Chen

Chen is Ran's shikigami, who was guarding the village of Mayohiga during the events of Perfect Cherry Blossom. Unfortunately, she could put up little resistance due to being far away from her master.

Later, she guards the path to Ran Yakumo, and is much more powerful due to her master's proximity.

[edit] Fun Facts

 * Chen's name, "橙", can be literally translated as "bitter orange" in the Japanese Language, but the Chinese characters would be translated as the color orange. All of the Yakumo family are named after the names of color. Why Chen appears before Ran and Yukari comes from the fact that the orange light has physically lower energy than the indigo, Ran, and the violet, Yukari.
 * In fanworks, Ran is sometimes shown as yelling "CHEN!" whenever Chen does something wrong. Now, she's more popularly known as "CHEEEEEEEEEN!"
 * The pronunciation of her name, "Chen", is derived from the obsolete Chinese reading of 橙. In Japanese, that character would be read as "tou" or "daidai"; in modern Chinese, "cheng".
 * Rin, being the only other cat character in the series, is often depicted in fanart fighting with Chen.
 * She is one of the few Touhou characters in the Windows series to not have a last name that is specified. (Others being Cirno and Kisume, for example.) However, it can be assumed that her last name is Yakumo.

[edit] Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red

 * Main article: Article and Interview: Chen

Aya investigates an abandoned village inhabited entirely by cats. When she arrives, she finds Chen and cat anarchy. Chen explains that she gathered the cats there in search of a servant to call her own.

By the time Aya returns for an interview, Chen still has not managed to establish a solid leadership role for herself. Aya tells her that she lacks power and that she should reflect on the nature of the relationship between her and her master Ran. She recommends using a mouse (which Chen objects to).

[edit] Perfect Memento in Strict Sense

 * Main article: Perfect Memento: Chen


 * Chen is a Nekomata, a type of ghost cat youkai with long claws and a forked tail.
 * Her appearance and danger to humans are about average among youkai.
 * Chen serves as a shikigami to Ran Yakumo, and becomes much stronger when her master is present.
 * However, she hates water, and splashing her will dispel the shikigami possession, making her resort to physical attacks.
 * She is also very fond of catnip, and will lose the will to fight if some is scattered to distract her.
 * Chen is capable of human speech and can use impressive black arts, but only possesses the intellect of a human child.
 * Her attacks rely on speed and deceptive movement to confuse her opponent.