Komano Aunn
Komano Aunn is a character from the Touhou Project series created by Shanghai Alice Gakudan, debuting as the Stage 3 boss in Touhou Tenkuushou ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons. She is a komainu youkai who possesses the traits of both a guardian lion and a komainu within a single body. Aunn has a habit of locating places where human faith gathers—such as shrines and temples—and voluntarily acting as their self-appointed guardian. Though mild-mannered and often hidden from sight, she faithfully steps forward to protect these holy grounds when hostile presence is detected.
Overview
Komano Aunn is a character from the Touhou Project series created by Shanghai Alice Gakudan, debuting as the Stage 3 boss in Touhou Tenkuushou ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons. She is a komainu youkai who possesses the traits of both a guardian lion and a komainu within a single body. Aunn has a habit of locating places where human faith gathers—such as shrines and temples—and voluntarily acting as their self-appointed guardian. Though mild-mannered and often hidden from sight, she faithfully steps forward to protect these holy grounds when hostile presence is detected.
Appearance
Aunn has waist-length, curly green hair resembling a lion's mane, green eyes, a single horn protruding from her forehead, and komainu ears. She also possesses a curly green tail that remains hidden in her official artwork. Her hands are naturally curled inward like cat paws. She dresses in a red, aloha-style short-sleeved shirt featuring cloud motifs and a heart design, paired with matching cloud-printed short pants edged in red. She goes barefoot, wearing traditional wooden clogs (geta).
Personality
Aunn possesses an exceptionally gentle, cheerful, and innocent demeanor. Driven by a pure sense of devotion, she routinely installs herself at religious sites to act as an unprompted guardian. She is friendly toward others, often spending her time cleaning shrine grounds or playing with fairies. Beneath her relaxed attitude lies a surprisingly sharp eye for observation and business acumen; she is capable of reading customer trends and accounting books to devise effective sales strategies for shrines. While generally peace-loving, she genuinely enjoys fights when swept up by surging spiritual energy.
Abilities
Aunn possesses the ability to locate Shinto and Buddhist deities and places of worship. Without needing any prior clues, she can intuitively discover sacred sites where human faith gathers, including the Hakurei Shrine, Moriya Shrine, and Myourenji Temple. Additionally, she can duplicate herself into two separate physical bodies that share the same memories and personality, allowing one body to defend her base while the other travels elsewhere. She also retains the power to freely transform back into a stone statue at will.
Background
Originally, Aunn was an incorporeal divine spirit inhabiting a stone komainu statue. During the Four Seasons Incident, she gained a physical body through the magical energy released from Matara Okina's backdoor capabilities, becoming a distinct youkai. She was visiting the Hakurei Shrine to view its blooming cherry blossoms when she was unexpectedly targeted in battle by investigators. During the conflict, she sensed an immense dormant power awakening within herself alongside the presence of a hidden force in Gensokyo. Following the resolution of the incident, she remained at the shrine as its faithful protector.
Relationships
Matara Okina is Aunn's creator, having bestowed a physical body upon her through the power of her backdoor magic. Aunn holds profound respect and loyalty toward Reimu Hakurei, taking it upon herself to protect the Hakurei Shrine whenever the shrine maiden is away. She also interacts with other religious organizations such as the Moriya Shrine and Myourenji Temple; at the Moriya Shrine, she demonstrated exceptional helpfulness by managing festival crowds and sales strategies. Additionally, people sometimes mistake her for a fox youkai and offer her fried tofu.
Trivia
Her surname "Komano" shares its pronunciation with "koma-inu" (historically linked to "Koryo dog" due to ancient Japanese assumptions about its origins via the Korean peninsula). Her given name "Aunn" comes from the Buddhist concept of "A-un," where "A" (open mouth) signifies the beginning of all things and "Un" (closed mouth) signifies their conclusion. While real komainu statues exist in pairs representing both mouth positions, Aunn embodies both aspects simultaneously within a single persona. In fan creations, she is frequently grouped with other canine youkai.
