On October 6th, 2019, at the sixth Hakurei Shrine Autumn Reitaisai, an awards ceremony was held for the winners of the Touhou Project Kids’ Illustration Contest. The contest was open to elementary and middle school students and was separated into elementary, middle and yukkuri divisions.

After being selected from 258 total entries, division winners and overall winners were invited to the event stage, where ZUN personally presented them with their certificates.

Click here to see the results of the contest.

After the ceremony—and between taking commemorative photographs with ZUN—we interviewed contest winners Jarosuke (7th grade), Tomomii (6th grade), and hizena (5th grade) about their entries.

Middle School Illustration Division Winner: Jarosuke

 1st year middle school student (7th grade)

Submission title: Spotted through the barrier

―― How did you first hear of the Touhou Project series?

Jarosuke:

I heard of it through the Hifuu Club CDs.

―― Where did you come across the CDs?

Jarosuke:
I saw them at Animate one day. I have a friend who knows a lot about Touhou, so I sort of knew about it through them.

―― Who is your favorite character?

Jarosuke:
I really like the Hifuu Club, but my favorite is Kogasa. I like how she uses old-fashioned words out of nowhere.

―― What do you like most about the Touhou Project?

Jarosuke:
I like the general atmosphere. There’s an old-fashioned vibe, and even though there are so many cute girls they all have their own unique charm.

―― I’d also like to ask how you heard about the Kids’ Illustration Contest.

Jarosuke:

I saw it when I was looking at the Reitaisai website on my phone.

―― Finally, how did you feel about meeting ZUN in person?

Jarosuke: 

I thought, wow! It’s the real deal!

Yukkuri Division Winner: Tomomii

6th grade elementary school student

Submission title: Crazy Quartet

―― How did you first hear of the Touhou Project series?

Tomomii: I saw the Bad Apple!! music video on Youtube and I thought it was really cool. Then I got interested in yukkuris and watched a lot of Touhou videos. I don’t know a whole lot about it, though.

―― Who is your favorite character?

Tomomii: My favorite character is Reimu. I like how carefree she is.

―― What do you like most about the Touhou Project?

Tomomii: I like the fan-made music. There are so many really good songs that are addictive to listen to.

―― What is your favorite song?

Tomomii: “Last Brutal Sister Flandre S”.

―― I’d also like to ask how you heard about the Kids’ Illustration Contest.

Tomomii: A relative recommended it to me.

―― Finally, how did you feel about meeting ZUN in person?

Tomomii: I thought, wow, he’s real! Also, when I saw him drinking beer, it reminded me of my dad. (laughs)

Elementary School Illustration Division Winner: hizena

5th grade elementary school student

Title: Alice and friends

―― How did you first hear of the Touhou Project series?

Hizena: I learned about it through yukkuri game videos. The Despair Cooking videos* (“How to make inedible ___”) were really funny, so those got me interested in Touhou. At first I only knew Marisa, but now I think I know most of the characters.

―― Who is your favorite character?

Hizena: Alice and Youmu. Originally, my favorite was Flandre, but I like a lot of characters now.

―― Can you tell us why you like them?

Hizena: I like Alice because of her dolls.

―― What do you like most about the Touhou Project?

Hizena: I like the music, but I think the characters are my favorite part. I think it’s cool how they’re based on a lot of different things, like oni and stuff. Also, some of the characters have really cute designs with ribbons and stuff, so it’s fun to draw them.

―― I’d also like to ask how you heard about the Kids’ Illustration Contest.

Hizena: My dad found it when he was looking at the Reitaisai website and showed it to me.

――Does your father know about Touhou?

Hizena: He does. But he’s really bad at remembering them, so he points at all of them and says, “Is this one Reimu?” (laughs)

――Finally, how did you feel about meeting ZUN in person?

Hizena: I was excited to meet him, but it felt weird to meet someone famous when I’m just a regular person.

*(Translator’s note: Yukkuri refers to specific stylized drawings of Reimu and Marisa which are often used in Youtube videos, which are especially popular with children. Youtubers use text-to-speech to add narration to a video and use a yukkuri as the “narrator”. hizena refers here to videos made by the Youtuber Takucchi.)

Touhou Project and its derivative works continue to attract a wide audience, including even elementary and middle school children. Reitaisai has informed us that they would like to create more opportunities for younger fans to attend and have fun, so please feel free to send feedback and suggestions.

 

■博麗神社うた祭
2019年11月16日(土)新宿ReNYにて開催
https://www.uta-matsuri.com/

 

 

■第17回博麗神社例大祭
2020年3月22日(日)ツインメッセ静岡にて開催
https://reitaisai.com/rts17/

11月25日(月)までサークル参加申し込み受付中！