.

At Comiket 62 in 2002, ZUN released Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, the sixth overall Touhou Project game and the first game for Windows. It marked a notable graphical and auditory improvement from the PC-98 games, changed the in-game setting, and introduced several core mechanics, including the spell card system where the boss enemy unleashes a fixed series of preprogrammed attacking moves. The player chooses between Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame, each having a selection of two shot types. ZUN released Perfect Cherry Blossom at Comiket 64 in 2003, in which he began implementing a visible player hitbox on focus and a boss position indicator. Imperishable Night, released in 2004 at Comiket 66, specifically allows for a selection of four character pairs in addition to unlockable playthroughs for each individual character. Together, these games are sometimes bundled as a trilogy.

ZUN developed Immaterial and Missing Power, a spin-off fighting game numbered 7.5 in the series from fictional chronology, in collaboration with doujin studio Twilight Frontier and published it in 2004. At the summer Comiket 68 in August 2005, ZUN released the ninth game Phantasmagoria of Flower View, a battling bullet hell game similar to Twinkle Star Sprites and Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream in which the player endures a stage against a computer opponent and launches attack their own spell cards. The spin-off 9.5th game Shoot the Bullet, released at that year's Winter Comiket in December, is a bullet hell in which the playable character captures photographs of danmaku attacks as journalist Aya Shameimaru.

In 2007, ZUN left Taito to focus on the development of Touhou Project. Mountain of Faith, the tenth game, was released at Comiket 72 that year. This entry marked a soft reboot for the series, with a total overhaul of the game engine that resulted in substantial design and pacing changes. ZUN collaborated again with Twilight Frontier to release the 10.5th, fighting game Scarlet Weather Rhapsody in 2008; it serves as a follow-up to Immaterial and Missing Power with a new combat deck system of moves. The eleventh game Subterranean Animism, released at the Summer Comiket, offers a selection of three character pairs, each with a unique gameplay mechanic. Undefined Fantastic Object, the twelfth entry, was released at Summer Comiket in 2009 and saw the return of player spell cards separate from power gauge; the game in particular has a system of UFOs that grants the player certain benefits.

ZUN released three spin-off games thereafter, namely the 12.3rd and fighting game entry Touhou Hisoutensoku together with Twilight Frontier as well as the 2010 bullet hell games Double Spoiler—the 12.5th overall entry and sequal photography game which includes another playable character, Hatate Himekaidou—and Great Fairy Wars—the 12.8th overall entry and spin-off of the manga series Touhou Sangetsusei, in which the playable fairy Cirno battles other fairies by using freezing attacks. In 2011, Ten Desires, the thirteenth game, was released at Comiket 80; its unique gameplay element is the trance state that grants the player invincibility, which is activated by a spirit gauge. In May 2013, ZUN released the 13.5th and fighting game Hopeless Masquerade at Reitaisai, an official Touhou Project convention, which uses a new engine and features an arial-based combat system.

At Summer Comiket of 2013, ZUN released the fourteenth game Double Dealing Character, which upscaled the screen resolution by a factor of two. In the 14.3rd game Impossible Spell Card, released at the 2014 Reitaisai, the character Seija Kijin from the previous game encounters especially difficult danmaku patterns that are cleared by using cheating items. ZUN and Twilight Frontier developed the 14.5th and fighting game installment Urban Legend in Limbo in 2015, which was released with a PlayStation 4 port a year later. The 2015 mainline game Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom, released at Comiket 88, was developed with Pointdevice Mode in mind, such that when the player is hit, they retry from a certain checkpoint. In 2017, sixteenth game Hidden Star in Four Seasons was released, introducing in particular a sub-season functionality similar to the shot type. The spin-off 16.5th game Violet Detector was released in 2018 and features Sumireko Usami. Wily Beast and Weakest Creature was released in 2019. Unconnected Marketeers was released in 2021. Sunken Fossil World, developed in collaboration with Twilight Frontier, was released in 2021 as the 17.5th game in the series. 100th Black Market was released in 2022, in commemoration of Comiket 100. Unfinished Dream of All Living Ghost was released in 2023 at Comiket 102, with a Steam release soon after. Fossilized Wonders was released in 2025 at Reitaisai 22.

