Character

Sanae Kochiya

Kochiya Sanae

『Deified Human of the Wind』 Sanae Kochiya (東風谷 早苗 Kochiya Sanae) is a human, but is also a distant descendant of the goddess Suwako Moriya. Her role at the Moriya Shrine is similar to a shrine maiden, but with her inherited power Sanae has also become a minor deity herself. Originally from the Outside World, Sanae migrated to Gensokyo with the shrine and its two resident goddesses, Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya. As a result, she is rather knowledgeable about the outside world and modern living, although her attempts to explain scientific concepts usually just confuse the locals. Her knowledge on things like the youkai of Gensokyo, on the other hand, seems a bit lacking for a shrine maiden. Sanae is confident, energetic and dutiful, sometimes too much so, and tends to get carried away easily or have trouble thinking for herself. She also appears to be something of a geek, making references to popular culture and having knowledge of advanced scientific concepts. As someone who grew up in the Outside World, much of Gensokyo seems strange and novel to her; she finds unusually great fun in exterminating youkai and solving incidents, seeming to view herself as the hero of a fantasy novel or video game. Multiple characters have noted that Sanae's dismissive attitude towards youkai and youkai power makes her too much like a youkai herself. The simple fact that she is adjusting to life in Gensokyo makes her an extremely rare case.