Mononobe no Futo
A Shikaisen from Ancient Japan
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Mononobe no Futo is a shikaisen, formerly a hermit practicing Taoism. She possesses the ability to manipulate feng shui, and is from an old era of Japan.
General Information
Futo first stands against the player in stage 5 of Ten Desires, as well as being a support parter for the stage 6 boss. She later became a playable character in Hopeless Masquerade, was a 9th Day Boss in Impossible Spell Card and appeared in Urban Legend in Limbo, again as a playable character.
She is generally thought to be a shikaisen, meaning that she was once a hermit who attempted to surpass the physical lifespan of a human by taking on the qualities of the dead. She essentially abandoned her body and transferred her soul into an object (said to be a plate). As a shikaisen, she is able to take on a great number of forms, but she prefers the traditional look she had when she was alive, as opposed to Toyosatomimi no Miko's decision to go with a more modern form.
In her official profile, ZUN lists her as a "Taoist self-identifying as a shikaisen", but it can be inferred from her backstory as well as her article in Symposium of Post-mysticism that she is a bona-fide shikaisen.
:small_blue_diamond: Personality
Futo is described as being gentle at heart, but unable to adapt to modern times along with modern Gensokyo in general. Hieda no Akyuu points out in Symposium of Post-mysticism that because of it, she has an extremely "hermit-like" personality. Even in ancient times, she clung to Taoism rather than Buddhism, indicating a dislike of change and a favoring of old ways. She is friendly towards humans, even going so far as to save them on occasion, but hostile towards youkai for some reason. Toyosatomimi no Miko describes her as being a scaredy-cat, though her "fear" of Buddhist statues led to her burning them (and temples) down to the ground (as the head of the Mononobe clan).
In speech, she speaks with in an archaic Japanese language. In first person, she uses wa and in second person, onushi. In her speech and conduct, she attaches zo to the end of her sentences for emphasis, which is a little old-fashioned. Based on this, it would be no problem to think that she was probably born a long time ago, and that she has a certain aura of nobility, never saying anything wild or off-beat.
She says things which indicate that she might have a tendency to misunderstand others a little, for example she automatically thought that the heroine of Ten Desires have come to her for a blessing in order to recover. Thus she is a manifestation of the "idiot child", this may relate to how well she takes her defeat in general, sometimes praising the heroine. After battles, she always makes the excuse that she has not shown her true strength.
:small_orange_diamond: Ability
Manipulating feng shui
Backstory
Futo originated in the Mononobe clan, widely known to be a Shinto-worshipping clan. However, she was actually a worshipper of Taoism. She decided to practice her Taoism in secret, as it lacked political power due to the fact that anyone can undergo the training required to become a hermit. Toyosatomimi no Miko eventually approached her and proposed a plan: Miko would pacify the nation under Buddhism, but she and Futo would die and be reborn as shikaisen. Futo agreed, and managed to ally herself with the Soga clan to get them to follow Buddhism blindly.
After the Mononobe clan caught wind of this, a religious war ensued between them and the Soga clan. The Mononobe clan was eventually defeated after numerous harsh battles that left many Buddhist temples and artifacts destroyed; and thus the nation was united under Buddhism.
Once the battles ended, Futo finally attempted the process of becoming a shikaisen by "dying". Miko soon followed suit, and they both ended up in Gensokyo.
Spell Cards
• Heaven Sign "Rainy Iwafune"
• Heaven Sign "Iwafune Ascending to Heaven"
• Throwing Dishes "Mononobe's Eighty Sake Cups"
• Blaze Sign "Blazing Winds of Haibutsu"
• Blaze Sign "Sakuraiji in Flames"
• Saint Girl "Oomonoimi's Dinner"
• Saint Girl "Sun Goddess's Sacrifice"
• Wind Sign "Miwa Plate Storm"
• Blaze Sign "Taiyi True Fire"
• Fate "Gate Opening for Catastrophe"
• "Inferno Reformation"
• Throwing Dishes "Kawarake Rotary Throw"
• Bow Sign "Star Dragon Bow"
• Old Boat "Ancient Ship"
• Heat Dragon "Blazing Dragon Veins"
• *Even in Death, One Plate is Still Missing!*
• Plate Sign "Okiku Driven to Desperation"
• *From the Bottom of the Old, Dark Well*
Theme Song
[Touhou]-Futo's Theme: Legend of the Great Gods ~Remix
Additional Information
• Her clothing – a kariginu-like outfit with the upper part in white – resembles typical Heian Era clothing, or a stereotypical onmyouji uniform in Japanese pop culture. SinGyoku's "male" form wears similar clothing.
• While not canonically stated, if Futo is Futsuhime then she would be one of a few characters known to have been married (the others being Seiga Kaku, Watatsuki no Toyohime, Watatsuki no Yorihime, and Junko).
• Due to localization of the fangames that are part of Play, Doujin!, she is internationally known as Futo Mononobe.
• In some articles in gaming sites about the Touhou Genso Wanderer fangame, Futo's name was misspelled as Ruto.
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• Character Rate: :star: :star: :star:
• Difficulty Rate: :star: