The Seitenkyuu temple traces it's origins to the mysterious ancient past of 1995.
Taoism was historicaly more of a major influence rather than an organized religion in Japan.
Taoism is a belief system of Chinese origin that incorporates elements of religion, philosophy, medicine, craftsmanship, astrology and magic. It's the third religion present in the world of Touhou. In the outside world, the religious aspects of Taoism have had a much smaller presence in Japan than Shinto and Buddhism. However, the various other aspects of Taoism have had an immense impact on all of East Asian culture, Japanese culture included.
Early Taoist texts largely lacked liturgical elements and explicitly supernatural ontology or references to particular deities. This allowed Taoism to be adapted to different cultures and circumstances, sometimes as a philosophy, sometimes as a set of practices, sometimes as a religion and sometimes as all of this and more. While Taoism is very diverse, common goals in it include self-cultivation, deeper appreciation of the Tao and a more harmonious existence.
History and core ideas
Taoism traces its existence to ancient times. It was born out of Chinese folk religion, shamanism and the observation of natural systems, the workings of the human body and human society. Over time these beliefs and observations became codified into written works. Tao Te Ching is considered the foundational work of Taoism. It illuminates the Taoist worldview and the ideas of the Tao, effortless action and te, virtue. Oldest known portions of it are from the 4th century BCE. This work is attributed to the possibly mythological Laozi, ”old master”. Zhuangzhi is another foundational work, written in the late Warring States period (476-221 BCE). The text seeks to illuminate arbitrariness of dichotomies and praises human freedom and following nature. This text is attributed to Zhuang Zhou. Neiye, from 2nd century BCE contains the earliest known references to Taoist meditation and the various life and spirit energies of qi, jin and shen.
Taoism takes its name from its central concept, the Tao. This term can be translated as ”the Way” In Chinese, it’s still used in its literal meaning to signify “road”. It has been described as the natural order that enables everything to exist and as ”the most abstract concept”. It can be seen as the source of all existence, unnamable mystery, all-pervading sacred presence and the universe as a cosmological process. Tao Te Ching famously opens with ”the Tao that can be named is not the true Tao”. Indeed, the exact nature of this ”dark, indistinct, obscure and silent” idea is thought to be impossible for humans to name or fully comprehend. Instead, the Tao can be observed by observing its myriad manifestations, including the observer themself. It can be seen in the rhythms and patterns of the natural world. Change is seen as the fundamental nature of all things, and it's the Tao that enables and manifests in these changes.
Te, often translated as ”virtue” or ”internal character”, is another important Taoist concept. As most Taoists see human nature as inherently good, this te is thought to emerge from living and cultivating the Tao. Te can include conventional ethical virtue, but also a kind of sagely, spontaneous virtue that comes from wu-wei, effortless action. Action is seen to be effortless when it's not against the Tao, the nature of things. In practice this includes things like letting go of egoistic concerns and forceful, disruptive methods that cause tension. Instead, gentleness, adaptation and ease are to be followed. Taoist ethics treasure effortlessness, naturalness, spontaneity and simplicity. Taoism als has its own ”three treasures” of compassion, frugality and humility.
Taoism's great interest in the observation of nature and the human body led to the emergence of astrology, medicine and meditation. The observation of patterns also gave rise to the concepts and practices we would consider spiritual and magical. These different fields interlink with each other in ways rarely seen in other systems of spirituality. The ideas of how the Tao manifests in the world became more and more elaborated upon. First came yin and yang, the two cosmological opposing principles which nevertheless are interconnected in a self-perpetuating cycle. From this interplay of yin and yang emerged the five wu xing phase changes and the eight symbols of the Bagua system. The trigrams of the Bagua system are put into use in the I Ching system of divination. All of these link to Taoist astrology. Magic and medicine emerged, observation of the self became meditation. These practices find their most extreme expression in the pursuit of immortality, be it a literal elixir or a spiritual process of change.