The remake New Classic: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil was released in 2026. It was developed by Team Shanghai Alice Reprise, a new development team helmed by ZUN to develop remakes of early Touhou Project titles. It marks the first time any mainline Touhou Project title has been localized outside of Japan.

Gameplay

The in-game interface of Perfect Cherry Blossom, with numbers indicating its description on the picture, which are listed at the description
The in-game interface of Perfect Cherry Blossom:
  • 1. Player character (in this case, Reimu Hakurei)
  • 2. High score and current score
  • 3. Player life and bomb counters
  • 4. Firepower gauge and graze counter
  • 5. Enemy spellcard gauge
  • 6. Special item counter ("Cherry Points" in Perfect Cherry Blossom)
  • 7. Enemy spellcard name
  • 8. Enemy location indicator

Touhou Project games are vertically scrolling shoot 'em up games where the player aims to defeat enemies and complete successive stages without being hit by enemy bullets. Each stage has at least one boss; bosses have attack phases (also referred to as spell cards), a pattern of movements and shots that last until the player depletes the boss' health by a certain amount or time runs out.

The player's bullet power increases linearly as the player collects power-ups dropped by enemies and eventually maxes out. The player can also collect point icons to increase their score; life items and bomb items to obtain extra lives and bombs; and (from Subterranean Animism onwards) life pieces and bomb pieces that add up to an extra life/bomb when a sufficient number are collected.

The player can use a bomb to make their character temporarily invulnerable, clear many bullets, and deal heavy damage to all enemies. The player can use one during a short period (about 0.3 seconds) after being hit by a bullet to avoid losing a life, which is known as a deathbomb. The player can also enter focus mode by holding the shift key, which slows down the player's movement, makes their hitbox visible (from Perfect Cherry Blossom onwards), and focuses the player's attacks. In addition, a graze counter tracks how many bullets entered the character sprite but avoided its hitbox, rewarding the player with a score bonus.

Each main Touhou Project game has four difficulty levels: easy, normal, hard, and lunatic. Regardless of the difficulty choice, there are six stages in each game that become progressively harder. In addition, there is an extra stage typically unlocked by completing the game without using any continues. The extra stage is more difficult than normal and less difficult than hard, and contains an especially long boss fight. Some games in the series require a one-credit clear on Normal or above to unlock the extra stage, while on others, it can be done on any difficulty.

Each individual game of the main series from Perfect Cherry Blossom onwards has its own unique gimmick that affects some aspect of gameplay. For example, Perfect Cherry Blossom has cherry points, which are used mostly in scoring, but can grant temporary invulnerability; Imperishable Night has time points, which are essential for advancing to later stages and determine if the player can challenge a boss's final spell on certain difficulties; Mountain of Faith has faith points, which boost certain scoring mechanics.

Plot

Background

The plots of Touhou Project revolve around the strange phenomena that occur in the fictional realm of Gensokyo (幻想郷, Gensōkyō; lit. 'Land of Illusions' or 'Land of Fantasy'), originally described as a "a remote separated land of a human village in an eastern country." Long before Touhou Project's story began, many non-humans, like yōkai, lived with humans in the area. After a few humans disappeared into Gensokyo, many humans became afraid of approaching this area, while others settled there to exterminate yōkai. However, as time went on, humans developed civilization and multiplied in number, and thus yōkai worried about how the balance between humans and yōkai would be affected. 500 years before Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, the yōkai sage Yukari Yakumo developed the "boundary of phantasm and substance", which protected the balance. This was called the "Yōkai Expansion Project" and made Gensokyo a phantasmal world that automatically called out to the weakened yōkai of the outside world. Other things that disappear from the outside world, like extinct animals, lost tools, and architecture, appear in Gensokyo.

As a result of the seal, Gensokyo became inaccessible from the outside world, and similarly, those in Gensokyo became unable to leave. The isolated community developed its own civilization, independent from the outside world but still bordering it. In Gensokyo, there are few humans, and various kinds of yōkai, including therianthropes, vampires, bōrei, tengu, mermaids, and kappa. There are other species that may be yōkai depending on definition, like fairies, spirits, yūrei, onryō, poltergeists, hermits, oni, and deities, which are all portrayed in human female form. Otherworldly places such as Heaven and Hell are also accessible from Gensokyo.

