Where did Sanae come from? What was she doing before she came to Gensokyo? Where did she used to live? These mysteries remain unanswered.
Sanae Kochiya may be a living god who can create miracles, but other than that, she’s just an ordinary girl.

Being a shrine maiden isn’t the same as it once was. Nowadays, girls work part-time as shrine maidens during the New Year holidays. Faith, rituals, traditions, conventions, rules, and culture have all changed and deteriorated as the shrine maiden position stopped being passed on through inheritance. Associations that oversee the administration of shrines and the formation of clubs dedicated to supporting specific shrines have also brought their own changes.
It must be difficult for these young part-time shrine maidens since so many prayers are recklessly and irresponsibly entrusted to them.

In the past, children growing up in the country would yearn to move to the city and participate in all the latest fads. However, youth culture has come to value diversity much more over the years, with each local area developing its own niche subcultures. The prevalence of the internet and the accessibility of smartphones has also had a major impact. We live in an exciting time where culture continues to change and evolve at a frenetic pace.
But how did this make Sanae feel?
She witnessed all her friends and classmates rushing happily ahead into the future, but she was forced to stay back, bound by tradition.

“Lady Kanako, what kind of place is Gensokyo? I can’t wait to see it.”

“Hey, do you remember Sanae?”
“Sanae? Who’s that?”
“You know, that girl who disappeared way back when. It was the talk of the town.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, though I only remembered her recently.”
“So, what about her?”
“I got curious, so I looked her up. It seems even her family has given up looking for her.”
“Huh? I guess they mustn’t have found any clues.”
“Apparently, people go missing fairly often around here.”
“Right… Um, who disappeared again?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten. Umm…”
“Umm what?”
“No, umm, what were we talking about?”
“Huh? Oh, umm… Ah, that’s right! We were talking about where we’re gonna go this weekend.”
No one can ever discover what happened to Sanae. It’s impossible.
That fantasy has faded, subsumed by the mundanity of everyday life.