The release of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil in August 2002 marked a shift to Microsoft Windows. 'bullet curtain') mechanics were introduced in the second game, Story of Eastern Wonderland (also 1997). The first five titles were developed for the Japanese NEC PC-9800 computer series, with the first, Highly Responsive to Prayers, released in August 1997 the series' signature danmaku (弾幕, lit. Reimu Hakurei, the miko of the Hakurei Shrine and the main character of the series, is often tasked with resolving supernatural 'incidents' caused in and around Gensokyo. The Touhou Project is set in Gensokyo, a land sealed from the outside world and primarily inhabited by humans and yōkai, legendary creatures from Japanese folklore that are personified in Touhou as bishōjo in an anthropomorphic moe style. ZUN has also produced related print works and music albums, and collaborated with developer Twilight Frontier on six official spin-off Touhou fighting games.
Since 1995, the team's member, Jun'ya 'ZUN' Ōta, has independently developed programming, graphics, writing, and music for the series, self-publishing 18 mainline titles and five spin-offs as of May 2021. The Touhou Project ( Japanese: 東方Project, Hepburn: Tōhō Purojekuto), also known simply as Touhou ( 東方, literally 'Eastern direction'), is a bullet hell shoot 'em up video game series created by one-man independent Japanese doujin soft developer Team Shanghai Alice.
