Byakuren Hijiri

"Namusan!"

- Buddhist remark and her most notable quote "Humans were so narrow-minded. Those fools would deny anyone who dared serve a cause out of their interests. She wanted to use the powers in Makai to help youkai. She was sealed away, as simple as that. Does that seem reasonable to you?"

- Shou to Reimu about Byakuren Byakuren Hijiri is a Buddhist human monk sealed by humans in the city of Hokkai deep within Makai for helping youkai. She's the final boss of the Touhou Project game Undefined Fantastic Object and a sworn enemy of Miko's clan.

Though good-natured and of noble goals, she tends to be naïve in the pursue for her ideals, and has been negatively influenced by fear so much that her goals and actions represent a threat to the fine balance that the protagonists, specially Reimu, have worked on setting to ensure the well-being of everybody. She began to help youkai in need because of the fear of death she developed after her brother died. Byakuren also found the secret of eternal youth which means she is far older than she looks and does not age.

Though her incautiousness and motives are feared by almost anyone, she has the support of five faithful youkai followers that she helped and rescued before she was imprisoned.

Appearance

 * (Touhou 12, 12.5) Has long, wavy, light brown hair that seems to fade to purple at the top, and hazel or light brown eyes. She wears a black and white dress with long strips of black ribbon going across the middle and white ribbon across the arms. Along with this dress, she wears a long cape. She also holds a magical scroll.
 * (Touhou 13.5) Same as above, except her eyes are purple and she is wearing an amulet with 5 green beads. Her scroll is closed and she is wearing a large yellow hat.

Personality
Byakuren is a monk who is kind to both humans and youkai. However, it is somewhat difficult for her to befriend humans because of these views, as well as the fact that she doesn't drink alcohol and is a vegetarian. She is mild-mannered and has never been seen to be overly angry. Youkai that don't desire conflict flock to her, while those that do are repulsed by her.

Backstory
Prior to the events of Undefined Fantastic Object, Byakuren's brother passed away which caused her to grow a fear of death so she used her power to maintain her youth. Still haunted by her fear, but now following her own new path in life, she helped several youkai such as Captain Murasa in many ways. Byakuren was also fond of humans, in fact she wanted humans and youkai to co-exist. The idealist monk was ultimately sealed away in Makai by humans; this however, did not cause her to bear a grudge to them, but she still maintained her ideals of aiding youkai.

During Undefined Fantastic Object
The group of youkai she had previously helped make an appearance to break the seal of their savior. Each one of them confronts the heroine in battle, however in the end they still manage to resurrect Byakuren. After her defeat, her fate depends on which heroine is chosen by the player. After the events in the game, she made a temple near the Human Village.

Other appearances
She appears in Double Spoiler, has been addressed in Ten Desires and is a playable character in Hopeless Masquerade. She was also considered to be the midboss of Ten Desires' extra stage.

Relationships

 * Ichirin Kumoi (Follower)
 * Minamitsu Murasa (Saved youkai)
 * Shou Toramaru (Follower)
 * Nazrin (Follower)
 * Myouren Hijiri (Younger brother, deceased)
 * Nue Houjuu (Currently living at her temple)
 * Mamizou Futatsuiwa (Currently living at her temple)
 * Toyosatomimi no Miko (Religious rival)
 * Kyouko Kasodani (Employee)
 * Reimu Hakurei (Business rival)

Trivia

 * Byakuren was one of the candidates for the extra boss of Ten Desires, along with Kasen Ibara.
 * Myouren, Byakuren's younger brother, was a real Buddhist priest born in Shinano Province, which is ZUN's hometown, and trained at Chougosonshi Temple (朝護孫子寺) on Mount Shigi (信貴山). He appears in several stories, but the most significant one is Shigisan Engi, which is one of the most popular emakimono. In its third volume, there is an unnamed Buddhist priestess who wants to meet Myouren, who is her younger brother. She is the inspiration for Byakuren. The priestess is looking for Myouren because she is worried about him not coming back, so she stays at Toudaiji, where Myouren had made the vows for priesthood. Daibutsu tells her in a dream that there is a purple cloud over the side of the mountain southwest from where she is. She goes there the next morning, and finally she is able to meet and live together with him.
 * Written in ZUN's hand on her final cut-in is 南無三！ (Namusan!), which is short for 南無三宝 - roughly, "Hail to the three treasures of Buddhism" (the Buddha, dharma, and the clergy). It's used to request salvation in a moment of danger. Byakuren also uses this term at the very end of her dialogue with the heroine.
 * Byakuren appears on the cover of the Undefined Fantastic Object case.
 * During her second-to-last (fourth) spell card on Easy, the stars under the health bar show she has two lives left. She does, but only on higher difficulties.
 * The same spell card looks like one of Shinki's attack patterns.
 * Byakuren's Lotus Butterfly seems to act similar in appearance (and in two or three attack patterns) to YuugenMagan.
 * In Undefined Fantastic Object, the player can touch Byakuren and not lose a life, but only during specific times.
 * In Oriental Sacred Place chapter 12, Byakuren's hair is lighter on the top and gets darker towards the bottom.
 * Byakuren and Captain Murasa made it to the finals in the 5th Touhou M-1 Grand Prix