Touhou in China: the story of Jiangsu Touhou Community

[vanyk]

"rectify their previous wrongdoing"

But it looks like they are still depended on Starlike Inc. and I am not sure if it is a good thing.

that it makes all the Touhoufest issues look like nothing, with some touhou Korean fans even calling it a "scam convention".

From what I read it is like that.

But outside Houraisai, it's crazy how so many Touhou conventions seemingly popped up out of nowhere in here Korea 2025.

From what I see a lot of them appeared after the incident with Houraisai (like small alternatives to it), but it looks like Doujin Company decided to take this situation under control. Those similar announcements by Airdefence and WaDaMatt were interesting.

there's a hifuu only event to coming soon in 2026

This one has very strict limitations related to non-Hifuu fanworks comparing to Japanese Touhou character-only and work-only events.

 

[Bhrjr]

yes, I follow the dude, but I'm not interested in him that much, since the dude posts a lot of korean political stuff and doesn't seem to really have a role in the korean fandom

and lol, I just found out he retweeted ruw's posts, so take that what you will.

 

[不人气的大狸子]

The civil war in the Jiangsu Touhou community is still going on...

The Touhou Community in Wuxi was established through the Jiangsu Touhou Project Community Consortium. Based on this formation, the Wuxi Touhou Event Organizing Committee still maintains the management of the Wuxi Touhou Community after the dissolution of the Jiangsu Touhou Project Community Consortium.

Therefore, when someone passed the Wuxi Touhou Event Organizing Committee without publicity and discussion, it was announced that Wuxi THO would be held, which made the Wuxi Touhou Event Organizing Committee unhappy.

The Wuxi Touhou Event Organizing Committee believes that this is a great disrespect to the Wuxi Touhou community and violates the "Doujin spirit"

As I said before, some people are trying to get fame and fortune through Touhou offline activities.

By the way, my next article intends to introduce the Touhou community in northeast China

 

[vanyk]

After reading this attachment I still don't fully understand why the Committee is against this THO. Why there cannot be several THO in one region? Why to organize an event you have to participate in activities of certain community? For me having two event organizers in the same region which have little ties with each other is not something really wrong. But I agree that it would be much better if they would cooperate and help each one. Maybe it would be a good idea to have a meeting between organizers and discuss these things.

By the way, my next article intends to introduce the Touhou community in northeast China

That is great. I am looking forward to it.

 

[不人气的大狸子]

Why there cannot be several THO in one region? Why to organize an event you have to participate in activities of certain community?

Wuxi's Touhou community was organized based on the Jiangsu Touhou Project Community Consortium, so it has a strong sense of "territoriality" and emphasizes that "only local people can develop local communities well."

Why to organize an event you have to participate in activities of certain community?

Well, I don’t know how to put it, I think if you want to hold a successful THO locally, it is important to unite the local community. The quality of local community building almost determines the number of tourists who come to THO.

Maybe it would be a good idea to have a meeting between organizers and discuss these things.

I actually support your point of view.

 

[vanyk]

Wuxi's Touhou community was organized based on the Jiangsu Touhou Project Community Consortium, so it has a strong sense of "territoriality" and emphasizes that "only local people can develop local communities well."

I see.

Well, I don’t know how to put it, I think if you want to hold a successful THO locally, it is important to unite the local community. The quality of local community building almost determines the number of tourists who come to THO.

Interesting. From what I saw in Japan there can be new events organized by fans who didn't participate in organizing other events. And there are events which are not related to certain territory but to certain Touhou character. Or there may be events organized in different regions by the same staff. That is why I didn't fully understand before that if was important for them in activities organized by Wuxi Touhou Event Organizing Committee.

Thank you for the explanation.

 

[不人气的大狸子]

That is why I didn't fully understand before that if was important for them in activities organized by Wuxi Touhou Event Organizing Committee.

Yes, when you understand the Chinese Touhou community, you must be aware of its unique "territoriality", which is almost the basis of research.

 

[Bhrjr]

After reading this attachment I still don't fully understand why the Committee is against this THO

Can you summarize what the attachment said, except the parts the guy already talked about?

 

[vanyk]

Can you summarize what the attachment said, except the parts the guy already talked about?

Key points from the attachment:

The Wuxi Touhou Event Organizing Committee received information that another group nearly finished preparations for Wuxi THO. The Committee was surprised and noticed several problems. The Committee blame the organizers for:
1. not being related to Wuxi Touhou community
2. not participating in activities of Wuxi Touhou community and not knowing about it.
3. only informing about preparations without engaging in other activities and not cooperating. (The Committee says that such actions are similar to what happened on events related to the incident)
Opinion and demands of the Committee:
1. The actions of the organizers are disrespectful for Wuxi Touhou community, so there will be no cooperation.
2. The organizers want to establish a separate Wuxi community what can damage the community stability, so the Committee demand them to stop formatting a new community. If the organizers still want to hold an event they mustn't use "Wuxi" in their name and they should either not to hold activities within the next three times or disband the group.
If they don't follow the demands or don't communicate the Committee will protest these activities.

