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ZUN developed the first five Touhou Project games for the Japanese NEC PC-9800 computer series, with the first, Highly Responsive to Prayers, released in August 1997; the series' signature danmaku mechanics were introduced in the second game, Story of Eastern Wonderland (also 1997). The release of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil in August 2002 marked a shift to Microsoft Windows. Numerous sequels followed, including several spin-offs departing from the traditional bullet hell format. He has also collaborated with other circles to produce related print works and music albums.
Touhou Project has become more particularly notable as a prominent source of Japanese dōjin content, with the series spawning a vast amount of fan-made works such as artwork, music, print works, video games, and Internet memes. Because of this, it has gained a large cult following outside of Japan. In 2010, the Guinness World Records called the Touhou Project "the most prolific fan-based shooter series" ever created.[1] The popularity of the series and its derivative works has been attributed in part to the few restrictions placed by ZUN on the use of his content. ZUN is also known as the Hakurei Kannushi (博麗神主),[2] which is also the name he uses for his Twitter account.
Early and personal life
ZUN was born in Hakuba on March 18, 1977, and described himself as a "normal countryside kid." His first exposure to video games was when he was around 5 years old, when he played the Game & Watch and arcade games from Hakuba ski resorts.[3] Later, his parents bought him a Famicom Disk System (an add-on for the Nintendo Entertainment System exclusive to Japan). ZUN claimed that SonSon, Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter II were the games that left the greatest impression on him during this period.[4] As ZUN was born shortly after his grandfather's death and his parents spent most their time working, ZUN was mostly raised by his grandmother, who was particularly strict, and heavily regulated the time he could spend playing video games.[5]
ZUN's first interest in developing video games came during his high school years.[6] While most shoot 'em up games utilise a military or science fiction theme, ZUN wanted a game with a miko main character and a Shinto aesthetic.[7] ZUN was part of his school's orchestra club, and originally wanted to create music for video games. As he did not know anybody else who was making games that he could put his music in, he made his own games for this purpose. Around 2001, he applied to Comiket as a music group under the name of Shanghai Alice Ensemble, but was rejected.[8]
In 2012, ZUN married a mobile game programmer,[9] whom he has a son and daughter with.[10]
ZUN likes to drink beer, and has said that he drinks at least once a day.[11] He has created his own beer (sometimes called ZUN beer),[12] and written reviews for beers in Comptiq.[8] His favourite brand is Kirin.[13]
ZUN attended Tokyo Denki University, where he majored in mathematics. It was during university that he created the first Touhou game, Highly Responsive to Prayers. The first five Touhou games were developed for the PC-9800 series of computers, of which ZUN owned the PC-9821 model.[3] While ZUN did make a few games before this, the first one being a copy of Puyo Puyo, these were never published, and are assumed to be lost.[14]
After university, ZUN worked as a programmer at Taito from 1998 to 2007. He got the position by showing his interviewer the Touhou games he had created, after which, he was hired immediately. During his career at Taito, ZUN helped work on Greatest Striker, Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color, Bujingai, Graffiti Kingdom and Exit, as well as some other games that were ultimately cancelled.[15] He left as he did not enjoy working at the company, and Touhou was already successful enough for him to make a living from it.[9] However, he did not initially plan for Touhou to become his life work.[16]
While the Touhou games were initially created as a passion project, ZUN found that they were very successful – the first games he sold were Highly Responsive to Prayers and its sequel, The Story of Eastern Wonderland, at the 1997 Comiket. He brought a combined total of 80 copies, and was surprised when he was able to sell all of them.[17]Touhou games were sold through Comiket until 2004, when the conventionReitaisai was founded.[18] The same year, ZUN wrote Curiosities of Lotus Asia, short stories that appeared in various magazines, which were then put together in a 2010 anthology. This was the first of several pieces of in-universe Touhou literature. Silent Sinner in Blue, the first official Touhoumanga, was published in 2007. Literature continues to be produced, with the latest being the on-going Cheating Detective Satori and Lotus Eaters.
