PCB Youmu's Theme: Hiroari Shoots a Strange Bird ~ Till When? (Re-Extended)

This is Youmu Konpaku's theme from Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom

Now we finally have a nue in this series, I've always imagined Youmu having some sort of dislike of her. Imagine, when you don't like someone, but you can't explain why? That sort of dislike. I think it's quite interesting.
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Artist: TORON@絵仕事募集中 (tag: mino106)

[Mr._Sherwood]

A half human, half ghost...
Who dislikes ghosts...
Works for one...
And lives in the netherworld.
Sorry Youmu, but your life is stuffed with contradictions.

[captaindoesyoutube]

Teacher: We are learning gardening today.
Boys: Lame.
Girls:

[Shyguymask]

I don't understand why people call this a bad or "forgettable" theme. Nonsense, this sounds plenty good as an intense and slightly unusual boss theme compared to what you would expect.

[RealPhantasm]

She protecc
She attacc
But most importantly...

In Touhou 17, she is bacc

[evanunhinged]

Only ZUN can use the same tune for an entire song and make it sound epic

[DarkeyeSide]

Youmu's concept sounds like a protagonist or villain/rival of a completely different story. "Half phantom swordswoman who works for the ruler of the netherworld"

[LilyKazami]

2011: Ten Desires released, Youmu returns to playable
2012: Youmu wins Western Touhou poll
2019: Wily Beast and Weakest Creature released, Youmu returns to playable
2020: Youmu wins annual Touhou poll in Japan

The People's Waifu, everyone. All she needs to do is show up and everything changes. Congratulations, Youmu.

[roberthasudungan]

Congratulations. Youmu won Touhou Popularity Contest in 2020, getting the appreciation she deserves at last.

[ryujisimp]

Explanation for the theme name:
One night during the fall of 1334, the itsumade suddenly appeared above the hall for state ceremonies, crying out, “Itsumademo? Itsumademo?” Panic erupted amongst the people of the capital. The same creature came back the next night, and every night thereafter. Finally, the imperial court decided that something had to be done. They recalled Minamoto no Yorimasa’s triumph against the nue many years earlier, and decided to summon the warrior Oki no Jirouzaemon Hiroari. Hiroari was an expert archer. He used a signal arrow that let off a loud whistle as it flew, and shot the monster out of the sky. Afterwards, Hiroari was given the name Mayumi, meaning true bow.

(Also, Itsumade and Itsumademo mean "Until when?". Itsumade is what the spirits of pain and suffering turn into, demanding recognition for their pain, demanding to know when it will finally get that recognition.)

[nykom]

Is pretty cool how she uses an actual weapon, I'm looking at you Reimu and your magic stick

[あげだま-fp]

"Till When" means "Itsu made（いつまで）" in japanese.
It is the name of the Strange Bird the Samurai named Hiroari shot by a bow in 1330s.
The bird had made a noise and bothered people cawing all the way., "itsu made, itsu made" and finaly Hiroari defeated it.
Of couse this is just a fiction.

[kalenipclaw]

okay but like, youmu and sakuya are the same person
• silver-haired maid
• relentless flurry of edge-based attacks
• rock theme
• stages 5 and 6
• later appear as a player character with a wide- and hard-hitting attack

[commediaDollArte]

"You... aren't the Hakurei Shrine Maiden. Who are you?"
"I'm Marisa Kirisame, just your average magician!"

[katodo]

Meanwhile nobody notices her phantom is missing in the picture.

[gratuitouslurking]

Three people got on the bus.
A half person got on the bus.
Two people got off the bus.
How many people are on the bus?

[MrTheboomboxer]

Youmu is so cute, you just wanna hug her.

[steveluvscows]

One of the only youkai, alongside Koishi Komeiji, to have dethroned Reimu Hakurei as the most popular Touhou Character in the Popularity Poll.

[MsZsc]

These drums put Ace Attorney Investigations' to shame.

[Ultraelectromagnetic]

Yuyuko: Saigyouji Yuyuko is my name. And this is Konpaku Youmu.

Reimu: Your bodyguard?

Youmu: Her Gardener.

[yumemisstrawberryjam]

*[Phantom-Human Gardener]*
YOUMU KONPAKU

Stage 5 boss, a being of half-human and half-phantom. She's both the second gardener for the Saigyouji clan and the guardian of their mistress. Mainly she posses the ability to handle sword techniques.

Youmu looks after the garden with two swords: Roukan-ken, a long sword that has the power of killing ten phantoms in a single strike, and Hakurou-ken, a short one that can slash down the confusion of humans.

Youki Konpaku, the former gardener, had been the one for about 300 years, but suddenly became a hermit after having made a very young Youmu his successor. Youmu's ability of swordsmanship has still been in progress, so she needs daily practice. Though Youmu herself has no clue where her master is, she thinks of her master's absence as a lesson from him.

This time, following the order the mistress of Saigyouji gave her, she has gathered all of spring essences in Gensokyo to make Saigyou Ayakashi bloom fully.

Here in Hakugyokurou, there are so many cherry blossoms besides Saigyou Ayakashi, which has never bloomed. The former gardener said, "I've seen the fully-bloomed Saigyou Ayakashi before, but this might be the last time." At that time, Youmu had no idea what he meant and why the mistress of Saigyouji gave her such an order.

Youmu sweeps the garden of the Saigyouji family; it's said to be about 200 yojanas long (The mistress exaggerates, of course). This garden has a terrifyingly large amount of cherry trees, where they are attractions for residents all over the Netherworld. When spring comes, Youmu is very busy in sweeping.

This year isn't the exception, too. The phantoms are really thrilled by the wonderful cherry trees. Everyone said, "I'm happy to be a phantom!" On the other hand, Youmu, the half-human saw this raving scene and half-sympathised by saying: "I'm half happy to be a half phantom!"

Now, all she should do is wait for the blooming of Saigyou Ayakashi.

ZUN's comment about the character:
"A half and half made of human and ghost, exotic and wild as a concept, resulted in her design where she comes as a set consisting of a human and a human-size ghost. Her dual-sword style is also a reflection of such duality. When she was first introduced, she was written more as a tall and mighty sword fighter, but with her bizarre thinking patterns and somewhat cowardice personality, she's progressively becoming a cute servant type of character. With her master's mysteriously intense level of airhead, that perplexed look on her face has grown on her."


ZUN's comment about the track:
"I tried to give the impression of both "A Tough Opponent" and "Childishness" with this theme. Perhaps this is the most boss-like theme in this game. While it uses guitar, I gave up trying to make it sound like rock music almost immediately. The hook's melody resembles the youkai."
Notes: This theme is named after the same chapter included in the twelfth volume of Taiheiki.
The title is spelt ひろありけてうをいること ("Hiroari keteu wo iru koto") in historic spelling system, and read as it would be ひろありけちょうをいること ("Hiroari kechou wo iru koto").
In this story, an ominous bird that cries "Itsumade, itsumade" (いつまで、いつまで) appears and frightens the people of Heian. They interpreted it that the bird was the embodiment of sorrow of epidemic disease widespread those days, repeating an evil spell "Till when (do we bodies remain left on the roads)?"; the phrase "itsumade" has been interpreted into "till when?" (何時まで？ itsu made?). ZUN jokingly translates it into English.
"Jokingly" is, in fact, ambivalent in this case. There are some ideas about what ZUN implies for it. For example: (1) "Till when (does the same pattern of melody repeat again and again from the first)?"; (2) "Till when (does winter remain in this story)?". And other people think that Youmu and Yuyuko are roling "Itsumade" and "the body"; Youmu made a big incident to inform protagonists that the source of it was a suffering dead body.