/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Hey, I found another one.

Mokou is probably my favorite Touhou character. There's just so much symbolism put into her. Her name, Fujiwara no Mokou, (藤原　妹紅,) literally means "Scarlet (younger) Sister," tying her to an earlier Extra Boss. Her name can also mean, according to ZUN, "Paint me Red," alluding to her violent fate. Furthermore, "Mokou" can also be translated into Mourning (喪) Female Phoenix (凰). It also alludes to the Great Burnet, (吾亦紅 Waremokou... "Fujiware no Mokou"?) a plant that has historically been used to stop bleeding, heal wounds as well as treat burns and insect bites. (The last one being mildly notable as Wriggle Nightbug was the first boss in Imperishable Night.)
"Fujiwara", in the meantime, is not only the name of one of Japan's oldest noble clans, tying her to the events of "Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," but perhaps more notably we have the end of "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," where the emperor commands his troops to burn the elixir of life that Kaguya left him, along with a letter to Kaguya, at the top of the highest mountain in Japan, him having decided that he could not stand living forever if he could not do so by Kaguya's side. And this is allegedly how Mt. Fuji is said to have gotten its name: From the abundant (富 fu) soldiers (士, shi/ji) ascending the slopes of the mountain. However, a second origin of the mountain's name is also suggested: "Immortal" (不死, fushi)... This was also the explanation for why smoke could always be seen rising from the back-then actively volcanic Fuji: The immortal smoke was reaching for the moon so that it may one day reach Kaguya. And the title of Mokou's theme is? That's right: "Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke."
Another thing I really like is the relation between Mokou and Mononobe no Futo. Just like Mokou, Futo hails from an ancient noble clan, uses fire magic, has obtained immortality and has a rivalry with a fellow noble woman that's romantically involved with an emperor. (Y'know, 'cuz Tojiko's historical counterpart was the lover of Miko's historical counterpart.) Only, unlike Mokou, who is pretty casual about her fire magic mastery, Futo is a pyromaniac, and unlike Mokou who suffers her way through immortality, Futo enjoys being immortal. Furthermore, Futo actually succeeded in killing her rival, and even though Tojiko came back as a vengeful spirit, she and Futo are on friendly terms with each other, unlike Mokou and Kaguya...
Speaking of the taoists: As you probably know, Futo's historical counterpart betrayed her clan in support of Miko's historical counterpart. A while later, Mokou's supposed grandfather, Nakatomi no Kamatari, betrayed the Soga clan for a different emperor, causing Tojiko's clan to go extinct. Kamatari was given the clan name "Fujiwara" in gratitude for his services, but he was struck dead by lightning shortly thereafter, an incident which was said to be the curse of the Soga... Now, keep in mind that Tojiko uses thunderbolt danmaku, add two and two aaand, yup, Tojiko probably killed Mokou's grandfather, so that's funny, too.

ZUN's radio show (2軒目から始まるラジオ Nikenme kara Hajimaru Rajio, "Radio Begins from the Second Pub") is having its 100th broadcast this December 27th (TODAY in Japan) and he's shaping it up to be a big deal. It seems nothing is planned to release this upcoming Comiket but it's probable that he'll announce something during this stream. But what could it be? The time to bet is now!
-New Mainline Game
-New Spin-off Game
-AoCF PS4 and/or Switch Version with New Character/Story/Music
-Confirming the Release of Past Games on Steam
-WaHH Continuation/Sequel or New Manga (WaHH appears to be in its endgame right now)
-Touhou Cannonball News?
-Completely Left Field Announcement?
or. . . nothing (a very ZUN thing to do)

My money is on the AoCF thing. Why? ZUN announced the PS4 ULiL Version during a past Nikenme Radio stream. But he also hinted at VD in a stream before he even announced it on his website so this could really be anything, especially since it's the 100th stream.ZUN even made a blogpost for this stream and he usually never updates his blog unless it's for a game announcement or a big event so this could really be something worth watching! Let's hope this thread doesn't die before then...

Event Page:http://tokyocultureculture.com/event/general/26288
ZUN's Blog: https://kourindou.exblog.jp/amp/27759608

The event starts 6:00 PM JST. That's 1:00 AM PST, 2:00 AM CT, and 3:00 AM EST. If you're planning to stay up late, why not lurk the stream to pass to time? It wouldn't hurt.

Stream Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCubcllQS84CnazS77lY_SJQ

ZUN's radio show (2軒目から始まるラジオNikenme kara Hajimaru Rajio, "Radio Begins from the Second Pub") is having its 100th broadcast this December 27th and he's shaping it up to be a big deal. It seems nothing is planned to release this upcoming Comiket but it's probable that he'll announce something during this stream. But what could it be? The time to bet is now!
-New Mainline Game
-New Spin-off Game
-AoCF PS4 and/or Switch Version with New Character/Story/Music
-Confirming the Release of Past Games on Steam
-WaHH Continuation/Sequel or New Manga (WaHH appears to be in its endgame right now)
-Touhou Canonball News?
-Completely Left Field Announcement?
or. . . nothing (a very ZUN thing to do)

My money is on the AoCF thing. Why? ZUN announced the PS4 ULiL Version during a past Nikenme Radio stream. But he also hinted at VD in a stream before he even announced it on his website so this could really be anything, especially since it's the 100th stream.

Event Page: http://tokyocultureculture.com/event/general/26288
Twitter Post: https://twitter.com/korindo/status/1067768545168175104?s=19