Benben Tsukumo
Tsukumogami of an Aged Biwa
Benben Tsukumo's usual outfit. It features a white shirt and a beige dress.
Rebel Biwa Bassist
Benben's mysterious band costume. She used magic to transform her biwa into a bass guitar.
Pure and Beautiful White Loquat
Benben's Fantasy Rebirth outfit. It was fashioned at Kourindou based on information in the journal.
Tsukumogami of an Aged Biwa
Benben Tsukumo's usual outfit. It features a white shirt and a beige dress.
Voice Lines
Voice Sets
Tsukumogami of a Biwa
VA: Suzushiro Sayumi
Cool and Collected Older Sister
VA: Kuwahara Yuuki
Law of Impermanence Believer
VA: Hashimoto Chinami
Character Information
Temperament: Shunshou
Shunshou (a Touhou LW original) refers to spring evenings. This is appropriate for Benben who is a tsukumogami of a biwa, a Japanese lute. Benben is endowed with Wood Essence, with the biwa being an instrument made out of wood, and Moon Essence, with her aptitude for adapting to any situation. The strong and kind Wood Phase resists Water Phase, because water nourishes wood, but it is weak to Metal Phase, because metal carves wood. The cooperative and indecisive Moon Essence resists the alluring and arrogant Sun Essence, but it is weak to the diverse and uncooperative Star Essence.
Ability/Backstory: Capable of making sounds and performing on her own
This is Benben and Yatsuhashi's ability as tsukumogami of instruments. Tsukumogami are tools that have attained sentience, so being able to make sounds and perform by oneself could be taken for granted, but since the two of them only became tsukumogami recently, being able to perform without a musician is surely a joy. Benben is especially happy with becoming a tsukumogami as it has made it possible for her to have a sisterly relationship with Yatsuhashi and to talk with various humans and youkai. There was a real risk of the two of them reverting to plain old instruments when a past incident was resolved, but Raiko helped make it so that they could retain their human-like forms.
Attacks
Vengeful Spirit Tale
Benben Tsukumo's Spread Shot (a Touhou LW original). In this attack, she plays the biwa while telling a story about vengeful spirits, a priest, and an earless musician. Upon hearing this famous story, you will realize how terrifying vengeful spirits can truly be. However, you will also learn that if you write Buddhist Sutras all over your body, vengeful spirits will be unable to see you.
Bullets
- Vengeful Spirit Curse
- Monk's Tale
- Great Vengeful Spirit Curse
- Heike Vengeful Spirit Curse
- Heike Great Vengeful Spirit Curse
- Biwa Monk's Tale
Score Attack
Benben Tsukumo's Focus Shot (a Touhou LW original). Bullets in the shape of a musical staff are shot out in this attack. The biwa was traditionally played by using its own musical notation, so the fact that Benben knows staff notation means that she somehow gained access to this knowledge from the outside world, or that her biwa was still in the outside world until recently. Regardless, it is thanks to this universal language of music that she can so easily play songs together with Raiko and the Prismriver Sisters.
Bullets
- Power of Musical Staves
- First Line
- Second Line
- Third Line
- Fourth Line
- Fifth Line
Heikyoku: Sounds of Jetavana's Bell
Benben Tsukumo's Spell Card. In this attack, she plays a tune inspired by a classic military epic. The Tale of the Heike starts with the sound of Jetavana's bells, which echo the impermanence of all things. A time comes when all those who live in prosperity must fall. The tsukumogami may have taken this as inspiration in regards to Gensokyo's current regime (the sages etc.) in a past incident.
Bullets
- Volume One
- Volume Two
- Volume Three
- Volume Four
- Volume Five
- Volume Six
Music Sign: Malicious Musical Score
Benben Tsukumo's Spell Card. She shoots out vicious bullets in the form of musical staves. Like tsukumogami, musical staves do not have sentience at first. Staves imbued with maliciousness may be a type of kotodama, a spirit that dwells in words, or perhaps they could be like the musical note bullets, where the bullets are the embodiment of sound itself.
Bullets
- Power of Malicious Musical Staves
- Malicious First Line
- Malicious Second Line
- Malicious Third Line
- Malicious Fourth Line
- Malicious Fifth Line
Kenjou - Imperial Palace Inferno
Benben Tsukumo's Last Word (a Touhou LW original). This attack is a manifestation of the resentment that some tsukumogami have. It is apparently based on a story of an old biwa youkai who takes revenge by burning down its former owner's residence. Tools should be treated with care and given a proper send off when they can no longer be used.
Bullets
- Imperial Palace Fire
- Imperial Palace Collapse
- Imperial Palace Inferno
- Blazing Imperial Palace Inferno
- Imperial Palace Hellfire
- Great Imperial Palace Collapse
Skills
Skill: Secret Song: Youshinsou
The True and Faithful Willow. This is one of the secret biwa songs that was played in the imperial court. The contents of the song itself are no longer known.
Skill: Secret Song: Takuboku
Woodpecker. This is one of the secret biwa songs that were played in the imperial court. The contents of the song itself has been lost to time.
Skill: Secret Song: Ryuusen
Flowing Hot Springs. This is one of the secret biwa songs that was played in the imperial court. The song itself is a mystery...
