Summary
The Eight Million Gods, also known as the Yaoyorozu no Kami, are the gods of the Touhou Project world. They always existed in the world, even before the world became the organized whole we know today. They first gave a "name" to everything, defining each object's boundary and place in the world.
Despite their name, there are far greater than simply 8 million gods. They exist in almost everything, yet lack physical substance and ability to interact with the world. They instead rely on mortal faith and worships for their deeds. Strong enough gods may create a physical form and be able to gather faith directly, although they will still require faith in order to keep existing.
Their physiologies are very similar to youkai, yet different in their interaction with humans. While gods feed on faith, youkai must create fear in humans in order to live on. Despite this, however, the line between the two is very thin, so much that gods turning into youkai is not unheard of. Case in point: Tsukumogami are youkai explicitly born from gods who have been angered and came back as vengeful youkai.
Powers and Stats
Tier: Varies, up to 2-C | Low 2-C
Key: Physical World | Nameless Form
Name: Eight Million Gods, Yaoyorozu no Kami
Origin: Touhou Project
Gender: Varies
Age: Predate reality itself
Classification: Gods
Powers and Abilities:
Non-Physical Interaction (Can harm Phantoms and Evil Spirits with their regular attacks), Acausality (Type 4; Exists within the Hakurei Barrier[1], which created a world with a different flow of time[2] and different physical laws[3]. Should be comparable to those who can act normally inside Eientei, which exists outside of time and causality[4][5]), Shapeshifting (While most gods take a human shape, the form they take is mostly meaningless[6]), Incorporeality, Abstract Existence (Type 1; The true form of a God exists as an idea, and a god can spread and manifest itself in any number of physical bodies, each with equal power[7]), Immortality (Type 1, 4, 8, & 9; relies on their myths, and will be capable of rebirth if they has enough faith. If killed, a god can simply create a new avatar), Conceptual Manipulation (Type 1; They can modify their own concepts/names[8]. When gods obtain a name, they gain total manipulation over the concept to which they are linked), Holy & Curse Manipulation (Gods can give both blessings or curses), Resurrection, Probability Manipulation and Fate Manipulation (Unconsciously control the memory layer of the world, which affects probability and fate)
Resistance to Conceptual Manipulation (Type 1; Are able to fight even when lacking a concept, see Junko)
All previous ability to an unfathomable degree, except: Immortality (Type 8 & 9). Invisibility, Abstract Existence (Type 1; Is the embodiment of something conceptless), Nonduality (Type 2; Gods in this state exist without names[9], and were capable of existing in a state of indistinct chaos prior to the existence of names, with names creating all boundaries in existence[10]. Boundaries are effectively the lines between any two things, including those of a conceptual nature such as life and death[11], master and slave[12], space and time[13], truth and falsehood[14], or existence and nonexistence[15]. Without boundaries, everything would simply exist as a singular massive object[16]. Existing in a nameless state renders one without any particular distinctions, not being a part of any one thing, but simply being[17]), Nonexistent Physiology (Nature 2, Aspect 2 & 5; Gods are described as nothingness itself[18], and gods that revert to their nameless state due to lacking faith[19] are said to have[20] been[21] erased from[22] existence[23]. Due to existing independently of boundaries, gods are not bound to the concepts of form & emptiness[24], existence & nonexistence [zero], or even nonexistence & void [imaginary number][25], instead existing in an unknown fourth state devoid of information[26] and incomprehensible to anything in existence[27][28]), Reality Warping, Void Manipulation, Physics Manipulation, Gravity Manipulation, Magic, Soul Manipulation, Mind Manipulation, Empathic Manipulation, Causality Manipulation, Fate Manipulation & Probability Manipulation (Gods created the three layers that compose the world, of which the first is capable of manipulating the physical world and it's laws, the second being capable of manipulating abstract concepts such as sorcery, the spirit, mind and emotions, and the third being capable of manipulating history, causality, and the memory of the world[29]), Creation & Conceptual Manipulation (Type 1; All gods can give "names" to things, giving them a concept of their own, and a defined border.[30] Through this, they were capable of shaping reality from the primordial chaos it was before anything was named and create things from a state in which nothing existed at all), Avatar Creation (When giving a name to themselves, they create an avatar to interact with the physical world)
Attack Potency: Varies, up to Low Multiverse level (A god's individual strength varies greatly depending on their faith and power. Most gods are generally unable to interact directly with the physical world, instead granting blessings or curses. The strongest gods, however, are fully capable of interacting with the world, much like youkai or humans. Some can even be vastly larger than even the universe itself in their physical form, or are far stronger than youkai like Doremy) | Universe level+
Speed: Varies, up to Infinite (A god's individual speed varies greatly depending on their faith and power. Most gods generally do not move in a straightforward sense, instead solely manifesting as blessings or curses when needed. The strongest gods, however, are fully capable of moving around within the world, much like youkai or humans. Some can even be vastly larger than even the universe itself in their physical form), for their physical body, Omnipresent for their true form (Gods exist as ideas all over existence, and can manifest themselves everywhere)
Lifting Strength: Varies, up to Universe level
Striking Strength: Varies, up to Low Multiverse level | Universe level+
Durability: Varies, up to Low Multiverse level | Universe level+
Stamina: Varies
Range: Varies, Multiversal for their true form (Gods can access any Otherworlds)
Standard Equipment: Varies, usually require a vessel or a shrine
Intelligence: Varies, although they are all at least close to human intelligence
Weaknesses: All gods need faith in order to manifest. A god completely devoid of faith will be unable to manifest in the world. This is considered the same as death. Gods with a lower amount of faith will still have limited interactions with the world, limiting their combat potential.
