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 (lets-fucking-go).

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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  • lilypad [she/her, null/void]
    ·
    3 months ago
    Gendergthoughts™

    Ive been thinking through some aspects of gender and how I relate to it. Its so slippery! The closer I get to grasping it in my hands the more it wriggles and tries to slip free to return to the ocean (yes, gender is a fish).

    But im trying to reconcile my understanding of myself as a mostly binary trans woman with my desire to live in a world where those three descriptors have no meaning, where there is no gender binary, where being "trans" is a logical impossibility, and where woman is, by virtue of there being no binary, a non-meaningful label.

    I dont really have an answer. Being a woman is so meaningful to me, all of the positive and negative aspects of it together feels like home. So how can I want to live in a world where my home doesnt make sense? And similarly, just because it feels like home, doesnt mean I dont want to ever go outside. I live here, i enjoy it here, it is where I belong, and the outside is largely uninteresting to me. But sometimes, once in a while, i want to go stay somewhere else, another home in the city. Its in the same quarter as the home of "woman", but isnt the same. And similarly, sometimes i wish to leave for the woods, away from any conception of gender, where there is no pronoun, no social role, no class as relates to reproductive labor. A place where there is nothing at all. I dont reside in the forest, but sometimes i wish to reside there. But even the whole concept of "to reside" doesnt fit; there is not a place of residence, only the point where i am right now. So i suppose I dont reside in the house of "woman", i just spend a lot of time there. But that doesnt mean I dont spend time in the forest away from and outside of all conception of gender, or in that unnamed house that is close to woman but not quite the same.

    There is no conclusion, no wrapping up. There is only that which is, i guess.

    • khizuo [ze/zir]
      ·
      3 months ago
      gemder

      gender is a fish

      Women want me, gender(?) fears me?

      My current favorite theory (and this is just my brain thoughts, I haven't read enough trans theory to have more solid convictions) is that in the future, gender will occupy a subcultural place in society, like goth or punk. I really like identifying with the label "trans" and I feel like even if I were to live in a world that is no longer dominated by binary gender, I would probably still enjoy identifying with that label. I already feel like there is a subcultural aspect to gender in our modern day (especially on the internet) and that it will only continue to grow, and eventually when binary gender disappears perhaps that is what we will be left with.

      • lilypad [she/her, null/void]
        ·
        3 months ago

        I kinda like that conception! Gender as a subculture in a post binary/post gender enforcement world. There definitely is a subcultural aspect of it (especially online); i think most of that is from people (mostly trans people tbh) taking the time to understand gender and what it means to them.

      • magi [null/void]M
        ·
        3 months ago

        You should read the gender accelerationist manifesto too if you haven't it is basically what your theory is (link below)

    • ashinadash [she/her]
      ·
      3 months ago

      Did you read the Gender Accelerationist Manifesto recently? :3