You see, Yukari Yakumo is an eternally controversial figure. People love or hate her—there's usually not much in-between. Maybe she meant it to be this way?


One side will always tell you that Yukari is multi-universal (which I believe to be downplaying), and one side will always tell you that Yukari is High Complex Multiversal or "Outerversal" (as VBW coined the term). The former side is mostly people looking from the outside trying to analyze the series, and the latter side is mostly fans from the inside trying to analyze the series.

Touhou 8's 'omake.txt' statement about Yukari being able to easily destroy all of Gensokyo provides one of the key points to lay the foundation.

What, then, actually is Gensokyo? Ultimately, it's your interpretation, as "vs. debates" will always have bias on either side. Hopefully, with some of these citations, you can come to reach your own conclusion.


What is Gensokyo? Gensokyo is the realm of fantasy and fiction where most of the Touhou series is set in. It is a realm of the fantastical that is separated from the "outside world" (reality) by a great barrier. One might think that this is a physical barrier much like the one around in Hogwarts in Harry Potter, but it's much more complex than something like that.

Outsiders (humans from the real world) may only enter Gensokyo if they are "spirited away" by Yukari or if they manage to leave their real selves and enter Gensokyo in their dreams.

"Changeability of Strange Dream" and Sumireko Usami's interview in "Alternative Facts in Eastern Utopia" are just two instances in which Gensokyo being complete fiction from the outside coming in are detailed quite extensively. The idea of Gensokyo being a separate reality is a very consistent one held throughout the series, as it is the nature of the entire setting.

Maribel Hearn, who traveled to Gensokyo in her dreams, was completely unable to be harmed by anything inside Gensokyo, as it was actually a fictitious realm of myths for her. To her, it truly was a dream. "That monster under the bed can't hurt you if it isn't real".

Sumireko was also completely unable to be harmed when she first entered Gensokyo, as is evidenced when Reimu tried to attack her in the prologue of Touhou 14.5. Throughout the game, the only place you fight Sumireko, a high-school girl from the outside world, in the Story Mode is in a city in the outside world. You never fight her once in Gensokyo.

However, as the player, we know that Gensokyo actually "exists" in its own sort of way. Youkai, fairies, vampires, etc. are all actually real there, and so are various native gods that have long been forgotten.

If the barrier around Gensokyo was destroyed, youkai as a species would all but die off, as most people in the real world today don't believe they actually exist.

This idea of "my dream is Gensokyo's reality" is one that is a very compelling argument for Gensokyo being an entirely separate reality with its own concepts, dimensions and laws. Renko Usami, the friend of Maribel (the one who traveled to Gensokyo) and a student of theoretical physics, said that bringing back a physical object from a place that wasn't real was impossible, and it was. Maribel snidely remarked, in context, that "Renko is still studying string theory, I see". This seems like a heavy implication from ZUN (the author) that Gensokyo doesn't follow string theory at all, which is something that the outside world, in contrast, does.

Yukari has been stated in her article in "Perfect Memento in Strict Sense" to at least have played a part in creating Gensokyo (if she wasn't all ready the sole creator). Regardless of if she alone created it or not, she can still destroy it all on a whim.

Sakuya Izayoi, another character, is another interesting factor for the cosmology of Touhou. As evidenced by the commentary about her "Time Paradox" spell card in Touhou 6, ZUN remarks that Sakuya can create timelines at will and summon alternate versions of herself who instantly know what to do. Sakuya would have to have some sort of degree of 5D hax (in string theory terms) to be able to have this whole group of Sakuya's in different timelines be aware of what's going on instead of dropping into a fight with no clue of what's going on. Remilia Scarlet, Sakuya's master, defeated her easily (PMiSS) in the past, and since she had fate manipulation on her side, this would mean her hax are at least on a 5D scale.

Shinki, the creator of Makai, stated to be infinite and with its own time in Touhou 12, said that Yuuka Kazami was far stronger than her.

Yukari can end all of Gensokyo if she wants to, and anyone who cannot survive all of existence being wiped would be erased. This includes characters like Sakuya, who are "contained" in Gensokyo's own multiverse.


TL;DR Tier 1-A Yukari is likely, and everyone stronger than her is just an even higher 1-A. Gensokyo has plenty of very powerful 3D beings along with a small group of strong 4D-6D beings.