Fanart is by Syurii22.
Toyosatomimi no Miko is a character in the Touhou Project series introduced in its 13th installment, Ten Desires.
Miko was once Prince Shoutoku, a Japanese leader in the 600s known for promoting Buddhism and streamlining the Japanese government. In the Touhou lore, she was visited by Taoist hermit Seiga Kaku, who had heard about Miko’s longing for immortality. Seiga introduced her to Taoism, but she rejected it as a religion unfit for placating an entire country. She was intrigued by its promise of immortality, however, and privately converted to it, advocating for Buddhism to keep Japan stable. After drinking an “immortality elixir” (mercury sulfide), however, she was forced to let go of her body and become a supernatural hermit like Seiga, notably taking on the form of a woman, making her a canonically trans character (
).
After convincing a hermit from a rival clan (Mononobe no Futo) to sleep without decaying, Miko followed in suit, waiting for a time where a Taoist Japan would revive her in search of guidance. However, Buddhist monks were able to keep her mausoleum sealed, and the legends surrounding her were slowly brushed off- which led to her transportation into Gensokyo, where the folklore of old is a reality of everyday life.
When she awoke in Gensokyo, it was right after Buddhist monk Byakuren Hijiri opened her own temple, however, leading to a surge of divine spirits across the realm, setting up the events of Ten Desires.
What look like headphones on her are canonically earmuffs- Shoutoku was allegedly able to discern between ten questions asked at once, an ability carried by Miko (although with her enhanced abilities, she can also analyze each person and determine their inner desires (thus the title of the game))- although it means her hearing is highly sensitive and has to be muffled to prevent pain.
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bmth mentioned
i love bmth! been listening to them since their second album. do you have a favourite of theirs? song or album
for me, it’s sempiternal. great from start to finish, but I think also because it came out during one of the happier and more emotionally “peaceful” periods in my life. the opening track isn’t even the best one yet it became the
theme lol
I haven’t been terribly crazy over them since that’s the spirit, but their latest album has some songs I’m still playing regularly, namely youtopia, a bullet with my name on, and I’ve recently come around to top 10 statues. top 10 statues is interesting because it sounds like the kind of thing other metalcore bands like adtr were making back in the late 2000s when bmth was still trying to be “heavy” in a direct way, but the extra electronics/production still make it stand out.
gotta agree on sempiternal, though my favourite song is actually kingslayer from post human: survival horror. i’m a big babymetal fan so that helps
I know you didn’t ask, but I saw BMTH and was like “someone listens to what I listen to!” moment (I know they’re popular). Favorite album has to be Suicide Season, and my favorite song is also Suicide Season. I like the early death core/metalcore elements, and I feel like Suicide Season (the song) has such emotion to it.
i didn’t ask, but i appreciate you sharing! bmth were a pretty formative band for my taste, along with bullet for my valentine, atreyu, and cancer bats (also hollywood undead lmfao but i’m far less likely to ever listen to them again). suicide season really brought me into the band, but there is a heaven… is what kept me around