Ｔｈｅ Ｓｅｔｔｉｎｇ ｏｆ Ｏｕｒ Ｇｅｎｓｏｋｙｏ
Our Gensokyo is a world in which magic is commonplace, where nearly everyone is capable of soaring through the skies, and arguments are solved through a remarkably dangerous sport. When not being considered neighbors at best, humans are seen as food for our locals, while culture buzzes with various influences, the greatest one being of a Japanese nature. Things such as traditional gender roles are irrelevant, and everyone tends to wear rather bright colors to go with their often-strange hair colors. This place, often called the Eastern wonderland, is known as Gensokyo, or, literally, “Land of Illusions”.
Ｇｅｏｇｒａｐｈｉｃａｌ Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ
The region of Gensokyo was originally located within the Yatsugatake mountains, until it was divided from the world at large by the establishment of the Great Barrier.
Gensokyo is comprised of a valley about 200 sq. km. in area, the boundary fencing it in being a circle of a radius of 8 km. It is actually well-separated from the outside world without the Hakurei Border. On almost all sides, it is surrounded by large, rugged, mountains, with only one outlet about a kilometer wide in the southernmost part of the valley that allows the river that feeds the many streams and the great Misty Lake.
Overall, the majority of Gensokyo (roughly 70%) is covered by vast, ancient forests, with some trees being well over ten thousand years old. Due to the great reverence for nature that most creatures in Gensokyo possess, as well as the great concentration of magic in the region that helps with re-growing the trees that are cut down, the forests are largely unaltered from how they were when Gensokyo was first created. Areas not covered in these thick forests include the Misty Lake and a small area around it, the locations of such areas like the Human Village and the Hakurei Shrine, the Bamboo Forest of the Lost (which, while also forest, is of a completely different kind), and the mountains that are contained within the Hakurei Border, including the great Youkai Mountain that resides on the northern end of Gensokyo. There are occasional clearings in these forests ranging in size from about half a square kilometer to roughly two square kilometers in size, as well. The mountains of Gensokyo are capped with snow year-round, though the snow recedes considerably in the warmer months, allowing the river and its tributaries to swell to almost twice their size. The Misty Lake, Gensokyo’s largest body of water located in the western half of the land, makes up about 7% of Gensokyo’s total area, and contains perfectly fresh water suitable for drinking or whatever other purpose one might need it for. The Bamboo Forest of the Lost, in northeastern Gensokyo, makes up about 8% of Gensokyo’s landmass, and is, just as one may expect, a vast forest of bamboo, so thick that it proves disorienting to anyone but the most seasoned of explorers. The Hakurei Shrine is located near the southern end of Gensokyo, near the river and the boundary, and also very close to the large geyser that erupted from the ground and allowed passage deep underground.
There are said to be other places that are located within the boundaries of Gensokyo, such as the Sanzu River and what lies beyond, and the Netherworld, but these are places that are impossible to locate on a map of Gensokyo, due to being impossible to reach by conventional means.
The climate of Gensokyo is standard for southern Japan, a temperate climate with hot, rainy summers and cold, normally clear, winters. An average summer in Gensokyo rarely exceeds 33° C (91.4° F), though there are said to be records of summers reaching over 40° C (104° F). While afternoon thunderstorms are not a daily spectacle, they do tend to happen after exceptionally hot days. Summer nights in Gensokyo are oftentimes clear and perfect for stargazing if one can bear the insects and the chance of being attacked by a roving nocturnal youkai. On the other hand, winters in Gensokyo, while snow often falls on the mountaintops, a snowfall in the rest of Gensokyo is normally something that rarely happens more than three or four times during the season. However, when snow falls, it normally accumulates several inches and remains present on the ground for a couple weeks, perhaps with smaller snowfalls during the period. These winters, at their coldest, can reach as low temperatures as -10° C (14° F), though there are said to have been colder winters. Unlike the beautiful summer nights, winter nights in Gensokyo are often cloudy, though clouds can easily be dispelled by the right youkai, and this will often be the case when there are particular astronomical events going on, such as a meteor shower or a lunar eclipse.
Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ， Ｌａｎｇｕａｇｅ ａｎｄ Ｃｌｏｔｈｉｎｇ
As should be obvious, the culture of Gensokyo is largely based off 19th century Japan. This can be seen in a number of things; the language, the mannerisms, and the clothing. Gensokyo's primary language is Japanese, more specifically, Early Modern Japanese ( Used during the "Edo" period, which is between ~17th century and mid-19th century ). This means it is a bit more respectful when it comes to speech patterns. Although this is the primary language, it is far from the only. Some other notable examples being Chinese and English, as well as other languages like Makaian, the language of the demons, or various Youkai languages. Beings that Gensokyo is mostly untouched by the ever changing outside world, it is of no surprise that it follows the same clothing patterns as 19th century Japan, usually based off kimonos or something similar. Youkai, however, seem to have more distinct clothing to suit their nature a bit better, perhaps allowing for a bit more mobility.