Design philosophy
ZUN has voiced criticism of the video game industry, saying that games have become easier and less mechanically complex when they try to appeal to a wider audience. However, he noted that the dojin game market has allowed for danmaku and other niche genres to still thrive.[19]
ZUN works alone, and each Touhou game was created from the ground up, including the engine.[20] The only exception to this are the fighting games, the first of which was Immaterial and Missing Power, created in 2003 with dojin group Twilight Frontier. In the game's afterword, ZUN mentioned that he disliked having to manage other workers, and that he produced things "six times more comfortably" when doing so alone.[21]
In the addendum of Unfinished Dream of All Living Ghost (2023), ZUN lauded the efficiency of generative artificial intelligence (AI) but remarked that "the beasts are the ones building a world of mental enrichment and a palpable sense of life". He referred to the case where the means by which artists create passionately their dojin works, which he calls AI's "opposing symbol of imperfection, organicity, and the importance of 'the process' ...", cannot be comparable to AI works.[22]
ZUN has acknowledged that while the Touhou characters have elaborate stories, little detail is given to them in-game, saying that "danmaku is how the story and characters are communicated."[23] Additionally, he has claimed danmaku is meant to be beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, which is also the main reason why the majority of Touhou characters are female. ZUN believes there is a feminine charm to danmaku, which would be lost with male characters, and that the presence of female characters should not be interpreted as fan service.[24]
Tōhō Hisōtensoku ~ Chōdokyū Ginyoru no Nazo wo Oe (東方非想天則 〜 超弩級ギニョルの謎を追え, lit. "Unperceiving of Natural Law ~ Chase the Enigma of the Gargantuan Guignol")
Urban Legend in Limbo OST (深秘的楽曲集 宇佐見菫子と秘密の部室, Shinpiteki Gakkyokushū ~ Usami Sumireko to Himitsu no Bushitsu, lit. "A Deeply Mystic Music Collection ~ Sumireko Usami and the Clubroom of Secrets"; 2015-08-14)[72]
Urban Legend in Limbo OST 2 (深秘的楽曲集・補 東方深秘録初回特典CD, Shinpiteki Gakkyokushū - Ho ~ Tōhō Shinpiroku Shokai Tokuten CD, lit. "A Deeply Mystic Music Collection Supplement ~ Touhou Shinpiroku First Pressing Special CD"; 2016-12-08)[73]
Antimony of Common Flowers OST (完全憑依ディスコグラフィ, Kanzenhyōi Disukogurafi, lit. "Perfect Possession Discography"; 2018-05-06)[74]
References
^Helland, Christopher (2018). Geemu On! A Preliminary Study Of Indie And Doujin Game Development In Japan. Gamenvironments. p. 44.
^Lemus, Jean-Karlo (August 18, 2023). "Cirno Is Stronger Than AI". Column. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
^ZUN (29 December 2005). "冬コミ情報". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ZUN (3 March 2010). "東方Project 第12.5弾". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ZUN (23 July 2010). "夏コミ情報". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ZUN (15 April 2014). "東方Project 第14.3弾". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ZUN (20 April 2017). "東方Project 第16弾です". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ZUN (18 July 2018). "東方Project第16.5弾です". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ZUN (17 April 2019). "東方Project第17弾です". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"東方剛欲異聞 ～ 水没した沈愁地獄". Twilight Frontier. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
^ZUN (27 February 2021). "東方Project 第18弾". Touhou Yomoyama News. Retrieved 3 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ abcdef"上海アリス幻樂団". Team Shanghai Alice. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
^ZUN (7 May 2011). "急に例大祭が来たので". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ZUN (15 April 2012). "comic1 に参加します". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ZUN (23 July 2012). "C82 頒布物情報". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ZUN (13 April 2016). "例大祭の新譜情報です". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ZUN (22 July 2016). "夏コミの新譜情報です". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ZUN (15 December 2021). "丹波山村のPR曲 ＆ 冬コミ情報". 東方Projectよもやまニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"例大祭情報です". 東方Projectよもやまニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-06-08.
^ abZUN (11 December 2006). "そりゃ筋肉痛にもなりますよ". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ abZUN (11 December 2007). "大晦日頒布物". Invisible Games and Japanese. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"幻想曲抜萃". Twilight Frontier. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
^"全人類ノ天楽録". Twilight Frontier. Archived from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
^"核熱造神ヒソウテンソク". Twilight Frontier. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
