One of the few youkais living within Gensokyo's Forest of Magic, Toyo is a known hatmaker to humans and youkais alike, lesser known as a Hihi. She spends most of her days invested in all kinds of new hobbies, meddling with humans and fairies, or simply idling to music as her curio collection surrounds her at home.

Toyo is a person who smiles by default, so others assume she's approachable. She tends to reciprocate the energy she gets from others, like a calm friendly manner, or mirroring a spiteful attitude when she's greeted that way. Her facial honesty overall makes others envy her carefree personality. She's incredibly disorganized, forgetting the days, years, things she should remember. Her home is messy until she is told to clean it, she'll forget deadlines, and forget to hang out with friends. It's a bad habit of hers, which makes her seem rude, but she'll still act friendly at the next meeting and apologize if it's recalled. As uplifting as laughter can be, Toyo has a loud and obnoxious laugh, unable to hold back even when the timing is incredibly insensitive. Sometimes it's just a matter of nervous laughter, a very funny joke being heard, or that she doesn't care in the moment. This is why she doesn't have neighbors.

Long ago, Toyo was once a nameless Golden monkey that passed away in Shaanxi, China, reborn into a Hihi in an unfamiliar world named Gensokyo. Appearing as a young girl, she was raised by a group of Youkai within an uncharted area of the land, an area humans were already dissuaded from venturing to. From within, Toyo was told that those outside were dangerous, untrustworthy, to confide in those around her, those of like kind. As a child, she recalls being fed small doses of poison to build tolerances, to prepare herself for a world that would be unkind to her. Looking back, it’s ironic how quiet and reserved she was for a Hihi, but at the time she didn’t know what kind of Youkai she was if those around her didn’t know either, all together through the fact that they didn’t fully pass as human. When she was a young adolescent, Toyo still left her family to see what lied beyond their forest. Everything was too bright, danmaku was bright, but things that shone had always caught her eye. Looking up from the forests where she was raised, it was the dappled sunlight, the faint glint of stars that piqued her interest. To see it all unfiltered, Toyo felt herself becoming indulgent, venturing further into Gensokyo.

She’d run into humans, skittish, fragile beings that extended a hand until they could see her tail. Then Youkai, who’d also lend a hand and offer lodging until she could get her own footing. Staying with a kappa, the tall Youkai mountain was the next place she wanted to look into, running into a kawa tengu whose work she interrupted. The tengu, Marmoris, saw the young Youkai and offered to teach her to read and write. Joining her for some time, Toyo did hop between different tengu lodgings as she acquainted herself, still most grateful towards Marmoris, but she eventually left Youkai mountain as this wasn’t exactly the lifestyle she could settle into. She didn’t mind delving into others’ lives, but wasn’t used to being asked about hers, topics she didn’t think of fondly. Setting those limits made others find her mysterious, withdrawn behind her now frequent laughter.

Looking for a change of pace, Toyo became a seamstress in the human village, posing as a human even if other Youkai could figure her out from a glance. She learned to sew and create apparel, but headwear seemed to be what she was best at. As much as she liked the brightness of her surroundings, her dark clothing and hair bothered her in the sunlight, so she tried to make herself a hat. Finding it more simple than making clothing, she chose to leave the human village and settle in the Forest of Magic to indulge in her craft. Something about the secluded forest felt like home to her, felt magical, and even her neighbors were interesting enough; an ordinary witch who Toyo taught which mushrooms not to eat, and a doll maker that could teach Toyo how to detail her creations further.

Officially working as a hat maker, Toyo relied on referrals to grow a steady clientele over the years, a small mix of humans, and a hefty number of Youkai who adored flashy accessories. It became a way for Toyo to meet others and learn from them, to see interesting faces while at home, and the Youkai tended to be more patient with her. Forgetful to a fault, Toyo took too much time to make her hats, but other Youkai had time to kill in their long lives, they could wait. Humans were more punctual, but it was because they did have less time, Toyo understood that. In the perspective of Youkai lives, she hadn’t even reached one hundred, 50, 30… she was still considered very young. Marmoris was far above her years, wise in some areas, but Toyo had far more street smarts than her. Even then, she confided in Marmoris like an older sister, likewise looked up to by the younger Youkai she comes across in the future too.

When the Tengu commissions a particularly pricy hat from Toyo, one with the intention that her body language gives away, Toyo knows it’s a gift to someone dear. Meeting the Youkai, Kemu, who wears the hat eventually, Toyo becomes acquainted with her and Mija. They don’t all gather frequently unless there’s festivals and large gatherings, but it’s appreciated to see others who can smile at the sight of her. At least since meeting the right people, she’s been able to learn more about herself as a Hihi, to recall details of her past life in Shaanxi’s forests through the abilities of certain Youkai. She’s well aware she can’t easily go back to the modern world, that Gensokyo is a world of its own, but it’s become special enough that she wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

"Marmorin~! What a surprise to see you, it's been a while. Oh? My, my, don't you look happy about something, hihihihi! Tell me alllll the details." Two Youkai girls who don't look so different in age, yet Marmoris has known Toyo since she was a child, so Toyo is something like a little sister or best friend. Marmoris was already an adult then, a younger one, so there was still a lot of embarrassing phases and such that Toyo could equally laugh about over the years. They've run through all kinds of topics, morals, opinions, likeminded with no sense of privacy or filter. Even if they seem to be bickering, they always end conversations with laughs and good sake. Toyo can easily be worried over though, since she doesn't tell others if she's ever unhappy; it's rare but something a longtime friend like Marmoris can see the sublety of at least.

"Miss Kemu, how lovely you look! Oh, I'm not just saying that because of your hat. Did Marmoris tell you I made it by hand? Well, aside from the care I put into the handiwork, I'm sure Marmoris' feelings are present as well. My, look how she's blushing already. Hihihi!" Kemu is a new friend introduced through Marmoris, but Toyo could already learn a lot of her capabilities just by how Marmoris spoke of her, not to mention the expressions that'd show during those conversations, very unlike her. Toyo finds her sweet and somewhat shy, but she won't tease her; rather, she'll embarrass Marmoris around her sparingly. In that regard, Toyo seems like a partner's mother telling all the secrets and stories that one would prefer not to share.

"What a cute, little doll! Miss Kemu tells me you like cats, do you have one? Really, really? What's their name? Miso, is it now? Oh, What a wonderful name you've chosen!" Mija is mainly an acquaintance, only really seen at bigger gatherings like festivals and flower viewings, so she typically sees Mija all dressed up. Toyo will at least take her to food stalls and play games while Marmoris and Kemu have some alone time, but Toyo's mysteriousness can be a bit intimidating to a child that usually reads atmospheres well. Overall they have fun at the festivals and Kemu always finds Mija asleep on Toyo's back when they reunite at the end of the night.