JCRoboto

1. Introduction: What’s Sociology?

Before we define what a social system is... What is sociology?

Just from the word alone, you can deduce it as “the study of society.” Like how society functions, how people behave, stuff like that. Which yes, is technically correct. But there’s more to the spirit of the field than that. Let me ask you this instead:

What is the point of sociology?

Most people don’t understand why this field is so important. Society... why bother studying something that we already notice everyday? We talk about it all the time, hear about it all the time. We’ve probably discussed social problems and social structures in other academic environments, such as our history or English classes. It’s just a collection of people, right? “We live in a society.”

However, when we just rely on our default mode of thinking to explain society... we run into some issues. For example, take the problem of cheating in school. Why do students cheat?

“They don’t like or don’t understand the class.”

“They either don’t like studying and doing homework, or they just forget to do them.”

“They’re just lazy, dumb, and/or dishonest.”

“They don’t care if they cheat or not.”

“They’re not trying hard enough at school.”

Well, sure. Those things may be true. But think deeper. Are there more reasons why people would cheat in school?

“They want to pass, but they’re afraid of academic and social consequences.”

“They don’t have enough time to do homework and study.”

“They assume that since other students cheat, it’s okay for them to do it too.”

“They feel like they can’t ask for help, because they either feel like no one’s there to support them, or they’re too ashamed to reach out.”

Now you’re thinking more like a sociologist! While the first list may just appear as common sense, our default judgments can often be short-sighted because we’re used to thinking individualistically. It’s easier for us to say that someone’s problem is their own fault. Even if we admit that maybe there were factors they couldn’t control, we conclude that it’s ultimately their job to deal with it.

However, these judgments lead us to blame the individual person for what is fundamentally a systemic issue. Problems don’t just begin and end with individuals; there are far larger forces at play.

This isn’t to say that individuals have no agency or impact either. Reducing problems to “The System is puppeting everyone around” ignores the fact that at the end of the day, we’re all still participants of society. We play a part in it, too.

Essentially, society is not just a collection of people, but a collection of people who exist in relation to one another.

People and systems are connected; they influence and interact with us, and we do the same with them. By recognizing this interplay, we can understand the greater social context behind the decisions we and others make.

This unique mode of thinking is what sociologist C. Wright Mills named “the sociological imagination.” This is the kind of mindset sociologists have to think in before analyzing social problems and getting to those “one in four people” statistics. Sociology is a major area of scientific study precisely because it concerns itself with a foundational aspect of the world we live in. Through this bird’s eye view, we’re able to discover further possible answers about not just what society is, but also why it is and how it works.

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2. What is a Social System?

There are three main theoretical perspectives, or paradigms, that sociologists take into account when analyzing social phenomena:

Symbolic Interactionism

Functionalism

Conflict theory

For the sake of keeping this post focused, I will primarily examine things through aspects of functionalism. Still, keep in mind that the field is incomplete without the other two perspectives, and I will discuss them in further detail at a later date.

Through the lens of functionalism, we can define a social system as a collection of people, positions, and ideas. Social systems are everywhere and we’re always participating in them.

The important thing about social systems is that they bind people together on the basis of collective participation. In the functionalist view, society is like a living organism. The way an organism needs all its parts to function in tandem, a society needs all its people to collectively perform their roles.

Sound familiar?

It should.

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2. How Does Gensokyo Work?

(I will state it through bullet points to get straight to the point of what it is)

Let’s summarize:

Because of humans starting to view youkai as just superstition, youkai were no longer a necessary part of human society. Youkai need fear (belief, their purpose) to exist, so their existence would cease to be. To counteract that, the sages created Gensokyo. (Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 48) (Wild and Horned Hermit, Chapter 9)

Gensokyo exists within the Hakurei barrier, the border of common sense. The Hakurei shrine and the shrine maiden exist to maintain the barrier. (Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, Reimu’s Entry)

Humans and youkai exist in Gensokyo and live in a symbiotic relationship (Cage in Lunatic Runigate, Chapter 5)

Youkai need humans to fear them while the humans need youkai to protect the village from disaster. Without the support of youkai, the village can’t exist. Without the humans to fear them, youkai can’t exist. (Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 48) (Wild and Horned Hermit Chapter 9)

Because of this relationship, the humans and youkai can live content and relatively peaceful lives. This is the balance of Gensokyo, it’s the status quo. (Perfect Momento in Strict Sense, monologue)

If the balance were to be disrupted or if the barrier were to cease to exist, Gensokyo would be no more. (Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 19)

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3. How Does Gensokyo Work?

