Rough translation of Sumireko interview

Aya: I'd like to begin an interview with the aforementioned foreigner, Miss Sumireko Usami. First of all, when did you first start being able to come to Gensokyo?

Sumireko: I've only recently been able to come over as often as I like, but I might have actually slipped over back when I was a kid.

A: "Might have"?

S: It's just an odd experience I had a long time ago. When I was a kid, I always liked abandoned shrines and caves and stuff, and would hide under the floorboards or in the shadow of the roof. But once I fell asleep there and woke up to voices calling out to me. Police officers and stuff, asking if I was okay. Got a big scolding from my parents too. Apparently I had been missing for three whole days. Got an article in the local paper and everything.

A: Three days, huh? That's a long nap.

S: At the time I also just laughed it off as seriously oversleeping... but lately I find myself recalling the dreams I saw back then. What I saw in those dreams was just like Gensokyo today.

A: So what do you make of that?

Reimu: She was spirited away, duh. (This interview was taking place in the Hakurei Shrine, and Reimu Hakurei happened to be close enough to overhear us)

A: Could you elaborate on that?

R: Rarely, when kids are left alone in sacred places like shrines, they can end up slipping into Gensokyo. In the outside world, they call that "spiriting away". Wait, don't you already know all this? You have to, right?

A: More or less.

S: Yes, that's exactly it. It was exactly like the "spiriting away" Reimu just explained. I forgot all about it from the shock of seeing my parents' and the police officers' reactions, but after I returned to Gensokyo I've been beginning to recall it.

A: I see. So why have you started returning to Gensokyo recently? And how do you do it?

S: Nowadays, I see dreams of Gensokyo.

A: Dreams?

S: If I fall asleep while wanting to go to Gensokyo, I see a dream of it.

A: Sorry, I'm not following.

S: I'm currently in a dream, right now. I left my body in the outside world. If I woke up, I'd be back in my original world. To me, the dream world has been replaced by Gensokyo's reality.

A: Utopia, the butterfly's dream, etc. True, stories of reality being a dream are fairly common. But to us, Gensokyo is reality. Are you telling me you don't really exist here? (I touch Sumireko)

S: Gya! That tickles! To be honest, I don't really get it either, but you just have to accept the facts as they are. Isn't that the reporters' motto or something?

A: Hmm...

A: Now, back to the main question. You've just told me that you see Gensokyo in your dreams, but that's just the method, not your motivation. You say you come here whenever you go to sleep wanting wanting to visit. In other words, you control it with your intentions. So allow me to repeat me question, what are your reasons for coming to Gensokyo?

S: Uh... just curiosity, I guess? How about I flip the question? Is there a reason for me not to visit a cool place like this?

A: Just curiosity? But isn't it dangerous for an ordinary human? Youkai eat humans, you know.

S: Eating humans! It's just like a video game! It's kind of thrilling, actually.

A: Thrilling, huh?

S: Modern society is just boring. All the fashions and major hits are just pushed on us by major companies, the "masterpieces" of games and anime are just the nostalgia of old men, and young people have their entire lives consumed by trying to get into a good college and finding stable employment. And in the middle of all this, the social media networks used by students are so afraid of being offending anyone that the whole thing is just one big surveillance tour. How could I NOT be bored in a world like that? But being able to come to Gensokyo is just such a relief. It's like I'm escaping from the gloomy closed space I was trapped in! I finally realized that just being alive is a blessing.

A: I didn't fully understand all of that, but it seems the outside has its fair share of problems.

S: But, well, when I tried to upload my personal experiences and photos of Gensokyo I got blocked. (laugh)

A: I don't know how much you know about Gensokyo, but there's a barrier separating us from the outside world. It only allows things that have faded into the unknown to come and go freely. But it seems you've broken through it. What do you think about that?

S: Broken? Well, one person coming and going wouldn't change anything, would it?

A: It seems you've been bringing things in from the outside world, as well as taking things from Gensokyo. This may have unforeseen consequences for everyone in Gensokyo. What do you think about that?

S: Uh, really? But Kasen-chan, the man from Kourindou, and Reimu have all been so welcoming...

A: I see, I see. So those three have been guiding you then?

R: Wait, hold on here-

A: I will not. As a reporter, I've just uncovered an important fact. Sorry, excuse us for that. So you say Reimu has been very welcoming? How do you mean, exactly?

S: Reimu's always escorting me. No matter where we go, she's always watching over me kindly. That said, I hear Gensokyo is pretty dangerous.

A: You hear it's dangerous?

S: Kasen-chan is my friend, so we go hang out together and talk about stuff. Rinnosuke always values the junk I bring at really high prices, so he's pretty funny. Oh yeah, and Mami-san sometimes meets me in my world, and we hang out.

R: Wait, what was that last thing? No one told me about this.

A: Very interesting. Especially the part about Reimu. She's supposed to be someone who works to keep us isolated, so... why exactly would she be treating a foreigner like that?

S: Isolated? Really?

R: Don't give her the wrong idea. All I did was make sure a foreigner who ended up her by accident got home safely. Keeping us isolated doesn't mean I have to treat every outsider as an enemy.

S: Yeah! I can't think of Reimu as my enemy! Even when we fought youkai together she always took the initiative!

R: No, no, just stop please. You're just making thing more complicated. I'll explain everything about why I was hiding you and stuff, so could you please just shut up? (To Aya now) You've heard of the Urban Legend Incident, right? The one where urban legends were becoming real?

A: Of course. I've even written plenty of articles about it. We still don't know the underlying cause.

R: Well, she got caught up in and and became someone who can come and go to Gensokyo. And to be honest, no one really knows how her dream powers work. Could be someone else's plot, could be her own hidden powers, or could just be a freak accident. All I can say for sure is that she really does have no ulterior motives other than curiosity, and that I've never met anyone with powers like hers before. ...No, wait, maybe that youkai who lives in the dream world...

A: You're drifting away from the topic.

R: I-In other words, this is the first case of something leaving their body behind in the outside world. Not only that, she can come and go as she pleases. So if someone like that died in Gensokyo, I'm afraid the outside world will manage to find out about us. With that in mind, I have no choice but to be as protective of her as possible. It's a safety measure.

A: I see. That makes sense. Perhaps I misunderstood your intentions. So your actions are ultimately to keep Gensokyo isolated then?

R: Yeah, exactly. Oh yeah, and don't worry about it Sumireko. You're definitely an irregularity, but you're not a bother, so just relax and enjoy yourself.

S: Tee hee. Thanks, I will. Uh, by the way, I've been posting on social media about how wonderful Gensokyo is, but is that okay? Well, all I get are one or two comments asking if this is a weird new religion or if I'm some nutcase who can't tell anime apart from reality, so I'm not exactly taking the internet by storm (laugh).

A: I can't say whether that's okay or not, but as a fellow content creator, I can't hlp but sympathize with you. (laugh)