Our Gensokyo is a world in which magic is commonplace, where nearly everyone is capable of soaring through the skies, and arguments are solved through a remarkably dangerous sport. When not being considered neighbors at best, humans are seen as food for our locals, while culture buzzes with various influences, the greatest one being of a Japanese nature. Things such as traditional gender roles are irrelevant, and everyone tends to wear rather bright colors to go with their often-strange hair colors. This place, often called the Eastern wonderland, is known as Gensokyo, or, literally, “Land of Illusions”.
Ｇｅｏｇｒａｐｈｉｃａｌ Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ
The region of Gensokyo was originally located within the Yatsugatake mountains, until it was divided from the world at large by the establishment of the Great Barrier.
Gensokyo is comprised of a valley about 200 sq. km. in area, the boundary fencing it in being a circle of a radius of 8 km. It is actually well-separated from the outside world without the Hakurei Border. On almost all sides, it is surrounded by large, rugged, mountains, with only one outlet about a kilometer wide in the southernmost part of the valley that allows the river that feeds the many streams and the great Misty Lake.
Overall, the majority of Gensokyo (roughly 70%) is covered by vast, ancient forests, with some trees being well over ten thousand years old. Due to the great reverence for nature that most creatures in Gensokyo possess, as well as the great concentration of magic in the region that helps with re-growing the trees that are cut down, the forests are largely unaltered from how they were when Gensokyo was first created. Areas not covered in these thick forests include the Misty Lake and a small area around it, the locations of such areas like the Human Village and the Hakurei Shrine, the Bamboo Forest of the Lost (which, while also forest, is of a completely different kind), and the mountains that are contained within the Hakurei Border, including the great Youkai Mountain that resides on the northern end of Gensokyo. There are occasional clearings in these forests ranging in size from about half a square kilometer to roughly two square kilometers in size, as well. The mountains of Gensokyo are capped with snow year-round, though the snow recedes considerably in the warmer months, allowing the river and its tributaries to swell to almost twice their size. The Misty Lake, Gensokyo’s largest body of water located in the western half of the land, makes up about 7% of Gensokyo’s total area, and contains perfectly fresh water suitable for drinking or whatever other purpose one might need it for. The Bamboo Forest of the Lost, in northeastern Gensokyo, makes up about 8% of Gensokyo’s landmass, and is, just as one may expect, a vast forest of bamboo, so thick that it proves disorienting to anyone but the most seasoned of explorers. The Hakurei Shrine is located near the southern end of Gensokyo, near the river and the boundary, and also very close to the large geyser that erupted from the ground and allowed passage deep underground.
There are said to be other places that are located within the boundaries of Gensokyo, such as the Sanzu River and what lies beyond, and the Netherworld, but these are places that are impossible to locate on a map of Gensokyo, due to being impossible to reach by conventional means.
The climate of Gensokyo is standard for southern Japan, a temperate climate with hot, rainy summers and cold, normally clear, winters. An average summer in Gensokyo rarely exceeds 33° C (91.4° F), though there are said to be records of summers reaching over 40° C (104° F). While afternoon thunderstorms are not a daily spectacle, they do tend to happen after exceptionally hot days. Summer nights in Gensokyo are oftentimes clear and perfect for stargazing if one can bear the insects and the chance of being attacked by a roving nocturnal youkai. On the other hand, winters in Gensokyo, while snow often falls on the mountaintops, a snowfall in the rest of Gensokyo is normally something that rarely happens more than three or four times during the season. However, when snow falls, it normally accumulates several inches and remains present on the ground for a couple weeks, perhaps with smaller snowfalls during the period. These winters, at their coldest, can reach as low temperatures as -10° C (14° F), though there are said to have been colder winters. Unlike the beautiful summer nights, winter nights in Gensokyo are often cloudy, though clouds can easily be dispelled by the right youkai, and this will often be the case when there are particular astronomical events going on, such as a meteor shower or a lunar eclipse.
Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ， Ｌａｎｇｕａｇｅ ａｎｄ Ｃｌｏｔｈｉｎｇ
As should be obvious, the culture of Gensokyo is largely based off 19th century Japan. This can be seen in a number of things; the language, the mannerisms, and the clothing. Gensokyo's primary language is Japanese, more specifically, Early Modern Japanese ( Used during the "Edo" period, which is between ~17th century and mid-19th century ). This means it is a bit more respectful when it comes to speech patterns. Although this is the primary language, it is far from the only. Some other notable examples being Chinese and English, as well as other languages like Makaian, the language of the demons, or various Youkai languages. Beings that Gensokyo is mostly untouched by the ever changing outside world, it is of no surprise that it follows the same clothing patterns as 19th century Japan, usually based off kimonos or something similar. Youkai, however, seem to have more distinct clothing to suit their nature a bit better, perhaps allowing for a bit more mobility.