The basics:

When you view Gensokyo through a sociological lens, the human villagers, the youkai, and the shrine maiden are statuses people are organized under in Gensokyo as a social system. For Gensokyo as a social system to function, everyone within it has to participate by fulfilling their roles. If no one were to fulfill those roles, Gensokyo would not be able to function. 

(Cage in Lunatic Runagate, Chapter 5)

(Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, Reimu’s Entry)

People make social systems happen. But do you remember what I said about the sociological imagination? Social systems shape people’s lives at the same time. Again, individuals and social systems simultaneously interact with each other.

Gensokyo greatly exemplifies this concept. The collective participation from the human villagers, youkai, and shrine maiden is what makes Gensokyo happen. However, their lives are also shaped by Gensokyo. 

(The Forest and The Trees by Allan G. Johnson, page 17)

When I say “shaped”, I’m referring to how social systems lay out paths of least resistance. This term refers to the path of action that would receive the least amount of pushback by society, the thing you’re expected to do of your status within a social system.

In other words, why do we keep behaving in the ways that we do? Why don’t we just do whatever we want?

Well, it’s because of social expectations. Naturally, we would rather act in accordance with them than have deal with the consequences of ignoring them. Going to work, doing your homework, laughing at a friend’s joke (even if it wasn’t very funny), etc. We follow paths of least resistance everyday.

And just like in real life, the human villagers, youkai, and shrine maiden all follow paths of least resistance laid out by their social system: Gensokyo. By doing what’s expected of their status, by performing their roles, they participate in said system.

Can you see how linked individuals and systems are with each other now? This back-and-forth relationship is clearly portrayed in Touhou.

Anyway, you may have noticed that I use the word “status” instead of just saying “them.” People are individuals, while statuses are the titles of the roles they occupy. So think about what defines the status of a human villager—what expectations and ideas are associated with it?

To put it briefly, the human villagers are expected to fear youkai because they’re far weaker in comparison and can easily killed by them. They have to stick together to survive.

Now, what are the expectations and ideas that are associated with the status of a youkai?

Youkai are meant to attack humans. They are the enemies of humans and need to be feared by them to exist (i.e. to survive).

And of course, where does the shrine maiden fit into all of this?

From what we know in Touhou, the shrine maiden is expected to exterminate youkai and protect the villagers. Her responsibility is to maintain the balance of Gensokyo and the Hakurei barrier.

These statuses will still exist if no one occupies them at the moment. Again, remember: people are not statuses and statuses are not people. I am not an employee, for example. I occupy the status of employee, meaning I exist outside of that status. The status of employee will still exist if I were to quit, and it will be occupied by someone else eventually.

Ultimately, the individual occupying the status doesn’t matter. What actually matters is that the roles associated with said status are being fulfilled.

(Silent Sinner in Blue, Chapter 20)

(Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, Reimu’s entry)

Elaborating on societies:

Social systems are everywhere, and they can exist within and next to each other. In this case, Gensokyo is a social system that contains smaller social systems within it, and within those systems exist even smaller ones, and so on.

Let’s take a closer look at this. For example, the human village itself is a social system. Within the human village there are families, shops, bars, etc., which are social systems too (yes, things like families and businesses are technically considered as such).

This idea of social systems exists with youkai too. On a micro scale, we have tengu society. Tengu society lies within the Youkai Mountain, which itself resides alongside the Forest of Magic and the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. And youkai society encompasses all of them. On the macro scale, we have Gensokyo. All of these things are social systems. And for clarification’s sake, we’re not just talking about these things as places—we’re talking about them as groups of people.

