The Sages of Gensōkyō welcome you back.

The Sages of Gensokyo are the architects of Gensokyo, who keep the order and safety within. Sometime in the 15th century, Yukari Yakumo set the groundwork for the Barrier with her "Youkai Expansion Project", turning Gensokyo into a haven for youkai by enchanting it to attract the fantastic and repel the mundane. With Yukari later proposing the initial idea for the Barrier but being incapable of casting a Barrier of such proportions by herself. At least four Sages cooperated together to create the Great Hakurei Barrier in Meiji 18/ CE 1885. Upon its creation, the Dragon God made its last known appearance and the sages pledged eternal peace to it. The sages also maintain Gensokyo's segregation pact with the denizens of the Underworld.

The sages have been out of contact with Gensōkyō's society and each other for an unclear amount of time, with Yukari Yakumo being the only confirmed member of the group to remain publicly visible and active. In the Spring of 2010, Kasen Ibaraki came down from Youkai Mountain and began taking a more active role in Gensokyo, though she does so under an alias and currently only the other sages are aware of her previous identity as a sage. In the midsummer of 2017, Okina Matara returned to the public eye by causing an incident designed to catch everyone's attention, particularly that of the other sages. Despite their differences, all the sages agree on one thing: Their love of Gensokyo. Okina, despite causing an incident, does care for Gensokyo, marveling that "the Gensokyo we all created is still functioning just fine. Honestly, it seems to be functioning too well, to the point where nobody can fully control it..." But that, too, is what the sages wanted.

• Yukari Yakumo:

The Youkai Sage. Over 1,200 years old, Yukari is among the oldest and most powerful youkai in Gensokyo. She embodies the quintessential youkai lifestyle—sleeping through the day and living for personal enjoyment—yet she ensures the balance of Gensokyo is preserved. At times, she “feeds” man-eating youkai by transporting undesirable individuals from the Outside World into Gensokyo.

Yukari appears as a 6'1" woman with long blonde hair, golden eyes, and red bows near the ends of her hair. She wears a purple Chinese-style tabard with trigram patterns over a pale pink dress, along with a white mob cap. Beneath her clothing is purple lingerie. She carries a large gold-and-pink parasol with a sharp ornament at the top, which she uses as both weapon and accessory, as well as a folding paper fan for hot weather.

Her ability to manipulate boundaries allows her to redefine the limits between concepts, effectively turning anything into something else and undermining the fabric of reality itself. This power places her above nearly all other youkai. She also creates and uses “gaps”—openings between boundaries—to travel, observe, transport objects or people, or even sit within them. In battle, she weaponizes gaps unpredictably, launching objects such as street signs, tombstones, or even entire vehicles from impossible angles. She can counter most attacks with ease, making her a seemingly godlike and nearly unbeatable opponent. However, her power has limits; for example, she cannot use it to reach the Moon and must rely on alternative methods.

Despite her lethargic lifestyle, Yukari is deeply connected to nearly every influential youkai in Gensokyo. She prefers subtle manipulation over open conflict, pulling strings from the shadows. If forced into battle, she toys with her opponents, gradually breaking their resolve. Exceptionally intelligent—capable of solving mathematical problems beyond human comprehension—she sometimes conceals her true age. Fickle and enigmatic, she leverages her fearsome reputation to protect Gensokyo, which represents the culmination of centuries of her work.

Yukari also commands several shikigami, which she treats like human “computers,” using them to monitor events and calculate solutions.

Ran Yakumo is an imposing eight-tailed kitsune; each tail represents one hundred years of life, totaling eight hundred years. She fights with speed and spinning techniques and is a gifted mathematician, though not equal to her master.

Chen is a young bakeneko under Ran’s command. Yukari can summon her as needed. Like Ran, she relies on speed and spinning attacks to outmaneuver enemies, though she is comparatively young and weaker.

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• Okina Matara:

Okina Matara is an ancient sage and secret god who rules over the extradimensional Land of the Back Door. A divine architect of Gensokyo, she commands a complex array of powers, including the creation of doors on the back of anything, manipulation of life energy, and control of mental energy. Once hidden from the world, she revealed herself during the Four Seasons Incident, unleashing chaotic seasonal fluctuations across Gensokyo by infusing life energy through back doors. Her dramatic entrance reflected her prideful, theatrical nature: she demands reverence, punishes disrespect mercilessly, and rewards devotion generously.

Her treatment of her servants, Satono Nishida and Mai Teireida, is ambiguous. Though they are utterly loyal, she has contemplated replacing them, suggesting either strategic calculation or concealed pity—yet later implies she may never have intended to do so.

Okina’s signature ability allows her to create back doors on any surface or being, provided no one is watching. These doors function as portals to the Land of the Back Door or other locations in Gensokyo. Through them, she can traverse vast distances, send others elsewhere, and access the life energy of those marked by her doors. Empowering nature-aligned beings such as fairies amplified the seasonal chaos during the incident. However, she cannot safely harness the energy of doyou (the transitional period between seasons), a limitation reflected in her seasonal door assignments: spring for Reimu Hakurei, winter for Marisa Kirisame, and the anomalous doyou for Eternity Larva, hinting at the latter’s unique nature.