In present Gensokyo, the setting of all Touhou Project games since Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, magical and spiritual qualities prevail compared to the outside world where unscientific phenomena were dismissed as "superstition" around the time of the Meiji era. The only known gateway from the outside world into Gensokyo is the Hakurei Shrine on the border of Gensokyo. The "Great Hakurei Barrier," managed by past Hakurei miko, is described as a "barrier of common sense" that not even yōkai can pass through. The yōkai initially opposed its construction before understanding its usefulness. In addition, the spell card rules, a form of regulation for how fights can be conducted, were also established by Reimu Hakurei to maintain the relationship between humans and yōkai, which was necessary to preserve of the balance of Gensokyo.

In-game events

In Gensokyo, events called incidents occur once in a while. An incident is an event that affects Gensokyo and is of unknown cause at the time it occurs. The Touhou Project video games mainly focus on incidents that affect the entirety of Gensokyo, but there are also works like Mountain of Faith and many print media stories that center on lesser-scale events.

Frequently, incidents are due to a yōkai's whim or curiosity. Typically, Reimu Hakurei or Marisa Kirisame go investigate it and find and chastise the perpetrators. While Reimu and Marisa are usually the ones to resolve incidents, there are cases where other characters would resolve them.

Characters

Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame, the protagonist duo of the series, on the official Touhou magazine Strange Creators of Outer World Vol. 8 cover

Touhou Project is known for its unconventional, almost entirely female roster, which features a cast of over 180 characters.

Though each entry in the series features a collection of different characters, the series's main protagonist is the Hakurei Shrine miko Reimu Hakurei (博麗霊夢, Hakurei Reimu),who is joined by the magician Marisa Kirisame (霧雨魔理沙, Kirisame Marisa) after the second game. They are usually tasked with resolving supernatural incidents caused in and around Gensokyo. However, various games, particularly spin-off ones, have other playable characters, including Sakuya Izayoi, a maid with the ability to stop time; Youmu Konpaku, a half-yūrei gardener and swordswoman; and Sanae Kochiya, a miko and arahitogami.

Characters that frequently appear in the print works include Yukari Yakumo, a yōkai involved with the founding of Gensokyo; Eirin Yagokoro, a Lunarian pharmacist; and Aya Shameimaru, a tengu journalist with the ability to manipulate wind.

ZUN has acknowledged that while the Touhou Project characters have elaborate stories, little detail is given to them in-game, saying that danmaku (bullet hell) is how the story and characters are communicated. Additionally, he has claimed danmaku is meant to be beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, which is also the main reason why the majority of Touhou Project characters are female. ZUN believes there is a feminine charm to bullet hell, which would be lost with male characters, and that the presence of female characters should not be interpreted as fan service.

Other media

Music CDs

Thirteen music CDs have been released as part of "ZUN's Music Collection". They are numbered from Volume 1 to 11 by release date, with Unknown Flower, Mesmerizing Journey and Rainbow-Colored Septentrion being numbered as 5.5 and 9.5 respectively due to their short playing time. Each album contains arrangements of music from the games as well as new compositions:

  • Dolls in Pseudo Paradise (蓬莱人形, Hōrai Ningyō; lit. 'Hourai Dolls'; 2002-12-30)
  • Ghostly Field Club (蓮台野夜行, Rendaino Yakō; lit. 'Night Trip to Rendaino'; 2003-12-30)
  • Changeability of Strange Dream (夢違科学世紀, Yumetagae Kagaku Seiki; lit. 'Changing Dreams in the Age of Science'; 2004-12-30)
  • Retrospective 53 minutes (卯酉東海道, Bōyu Tōkaidō; lit. 'East-West Tōkaidō'; 2006-05-21)
  • Magical Astronomy (大空魔術, Ōzora Majutsu; lit. 'Celestial Wizardry'; 2006-08-13)
  • Unknown Flower, Mesmerizing Journey (未知の花 魅知の旅, Michi no Hana, Michi no Tabi; 2011-05-08)
  • Trojan Green Asteroid (鳥船遺跡, Torifune Iseki; lit. 'Ruins of Torifune'; 2012-04-30)
  • Neo-traditionalism of Japan (伊弉諾物質, Izanagi Busshitsu; lit. 'Izanagi Object'; 2012-08-11)
  • Dr. Latency's Freak Report (燕石博物誌, Enseki Hakubutsushi; lit. 'Swallowstone Naturalis Historia'; 2016-05-08)
  • Dateless Bar "Old Adam" (旧約酒場, Kyūyaku Sakaba; lit. 'Old Testament Tavern'; 2016-08-13)
  • Rainbow-Colored Septentrion (虹色のセプテントリオン, Nijiiro no Seputentorion; 2021-12-31)
  • Taboo Japan Disentanglement (七夕坂夢幻能, Tanabatazaka Mugen Nou; lit. 'Mugen Noh of Tanabata Hill'; 2024-05-03)
  • Artificial Utopia in Ruins (霊長新益京, Reichou Aramashi-kyou; lit. 'Primate Spirit Aramashi-kyō'; 2026-08-23)