Here is a diagram I made which generally illustrates how the social systems in Touhou are organized (note: not everything is depicted here, this is just an example)

(Diagrams of social systems)

Since social systems can exist within other social systems, that also means people will occupy multiple statuses.

I’ll use myself as an example here. My family, my school, and my country are some of the social systems which I participate in. In those cases, I would be a parent’s child, a student, and a citizen. I hold various statuses at the same time, and each one is associated with a separate set of ideas and beliefs.

A resident of Gensokyo would be no different, since this concept would apply to them too.

Let’s take Aya for instance. Aya exists within three primary social systems: Gensokyo, youkai society, and tengu society. Within each of those social systems, she occupies a distinct status.

In Gensokyo, she is a youkai. Specifically in youkai society, she is a tengu. And even more specifically in tengu society, she is a crow tengu.

Each of these statuses she occupies is associated with a certain role. The status of youkai is associated with the role of attacking and scaring humans. Moreover, the status of tengu is associated with the idea of causing great winds. Last but not least, crow tengu are defined by their role of writing and distributing newspapers.

The statuses of youkai, tengu, and crow tengu have different ideas attached to them. This eventually leads to the formation of distinct types of relationships, which are defined by those idea (e.g. what a relationship between a child and their parent would look like compared to a student and their teacher; I’ll get into this later). You could say there is a wide variety of people just as there is a wide variety of youkai. 

This may ring a bell. That’s because this is exactly what Aya describes in her conversation with Kosuzu in Forbidden Scrollery. According to Chapter 49, she says, “It seems that to humans, tengu are just one of many kinds of youkai, but to the tengu there are plenty of different kinds of humans too.” She then adds, “And we have different feelings about each of them, which gives rise to entirely different relationships.”

(Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 49)

Remember how I said social systems weren’t just places, but groups of people? ...So why in the rest of this page is Aya describing a human’s status according to specific locations? Instead, shouldn’t it be something purely conceptual?

Well, that’s because we participate in a variety of systems. So logically, we would occupy different types of statuses.

There are statuses that we are just born into such as race, gender, and family. There are also statuses we attain as we move through life; “teacher,” “student,” “scientist,” “manager,” and “parent” are all examples of this. And there are other statuses that we don’t occupy all the time because they exist only in particular situations.

In his book The Forest and The Trees, Johnson uses the ideas of a pedestrian and a bus passenger as an example. When he steps off the sidewalk and enters the bus, he exits the status of “pedestrian” and enters the status of “bus passenger.” He then assumes the role attached to being a bus passenger. 

Many statuses have to do with who, what, when, and where. In short, it’s situational.

Aya describes this when she says, “Even you, for example. It’s one thing to meet with little Suzy in Suzunaan, but if I met you outside the village, I’d treat you very differently.” Basically, she’s talking about how her relationship with Kosuzu would be different depending on the situation: inside the village versus outside of it. In this case, she talks about the “where.”

But how does this influence their relationship? Aya assumes the status of a newsdealer when she enters Suzunaan, so her status as a youkai is no longer relevant in this context. With Kosuzu, she has the status of employee in Suzunaan: someone who lends books. Yet when they leave the village, they assume different statuses: one of a youkai, and one of a human outside the village. They are fundamentally entering a different social system.

In this context, Aya’s status as a newsdealer and Kosuzu’s status as an employee of Suzunaan are irrelevant because they are no longer under the social system of Suzunaan or the human village.

If I were to enter my school for instance, being a “sibling” wouldn’t be as applicable as being a “student” in that environment because I’ve entered a social system where the latter status is of greater importance. In school, I’m expected to perform the roles of a student. Siblinghood becomes practically irrelevant in this setting.

Here’s another example: let’s say a friend and I are coworkers. Would I interact with them the same way inside of work as I do outside of work? Not really, right? Our relationship would just be different. ...But why would our relationship be different? Why do I feel compelled to act differently even though I’m interacting with the same person?

That’s because our relationships with other people are affected by the roles we perform through our given statuses. There are certain cultural ideas, beliefs, values, and norms attached to them, which in turn shape what kinds of roles we play. Naturally, they would have an influence on our behavior.

