Summer Monster

"Kogasa Tatara from the summer Gensokyo is a karakasa-obake who loves surprising people. She spends her time feverishly practicing her baseball skills in hopes of winning the Occult Bowl.

""My swings are feeling good again today! I reckon I can even bat bullets!""

But just how much power is stored in her slender arms? Based on the amount of sand being kicked up from her practice swings, a fair amount.

""Oh, but that might be pretty dangerous if I hit a home run!""

Bullet baseball is just another form of bullet battling. Luckily, the baseball-obsessed Kogasa doesn't take herself too seriously, and once again, she was putting on a show."

"As a tsukumogami, the umbrella Kogasa holds is simultaneously a part of her and a tool for both attack and defense. This Gensokyo transformed into a sunken world of eternal summer, with beaches stretching out as far as the eye can see.

Kogasa imbued her umbrella with the properties of a beach parasol in order to block out the scorching sunlight. And, since it's still an umbrella, it does a top-notch job of keeping her dry. As a tool-turned-tsukumogami, Kogasa has used her unique adaptability to adjust to life on the beach.

With the frame of her parasol being made of steel, it's quietly understood that it doubles up as a metal bat. Today, just like every other day, the metallic clunk of her batting practice echoes along the shoreline."

"Kogasa always looks stylish on the beach in her swimsuit, which the children in the village agree has a super cool design. She'd actually requested a baseball uniform from Beach House Kourindou, but being the positive person she is, when she received the swimsuit, she changed into it without a moment's pause and got straight to practicing bullet baseball.

Beach volleyball and splitting watermelons open on the beach were designed to be enjoyed while wearing swimsuits. So, here in the Gensokyo of eternal summer, you could say it's only natural that Kogasa plays bullet baseball dressed in one."

"Kogasa has a knack with children. She enjoys nothing more than inviting them to join her team and then surprising them all with her baseball skills. To that end, she's more than happy to supply them all with gloves and bats. Even across all of Gensokyo, youkai who are this friendly with humans are rare indeed. However, Kogasa's training tips are too vague, and it seems children are dumbfounded by her Tatara-style baseball.

""You gotta swing more like, 'Pewww!' Then you follow that up with a 'Fwaaang.' You don't get it? That's all right. Failure is the mother of all success!"""

"Kogasa is extremely attached to the idea of being a batter. Her parasol bat can be thought of as an extension of her being, or rather, an inseparable part of her. She enjoys nothing more than swinging her bat, which perhaps led to her desire to surprise people with her batting skills.

As a karakasa-obake, Kogasa shares some characteristics with ippon-datara youkai. Ippon-datara's origins are said to reside in gods of blacksmithing, and it's possible that Kogasa has inherited their traditions. Just as you forge a sword by swinging a great hammer and imparting your soul into the blade, Kogasa's batting involves imparting her soul into every swing."