Beautiful Stalker of Hell
The usual outfit of Hisami Yomotsu. Her Purple dress is adorned with grapes because she's a yomotsu-shikome.
Lady Zanmu's Schedule is Full
Hisami's Christmas Eve party outfit. It was made at Kourindou. She was hoping to spend Christmas Eve alone with Zanmu.
The usual outfit of Hisami Yomotsu. Her Purple dress is adorned with grapes because she's a yomotsu-shikome.
Fuuketsufuu (a Touhou LW original) refers to the wind that blows through caves. This is an apt temperament for Hisami, the yomotsu-shikome. Hisami is endowed with Water Phase, the temperament of the world of the dead, and Earth Phase, the temperament of Hell. The flexible and patient Water Phase resists Metal Phase, because metal collects water, but it is weak to Earth Phase, because earth directs water. The encompassing and regenerative Earth Phase resists Fire Phase, because fire produces earth, but it is weak to Wood Phase, because wood parts earth.
The ability of Hisami Yomotsu, the yomotsu-shikome. Yomotsu-shikome are ancient creatures spoken of in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, two of the oldest Japanese texts. The most famous tale involving yomotsu-shikome is of the god Izanagi's descent into the Land of Yomi. When he tried to leave, his wife, Izanami, sent a yomotsu-shikome to chase him down. "Yomotsu" is another pronunciation of Yomi, the Shinto land of the dead, and the "me" at the end means "woman." However, the meaning of "shiko" is less clear. Some scholars claim that it means "ugly," referring to the repulsiveness of decayed corpses, though it could also mean "powerful." Judging from Hisami's appearance, it's probably the latter. Hell, as a realm, is incredibly vast and is split into various domains (also known as Hells), each with its own ruler. When phantoms descend to Hell, they have no idea how to get to their specific Hell. Luckily, Hisami is there to guide them. She is an extremely motivated worker. Allegedly, she also drags people who have not yet passed away down to Hell. It seems she gets a bonus for every soul she guides, regardless of the condition they're in. Her superb work ethic is also displayed whenever a soul tries to escape Hell. Without fail, she always drags them back. However, despite what Hisami may claim, this work ethic doesn't seem to carry over to her job of guiding souls to specific Hells. Sometimes, she guides them to a completely different Hell from the one she intended. Then again, perhaps this only happens when someone interferes with her work. Either way, the souls that end up in the wrong Hell have no choice but to beg Hisami to guide them again. Unfortunately, Hisami really doesn't like the idea of souls escaping Hell, any Hell, so the chances of that happening are slim.
Hisami Yomotsu's Spread Shot (a Touhou LW original). She attacks with flowers from Hell. The flower in Hisami's hair is so big that it nearly covers her whole face. There is a Japanese expression that literally translates to "in the shadows of grass" but is used as a euphemism for "in the grave," so perhaps hiding one's face with a flower is simply the fashion in the realm of the dead. It's also possible that she's hiding her face because she's shy, but that doesn't really sound like Hisami...
Hisami Yomotsu's Focus Shot (a Touhou LW original). She attacks with blossoms from Hell. Hisami isn't actually Zanmu's servant. Her work requires that she moves freely between all the different Hells, and she doesn't seem to be affiliated with any one specific Hell. Despite this, she is head over heels for Zanmu. Her love has blossomed into an obsession.
Hisami Yomotsu's Spell Card. She hunts down potential runaways from Hell in this attack. If the dead could escape from Hell, the whole universe would descend into anarchy. The fact that Hisami always catches those who try to escape Hell helps keep the gears of the universe turning. While the size of the gears may differ, perhaps the same could be said for every job. However, Hisami's work ethic can also cause problems. The Yama have started monitoring her because she drags too many souls down to Hell. Speaking of which, she probably works with Kutaka to receive at least some of these souls.
Hisami Yomotsu's Spell Card (a Touhou LW original). She eats some snacks while she follows the path out of Hell. There is a famous legend about the god Izanagi and his encounter with a yomotsu-shikome. He distracted it with food three times in his escape from the realm of the dead. Food is also used as bait to escape youkai in variants of the Anchin and Kiyohime legend and tales involving yamanba. The food Izanagi used―grapes, bamboo shoots, and peaches―are often considered sacred and feature in many folk tales. Especially peaches. There is a famous tale of a hero who was born from a big, fragrant peach. The people of the past must have considered them to be some kind of superfood because of how tasty they are.
Hisami Yomotsu's Last Word (a Touhou LW original). She attacks with the sacred boundary of no return. Once you pass into the kingdom of the dead, there is no turning back. It isn't known when or how Hisami's infatuation with Zanmu began. Perhaps she simply started observing Zanmu because she was curious about the oni capable of ruling over Hell despite looking almost indistinguishable from an ordinary human. However, when Zanmu completely exceeded her expectations, she probably decided to use her skills at catching runaways from Hell to capture Zanmu's heart. And she has never let her target escape her before...
Welcoming souls to Hell is part of Hisami's job. She's kind of like a guide.
The other part of Hisami's job is not letting souls escape from Hell. She'll chase them to the ends of the universe.
A famed scholar of folklore called yomotsu-shikome evil spirits. They might be a precursor to the youkai we know today.