Youkai people

The **youkai people** (妖怪(ようかい)人(じん), **Yōkai-jin**?, lit. *Spiritual person* or *Apparitional people*), usually referred to as **youkai-borns**, are an ethnic group and the indigenous people of Kozan, and is used to refer to the youkai that take on a humanoid form and appearance. It is one of the most diverse ethnic groups in Kozan, and there are hundreds of federally recognized tribes of youkai-borns living in Kozan.

The first youkai-borns settled in Western Kozan at least two thousand years ago from Japan. A vast variety of people, societies, and cultures subsequently developed. The first humanoid settlement in Kozan led to the youkai-born population declining partly due to disease, wars, ethnic cleansing, and enslavement. Prior to the establishment of the Federal Kingdom of Kozan, many humanoid civilizations in Kozan waged war and perpetrated massacres against youkai-borns, leading to them being removed from their ancestral lands. After the Federal Kingdom of Eastern Kozan was established in which Queen Marisa would establish a free and open society, many of these changes led to positive changes to the lives of many youkai-borns in Kozan, though many of them still face contemporary issues.

Today, the vast majority of youkai-borns live in Western Kozan and Japan and an overwhelming majority of them follow the Buddhist faith, though some are of Shinto faith.

## Origin

The term "youkai" first appeared in Japanese mythology as well as evil spirits in general. Because of the thousands of stories regarding magical beings, the different types of youkai-borns could comprise a myriad of ethnic groups.

## History

It is unknown when the first youkai-borns first settled in Kozan. After the establishment of the Federal Kingdom of Eastern Kozan, many youkai-borns who lived there migrated to Western Kozan where they became future citizens of the Democratic Kingdom of Western Kozan. Many of the youkai-borns that lived there aligned themselves with the Socialist Party of Kozan, one of the two contemporary political parties in Kozan.

### Human-youkai conflict

Due to the concept of shrine maidens in general having to dispel youkai in order to protect a sacred place such as a shrine, this often brings up the humanoid-youkai conflict that has existed for centuries. Like with most countries, the act of killing youkai-borns was considered outlawed under general murder laws.

During the Edo period in Kozan when it was divided into Eastern and Western Kozan, youkai-borns in Eastern Kozan faced frequent persecution and discrimination. This was outlawed after the Meiji Restoration and the Kozanese Reunification under the Humanoid-Youkai Peace Treaty, which ensured peaceful relationships between the two ethnic groups. Despite this, persecution remains an issue in the present day, with Frederic Sam Fawkes initiating a genocidal run against all youkai-borns in Kozan. Fawkes developed a habit of calling youkai-borns who don't follow Shinto *fushinja* (不(ふ)信(しん)者(じゃ)?), the Japanese word for *non-believer*.

Despite the treaty, some people in Kozan are against youkai-borns marrying into the Kozanese Royal Family. In 1982, former Queen Consort Kanata became the first youkai-born to marry into the Kozanese Royal Family before she was ultimately assassinated the following year during the Kozanese Revolution. Since then, Crown Princess Konata has been the first half-youkai royalty in the royal family.

## Half-youkai

**Half-youkai** (半妖怪(はんようかい), **Han-yōkai**?) is a term given to individuals born to one humanoid and one youkai parent. The term can still be used when the amount of humanoid and youkai blood is not equal, though they would be declared humanoid if they have less than one-third of youkai genes, and youkai-born if they have less than one-third of humanoid genes.

### Notable half-youkai individuals

 Konata, Crown Princess of Kozan | Crown Princess of the Kozanese throne

## Languages

Like most Japanese, the Japanese language has been a primary first language for youkai-borns within Kozan, whether they are born in Western Kozan or not.

## Religion

Buddhism has been a primary religion for youkai-borns, though a very small number follow Shinto. Outside Western Kozan, there are a number of Buddhist temples in Kinmyou partly due to the large youkai-born population in the area.

## Notable youkai-borns

*Main article: List of Youkai-borns*
* Hanayo Katsuragi, former Crimsonite and co-founder of SPASDOT
* Kagami Ochiai, singer-songwriter
* Shigeru Ochiai, politician and former Prime Minister of Kozan (1970 - 1978)
* Yumi Ochiai
* Asuka Oguchi, former First Lady of Kozan (1970 - 1978)
* Maika Ohtake, former maiko-in-training
* Kisumi Torisawa, journalist

## See also

* Ochiai Clan, dynastic youkai-born family prominent in politics