zunification

Zunification is a term used in the context of the Touhou Project, a popular Japanese series of vertically scrolling shooter video games developed by Team Shanghai Alice. The term refers to the process or phenomenon where characters, particularly female characters, are transformed into or are already depicted as possessing the physical characteristics of a zun, a creature often associated with the Japanese folklore of the kappa. Kappa are mythological water-dwelling humanoids known for their turtle-like shells and a dish-like depression on their heads that must be kept filled with water.

In the Touhou Project, the character of Nitori Kawashiro is a prominent example of a character with kappa-like traits. She is a tunnel engineer and inventor who lives in the Youkai Mountain. While not explicitly called "zunification" within the games themselves, the concept has been popularized by the fandom to describe the aesthetic and thematic elements that align with traditional kappa lore. This includes visual cues such as the presence of a water-holding dish on the head, greenish skin, and often, a fascination with technology and engineering, which is a modern interpretation of kappa's association with water and rivers.

The term "zunification" is primarily used in fan discussions, fan art, and fan fiction to categorize characters that exhibit these kappa-inspired features or to describe the act of incorporating such traits into original characters or existing characters through fan creations. It is a piece of fan-created terminology that highlights a specific niche within the Touhou Project's extensive lore and its fan-driven creative output. The extent to which a character is considered "zunified" can vary, but the core elements typically revolve around the visual and mythological aspects of the kappa.