ZUN And His Excessive Use of Psychedelics

Disclaimer: I originally wrote this up to troll /jp/. I am now reposting it here, you can find the original archive of the thread here. Also shoutout to @치타 킹

I am certain that ZUN got much, if not all of his inspiration for Gensokyo and Touhou from habitual use of DMT (and likely other psychedelics as well).

ZUN and DMT.png

(That isn't beer he's drinking, it's an Ayahuasca brew)

Anyone that has actually done DMT will tell you that the experience is no mere hallucination. In fact, they will likely insist that they quite literally visited a different realm of reality altogether. What's fascinating however, is that there are various phenomenons people encounter with DMT that runs consistent across many different accounts. Interactions with female deities and mischievous "machine elves" are the most well known of these phenomenon. However, the environment you take DMT, as well as magic mushrooms and other psychedelics, will directly influence your experience.

It's well documented that use of shrooms is a staple in multiple shamanic traditions around the world, DMT likewise is also a naturally occurring drug. The realm encountered on a DMT or Shroom trip is literally a trip to the spiritual realm. So if you go into the woods, for example, to experience a trip, there is a high chance you will run into the spirits that inhabit that forest. This ties into the Shinto influence on Gensokyo, which is a world inhabited by yokai and kami alike. Yokai and kami (and pagan deities in general) inhabit this next layer of reality above ours, and for all intents and purposes this is literally Gensokyo. Appropriate that Gensokyo often gets translated as "Land of Illusions", as most who have never done DMT will often dismiss the experiences others have with it as illusory hallucinations. But this is not true, Gensokyo is literally real. At least, it is ZUN's understanding of that Level 2 of reality (there are multiple levels, with the highest level being the omnipotent GOD himself). Pagan and Animist deities only occupy this second layer, which is why they are unsuitable for worship. They are as likely to deceive and play around with humans as they are to help them. You see this clearly portrayed with the mischievous and conflicting personalities that embody Gensokyo. And no surprise, as Gensokyo is literally just a modern conception of the Shinto spiritual world, yokai and kami as portrayed in Shinto myths are similarly mischievous.

Touhou DMT1 edit.png


What I want to emphasize again is that Gensokyo isn't inspired by Shintoism, but is literally ZUNs interpretation of the spiritual world that ancient Japanese shamans explored.

One of the most well known visual effects that psychedelic drugs induce in people are complex, self-looping designs which subtly magnify or enhance in intensity, known as fractals. For those that have never experienced it, the intricate designs that psychedelic induced fractals make are somewhat similar to the type of designs you could find when looking through a kaleidoscope. Of course that is an extremely primitive comparison, but for those who are still virgins to the psychedelic experience, its the most accurate example I can come up with. Another way I could describe them, is that these fractals can at times form patterns similar to the more hypnotizing types of bullet patterns you will see on Touhou lunatic mode.

Touhou DMT2.png


This isn't to say that the Touhou patterns are in anyway an accurate mirror of psychedelic fractals, but they do share some similarities. As far as the Touhou Project goes, ZUN's obvious priority is to make entertaining games. Not necessarily to accurately represent the DMT experience. But its also clear where he gets the inspiration for many of the designs he implements.

What is interesting about Touhou though, is that just how psychedelic fractals are not simply passively observed, there is a feeling of actively engaging with them when you inhabit that realm. Similarly the bullet designs in Touhou can be beautiful to look at. But as you are playing a Touhou game you are intensely involved with those designs. In the case of Touhou, you are fighting off the hypnotizing allure to focus on dodging the attack patterns. The fact however, that ZUN captures this feeling of active involvement with elaborate patterns, does in a very small way capture the psychedelic experience with fractals.

Then there is the music, probably among the most beloved parts of the Touhou experience. The music is an integral part of each stage. More than pleasant to listen to, it defines the mood of each level and does this in harmony with the visuals. Particularly the bullet patterns, of which I already mentioned their influence from psychedelically induced fractal patterns. This intimate connection that each stages music has with the aesthetic layout of the bullet patterns is no coincidence.

Terence Mckenna, who was probably the closest thing there was to an "intellectual authority" on psychedelic drugs, carefully traced the usage of various hallucinogenic drugs across different shamanic practices. Among a tribe in South America, he found ritualistic use of Ayahuasca, which is a a type of drug laced with DMT. What he found is that while using this drug people would ceremonially make music. Afterwards they would discuss the different musical pieces, but they would comment on each piece with visual language. Saying that certain parts looked a certain color, and attributed designs to the tones. Fascinating though, is that everyone that participated in this completely understood these visual comments, despite the fact that they were discussing aural phenomenon.