Each album (except Dolls in Pseudo Paradise, Unknown Flower, Mesmerizing Journey, and Rainbow-Colored Septentrion) includes a booklet written by ZUN documenting the activities of the "Secret Sealing Club" (秘封倶楽部, Hifū Kurabu), a self-described "club of necromancers" in Kyoto, Japan. In the loose collection of stories, club members Renko Usami and Maribel Hearn research and discuss various topics related to Gensokyo and the paranormal; Dolls in Pseudo Paradise includes an unrelated story about the fate of eight thieves spirited away to Gensokyo.

In 2006 and 2007, ZUN released Akyu's Untouched Score (幺樂団の歴史, Yōgakudan no Rekishi; "History of Yougakudan"), a five-volume collection of PC-98 soundtracks that includes several unused themes. The albums respectively cover Lotus Land Story, Mystic Square, Story of Eastern Wonderland, Phantasmagoria of Dim.Dream, and Highly Responsive to Prayers. Each track in the collection was enhanced with the addition of a sixth FM synthesis channel, which was originally reserved for sound effects in the games.

Original soundtracks for the seven official games developed in collaboration with Twilight Frontier have also been released. The first six games are mainly scored by U2 Akiyama (あきやま うに, Akiyama Uni) while Sunken Fossil World is mainly scored by Ziki_7, in addition to a few original compositions by ZUN for each game. In addition, the day time music in Immaterial and Missing Power are scored by NKZ, and Urban Legend in Limbo and Antinomy of Common Flowers feature guest arrangements by several doujin creators.

ZUN's Music Collection, Akyu's Untouched Score, and the fighting game soundtracks have been released for digital download on Google Play and the iTunes Store (Japan, US). Several music CDs have accompanied copies of official print works; these are listed below.

Curiosities of Lotus Asia (東方香霖堂, Tōhō Kōrindō; lit. 'Fragrant Rain Temple')
Curiosities of Lotus Asia is a serial novel by written by ZUN with illustrations by Genji Asai and released in 26 installments. It began serialization in Biblos's Colorful Puregirl magazine in January 2004, and it moved to Magazine Elfics after Colorful Puregirl ceased publication in September 2004. Then, the series was moved to the website Elnavi after Magazine Elfics ceased publication in October 2005. Following the bankruptcy of Biblos in April 2006, the series was moved to ASCII Media Works's Dengeki Moeoh magazine and was serialized until October 2007. It was compiled into a book and released on September 30, 2010. The novel is told from the perspective of Rinnosuke Morichika, one of the few male characters depicted in the series and the proprietor of Kourindou (香霖堂), an antique store in Gensokyo. In September 2015, a new serial began in the official Touhou Project magazine Strange Creators of Outer World, with 10 chapters being published as of January 2024.
Touhou Sangetsusei (東方三月精; lit. 'Three Fairies')
Touhou Sangetsusei is a four-part manga series written by ZUN and illustrated by Nemu Matsukura and Makoto Hirasaka. It was published by Kadokawa Shoten and serialized in Comp Ace magazine. The story follows three fairies (Sunny Milk, Luna Child, and Star Sapphire) and documents their daily mischief and adventures in Gensokyo. The first entry, Eastern and Little Nature Deity, was illustrated by Nemu Matsukara, beginning in May 2005. Matsukara gave up the project for health reasons in May 2006, with Makoto Hirasaka taking over for the second entry, Strange and Bright Nature Deity, which was serialized until January 2009. The third entry, Oriental Sacred Place, ran from May 2009 to January 2012; the fourth entry, Visionary Fairies in Shrine, ran from January 2016 to September 2019. The tankōbon volumes of the manga, which each include a CD with new tracks by ZUN, were released on the following dates: Eastern and Little Nature Deity (2007-01-26), Strange and Bright Nature Deity (2008-01-26, 2009-02-18, and 2009-08-26), and Oriental Sacred Place (2010-03-20, 2011-03-26, 2012-03-26). The 12.8th video game in the series, Fairy Wars, is a spin-off of the manga series.

Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red (東方文花帖, Tōhō Bunkachō; lit. 'Word Flower Album')
Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red is the first official fanbook, written by ZUN and published by Ichijinsha on August 11, 2005. It consists of newspaper articles written from the perspective of Aya Shameimaru about events and locations in Gensokyo, interviews with characters, commentary on tracks from previous games and music albums, and an interview with ZUN. It also includes illustrations by various artists, a collection of eight doujinshi, and a new official comic, Extra of the Wind, illustrated by Haniwa. Each copy includes a CD containing a demo of Phantasmagoria of Flower View, three arrangements of the game's music by ZUN, and a wallpaper of the book's cover.
Seasonal Dream Vision (東方紫香花, Tōhō Shikōbana; lit. 'Incense of Violet Flowers')
Seasonal Dream Vision is a semi-official fanbook, published by Comic Toranoana on October 1, 2005. It is an anthology of 12 doujinshi by various artists and contains a short story, A Beautiful Flower Blooming Violet Every Sixty Years (六十年ぶりに紫に香る花), written by ZUN as a supplement to Phantasmagoria of Flower View. It also contains a CD with various fan-made music arrangements and one arrangement by ZUN.
Perfect Memento in Strict Sense (東方求聞史紀, Tōhō Gumonshiki; lit. 'Gumon Histories')
Perfect Memento in Strict Sense is the second official fanbook, published by Ichijinsha on December 27, 2006. It is illustrated by various artists and written by ZUN from the perspective of Gensokyo historian Hieda no Akyuu, primarily containing factual information about various yōkai, such as their "threat levels" and suggested countermeasures. A manga written by ZUN and illustrated by Aki★Eda (秋★枝) based on the book's premise, Memorizable Gensokyo (記憶する幻想郷 Kioku-suru Gensōkyō), was previously published in the December 2006 issue of Comic Rex magazine. Each copy includes a CD containing three original FM synthesis tracks by ZUN and a wallpaper of the book's cover.
Touhou Bougetsushou (東方儚月抄; lit. 'Ephemeral Moon Vignette')
Touhou Bougetsushou is a loose collection of works continuing the story of the 8th game in the series, Imperishable Night. It consists of a manga, a novel, and a series of yonkoma strips, serialized in three separate Ichijinsha magazines. The manga, Silent Sinner in Blue, was written by ZUN and illustrated by Aki★Eda and serialized in Comic Rex magazine between June 2007 and April 2009. It follows the attempts of residents of Gensokyo to invade the Lunar Capital by rocket. The first compilation volume, which included a CD with three FM synthesis tracks by ZUN, was released on April 9, 2008. The novel, Cage in Lunatic Runagate, was written by ZUN and serialized in quarterly Chara-Mel magazine between June 2007 and June 2009 and published as a standalone on December 25, 2009. It was illustrated by Tokiame, and offers detailed information and character insight regarding the events of Silent Sinner in Blue. The yonkoma, Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth (月のイナバと地上の因幡, Tsuki no Inaba to Chijō no Inaba), was serialized in Manga 4-koma Kings Palette between June 2007 and December 2012. It was written and illustrated by Arata Toshihira, and serves as a light-hearted discursion from the main story featuring Reisen Udongein Inaba and Tewi Inaba, who are referenced respectively in the work's title.
The Grimoire of Marisa (グリモワール オブ マリサ, Gurimowāru obu Marisa)
Grimoire of Marisa is the third official fanbook, published by Ichijinsha on July 28, 2009. It is presented in the form of a scrapbook owned by Marisa Kirisame, recording her encounters with noteworthy Spell Cards. It is written by ZUN and illustrated by Takeshi Moriki, with a cover illustration by Genji Asai. It includes a CD with music by ZUN and several wallpapers.
Wild and Horned Hermit (東方茨歌仙, Tōhō Ibarakasen; lit. "Rose Poem Hermit)
Wild and Horned Hermit is a manga series written by ZUN and illustrated by Aya Azuma, serialized from July 2010 to June 2019 in Ichijinsha's Chara Mel Febri (later Febri) magazine. It introduces protagonist Kasen Ibaraki, a mysterious hermit who descends from the mountains of Gensokyo in order to dispense knowledge to its residents.
Symposium of Post-mysticism (東方求聞口授, Tōhō Gumon Kuju; lit. 'Gumon Oral Teachings')
