Unzan

Overview

Unzan is a character from the Touhou Project series, debuting in Touhou Seirensen ~ Undefined Fantastic Object. He is a nyuudou (specifically a mikoshi-nyuudou) youkai composed of pink cloud material who acts alongside his companion, Kumoi Ichirin. Distinctive as one of the very few male-presenting characters in the franchise, he holds the distinction of being the first male entity to officially participate in spell card danmaku duels. He currently resides at Myouren Temple.

Appearance

Unzan has a body formed from pink clouds, manifesting solely as the bald head of an elderly man and human-shaped fists, with no ears or other body parts ever displayed. Variations exist between his standing dialogue illustrations and battle graphics. Under ordinary circumstances, he floats as a head roughly the size of a human head or slightly larger. During combat, he can expand to enormous proportions, fire lasers from his eyes, multiply his head and fists, or shape his body into object-like forms while retaining his pink cloud color.

Personality

Unzan possesses a stubborn and old-fashioned demeanor with a strict sense of integrity. He holds deep respect for the powerful and detests the mistreatment of the weak. Extremely soft-spoken, his voice is so quiet that Kumoi Ichirin routinely speaks and translates on his behalf. Despite his imposing and stern countenance, he is genuinely kind-hearted, upright, and possesses an unexpectedly shy nature.

Abilities

Unzan possesses the ability to freely alter his shape and size. He can expand or contract his cloud body, as well as solidify his fists to deliver physical blows and produce multiple heads or fists simultaneously. He exhibits fine control, capable of crafting full-scale Noh masks or serving as a temporary stand for religious instruments, and can generate electricity from his gaseous mass. Because he cannot change his body color, his transformations retain his signature pink cloud appearance.

Background

In the distant past, Unzan was a feared, man-eating mikoshi-nyuudou. His life changed after encountering a courageous human girl, Kumoi Ichirin, who defeated him using a traditional warding chant. Astounded by her bravery, Unzan pledged his lifelong protection to her. Over the course of more than a thousand years together, he remained by her side as she became a youkai and shared in her underground imprisonment. Having ceased preying on humans, he now follows Byakuren Hijiri and lives at Myouren Temple.

Relationships

Kumoi Ichirin is his inseparable companion of over a millennium, who acts as his translator and spokesperson in daily life. He harbors immense reverence for Byakuren Hijiri as a devoted member of her temple. During his period of imprisonment underground, he crossed paths with Komeiji Koishi, who referred to him as an uncle figure; Unzan proved capable of sensing her presence even when others could not. Additionally, Futatsuiwa Mamizou treats him as a youth despite his thousand-year age.

Trivia

He is the second male character with an official illustration in the main Touhou Project series, following Rinnosuke Morichika. In Double Spoiler, photographing him during his target stage clears his fists from the screen, but his head remains intact. In Hopeless Masquerade, players directly maneuver Unzan during the execution of his Last Word attack. Fans have designated November 9th as a community day dedicated to him, derived from Japanese wordplay on numbers and clouds.