In a similar vein, the shrine maiden’s role in relation to a human villager differs from this same role in relation to youkai. The shrine maiden protects the human villagers, but she exterminates youkai. Naturally, this makes the status of the shrine maiden above both of them, and thus her relationships to one or the other will follow this premise (think of how Reimu acts as Kosuzu’s overseer in the beginning of Forbidden Scrollery, versus the end where they are now equals).

Despite the relation between statuses and roles remaining constant, the contents of the relationship will vary from one individual to another. A teacher’s relationship between various students will be different from each other, yet the status of teacher and student and the roles associated with those statuses are still the same. Likewise, the shrine maiden’s relationship from one youkai to another will differ from each individual, but the roles in relation between them will remain constant (e.g. exterminating youkai, fighting the shrine maiden).

On culture and beliefs:

Every social system has a culture. Basically, culture consists of symbols, values, and ideas which shape how we think and see the world around us.

Symbols can range from abstract concepts to physical objects, such as:

Love

Money

Gestures

Colors

And celestial bodies (the sun, moon, stars, etc.)

By naming things, we create a relationship with it by making it have something to do with us.

Take thunder for instance. What thunder ‘is’ is what we say it is. It has always existed—we just came up with a name to describe the phenomena. What makes the word “thunder” have its meaning anyway?

(Perfect Cherry Blossom prologue)

The world is not what ‘is’, but what we think the world is.

Things have always existed before we had names for them. Therefore, when we name things, we aren’t literally making it real. When we name things, we make them culturally real.

What I’m getting at is that we constructed what reality is through culture, and it provides words and ideas to help us make sense of the world around us.

Culture constructs what is considered true and what is considered false. Notice how I’m using the phrase "what is considered’ instead of ‘what is.’ This is because what would be considered true in one culture may be considered false in another, and vice versa.

In Touhou, youkai are considered real in Gensokyo, but considered false in the outside world. The idea of constructed reality is taken to the most literal sense in Touhou.

(Kanako’s profile from Mountain of Faith as an example)

You could argue that youkai are literally real in the world of Touhou and if people saw them, they would simply believe that they exist.

But this is a misunderstanding on how belief works.

We tend to think:

We see things, then believe in them.

When it’s actually:

We believe in things, so we start to see them.

If people really only believed from seeing things, then everyone should hypothetically believe in the same thing. Yet, we have multiple religions, different political views, etc. The world itself is proof that there is no “one truth.”

Youkai are real in the sense that they literally ‘are,’ but the outside world's culture does not consider them to be real, therefore they do not exist.

It’s belief that provides answers.

(Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 48)

In Chapter 48 of Forbidden Scrollery, Akyuu explains the idea of reality being constructed to Kosuzu. The way she uses the word “truth” is evident of that.

“The truth that youkai are the enemies of mankind is the one that’s best for the village. so it’s our truth.”

She’s talking about truth as something unobjective. We believe in things because they serve us in some way.

She states beforehand, “If the world is made up of the infinite, there are infinite truths as well.”

Remember, what’s considered “true” and what’s considered “false” is formed from culture, and since there is vast diversity of cultures, there isn’t such a thing as a “single truth.” We like to think we’re objectively observing the world around us, but our experiences are filtered through our own subjective lens.

(Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 48)

I’ll only briefly touch on Kosuzu’s conflict here to explain why Akyuu is talking about beliefs (I’d like to make it its own separate post).

Kosuzu’s conflict near the end of Forbidden Scrollery is about how the world is seemingly contradictory and more complex than what it made itself out to be.

Youkai are the enemies of the human villagers... yet they need them.

And Mamizou, someone she admired... ended up being a youkai.

Later on, she figures out that Marisa and Reimu had already known about Mamizou's true identity, but for some reason, they never told her about it.

If Marisa and Reimu are on the side of humans... then why would they do that?

This is why Akyuu is talking about how truth is not an objective thing. Belief is not “what is true” and “what is false”; it’s what’s considered true and false. We say what reality is from culture.