Through Mai Teireida, Okina channels life energy, even altering nature itself. In Wild and Horned Hermit, she created the youkai Aunn by pouring life energy into a komainu statue’s back door, transforming a divine spirit into a living being. She boasts that she could recreate Gensokyo or make spring bloom at will. Through Satono Nishida, she manipulates mental energy—possibly explaining the protagonists’ temporary amnesia after their first battle with her and the diminished humanity and memories of her servants.

Her appearance reinforces her divine authority: long blonde hair, yellow eyes, a yellow-orange tabard patterned with the Big Dipper constellation (symbolizing Matara-jin), a white high-collared blouse, detached orange sleeves with black trim, a green skirt, black boots, and a three-pointed hat. In her fight against the heroine, she sat upon a throne with a back door emitting flames in four seasonal colors, holding a mirror-like tsuzumi drum. In their immediate rematch, she appeared with a wireframe door, brighter eyes, smoother hair, and larger sleeves, enhancing her otherworldly presence.

Okina’s relationships reveal her strategic mind. Satono and Mai function as near-robotic extensions of her will, unaware of her search for potential replacements. At one point, she even hires Flandre Scarlet to thwart Yuuma Toutetsu during the Black Water Incident, later agreeing to co-manage the Hell of Blood Pools with Yuuma. She is familiar with Yukari Yakumo, whose boundary manipulation aided Reimu in countering Okina’s seasonal powers, and has a strained history with Kasen Ibaraki. Even minor figures, such as the Zashiki-warashi, use her Land of the Back Door remotely to cultivate power. Through her unseen doors, Okina can connect to virtually any location, reinforcing her hidden yet pervasive control over Gensokyo and the world she helped create.

• Kasen Ibaraki:

Kasen Ibaraki is a Sage of Gensokyo and one of its protectors. She is an oni who became a hermit, over 1,000 years old, though she appears to be in her twenties. She stands at 5'6" with a slim figure and medium-sized breasts. Her birthday is July 23rd.

Kasen has shoulder-length pink hair styled in Chinese buns and red eyes. Her face is oval-shaped with a button nose and small lips. She wears a white top and green skirt, layered beneath a maroon tabard decorated with a thorned vine motif and a large rose-shaped ornament below the collar. Her single-strap shoes match the tabard. A shackle rests on her left wrist, while her right arm is wrapped in bandages.

In her true form—when her severed right arm is restored—Kasen regains her oni nature fully. Horns replace her hair buns, and her hair grows to knee length. Her tabard becomes black and gold, her skirt turns white and lengthens, and her top becomes sleeveless. Shackles bind all four limbs, each fitted with iron bearings, and her pupils become slit-shaped. This form reflects her complete oni identity and suppressed power.

Kasen was once known as Ibaraki-douji, one of the legendary Big Four of the Mountain. Over 1,000 years ago, her right arm was severed by the blade Onikirimaru. She sealed her wickedness into that arm, choosing the path of self-restraint and ascetic training instead. Since then, she has lived as a hermit while secretly remaining an oni. She resides in her own Senkai on Youkai Mountain. Kasen works alongside the other sages, though she openly dislikes and disagrees with their methods.

Kasen presents herself as a wise and polite hermit devoted to helping others improve themselves. Beneath this refined exterior lies the strength of a powerful oni. She is kind, disciplined, idealistic, and well-intentioned, but often overly critical and unintentionally preachy. She values teaching lessons, guiding others, improving shrines, maintaining Gensokyo’s isolation, and working with animals. She dislikes careless behavior, threats to Gensokyo’s safety, being ignored, and interacting with the other sages. Though genuinely compassionate, she frequently criticizes others at inopportune times. She strives to live according to hermit and celestial ideals, holding herself to strict standards of self-restraint. Kasen is polite and willing to assist nearly anyone. She freely offers advice—solicited or not—and volunteers for tasks both small and large, especially shrine restoration or matters affecting Gensokyo’s stability. She confronts outsiders such as Sumireko when necessary, though she ensures their safety rather than seeking harm.

She often observes quietly before intervening. Compassion may lead her to bend strict rules, despite her disciplined ideals. In combat, she deliberately restrains her immense strength to avoid collateral damage. She regularly employs and trains animals to assist her in various tasks. Kasen speaks formally and respectfully, avoiding slang or casual language. Her tone is calm and deliberate, frequently framed as guidance or instruction. She rarely raises her voice except in serious situations. Without intending harm, she can sound overly critical due to her tendency to phrase statements as lessons.

Kasen specializes in animals and spiritual discipline. She can communicate with and guide animals, summon ordinary animals, cryptids, beast youkai, and even dragon offspring, and possesses extensive knowledge of animal behavior, transformations, and rare venoms. She can ride and command rare creatures such as the unnamed Dapeng. Her artificial right arm is formed from black vaporous youkai essence. She can detach and control it independently, reconstruct it instantly if destroyed, and manipulate it into smoke-like forms for combat. The arm can crush vengeful spirits and remove them from reincarnation. However, it requires medicinal maintenance to prevent decay. Although she possesses immense physical strength befitting an oni, she intentionally restrains herself in battle to prevent large-scale destruction, reflecting her ongoing effort to suppress her former wickedness and live as a disciplined hermit.