Symposium of Post-mysticism is the fourth official fanbook, published by Ichijinsha on April 27, 2012. It was written by ZUN and illustrated by various artists, and presented in the form of a dialogue hosted by Marisa Kirisame and featuring Kanako Yasaka, Byakuren Hijiri, and Toyosatomimi no Miko. It features profiles of almost every character from Mountain of Faith to Ten Desires as well as a collection of in-universe newspaper articles from the Bunbunmaru Newspaper and Kakashi Spirit News.
Forbidden Scrollery (東方鈴奈庵, Tōhō Suzunaan; lit. 'Bell Hermitage')
Forbidden Scrollery is a manga series written by ZUN and illustrated by Moe Harukawa, serialized between October 2012 and July 2017 in Comp Ace magazine. The story revolves around Kosuzu Motoori, a collector of various rare and dangerous demon books in Gensokyo and an employee of the Suzunaan book lender. It was licensed for an English-language release by Yen Press and released in seven volumes between November 2017 and May 2019, making it the first Touhou Project print work to be officially translated.
Strange Creators of Outer World (東方外來韋編, Tōhō Gairai Ihen; lit. 'Tomes of External Origins')
Strange Creators of Outer World is an official Touhou Project magazine, supervized by ZUN and published by Kadokawa under their Dengeki Moeoh imprint since September 2015. It features interviews with ZUN and other doujin creators, a continuation of the official novel Curiosities of Lotus Asia, and comics and CDs by various artists, among other related content.
Alternative Facts in Eastern Utopia (東方文果真報, Tōhō Bunka Shinpō; lit. 'Word's End True Report')
Alternative Facts in Eastern Utopia is the fifth official fanbook, published by Kadokawa on March 30, 2017. It was written by ZUN and contains illustrations from various artists. It is presented as Aya Shameimaru's attempt to create a tabloid magazine in the style of those from the outside world, featuring similar content to the earlier fanbook Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red, but in a significantly more chaotic and haphazard format.
The Grimoire of Usami (秘封倶楽部異界撮影記録, Hifū Kurabu Ikai Satsuei Kiroku; lit. 'Secret Sealing Club's Otherworld Photography Record')
The Grimoire of Usami is the sixth official fanbook, published by Kadokawa on April 27, 2019. It primarily features a manga written by ZUN and illustrated by Aya Azuma, with a cover illustration by Genji Asai. In an attempt to emulate the fireworks of the outside world, the residents of Gensokyo decide to hold a grand display of Spell Cards, which is interrupted partway through by a group of unexpected guests.
Foul Detective Satori (<東方智霊奇伝> 反則探偵さとり, <Tōhō Chireikiden> Hansoku Tantei Satori; lit. 'Strange Legend of Wise Spirits')
Foul Detective Satori is a two-part manga series written by ZUN and illustrated by Ginmokusei (銀木犀) and Yuu Akimaki (秋巻ゆう). The first part was illustrated by Ginmokusei and serialized from October 2019 on Kadokawa's ComicWalker website. Due to Ginmokusei's declining health, the series was halted on March 2021. A continuation began in October 2021 with Yuu Akimaki taking over as the artist. The story primarily focuses on the mind-reading yōkai Satori Komeiji, and her investigative mission to hunt down a vengeful spirit causing havoc in Gensokyo.
The Lotus Eaters, Drunk and Sober (東方酔蝶華 〜 ロータスイーター達の酔醒, Tōhō Suichōka ~ Rōtasuītā-tachi no Suisei; lit. 'Drunken Butterfly Flower ~ Drunkening and Sobering of Lotus-Eaters')
The Lotus Eaters, Drunk and Sober is a manga series written by ZUN and illustrated by Mizutaki (水炊き). It began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's monthly Comp Ace magazine on November 26, 2019. The story follows Miyoi Okunoda, the poster girl of the Geidontei pub in the village, and her various interactions with humans and yōkai. The manga is published digitally in English on Kadokawa's BookWalker website.
Whispered Oracle of Hakurei Shrine (東方幻存神籤 ~ Whispered Oracle of Hakurei Shrine, Tōhō Genzōnmikuji; lit. 'Fantasy Fortune Telling')
Whispered Oracle of Hakurei Shrine is the seventh official fanbook, published by Kadokawa on April 1, 2025. It is written from the perspective of Reimu Hakurei, and features O-mikuji slips for every character that has appeared in the series so far (excluding the PC-98 era).

