Forces but I'm cursed | Kunitsu-Gami GMV

A vanity project. The second Forces video I made. 

The third and final one I have yet to upload was delayed in hopes new game footage would come.
But there has been nothing new...so I suppose I will finish it. It was the first one I made! So it might be odd that it's posted last...

My other Forces video and the third one of three I finished: Forces

Youtube created this one for me. 

Why does it look so good...? I might use it on the A/B test. Although I still prefer the one I made...

Then there's this next one which is...cursed beyond all reason.

Why...? Who is this man? Why is Yoshiro's kimono open?

Mirrors: shards and spirit.

'as if reflected in a mirror countless times'

When Yoshiro dances on the spirit path, the bits of Goddess power are shards of a special mirror. 

You can see her reflection in the pieces.

But they don't reflect all surrounding areas.

It seems they only reflect her and some kaleidoscope imagery?

But I am on PS4 and many many subtle details can't be seen on the console.

The Goddess power is heavily related to mirrors, with Soh's physical form shattering like a mirror and the Goddess Emblem in the main shrine likely being a mirror:

Soh shattering

shrine mirror in the otherworld

I also suspect the little jewels on all masks(and Yoshiro's crown) are mirrors that hold parts of the Goddess's power, allowing Soh to control and guide them. They 'move' the way the shrine mirror does:

Could the Goddess's spirit be in the large mirror in the shrine?  It's very Amaterasu and her scared mirror:

"Serve this mirror as my soul, just as you would serve me, with clean mind and body."

Soh can rewind time in the mirror-like otherworld(the water is the mirror):

Cursed Soh emerges from the water below, the water reflective like a mirror. 

When Yoshiro is defiled, there is an outline of the mirror when you can retry:

The file name says it's a mirror.

From wikipedia:

A Shinto mirror (神鏡, Shinkyou) is a sacred mirror in Shinto. Some mirrors are enshrined in the main hall of a shrine as a sacred object of the divine spirit, or are placed in front of the deity in a hall of worship.

Cursed Soh emerges from the water below, which is reflective like a mirror. 

This Mazo Talisman is clearly depicting Amaterasu, isn't it? Why is she the one holding us up to protect us from toxic damage?

Why do we not see more depictions of the Mountain Goddess? Instead, Yoshiro is seen as the Goddess and the defilement shows many images of Buddhas.

I wrote this post before Cursed Soh's commentary was revealed.

Are Yoshiro and Soh the mirror?

Tenko's Sacrifice: Benzaiten

 A discovery made while researching Goddesses!

Tenko's Sacrifice

Tenko is not a woman, it's a heavenly fox. That's what I thought this tsuba guard referenced.

Depicted is Benzaiten, considered to be a manifestation of Amaterasu.

Soh is sacrificing herself when she uses this tsuba guard. She's 'tenko'.

We also receive Tenko's Sacrifice in it the Narusawa Wind Caves, where the Maiden is sacrificed.

However, in Japanese, it's only called Tenko(天后 ). Which means Queen of Heaven. This is a title for Amaterasu! It does not use the kanji for fox.

后 (kō): Means empress or queen
狐 (kō / kitsune): Means fox.

This title 'Tianhou' is for the Chinese Goddess Mazu. But it's also what Amaterasu is referred to many times. (Mazu is also depicted as wearing red, just like in the tsuba guard)

There's strange translation differences between English and Japanese. The English team were given different information because it's impossible for these to be 'translations' when the Japanese name does not contain the same information as the translation.

There's a few mazo talismans that were translated very differently as well. Why rename them and lose the meaning and implication of the talisman?

Anyway, still working on my Goddess post. I have a lot to read!

Self-Referencing: Yoshiro & Soh are the Goddess.

An otherworldly being that governs the people of the mountain from the heavens.

Soh is a messenger of the Mountain Goddess who guides and governs the world of chaos alongside Yoshiro. The two descended into the human world

The Japanese kanji doesn't use the word meaning to descend from heaven( 降臨:kourin) but it's obvious that it means heaven because this plaque matches Cursed Soh's plaque.
(old post on this: The statue of the Goddess + a Divine Heir)

The two are the descended Goddess.

Korin(光輪) is what Cursed Soh's wheel is called in the official merchandise. It's a homonym.