When Kosuzu acknowledged this and saw how her view of the world was clouded by the culture she lives in, she leaves to seek out a truth that’s more true to herself. The ending of the manga follows this idea.

As far as I have gathered, the interpretation that Kosuzu’s inner conflict is about becoming less afraid of youkai is really just an oversimplication of the story’s thematic depth, and it frankly misses the point. It doesn’t relate to what Akyuu is talking about at all (not to mention how she’s clearly afraid of Mamizou and how Aya’s conversation isn’t talking about not fearing youkai in Chapter 49).

Really think about why “truth” is repeated on the last page of Chapter 49, and what the point was for her to talk to different kinds of people with differing perspectives. What’s the story trying to say?

Truth is a recurring motif in the narrative for a reason.

(Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 49)

More on the path of least resistance:

At any given moment, we can do an infinite number of things, but we usually don’t realize this. Values, beliefs, and norms lay out what the path of least resistance is, which narrow down the range of our possibilities.

To put it simply, “the path of least resistance” defines what we typically should and shouldn’t do. Say, what’s stopping me, as a student, from throwing my pencils at the teacher or kicking down my desk? These are just things that you don’t do as a student.

Going against the path of least resistance is met with apprehension and, well, resistance from society. If I were to do what I had just said, I would most likely be suspended or scolded—social consequences. It’s easier to go along with the path of least resistance even though there may be times when you’d rather not (I’m not talking about the example above, I wouldn’t throw pencils at my teachers lol).

The human villagers, youkai, and shrine maiden performing the roles they are expected to do is what the path of least resistance is within Gensokyo. I’m reiterating on this point again because it’s not strictly a good or bad thing to do. It’s just... a thing. This applies to everyone, including youkai.

I could say it’s wrong for youkai to act the way they do. But remember, this is a social system that’s entirely different to the ones we exist in. Our values, what we think is good and bad, are influenced by the social systems we participate in.

....Which, unlike Gensokyo, exists under late-stage capitalism (e.g. when Rinnosuke and Sumireko talk about currency in Chapter 36 of Curiosities of Lotus Asia).

(Curiosities on Lotus Asia, Chapter 36)

If I were to look at the US as a social system or any capitalistic society in general, It’s not a crime to want to gain money if that’s the path laid out for me as a person existing under capitalism. Disregarding how I personally feel about it, I’m just “playing the game” in the end.

If I were to disregard money or give it away for no reason, I would most likely be seen as weird for not valuing it the same way everyone else does. It’s seen as an illogical thing to do. That’s because the system defines “what the game is about” and I would be going against that.

(Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 49)

(Wild and Horned Hermit, Chapter 9)

Following the path of least resistance is comfortable, basically. If I were to strip my identity of every status within the social systems I belong to... what would I even do with myself? What am I if I’m not any of those things (as a student, as an employee, etc.)?

Commonly, people feel lost in life if/when their position is disrupted or stripped away from them. By performing what society expects from the statuses we occupy, life takes on a predictable shape. It's what’s known to work, so why fight against it?

(Flavor text by ZUN for the human village from Gensou Narratograph)

Norms in relation to the path of least resistance:

Similar to values and beliefs, norms establish expectations and boundaries on how people should act. But what makes norms different is that they can result in either reward or punishment. They’re essentially “rules” that are enforced through social consequences, creating a boundary of what is and isn’t acceptable in society.

A rather infamous example of norms in Gensokyo would be how human villagers aren’t allowed to turn into youkai. Reimu exterminates the Fortune Teller for breaking this norm.

(Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 25)

Norms help keep social systems together. Social systems are dependent on people’s relationships to function, and relationships consist of the expectations we have for one another. At bottom, those expectations are enforced and defined by norms, which tell us how we should act in the first place. So without norms, social systems would cease to be.

The norm that human villagers shouldn’t turn into youkai follows this idea. If Gensokyo is reliant on the collective participation of the human villagers, youkai, and the shrine maiden, then Gensokyo’s norms are meant to enforce the expectations the residents have on each other—their roles in relation to their status with social consequences. By not allowing the human villagers to turn into youkai, the expectations placed upon the human villagers is enforced.