The music in Touhou, just like the bullet patterns, are significantly influenced by the visions that ZUN experiences while on DMT and other psychedelic drugs. Which explains why the two aspects interconnect so well. While working on music, I suspect ZUN listens to drafts he is working on while on a psychedelic high. He then uses the images he saw to inform how to both edit the tracks, and on which aesthetic and bullet patterns he should use in connection with those tracks.

Touhou DMT3.jpg
 
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Tbh, i'm the kind of person who actually believes in the theory that says "zun makes the touhou games while being drunk" that's because being under the effects of alcohol can actually improve your coding skills, in fact i remember that Microsoft let employers to drink while working because of that, and i actually believe that, not just for coding, while i'm doing music or designs, my best ideas came while i'm under the influence of alcohol, also it kills my anxiety and gave me more creative freedom, so i do actually believe that when he is coding, designing and producing music, he is working while drinking a comically large glass of beer. (Like seriously, on the 80% of his pictures, are like this)
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I wish i was as cool as him tbh.
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(He got the hoes tho)
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Tbh, i'm the kind of person who actually believes in the theory that says "zun makes the touhou games while being drunk" that's because being under the effects of alcohol can actually improve your coding skills, in fact i remember that Microsoft let employers to drink while working because of that, and i actually believe that, not just for coding, while i'm doing music or designs, my best ideas came while i'm under the influence of alcohol, also it kills my anxiety and gave me more creative freedom, so i do actually believe that when he is coding, designing and producing music, he is working while drinking a comically large glass of beer. (Like seriously, on the 80% of his pictures, are like this)
I definitely agree that alcohol can help get the gears going when working on something creative. On a related note, tobacco (well nicotine specifically) increases your cognitive abilities and can also help. I'll occasionally have a cigarette when I'm working on something but struggling to express the idea properly. I also tend to have a little bit of whiskey or some beer when working in the evening.
 
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Taleisin

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(That isn't beer he's drinking, it's an Ayahuasca brew)
Good post op, this is funny af.
Interesting fact about japan: Though psychedelic mushrooms grow wild, and well as several species of DMT producing trees and grasses, the only psychedelic that has made a cultural impact is (synthetic) Mescaline. This is notable as mescaline, though one of the first psychedelics described in the west, was never popularised as a drug and is very difficult to get hold of. In Japan however, mescaline is a commonly sold recreational substance despite it not having even close to the climate required for growing san pedro or peyote (mescal cacti).
 
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Good post op, this is funny af.
Interesting fact about japan: Though psychedelic mushrooms grow wild, and well as several species of DMT producing trees and grasses, the only psychedelic that has made a cultural impact is (synthetic) Mescaline. This is notable as mescaline, though one of the first psychedelics described in the west, was never popularised as a drug and is very difficult to get hold of. In Japan however, mescaline is a commonly sold recreational substance despite it not having even close to the climate required for growing san pedro or peyote (mescal cacti).
That's all really interesting to know. I've been meaning to at some point look into the specifics of the kinds of mushrooms that grow in Japan. As well as the psychedelics that do circle around here. Despite the long history with Shintoism and animistic beliefs of spirits existing everywhere, I haven't heard anything about plant psychedelics ever being used ritualistically. Although admittedly I haven't looked very deep into the topic yet. As for modern Japan... drugs of any variety (even just weed) have incredibly bad PR and can land you in prison for years.
 
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1) Touhou's gameplay is setup to a very meditative end. It perfects the already very meditative danmaku genre by having a much higher degree of musical sophistication & thematic completeness that draws the player into the Center, like a koan. To perfect the discipline of danmaku is already one of the most spiritual paths in gaming - Touhou perfects this.

2) It's no shock that Zun uses whatever means available to access another, spiritual realm. Gensokyo is itself built as a spiritual other realm, the lore stating that when gods, mythical heroes, saints, etc, fall out of favor with the Outside World, they fall into Gensokyo. This as an active process is seen in several of the manga, such as Silent Sinner in Blue showing them recycling forgotten lore & myths of the retro Space Age. You can see this in the fandom - certain morbid /jp/ memes about how to "enter Gensokyo", or lighter but still equally potent ones in /jp/ adjacent lucid dreaming communities.

3) After Miya died, a simpering walk through the desert of no-posting, and then the lost souls of that community centered around Remilia Collective - one of the most fascinating vanguards in esoteric internet, through them a new movement of "Network Spirituality".
 
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