What did Mokou do during her life?
Oct 24, 2015 13:05:49 GMT
Post by Aki on Oct 24, 2015 13:05:49 GMT
Background:
Mokou was born as a daughter to the family during the Asuka and Nara periods. It's been that it was around 700CE (i.e., currently about 1300 years old). It seems that she was an unwanted child because she wasn't allowed to go out in public.
Around 1300 years ago, Kaguya Houraisan embarrassed her father – and her entire family – by presenting him with impossible requests when he asked for her hand in marriage (as had happened with many other young men). Mokou grew to resent the moon princess, and searched for a long time for a way to spite her, but Kaguya ran away by returning to the moon before Mokou could take revenge.
She finally found a way, by making an attempt to steal the Hourai Elixir for herself that Kaguya left for the Emperor of Japan of that time because it was something very important to Kaguya. She followed a group of soldiers led by a man named Iwakasa in secret, who were going up what is now Mount Fuji. However, it was difficult for the young girl to climb the mountain alone without proper equipment, so she quickly ran out of energy. This was then Iwakasa realized that she was present, so he helped her and they went up and reached the summit together as one group. Once there, it was then that Mokou discovered that the group of soldiers planned to fling the jar into the fires of the volcano to destroy it, on orders from the current Emperor of Japan. As they were about to throw it in, the goddess Konohana-Sakuyahime, who calms the eruptions of Mount Fuji, appeared and forbids to throw the jar into the volcano because Mount Fuji's volcanic activities would restart should they do so. She explained to them that it was in fact the Hourai Elixir, the elixir of immortality. She gave the command to go to Yatsugatake where her older sister Iwanagahime handles immortality and unchangingness dwelt.
The soldiers tried to light the jar on fire, but Sakuyahime's powers prevented it. What happened after is unclear; Mokou believes that Iwakasa's men were killed by Konohana during their night watch because they tried to take the elixir for themselves as Iwakasa and Mokou slept. As the two got further down, Mokou was finally possessed by the desire for immortality, so she murdered Iwakasa amd stole it from him, consuming it and thus became immortal.
After achieving immortality, she had an undying body, but humans who don't grow older aren't able to live as an ordinary humans, so until she drifted to Gensokyo, she moved from place to place, never stopping to dwell in one place. She spent three hundred years in isolation, away from the hateful eyes of people. For three hundred years after that, she would destroy anything that crossed her path, but after that, she spent three hundred years in boredom as the youkai couldn't hold her interest any longer. It's assumed that during these six hundred years she appeared in Gensokyo. It's unknown exactly when Mokou came to Gensokyo, but after nine hundred years total, she found out that Kaguya did not actually return to the moon but continued a life of escape, and that Kaguya also became one with an undying body.
Mokou was extatique in discovering someone who was in the same mess she was in. Since then Mokou and Kaguya have mutually killed each other day in, day out for about 300 years. After the incident of Imperishable Night, perhaps due to the influence of Eientei accepting patients who come for medical examinations, she also started creating her own connexion with the humans of the Human Village by taking the position of an escort and guiding people through the bamboo forest who want to go to Eientei. She remains very reticent, however.
On Maribel Hearn's trip to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost of several hundred years ago she met someone who appeared to be an outsider of a girl who seems to be Mokou.[3] She rescued her from a mouse or rabbit youkai, whi then ran away and hid after "a girl entirely on fire" chased the youkai away without a word exchanged between the two. In Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, Hieda no Akyuu speculates that Mokou is a descendant of a hidden group of "youkai-killing ninja". People in general are doubtful of the clan's existence. Akyu claims that Mokou feigns ignorance when asked about it.
- en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Mokou
Around 1300 years ago, Kaguya Houraisan embarrassed her father – and her entire family – by presenting him with impossible requests when he asked for her hand in marriage (as had happened with many other young men). Mokou grew to resent the moon princess, and searched for a long time for a way to spite her, but Kaguya ran away by returning to the moon before Mokou could take revenge.
