Not to pull a “place, Japan”, but street art is pretty rare in Japan. Graffiti tends to be dismissed as disrespectful (not to mention illegal) before there can be any discussion of artistic merit, and strictly enforced rules means there’s simply a lot less of it compared to many other places in the world. That could also be why the rare instances of it stand out so much, especially when a series of murals dedicated to a cult game character suddenly start popping up on the public walls of major cities.
Recently, otaku all over Japan have been stumped by the emergence of a “Touhou Banksy.” At what seems to be a pretty impressive pace, the anonymous artist (or artists, we can’t say for sure) has been creating street art dedicated exclusively to Touhou Project’s popular enemy character Koishi Komeiji.
In recent months, sightings of the Koishi graffiti throughout Japan’s Osaka and Nara prefectures have been increasing, and while the artist has been criticized for vandalizing public spaces, people also can’t help but appreciate their work, which happens to use a cute style reminiscent of Fumo plush toys. Some fans of the shoot ’em up franchise on X have even taken to going on “Koishi hunts” to look for and view the artwork in person.
Most impressive of all is Japanese blogger Seinchu, who created a masterpost documenting the numerous Koishis and detailed instructions on how they can be found. Seinchu speculates that the artist became active in 2025, as their work can’t be spotted on Google Maps snapshots from December 2024. As of January 2026, they had identified 14 Koishi murals, and then found an additional 4 by March 5.
Some of them are quite audacious, with the biggest and most famous Koishi being nearly 3 meters tall, located in Osaka City itself (near Tōbu-shijō-mae station). Others can be found in tricky locations like tunnels and narrow roads without pedestrian access, suggesting the graffitist is quite experienced. It goes without saying, but they don’t hesitate to draw their best girl right next to a “No Graffiti” sign either.
Seinchu also identifies two dominant styles of Koishi murals, one being a monochrome “mass-produced” style, and the other a rarer, colored style. While some people have disputed whether the character is really Koishi Komeiji (due to her iconic sealed third eye not being depicted), the colored murals seem to leave very little room for other possibilities given the green color palette. As of yet, no one has stepped up to claim credit for the Koishification of Japanese public property.