Notable Individuals:
Lunarian Gods: Gods either currently residing within the Lunar Capital or had a former affiliation with the moon. Only the strongest and highest of gods are said to reside in the Lunar Capital, making them generally far stronger than Earthly gods.
- Chang'e
- Mizue no Uranoshimako
- Houyi
- Amaterasu Oomikami
- Possibly Lord Tsukuyomi
- Possibly Eirin Yagokoro
Earthly Shinto Gods: Gods bound to Earth, usually inspired by Shintoism. Although not all of them are originally from Gensokyo, it is where they are the most common.
Dragons: A special and incredibly powerful kind of god. Not much is known about them, except their incredible power and possible involvement in the creation of the elements of the world.
Tsukumogami: Former Gods now turned into mere youkai. These are born from tools which were mistreated, causing their gods to become angered and come back as such youkai.
- Hata no Kokoro
- Raiko Horikawa
- Benben Tsukumo
- Yatsuhashi Tsukumo
- Kogasa Tatara
- Possibly Medicine Melancholy
Divine Spirits: Divine Spirits are souls that gained god-like status through faith. Although these are considered different from the Eight Million Gods, they share a lot of characteristics and the distinction is rarely made.
Miscellaneous: Gods that do not fit any of the above categories.
- Hecatia Lapislazuli (A Greek God, and a Hell God. Little is known about them, but given the status given to Chinese and Buddhist gods, it is unlikely that her characteristics differ much from them)
- Okina Matara (A so-called "secret god". Unlike traditional gods, her true nature is hidden, and she freely switches between multiple of her public "appearance". Outside of this, she appears almost identical to Earthly gods, and thus should share the same characteristics)
- Sanae Kochiya (An Arahitogami, a human who achieved godhood within their lifetime. Although she can accumulate faith much like other gods, she won't disappear if she were to run out of faith and her true form is that of a physical human, meaning that she does not share the same characteristics as regular gods)
- Shinki (A god from the PC-98 era. As she was introduced before gods were properly introduced into the setting and hasn't appeared yet into the Windows era, she does not share the same characteristics as regular gods)
Notable Matchups
Victories:
Losses:
Inconclusive:
References
- ↑ Wild and Horned Hermit, Chapter 25
- ↑ Wild and Horned Hermit, Chapter 19
- ↑ Dr. Latency's Freak Report
- ↑ Cage in Lunatic Runagate, Chapter 2
- ↑ Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red, Eientei
- ↑ Symposium of Post-mysticism: Suwako Moriya
- ↑ Silent Sinner in Blue Vol 1 Chapter 6
- ↑ Syposium of Post Mysticism
- ↑ Symposium of Post-mysticism, Part 5
- ↑ Curiosities of Lotus Asia, Chapter 15
- ↑ Perfect Cherry Blossom, Phantasm Stage
- ↑ Antinomy of Common Flowers, Yukari and Reimu's Scenario
- ↑ Dr. Latency's Freak Report
- ↑ Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, Yukari Yakumo
- ↑ Curiosities of Lotus Asia, Chapter 14
- ↑ Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, Yukari Yakumo
- ↑ Curiosities of Lotus Asia, Chapter 15
- ↑ Unconnected Marketeers, Stage 6
- ↑ Symposium of Post-mysticism, Part 5
- ↑ Symposium of Post-mysticism, Part 1
- ↑ Strange Creators of Outer World, Who's Who of Humans and Youkai in Gensokyo, Sanae Kochiya
- ↑ Curiosities of Lotus Asia, Chapter 25
- ↑ Strange and Bright Nature Deity, Chapter 25
- ↑ Shoot the Bullet, Level EX
- ↑ Curiosities of Lotus Asia, Chapter 14
- ↑ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom, Omake.txt
- ↑ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom, Interview with ZUN
- ↑ Unconnected Marketeers, Reimu's Scenario
- ↑ Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 27
- ↑ Curiosities of Lotus Asia chapter 15
Discussions
| Discussion threads involving Eight Million Gods |