She finally found a way, by making an attempt to steal the Hourai Elixir for herself that Kaguya left for the Emperor of Japan of that time because it was something very important to Kaguya. She followed a group of soldiers led by a man named Iwakasa in secret, who were going up what is now Mount Fuji. However, it was difficult for the young girl to climb the mountain alone without proper equipment, so she quickly ran out of energy. This was then Iwakasa realized that she was present, so he helped her and they went up and reached the summit together as one group. Once there, it was then that Mokou discovered that the group of soldiers planned to fling the jar into the fires of the volcano to destroy it, on orders from the current Emperor of Japan. As they were about to throw it in, the goddess Konohana-Sakuyahime, who calms the eruptions of Mount Fuji, appeared and forbids to throw the jar into the volcano because Mount Fuji's volcanic activities would restart should they do so. She explained to them that it was in fact the Hourai Elixir, the elixir of immortality. She gave the command to go to Yatsugatake where her older sister Iwanagahime handles immortality and unchangingness dwelt.
The soldiers tried to light the jar on fire, but Sakuyahime's powers prevented it. What happened after is unclear; Mokou believes that Iwakasa's men were killed by Konohana during their night watch because they tried to take the elixir for themselves as Iwakasa and Mokou slept. As the two got further down, Mokou was finally possessed by the desire for immortality, so she murdered Iwakasa amd stole it from him, consuming it and thus became immortal.
After achieving immortality, she had an undying body, but humans who don't grow older aren't able to live as an ordinary humans, so until she drifted to Gensokyo, she moved from place to place, never stopping to dwell in one place. She spent three hundred years in isolation, away from the hateful eyes of people. For three hundred years after that, she would destroy anything that crossed her path, but after that, she spent three hundred years in boredom as the youkai couldn't hold her interest any longer. It's assumed that during these six hundred years she appeared in Gensokyo. It's unknown exactly when Mokou came to Gensokyo, but after nine hundred years total, she found out that Kaguya did not actually return to the moon but continued a life of escape, and that Kaguya also became one with an undying body.
Mokou was extatique in discovering someone who was in the same mess she was in. Since then Mokou and Kaguya have mutually killed each other day in, day out for about 300 years. After the incident of Imperishable Night, perhaps due to the influence of Eientei accepting patients who come for medical examinations, she also started creating her own connexion with the humans of the Human Village by taking the position of an escort and guiding people through the bamboo forest who want to go to Eientei. She remains very reticent, however.
On Maribel Hearn's trip to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost of several hundred years ago she met someone who appeared to be an outsider of a girl who seems to be Mokou.[3] She rescued her from a mouse or rabbit youkai, whi then ran away and hid after "a girl entirely on fire" chased the youkai away without a word exchanged between the two. In Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, Hieda no Akyuu speculates that Mokou is a descendant of a hidden group of "youkai-killing ninja". People in general are doubtful of the clan's existence. Akyu claims that Mokou feigns ignorance when asked about it.
- en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Fujiwara_no_Mokou
That being said I find it hard to believe she spent all those years just rampaging. However, Mokou is obviously bored of her life and is being currently very suicidal (see ULiL). For a person who did practically nothing for 1300 years, why would she be bored of her life?
The only possibilities I can see are: A- She actually did stuff in her life, and Mokou is lying. B- Mokou is a moron and doesn't know how to experience new things.
I think A is much more likely. Sure, Mokou isn't exactly the brightest or most enlightened person, but everyone back then were like that. But even for people back then, it should be apparent that things like relationships and becoming powerful/influential are worth experiencing. And surely she understood that, especially since she spent 300 years navel-gazing. Naturally for an immortal with amazing skills, becoming powerful and influential should be quite easy. There are a world of possibilities of what she might have done to make her so depressed in modern times.
Bear in mind species similar to humans with a human lifespan (unless on purified places like the moon) like Lunarians have lived for thousands of years without suffering like Mokou. In fact Eirin is so old, ancientpower jokes are an understatement. Youkai have also lived for far longer than 1300 years and it appears Youkai also suffer from boredom as indicated by Remilia, but not to Mokou's extent.
So what do you think Mokou did in her life to make her so tired of living?