 

[Bhrjr]

Key points from the attachment:

That's just so childish, and honestly speaking, way scummier than any wrongs the Houraisai group in Korea, and even Mikotan and Touhoufest has done, since this is unjustified hostility than simple incompetence or lack of foresight. And they could've simply told them to make the event name more distinctive than "Wuxi Tho" and emphasize the difference, since the only substantial problem would be people mistaking the organizers' and the comittee's events as the same.

Western Touhou fans on twitter and /jp/ like to talk about how trash the western fandom is, but it looks like from everything 不人气的大狸子 told me on discord and here, the Chinese fandom might potentially surpass the Japanese fandom in toxicity, and probably already surpasses in the number of "juicy dramas".

 

[No Account Name Idea]

This is off topic, but what did Mikotan do to Touhoufest? It sounded like a pretty normal event (I wasn't there so I don't know).
Edit: Nevermind, I found a PDF document.

 

[vanyk]

That's just so childish, and honestly speaking, way scummier than any wrongs the Houraisai group in Korea, and even Mikotan and Touhoufest has done, since this is unjustified hostility than simple incompetence or lack of foresight. And they could've simply told them to make the event name more distinctive than "Wuxi Tho" and emphasize the difference, since the only substantial problem would be people mistaking the organizers' and the comittee's events as the same.

Agree. They could just meet and discuss these problems.

Western Touhou fans on twitter and /jp/ like to talk about how trash the western fandom is, but it looks like from everything 不人气的大狸子 told me on discord and here, the Chinese fandom might potentially surpass the Japanese fandom in toxicity, and probably already surpasses in the number of "juicy dramas".

I don't understand how Western fandom is related to this point, but anyway.
For me it begins to look like this too, but Japanese fandom has some things too. Several events were cancelled because of death threats. There was a (short) dispute between Reitaisai and Kouroumu staff in 2014-2015. There was a drama this year related to Anime Club Kofu (organizers of many Touhou-only events). There were some other smaller incidents. But at least Japanese organizers of Touhou-only events try to help each other.
I don't know if anyone tried to count all these incidents.

 

[Bhrjr]

At least for now, as there are some incidents

And now, Houraisai is no more with 4.5 this Sunday being their last, and once more, the state of main 2hu event event in korea falls into uncertainty as it has been since 2009 or so. Although, with how the state of 2hu main event having been stable since post-pandemic era starting in 2023, another big group ought to scramble a main event for 2026, one that's hopefully not 주망지재상단 wearing a different skin.

 

[不人气的大狸子]

And now, Houraisai is no more with 4.5 this Sunday being their last

Wow, that's shocking news. Do you know why Houraisai is no longer being held? (I hope this has nothing to do with what happened in February, although the impact of this incident has spread to the Chinese Touhou community）

To be honest, I really want to go to Houraisai because it is the nearest foreign Touhou exhibition to me. A friend of mine who has attended two Houraisai events told me that Houraisai "has a very good reputation within the Korean Touhou community, and Korean Touhou fans as a whole are very supportive of this exhibition."

one that's hopefully not 주망지재상단 wearing a different skin.

I have some impression of the Doujin Club, as it participated in the Dalian THO. What happened with it?

Although, with how the state of 2hu main event having been stable since post-pandemic era starting in 2023, another big group ought to scramble a main event for 2026

It's like I said, although Touhou is not as popular as it was fifteen years ago, it has formed a stable ecological chain and will self-regulate even if there are any changes.

 

[vanyk]

Houraisai is no more with 4.5 this Sunday being their last

Sadly, that is unsurprising (I remember seeing predictions that 4.5 or 5 would be the last event), but now there are some other Touhou-only events, so I think that Touhou Doujin wouldn't die in Korea.

another big group ought to scramble a main event for 2026, one that's hopefully not 주망지재상단 wearing a different skin.

I think Doujin Company may also try to boost one of the Touhou-only events they work with (so technically may happen something similar to what you say).

Do you know why Houraisai is no longer being held?

Official declaration.

Spoiler

Original text:

안녕하세요 봉래제 주최진입니다.
여러 해 동안 봉래제를 진행해 오면서 여러분과 즐거운 시간을 쌓을 수 있었습니다.
하지만 행사를 계속 진행해 오면서 저희의 역량의 한계를 뼈저리게 느꼈습니다.
가급적 여러분들과 약속한 행사까지 마무리짓고 싶었습니다만
더이상의 운영은 여러분들에게 큰 폐를 끼치게 될것 같습니다.

