Curiosities about fashion in Gensokyo

[CountVonNumenor]

Hi, I am still new in here, so I hope I am using the right areas for various threads. 

 

I was randomly thinking about fashion in Touhou, and how the characters dress. And there are a few examples that really gave me a bit of thought recently.

 

1) One example in regards to some confusion I've had (and still have) is Youmu. She wear her sleeveless green jacket and skirt, and beneath that what I thought to be a simple white shirt. I was surprised to find out the thing is not a shirt, but actually an undershirt, or "maiou" as we call it in Romanian (the word comes from the French "maillot"). The thing about "maiou" (maiouri for plural form) is an underwear, usually not visible through the clothes you wear above. So in general, some of the 2hus just wear some underwear over which comes a jacket or something of sorts for their top half?

 

2) It seems like swimsuits are a thing in Gensokyo, at least according to Silent Sinner in Blue. I was not expecting that, but it's interesting.

 

3) Then there are other curiosities I've noticed, like the use of bloomers in the early Windows games (which seem to have later disappeared with some exceptions like Mayumi) or Nue, which is a whole different discussion with her short dress and thigh-highs/the zettai ryouiki trope. Combined with the first point, how does underwear and other clothing accessories that are not usually visible work like given the setting of Gensokyo and tendency towards the older style of clothing characters opt for?

 

4) Last one I'd like to point out before leaving it open for discussion when it comes to fashion in Gensokyo is Hecatia. I never hated or found her odd, despite going against the typical 2hu fashion with her T-shirt and skirt (totally not from Hot Topic). Or maybe it’s the fact she's a redhead which redeemed her a lot in my eyes (apparently, I do have 2 redheads in my top 10 - Raiko and Hecatia). The other redhead I like, Raiko, is also dressed rather differently from the rest of the girls, with her white tuxedo, necktie and shirt, which is quite refreshing from all the dresses and frills.

 

Anyway, what do you think on these examples, and what other situations have you found interesting in regards to how the characters like to dress or have been designed as?

[Ken Hisuag]

Perhaps I'm taking this a bit more seriously than intended, but nonetheless there is potential for discussion. I assume, more often than not, the fashion choice of any given Touhou character is an immediate reflection of intended portrayal, dependent upon any number of characteristics. This can range from vocational (Sakyua's maid uniform), to cultural (I presume of Futo's garb), to situational (Yuuka's first appearance in her nightgown); but nearly always, the garb is designed to reinforce the role and/or traits of the character. There are some weird ones that are more difficult to interpret (Kurokoma's probably isn't meant to mean too much), but they are often exceptions to the rule.

Anything further than that is likely superficial, though granted the mind of ZUN is a mysterious enigma at times.

[buskerdog]

I do think this is actually a pretty interesting area for discussion, especially given all the different angles this can be approached from such as in-universe reasoning, ZUN's character design, and cultural influences on Touhou in general.

On 3/5/2022 at 2:57 PM, CountVonNumenor said:

I was surprised to find out the thing is not a shirt, but actually an undershirt

Hang on, really? It kind of just looks like a normal shirt to me - I feel like the term "undershirt" can really be applied to any layer that goes underneath something else, even if only partially. But I guess it's an interesting point to consider, and maybe not even all that surprising given how the majority of characters opt for clothes that loose, comfortable and easy to move in, so why not? (And of course if it has frills, then even better.) There are 2 reasons I can think of why people in Gensokyo might like this - firstly is that for danmaku battles and maybe also just flying in general, wearing something that doesn't feel restricting in any way must be important so that they can move as freely as they need to - weight may also be a factor to consider. But even for those who don't partake in danmaku fights, the other reason could likely to be to do with temperature - Gensokyo is somewhere in mainland Japan, and it gets hot and humid during the summer, so thinner clothes are better. Often in the manga you can also see the girls wear different outfits as the seasons change, with thicker clothing instead and more layers in the winter, so I think it's pretty good reasoning.

On 3/5/2022 at 2:57 PM, CountVonNumenor said:

It seems like swimsuits are a thing in Gensokyo, at least according to Silent Sinner in Blue. I was not expecting that, but it's interesting.

I doubt they're common, but of course all kinds of things can drop into Gensokyo from the outside world - and of course when a whole western style mansion gets teleported in, there must be all kinds of things that get brought with it. Gensokyo has no seas, so even if people have swimsuits somehow, they have no reason to use them, unless it's something like that silly pool party at the end of SSiB.

 

And regarding last point, idk why some characters randomly have wildly different clothes to everyone else, but seeing as Hecatia is literally most powerful 2hu I wouldn't argue about it.

 

Now the thing that I wonder is this - what are those sleeve things that Reimu and Sanae wear called???

[CountVonNumenor]

That is why I have started the discussion. Just like you said, there is a lot of potential for analysis on why characters dress the way they do, with reasons varying from personality, ideas ZUN had or cultural references (as Touhou does not lack them, which is one of the things I like a lot about this series)

[DoremanX]

17 hours ago, buskerdog said:

Gensokyo has no seas, so even if people have swimsuits somehow, they have no reason to use them, unless it's something like that silly pool party at the end of SSiB

You forgot about that giant lake near the mansion. Having a lake is a good enough substitute for a beach.