Development

Touhou Project is a one-man project by Jun'ya Ōta (usually under the pseudonym ZUN), who does all the graphics, music, and programming alone for the bullet hell games, with the exceptions of the portrait art in Fairy Wars, which was done by Makoto Hirasaka. The fighting games, Immaterial and Missing Power, Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, Touhou Hisōtensoku, Hopeless Masquerade, Urban Legend in Limbo, and Antinomy of Common Flowers, were dual efforts with Twilight Frontier, in which ZUN wrote the music and story, and Twilight Frontier created the art and gameplay.

ZUN's first interest in developing video games came during his high school years. While most shoot 'em up games utilise a military or science fiction theme, ZUN wanted a game with a miko main character, and a Shinto aesthetic. ZUN was part of his school's orchestra club, and originally wanted to create music for video games. He went to college, hoping to compose music for fighting games, since they were popular at the time due to Street Fighter II. As he did not know anybody else who was making games that he could put his music in, he made his own games for this purpose, which led to the first Touhou Project game, Highly Responsive to Prayers, being released in 1996. The first game was originally intended as a practice in programming. Touhou Project only became a shooting game series from the second game onwards, because the popularity of shooting games had revived due to RayForce and ZUN had long been a fan of such games. ZUN remarked how the general theme and direction of Touhou only started coming together in the sixth game, Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.

ZUN develops his games with Visual Studio, Adobe Photoshop, and Cubase, according to his interview in Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red. For the development of Fossilized Wonders, ZUN incorporated images generated by artificial intelligence into the game, a decision some Touhou fans criticized. However, he stated that his reason of using AI-generated images had to do with the game's plot, and affirmed a negative stance against generative AI in art.

Reception

Touhou Project was nominated for the 11th annual Media Arts Awards held by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, under the Entertainment category, where Touhou Project eventually lost to Nintendo's Wii Sports for the Grand Prize award. The series was inducted into the Guinness World Records in October 2010 as the "most prolific fan-made shooter series".

Legacy

Cosplay of characters from the series
Reimu Hakurei
Momiji Inubashiri
Reisen Udongein Inaba

Touhou Project has a large fandom. A survey conducted by the Comic Market Committee in 2009 lists the average age of Touhou Project fans among Comiket attendees as 24.8 years of age. According to the results of the Touhou Project Popularity Poll 2023, almost 40% of respondents to the poll were aged 15 to 19 years old, while people over 25 years old made up only about 20%. A later survey conducted by Nikkei Entertainment from December 16, 2023, with a sample size of 50,000 participants across various different fandoms, showed that respondents who considered themselves devoted fans of Touhou Project within Japan had an average age of 23 years, and a male-to-female ratio that skews 85:15.

Derivative works

Prayer plaques with Touhou Project characters in Suwa-taisha. Akimiya Kaguraden in Suwa-taisha was used as the background image in Mountain of Faith.

Many derivative works based on Touhou Project have been created since the release of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, including doujinshi, doujin music, doujin anime, and doujin games. The vast scope of Touhou Project derivatives has prompted commentary, with Touhou Project being noted as an unmissable aspect of Japanese consumer generated media.

Nowadays, Touhou Project is regarded as a typical example of database consumption. These doujin activities are mostly responsible for adding original attributes to characters. ZUN, for the most part, has acknowledged, appreciated, and even encouraged these derivative works by imposing very few restrictions on the use of his works. The major restrictions are on unauthorized commercial distribution, and the spoiling of endings; proper attribution to Team Shanghai Alice is a requirement, and creators of derivative works are asked to refrain from crowdfunding their projects. ZUN stated himself that he did not want the Touhou Project series to be officially commercialized.