봉래제는 4.5회까지 진행하고 무기한 휴업에 들어갑니다.
그간 여러분들께 폐를끼친점, 그럼에도 저희와 함께해주신 여러분들에게 감사의 마음을 담아
4.5회는 부스참가자와 일반참가자 모두에게 무료로 진행하고자 합니다.
멋진 작품을 만들어주신 부스 참가자분들과, bad apple!!이라는 명곡을 만들어낸 알스트로메리아,
슈퍼 바이올리니스트 TAMUSIC과 함께하는 봉래제를 즐겨주세요.

이 행사이후로 저희는 모든것을 내려놓고 하나의 동방서클로서 처음부터 다시 시작하려고 합니다.
동방이라는 생태계를 만들어 주셨던 신주님을 비롯하여 저희와 함께 꾸준히 참가해주셨던 작가님들, 직간접적으로 저희를 응원해주셨던 분들, 자리에 참석해 빛을 내주셨던 여러분들
그간 저희에게 베풀어주셨던 은혜 잊지 않고 있습니다. 앞으로도 절대로 잊지 않겠습니다.
(입장 및 환불절차에 대해서는 타래로 이어갑니다.)

English (Google) translation:

Hello, we are the organizers of the Houraisai.

Having hosted the Houraisai for many years, we've been able to share many enjoyable moments with you.
However, as we've continued to host the event, we've become acutely aware of the limitations of our capabilities.
We wanted to complete the event as promised,
but we fear that continuing to operate would be a significant inconvenience to you all.

The Houraisai will run for 4.5 time and then be closed indefinitely.
To express our gratitude for the inconvenience and for those who have joined us,
we will offer the 4.5th event free of charge to both booth participants and general attendees.
Please enjoy the Houraisai with the booth participants who created wonderful works, Alstroemeria, creator of the classic "Bad Apple!!",
and super violinist TAMUSIC.

After this event, we will put everything aside and start over as a single Touhou Circle. To the Lord who created the Touhou ecosystem, the artists who have consistently participated with us, those who have supported us directly and indirectly, and everyone who has graced us with their presence, we will never forget the kindness you have bestowed upon us. We will never forget that. (Admission and refund procedures will be discussed in a separate thread.)

Unofficially, I am afraid it is related to what happened in February.

What happened with it?

They are the organizers of Houraisai.

although Touhou is not as popular as it was fifteen years ago, it has formed a stable ecological chain and will self-regulate even if there are any changes.

Somewhat agree, but Korean Touhou Doujin is not Japanese Touhou Doujin or Chinese Touhou Doujin. If for some reason Reitaisai disappeared, then Kouroumu/Meikaisai/Kyoto Joint Festival or any other medium sized Touhou-only event would replace it. If Shanghai THO disappeared, then (I think) circles would participate at the local events or somebody in Beijing/Tianjin/Hebei region or Guangdong could try to create an alternative big event. For Korea it is much more serious hit as there are not many other organizers and other events are much smaller. (and outside of East Asia I think the disappearing of main Touhou-only event there would be nearly fatal (after TouhouCon disappeared there were no serious Touhou-only events in USA for a long time)).

 

[Bhrjr]

Wow, that's shocking news. Do you know why Houraisai is no longer being held?

Basically, according to this tweet, they've felt throughly how incompetent they are through all 4 events they've hosted, and feel that they're just going to cause trouble for touhou fans in korea if they keep going. After all, they have an entire page for their controversy on namuwiki.

I hope this has nothing to do with what happened in February

Remind me what that was...? The biggest controversy for Houraisai around that time was the vip ZUN meetup ticket shenanigan.

I have some impression of the Doujin Club, as it participated in the Dalian THO.

I remember vaguely reading somewhere that Houraisai in korea has some connection with the Chinese fandom, so I guess that's what it was (and probably what allowed them to host Houraisai in the first place)? Do you know more about them?

after TouhouCon disappeared there were no serious Touhou-only events in USA for a long time)

That reminds me, according to this tweet, Mikotan was part of the staff at Touhoucon, but was kicked out, which apparently was a "big mistake" by them. So it looks (as they talk about needing his experience, also it was mostly his initiation that made 2hufest possible in the first place). That leads me to this conclusion (take it with a grain of salt):

Mikotan (probably, maybe) was also the one who thought of and chiefly contributed to Touhoucon, where he was able to by being (probably, maybe) some kind of a rich kid similar to joessr, but in a smaller manner (I mean, I doubt it's his "expert-level" convention organizing skills that led to Thfest, seeing all the pdf documents about his wrongdoings in twitter). So without his money, it's seemingly impossible to open a Touhou convention in america or anywhere outside east asia, where the small concentration of the fanbase in the west makes it so that only an anomaly like a "rich touhou fan" allows for a convention.