The rich ideas surrounding the human body in Taoism deserve a mention. The human body is seen as having both corporeal and incorporeal aspects, organs and parts, elixir fields, inner substances, animating forces and energy channels. The cultivation, purification of various energies such as qi (cosmic vital force), jing (personal life force) and shen (spirit, capacity to connect with the spiritual reality) are at the core of various Taoist bodily practices. It's thought that it's possible to extend life and even cultivate a form of consciousness that can survive bodily death using such techniques.
Influence of Taoism on Japanese culture
Taoism arrived into Japan around the 5th century, when Japan started to seek outside influences to enrich the cultural life of the country. It arrived alongside Buddhism and Confucianism. Where Buddhism would go on to become a major religion and Confucianism impacted the political and social culture, Taoist ideas had a very wide, diffuse influence on culture. With Taoism came philosophy, traditional Chinese medicine, astrology and knowledge on various crafts and magic associated with it. These ideas strongly influenced both the cultural elite as well as became part of various folk beliefs.
The arrival of new ideas of Chinese origin forced the Japanese to articulate their own native ideas, and this led to the birth of the idea of Shinto. With no previous other religions present, there had been no need to name the religious practices present. The process of codifying Shinto included the emergence of texts such as Kojiki and Nihon Shoki which for the first time contained Shinto mythology and legends in a written form. The influence of Taoism can be seen in these accounts. There is yin-yang symbolism present, and the kami responsible for the creation of the world are associated with the Big Dipper, as are the creator gods associated in Taoism. One has to wonder about the significance of Okina-sama's tabard in light of this information.
Onmyodo, Shinto-Taoist syncreticism
Taoism and Shinto found a fruitful synthesis in the onmyodo magic. One part of the cultural importation process was the establishment of the ”bureau of yin and yang”. The onmyodo were mages influenced by various Taoist ideas who worked there. The observance of various calendrical taboos and geomantic practices formed a big part of what they did. One can find onmyodo in scattered pieces within Touhou. For example, Chen and Ran are shikigami, and the concept of shikigami came from onmyodo.
Reimu is said to be trained in onmyodo magic, which she uses in her job as a youkai exterminator and conflict resolver. While Reimu is a miko, a part of a Shinto institution, her powers as described in the print works actually veers very close to Taoist thought. She can ”float over life”, which manifests as her being nearly unstoppable and capable of avoiding grave danger as long as she sticks to the right path. However, she constantly finds herself distracted by selfish motives and loses her edge. One can't of course forget the most obvious Taoist symbol present in the game, the ubiquitous yin-yang. Touhou frequently uses a white and red version of the symbol. These colors are considered lucky in Japan. They are also widely seen as symbolizing chthonic and celestial forces.
Toyosatomimi no Miko's Taoist clique in Touhou
If Reimu is a Shinto character using Taoism-influenced magic, the Mononobe no Futo is a Taoist character using magic influenced by Shinto. While she uses the Taoist art of feng shui, geomancy based on the idea of directing the flow of qi, her spellcards refer to various Shinto myths. Perhaps she is invoking some other power than qi via the kami? Or maybe she uses qi to power her spells and the references to Shinto mythology are tools for shaping how the power will manifest?
While Mononobe no Futo is not described as an onmyodo, her outfit is based on the classical depiction of the outside world Onmyodo. This and the colored ribbons, refering the idea of Wu Xing phase changes, are a strong visual reference to her Taoist affiliation. She is described as being a shikaisen, a type of an immortal who has cheated death by substituting an enchanted object for her corpse. In her case it's a sake cup.
Futo is a member of the Taoist clique surrounding Toyosatomimi no Miko. They are the most identifiable expressions of Taoism within Gensokyo. Miko herself is based on the historical prince Shotoku, who historicaly was a scholar and a prince who greatly advanced the Buddhist cause in Japan. He was also well-versed in other forms of Chinese learning, which would have included Taoism.
