東方プロジェクト二次小説・オリジナル小説サイト
Preface/Prologue: Ten Desires

Hello, everyone. Today I will begin publishing my translation of the eleventh volume of Asagihara Shinobu's こちら秘封探偵事務所 or 'Welcome to the Hifuu Detective Agency.' This volume is the story of Touhou Shinreibyou ~ Ten Desires and it comes with a few more warnings than normal, primarily because of a structural difference in the way that English and Japanese handle pronouns. In Japanese, referring to people by names and titles in sentences is commonplace in a way that would sound awkward if directly translated to English. Pronouns other than first-person pronouns don't usually have the same gendered connotations to them, nor do many titles. As such, in Japanese it's entirely possible to talk about the character of Prince Shotoku / Toyosatomimi no Miko without really gendering them. In English, that's much more difficult.

Without giving any spoilers, the mystery in this story will call into question whether or not Miko really is who she says she is. As such, I had to decide on which pronouns to use when referring to both Miko and the legendary figure of Prince Shotoku, who may or may not be the same person. I decided to go with she/her pronouns for Miko and he/him pronouns for Shotoku. This choice is a result of translation and the fact that this is a mystery story and should not be taken as either any indication as to the relationship of the characters nor as any sort of commentary on the question of Prince Shotoku's gender in the context of touhou.

Personally, I think when ZUN created the character of Miko, he was very clearly intending that she be read as a transfeminine character. Because this story calls into question whether or not Miko’s story of her origins can be believed, it necessarily dips into some discussion of gender essentialism, though it doesn’t dwell too long on the topic. You won’t find any characters expressing openly transphobic views here.

With that said, this story also contains mention of corpses, suicide, bodily defilement, implied necrophilia, casual electrocution played for laughs and some questionably consensual seduction. As usual, there's nothing graphic in any of this and the tone generally remains light-hearted throughout.

With those warnings out of the way, I will now step back and leave the rest of the storytelling up to our narrator. I hope that you enjoy the tale to come.


—Prologue—


Prince Shotoku, also known as Prince Umayado. During the Asuka period of Japanese history, he was a member of the imperial family and a ruler who was said to have handled all manner of political affairs under the reign of the Empress Suiko. In the Outside World of the Scientific Century, he remained a well known historical figure, and even before the events of the story I am about to relate, any student who had attended Keine's history classes at the temple school without nodding off would have heard of his many exploits.

Being as prince Shotoku was a figure from a mythohistorical era, where mythology and history were seen as inextricably intertwined and inseparable, there are very few historical documents that can be used to conclusively prove the truth of any of the legends surrounding him. In the 2080s textbooks still taught about Prince Shotoku, but they focused on him not as a historically important figure but as an example of a person who was deified and worshiped and therefore important to the sorts of research into the practice of spiritualism that was typical of the Scientific Century.

Really that's as much I can say. I am no expert in history, but if you find yourself wanting to know more about the historical Prince Shotoku, then I encourage you to seek out Miss Keine at the Hieda Public Temple School. The gates of the temple school are open to all those who venerate knowledge, whether or not they are children.

—

Here in Gensokyo, a land filled with ghosts and youkai, it's not that uncommon for us to encounter people straight out of the pages of a history book.

The figurehead of the village is a reincarnation of Hieda no Are, the original compiler of the 𝐾𝑜𝑗𝑖𝑘𝑖, for example. In the Netherworld, my partner and I saw the Saigyou Ayakashi—a tree deeply connected to the famous historical poet, Saigyou. Within the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, we befriended a still-living daughter of the Fujiwara clan who occasionally partakes in deathmatches against the legendary figure of Princess Kaguya. Both of them are acquainted with the legendary Hare of Inaba herself, who also bestows good fortune on anyone who becomes lost within the forest. Upon the slopes of Youkai Mountain, north of the village, sits a shrine dedicated in the name of an indigenous deity that predates the unification of Japan, and the head nun of the temple just outside the village’s north gate is the sister of a famous monk from the Heian period.

Given all of that, you will perhaps not find it too surprising to hear that this case file concerns another figure right out of history that we found to be dwelling here. This record is about that historical personage who we met. Someone who had been sleeping in a hidden tomb deep beneath the Myouren Temple, awaiting resurrection. This is the story of how the Divine Spirit Incident began and how it was resolved.

This is the story of the resurrection of Toyosatomimi no Miko, a hermit and living saint who, just like the Prince Shotoku of legend, possessed the ability to listen to ten people at once.

—

Of course this is also, as usual, the story of my partner, the great detective Usami Renko and her megalomaniacal deductions.

Of Toyosatomimi no Miko, the saint who rose from their long slumber to find themselves in another world.

Of the legendary prince's subordinates - Mononobe no Futo, a reincarnated hermit and Soga no Tojiko, a lingering ghost.

Of Kaku Seiga, a wicked hermit responsible for teaching the secrets of Taoism to the prince as well as her minion, the jiangshi Miyako Yoshika.

Together, these figures claimed to be an esteemed and ancient ruler reborn along with his entourage of retainers and experts. But what is the truth of their nature, which lies on the border between history and mythology? And what were the secrets they carried, waiting to be uncovered by my partner?

Let me answer those questions by telling this tale. This is the story of the numerous divine spirits that suddenly appeared all across Gensokyo and of the adventures of myself and my partner as we chased this strange phenomena to its conclusion. As the writer of this record, let me begin by reminding the readers that sometimes the true nature of a mystery is right before their eyes.