 

[不人气的大狸子]

Remind me what that was...? The biggest controversy for Houraisai around that time was the vip ZUN meetup ticket shenanigan.

That's what I'm talking about. The version that was circulating in China at the time was that someone asked ZUN about the animation of Touhou, and ZUN got angry and left.

But as someone reported the news from Korea back to China, people learned the full story.

I remember vaguely reading somewhere that Houraisai in korea has some connection with the Chinese fandom, so I guess that's what it was (and probably what allowed them to host Houraisai in the first place)? Do you know more about them?

I think it has something to do with it: 寒松社

It describes itself as a "society dedicated to promoting exchanges between Chinese and Korean Touhou enthusiasts and Touhou Doujin creation."
I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the organizing committee of Houraisai, but it posted a lot of pictures and videos promoting Houraisai on Bilibili:https://space.bilibili.com/3494353943137181/dynamic

To be honest, I know the organizer of 寒松社, and he is studying in Shenyang, so it is entirely possible that he could have come into contact with 주망지재상단 in Dalian THO.



And when this picture caused controversy in the Chinese Touhou community, he was the first to come forward to clarify.

This is the news I know.

 

[Bhrjr]

And when this picture caused controversy in the Chinese Touhou community

Wait...rampa??? I guess it caused controversy due to...the sensei stuff in the left? And I guess it's also making fun of the illustrator 쭐어 for what happened in the 3rd one in 2024, although I'm not sure.

This is off topic, but...
I've been talking about conspiracies on Thfest, which reminds me someone on /jp/ talked about regarding Zun's wife: with how his wife seems to be more open to sexual stuffs and yuri, it seems like the provocative design of Tsukasa in 18, Hisami's overt relationship with Zanmu, and the current relationship with Ariya and Yuiman (I mean, when's the last time we've seen the final boss dedicating herself so much for one non-family-related person?) was her influence over ZUN. (this info is pretty minor and I didn't feel like making a thread was worth it)

 

[不人气的大狸子]

Wait...rampa??? I guess it caused controversy due to...the sensei stuff in the left?

Well, that's just part of it.

You have to know that many Chinese people don't know Korean, so they can only extract information from pictures.

This picture shows Touhou, Genshin Impact and Blue Archive, and the Chinese communities of these three are hostile to each other.

At the same time, this picture also shows the Chinese national flag, as well as incomprehensible Korean words and a tombstone, so it is considered a provocation.

Fortunately, this picture did not cause large-scale controversy in the end.

 

[vanyk]

The biggest controversy for Houraisai around that time was the vip ZUN meetup ticket shenanigan.

I think the main problem they have now is money problem (after having to return money from their pocket).

So without his money, it's seemingly impossible to open a Touhou convention in america or anywhere outside east asia, where the small concentration of the fanbase in the west makes it so that only an anomaly like a "rich touhou fan" allows for a convention.

It is interesting that there were also Touhou-only events in Mexico and there are Touhou-only events in Eastern Europe. Those events are not big like TouhouCon and TouhouFest. I think the best way for the West is organizing small Touhou-only event in different areas (something like Chinese THP) which would require much less money from organizers.

I've been talking about conspiracies on Thfest, which reminds me someone on /jp/ talked about regarding Zun's wife: with how his wife seems to be more open to sexual stuffs and yuri, it seems like the provocative design of Tsukasa in 18, Hisami's overt relationship with Zanmu, and the current relationship with Ariya and Yuiman (I mean, when's the last time we've seen the final boss dedicating herself so much for one non-family-related person?) was her influence over ZUN. (this info is pretty minor and I didn't feel like making a thread was worth it)

I have seen such posts (they also paid attention to the fact that most characters in this game are barefoot). (+ I can add a somewhat provocative design of Clownpiece and designes of Nemuno and Urumi) ZUN got married in 2012, he lives with her for a long time. I don't think this change happened only because of her, but I don't know the real reason.

This picture shows Touhou, Genshin Impact and Blue Archive, and the Chinese communities of these three are hostile to each other.

It looks like the situation in Chinese and Touhou Doujin are really. For example when Kancolle appeared some big Touhou circles (even Cool&Create) made some Kancolle related content. There are cohested events Touhou-only events with Uma Musume-only events or Vocaloid-only events. You can find events on which posters not only Touhou characters. I think that Doujin communities shouldn't be hostile to each other.