A graph comparing the participation of doujin circles at Comiket 85 (December 2013)

The first publication of Touhou Project doujinshi occurred following the release of Perfect Cherry Blossom, where seven circles sold derivative works at Comiket 65 in December 2003. At Comiket 74 in August 2008, 885 circles had Touhou Project derivative works on display or for sale, out of a total of participating 35,000 circles. The series' popularity declined by the late 2010s, and by 2019, Touhou Project was the fourth-most popular series at Comiket, with less than half the circles of the Fate series. Besides Comiket, there are events exclusively hosting Touhou Project content known as Touhou-Only (東方オンリー). The largest Touhou-Only events are Reitaisai in Kanto and Kouroumu in Kansai.

Doujin games based on Touhou Project are another popular genre of derivative works. They include adaptations of other game series' mechanics with Touhou Project characters, such as Master Burner, an arcade shooting game based on After Burner, and original works such as UTG Software's Suwako's Jumping Shooting Game. Prior to 2014, it was difficult to find physical copies of these fan games due to official guidelines regarding commercialization. This changed in 2014 when Sony and Mediascape launched the "Play, Doujin!" to allow fan-made Touhou games to be ported to other platforms.

Several fanmade anime have been created for Touhou Project. Albeit created by amateur studios, the projects have sometimes included appearances by professional voice actors, such as Rie Tanaka. Doujin anime of note include Fantasy Kaleidoscope ~ The Memories of Phantasm (幻想万華鏡) by the circle Manpuku Jinja in 2011, A Summer Day's Dream (夢想夏郷) by the doujin circle Maikaze, and Hifuu Club Activity Record ~ The Sealed Esoteric History (秘封活动记录) by the Chinese doujin circle Kyoto Fantasy Troupe. A derivative anime from a commercial anime studio came in the form of Anime Tenchou x Touhou Project (アニメ店長 x 東方Project) by Ufotable to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Japanese goods chain Animate.

The music of Touhou Project has been particularly popular, and many arrangement CDs are sold at Comiket and other Japanese conventions. Among the most popular derivatives are the series of Flash music videos created by the doujin music circle IOSYS, which are often shared on otaku internet forums and Niconico. One such song, "Marisa Stole the Precious Thing", has been heavily referenced and parodied in derivative anime music videos and Internet memes. "Marisa Stole the Precious Thing", alongside "Cirno's Perfect Math Class", "Night of Nights", and "Bad Apple!!" were included in the video game Touhou Spell Bubble. Toby Fox, the creator of Undertale, cited Touhou Project as one of his musical influences.

Internet memes

Wikipe-tan drawn in the yukkuri style
A man holding a Patchouli Fumo doll

Major Internet memes based on Touhou Project are Yukkuris and "FumoFumo". Yukkuris, featuring disembodied, deformed heads of Touhou Project characters, originated from a crude attempt in late 2007 to draw the main characters Reimu and Marisa with Shift JIS art and a phrase "Yukkuri shite itte ne!!!" (ゆっくりしていってね!!!; often translated as "You should be taking it easy!!!"). It become a popular meme in Japan, winning 2008's "Net Slang of the Year". Videos narrated by Yukkuris with the text-to-speech engine SofTalk are called Yukkuri videos. Another popular meme is FumoFumo (ふもふも), a line of plush dolls of Touhou Project characters, designed by the Japanese illustrator Neji and manufactured by the Japanese merchandise company Gift. The plushes have emotionless faces, scornful eyes, and are about two heads tall. After becoming popular, the dolls have caused panic buying at times.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Spin-off fighting games are developed in collaboration with Twilight Frontier.
  2. ↑ Highly Responsive to Prayers only
  3. 1 2 3 New Classic: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
  4. ↑ Urban Legend in Limbo, Antinomy of Common Flowers
  5. ↑ Antinomy of Common Flowers, Sunken Fossil World, New Classic: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
  6. ↑ Sometimes written as 東方プロジェクト (Tōhō Purojekuto)
  7. ↑ With the exception of the first installment in the series, Highly Responsive to Prayers, an Arkanoid-style block breaker game.
  8. ↑ The exceptions to this are Story of Eastern Wonderland, which has only five stages, and Lotus Land Story and Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, both of which lock the player out of the sixth stage on easy difficulty.
  9. ↑ Many of the songs had been made remixing the original games' music.
  10. ↑ Touhou Project games themselves are also doujin games.

References

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