[Gensokian Loser]

Ah the fashion! Always an interesting topic to me, particularly that of Gensokyo.
Sometimes  a bit tooo weird for me, especially the newer designs, but this got me thinking about it and actually the weird designs make sense in universe. Gensokyo is in a bubble, so they don't get a lot of outside influence in their culture aside from traditional Japan from which they separated from and with people from the outside coming in now and then, so their fashion is very unique and has elements of traditional clothing mixed with more experimental stuff. The ones that are particularly modern looking such as Hecatia usually are from or have the ability to move to the outside world.

You know one design that's always seemed odd to me? Maribel. What girl not even in modern day, but the future, wears a mob cap?? lmao. I get why though, a hint to her connection as Yukari, but still. I guess it's an alt fashion thing.

[CountVonNumenor]

There are a few more things that make me curious and/or find interesting, and I will go in the order of characters I like:

 

Hieda no Akyuu - as far as I have observed, her outfit seems to be made out of a kimono, a long skirt, that midriff band thing that seems to hold the skirt tight and the yellow clothing thing over her shoulders and sleeves (sorry for not knowing the names). Here comes my first question: what actually is that piece of clothing? Is it something worn over the shoulders, and conveniently also has long, wide sleeves? In official art, it always seems not to cover the shoulders, but bo gobbled around the wait in the midriff belt, while fan-made cosplay seems to be going in any direction when it comes to translating that outfit to "live-action". Still a very nice costume though.

 

 

Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu - I like her outfit since it gives me the vibe of a uniform. Be it from the fact I got into liking history through the field of military history, or from he fact that for 12 years in my life I had to wear a uniform as part of the school outfit. Anyway, I always thought Eiki's hat is quite interesting. However, things have become even more interesting after I found out about the inspiration for the character. The Buddhist version of the Yama also does have that hat, but a different overall outfit. Now I really wonder where did the idea for an almost military/police-like uniform come to ZUN. 

 

 

Mayumi Joutouguu - the first 2hu that has an armor. I like that armor for similar reasons as mentioned for Eiki. it just seems like a sensible choice for someone who is supposed to be related to the army, as commander of the haniwa army corps. Also, thanks to Mayumi, I got the chance to learn about the haniwa warriors, and a bit about funeral customs in Kofun era Japan (really got a bit of interest for early Japanese history, from first settlers to like the end of the Heian era). Also, perhaps it could be just me, but Mayumi-s hairstyle somehow resembles a helmet.

 

Raiko Horikawa - I do not really have too much to say about her. However, I really like her jacket and skirt combination. Sharp dressing, something that you rarely see among the Touhou characters who seem to go more for dresses or traditional clothing. 

 

Tenkyuu Chimata - people can say whatever they want about her, but I like her outfit. I like the idea of multiple fabrics and colors brought together in creating one outfit. Also she has a cape, so bonus points. My only question though. For characters with capes like Tenkyuu or Okuu, where do the sky, respectively space things reflected in the capes come from?


Last but not least, Hecatia Lapislazuli. Oh boi, where do we start from...? I did mention her in the opening post, and in the past I have said I was never bothered about her...unique outfit. "Hot Topic Goddess" sure feels unique, going for that T-shirt + skirt combo. However, I have a question - why all the chains and collar around her neck? There might be some symbolism around it, but first time I showed her image to a friend who had no idea what Touhou is, she asked me "why does she look like being into BDSM with all that chains and the dog collar?"




If you know more interesting examples, feel free to complete the list. I am sure there more things I may have missed

Edited March 19, 2022 by CountVonNumenor

[jssf1992]

Similar to what I said in the ZUN's art thread, I believe this is mostly the result of a desire by ZUN to make the characters visually distinct, though I do think that some are also to signal to the player/audience their role/archetype, as Ken said.  There's likely some intent to inform the player, but I do think that a lot of it is simply using the setting as justification for visually varied and distinct cast.

[CountVonNumenor]

On 3/28/2022 at 1:45 AM, jssf1992 said:

Similar to what I said in the ZUN's art thread, I believe this is mostly the result of a desire by ZUN to make the characters visually distinct, though I do think that some are also to signal to the player/audience their role/archetype, as Ken said.  There's likely some intent to inform the player, but I do think that a lot of it is simply using the setting as justification for visually varied and distinct cast.

I mean yeah, it makes sense. The way each character is dressed like also goes into their character, background and such. And there are some outfits that I really like. Since there are some I am more curious about, as well as specific clothing articles, is one of the reasons why I started this thread. 

[CountVonNumenor]

Update: I actually got the the page from SSiB depicting the swimwear. I had a bit of a surprise there is more than just Reimu, Marisa and Remilia:

Quote

 

I looks like both Aya and Patchouli have their own, canonical swimsuit. Problem is they are just background characters, so the artist did not develop them very much in that matter. 

Aya -  looks like a simple, black one-piece swimsuit

Patchouli (to be honest, I am a bit concerned about this Patchouli's anatomy; I hope she did not snap her heck trying to turn the head around while the feet are oriented the other way around as her face)

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by CountVonNumenor

[ScarletCyro]

The fashion style is definitely unique, but it's been that way since the start of the series. Perhaps it's because ZUN wanted the game to stand out so people would vuy hil as the games were made to promote his music so it would make sense that he would want to keep the games special and unique compared to other games, and perhaps that also explains his musical style