In Touhou, Miko hatches a plot where the social elite would have followed Taoism, and the people would have been following Buddhism as a form of social control. This might be commentary on the popularity of Taoist practices among the court and the influence that Taoism had on the development of East Asian Buddhism. Miko, like Futo, is also a shikaisen. Her object of choice is her sword. This sword is refered to being a Seven Star Sword. In real life, Taoist ritual swords are called with such a name. The Seven Stars are a reference to the Big Dipper. Okina-sama also has a spellcard refering these ritual swords, suggesting a possible Taoist connection. Miko's in turn appearance is a reference to a legend where she could understand ten conversations at once. ZUN also wanted to give her a striking, modern appearance because the image of historical prince Shotoku is so established.
Soga no Tojiko is a failed shikaisen, whose attempt at reaching immortality was foiled by Futo. The Mononobes and Sogas were historically enemies, so this reflects the real history of conflict. Her powers of thunder are partly a reference to a type of Taoist exorcism known as Thunder Rites. The idea that vengeful spirits can cause thunder is also present in Japanese culture. She's an example of ZUN finding parallels in ideas from different traditions.
Seiga Kaku is the teacher of the Taoist clique. She is described as being a ”wicked hermit” who practices a self-centered, sociopathic interpretation of Taoism. There have indeed been some very individualistic, even anarchistic interpretations of Taoism. The idea of spiritually powerful hermits is a prominent idea in Chinese culture. Many Taoist mystics historically secluded themselves to minimize external interference and to be closer to nature.
Seiga's spellcards feature many esoteric Taoist concepts, including yang xiaogui (use of dead spirits as tool), guhun yegui (abandoned wild ghost), zouhou rumo (a frenzied state caused by mismanagement of vital energy), tongling (spirit linking) and tongjing (a ritual where a person gets possessed by a divine spirit). Her ”Dao Fetal Movement” has sometimes been interpreted as use of aborted fetuses, but it might also be related to the idea of cultivating a kind of ”spirit embryo” in some Taoist immortality techniques.
It's impossible to speak of Seiga's presence in Touhou without speaking of Miyako Yoshika, who is Seiga's servant and a jiang shi. The jiang shi are a type of Chinese zombie. While the Taoist clique outside of Seiga at the very least tolerates her presence, real life Taoist religious institutions dread the undead so much that jiang shi cosplayers are not allowed on temple premises.
Some other Taoist ideas in Touhou
The Taoist clique might be the most prominent representation of Taoist ideas in Touhou, but they are not the only one. The Wu Xing system is also referred to elsewhere in Touhou. Sometimes called the Five Elements, the Wu Xing rather described a kind of metaphysical phase changes. Patchouli Wisdom is described as an ”Eastern style Western magician” who uses these phase changes as one would use Western elements in her elemental magic.
There are also references to the Bagua system of eight symbols in Touhou. The Bagua is a set of trigram symbols formed from two types of lines, representing either yin or yang. Thes trigrams are then used to form a system of eight symbols. These have correspondences in many fields of Taoist thought, including astronomy, meditation, divination, astrology, geomancy, medicine, martial arts...
The most prominent use of Bagua in Touhou is Yukari Yakumo's tabard, which has the trigrams dui (lake) and kun (earth). Together these form the hexagram ”Ts'ui”. It has the meaning of gathering together to persevere for a goal. This hexagram also signifies great wisdom which is necessary for leadership when directing an assembly together to create overall prosperity for everyone. Whether one thinks of Yukari, this is certainly a hexagram that someone who sees herself as the overseer of Gensokyo would like to display.
Conclusion
Overall, Touhou, much like East Asian culture, is rife with Taoist ideas. In particular Touhou highlights some of the more fantastical, stranger aspects of Taoism that get overshadowed by things like tai chi and acupuncture in real life. Overshadowed as they may be, these aspects of Taoism have refused to pass into fantasy. You are only one YouTube rabbithole away from stumbling into Taoist sorcery being practiced to this day, here in the outside world. For those who are interested in less fantastical things, Taoism offers a fascinating philosophical system that challenges common assumptions – including assumptions about East Asian culture.
Even slight exposure to Taoism can be life-changing.