Youkai are not exempt from this either, since they are part of the system, too. The belief that youkai are the enemies of humanity serves the same purpose because it enforces the expectations of youkai.

If these expectations were not maintained and upheld, Gensokyo would fall apart.

(Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 19)

In Chapter 25 of Forbidden Scrollery, not only does the Fortune Teller reject the roles of human villagers, but he also rejects the roles of youkai as well. This is told to us when he states, “I will reside far from the village. I have no intention of doing the humans harm.”

The problem is that he doesn't understand that youkai also have a role to play in Gensokyo, which is why he's confused about Reimu exterminating him despite his vow to not harm the human villagers. He goes against the norm that youkai should attack and scare humans, and faces the social consequences for breaking it (as well as for breaking the previous norm).

(Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 25)

Following the same thought, this is why Reimu believes Jinyou would destroy the balance of Gensokyo. Gensokyo relies on the collective participation of people to function, just like any other social system. By not playing by its rules, the social system is put into danger.

This idea is repeated throughout the manga whenever the balance of Gensokyo and the duty of youkai and the human villagers are mentioned. If all of the human villagers decided to become Jinyou, no one would be fulfilling the roles of the human villagers, which would stop Gensokyo from functioning.

Something to reflect on is why this doesn’t happen often. Think about it this way: what would happen if every single teacher at a school decided to stop working one day? What would happen if every single employee at a company suddenly left?

But at the end of the day, people aren’t machines. What do they get from performing the roles associated with their status? What if someone is unsatisfied with their life having to perform those roles, even though they exist under a status that guarantees safety? (*cough* Fortune Teller *cough*)

(Forbidden Scrollery, Chapter 25)

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Conclusion

Throughout my post, I've been repeating that social systems need people. But it goes the other way around, too.

People need social systems. It's impossible to know what life would be like without them; they influence our perspective on the world and connect us with each other. They may change or get replaced, and they aren't perfect by any means. Regardless, they'll always exist in some form.

Part of the reason why I’m making this post is to clarify what these sociological concepts are. People in the Touhou fanbase either describe them but don’t know the proper terms, or they don't have a full understanding of them and end up saying something silly (like blaming Kasen for participating in Gensokyo as if it’s a choice, or that the humans should overthrow the youkai).

Honestly, I think it’s much easier to understand how Gensokyo works when you analyze it sociologically. It just comes down to making that connection to real life.

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Afterword

Thank you for reading! I would like to thank my sister @juyendraws for being my co-author and editor, and just generally helping me out with this. She’s the one who first introduced sociology to me and recommended the book The Forest and the Trees by Allen G. Johnson, which is the book I’ve been using as reference. She’s currently working on her own project analyzing the lore and stories of Project Moon games. So if you're interested in those games, check her stuff out when they release!

By the way, I’m a little surprised no one's connected the inner workings of Gensokyo with sociological concepts, considering how long it's been discussed in Touhou's lore. It's as far back as Perfect Memento in Strict Sense. It's even more obvious with Cage in Lunatic Runagate where Yukari’s talking about how the Eientei residents don’t quite fulfill the role of youkai or human. Yukari in the same conversation states, “the humans in the outside world have roles they must fulfill, too; learning, working, and being a part of society, including paying taxes. Gensokyo then adds dealing with youkai to the list.”

I recommend rereading this part of Chapter 5 with sociology in mind because she is straight-up describing Gensokyo sociologically. You can't get more blatant than “the humans in the outside world have roles they must fulfill.”

That is textbook sociology.

I'm guessing people have been missing the forest for the trees, so what was said here was either misinterpreted or glossed over.

(Cage in Lunatic Runagate, Chapter 5)

In regards to Kosuzu’s story in Forbidden Scrollery, I’d like to make it its own post. It’s going to take me a while to write it, so I’ll just mention this: it’s both simpler and more complex than what people make it out to be. I’d also like to write about social deviance in relation to Kasen. Those posts will definitely be much shorter (hopefully).