🦋 Yoshika Miyako — The Undead of the Once-Poet

"Her poems outlived her heart; her silence, even her breath."
"Neither sage nor beast — she wanders between forgotten words and borrowed blood."

Role in Story

Once a gentle poet, Yoshika was raised from death by Seiga Kaku’s Taoist arts, forced into servitude as a jiang shi. Her body lurches stiffly, bound by ofuda charms and the whims of her mistress. Yet in fleeting moments of freedom, her old soul flickers back — whispering verses to the moon, forgetting her hunger, reaching toward the humanity she once had.

She serves as Kasen Ibaraki’s tragic counterpart: where Kasen’s immortality is disciplined and self-chosen, Yoshika’s undeath is imposed and corrupted. Their encounters reflect a haunting question — what becomes of eternity when one cannot choose it?

Era Setting

Late Edo–inspired “timeless” Gensokyo — a place where old poetry, jiang shi folklore, and Taoist necromancy intertwine. Yoshika bridges Chinese legend and Japanese imagination, her existence both grotesque and strangely beautiful.

🎨 Artwork Credit

Character illustration by @nap_muntarou.
(Touhou Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice / ZUN.)