Touhou Project

The }}, also known simply as , is a bullet hell shoot 'em up video game series created by independent Japanese soft developer Team Shanghai Alice. The team's sole member, Jun'ya "ZUN" Ōta, has independently developed programming, graphics, writing, and music for the series, publishing 19 mainline games and 13 spin-offs since 1997. ZUN has also produced related print works and music albums, and collaborated with developer Twilight Frontier on seven of the official spin-offs, six of which are fighting games.

The first five games were developed for the Japanese PC-98 computer, with the first, ''Highly Responsive to Prayers'', released in August 1997; the series' signature }} mechanics were introduced in the second game, ''Story of Eastern Wonderland'' (also 1997). The release of ''Embodiment of Scarlet Devil'' in August 2002 marked a shift to Microsoft Windows. Numerous sequels followed, including several spin-offs departing from the traditional shoot 'em up format.

The ''Touhou Project'' is set in a preternatural land sealed from the outside world and primarily inhabited by humans and , legendary creatures from Japanese folklore that are personified as in an anthropomorphic style. Reimu Hakurei, the of the Hakurei Shrine and the main character of the series, is often tasked with resolving supernatural "incidents" caused in and around Gensokyo; she is joined by Marisa Kirisame after the events of the second game.

The ''Touhou Project'' has become more particularly notable as a prominent source of Japanese ''doujin'' content, with the series spawning a vast amount of fan-made works such as artwork, music, print works, video games, and Internet memes. Because of this, it has gained a large cult following outside of Japan. The popularity of the series and its derivative works has been attributed in part to the few restrictions placed by ZUN on the use of his content. Unofficial works are frequently sold at fan conventions, including Comiket, where the franchise has frequently held the record for circle participation, and the official convention Reitaisai, where trial versions of the official games are typically distributed prior to release. Provided by Wikipedia