Kouhai(光背) is what it's called in the files. A Buddha/Bodhisattva halo, specifically.

It's likely Shingon Buddism. 

Yoshiro is a Buddha and is synonymous with the Goddess hence why she walks the Path of the Goddess.

To further elaborate on this descent, the halo is the Goddess emblem which we see when Yoshiro and Soh purify the gate:

Yoshiro's vocals('ooooooo') during the kagura could be the sound a priest makes during a ritual to signal the God is descending. We see this symbol during the ritual. The 'korin'. The Goddess descending: Yoshiro and Soh purifying.

As Yoshiro crystallizes, her vocals disappear from the purification music. Because she becomes the Goddess, there's no need for her to declare the Goddess is descending. She is already here now, almost ready to be enshrined.

(will update with the youtube video showing the music differences)

This phase is where she is likely already the Goddess because she's able to affect Cursed Soh. We also receive 'Birth of a Goddess' when she reaches this stage of petrification.

We see Birth of a Goddess at the true ending, too.

Birth of a Goddess

When she begins her petrification, it's at the place where the Goddess is said to have descended: Kamukura Shrine(神座神社かむくらじんじゃ). 

Kamukura. A place where a divine spirit resides.

Kagura (神楽かぐら, "god-entertainment") is a type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase kami no kura ("seat of god"), indicating the presence of gods (kami) in the practice.

Yoshiro is a Kagura maiden. A literal vessel for the Goddess. The divine body of the Goddess must be replaced periodically.

The pact: a Maiden needs to become a vessel for the Goddess, her body used as a katashiro to cleanse the mountain.

But why say Yoshiro descends from heaven? Possibly because 'Yoshiro' is the nigitama of the Goddess.

The Maiden and 'Yoshiro' are different. Otherwise why not simply use her name each time she is referenced? Once she becomes the chosen Maiden and embodies the benevolent side of the Goddess, she is called Yoshiro.

Her plaque is strange though. Why would she worship the ancestral deities? It would fit to call her 'The Maiden' so I don't quite understand. Unless we're meant to acknowledge she is the final Yoshiro and now has that name?

Soh is a wakemitama/bunrei/divided spirit of the Goddess.(So she is the Goddess) Likely the Aramitama, but that is also Cursed Soh. 

Soh's plaque contains information about Yoshiro and bind the two together.

Cursed Soh's commentary never addresses the resemblance to Yoshiro. Instead, it only speaks of capturing Soh's likeness in reverse because Cursed Soh is a mirror. Her clothes are meant to be 'white ritual robes where light is trapped within, reflecting forever in the mirror'

Shintais are often mirrors. The mirror that the Goddess is trapped in is the body of a Maiden which also houses the impurity?

Yoshiro has a bronze mirror on her with 24 circles. A shrine maiden's garb is white and red. And of course, there's this anomaly:

May I add that in old posts(A perspective on artwork of the Maiden and Messenger, The Maiden in the artwork and Soh's face), I suggested that when we look upon Yoshiro's face, we're meant to be looking at Soh's face as well.

why are her eyes so much darker?

The artbook proves I was right but it wasn't implemented. Or it's better to say Yoshiro's face was changed.

In the normal ending. Yoshiro ascends to Godhood, becoming the Goddess, and meets Soh, her messenger/divided spirit/self who then disappears.

In the true ending, Yoshiro is spared from this fate and remains on earth. The pact is broken and we have eternal sunlight.

Question is...how was it broken? Soh reabsorbed all her trapped power but why did she break the pact? To prevent the same outcome? But what about the impurity?

Human sin never wanes no matter how many nights pass, but to walk among the endless shadows is to be human.

人の世の罪は、幾夜いくよを経て尽つきせぬものなれど断ち切れぬ陰かげと共に歩むもまた人の世か……

Normal ending dialogue. Hinting at the acceptance of impurity in life? 

畏哭いこくis Seethe in Japanese. Ikoku. Wailing and lamenting. Very different to the word 'Seethe'. To face sorrow is part of life. Could that also be the meaning here?

 The true ending: 

And so concludes the battle fought across generations.The tale lives on for the telling, to be celebrated as a ceremony for ages to come.

 幾度いくどもの世代せだいを繰くり返した戦いはこれにてお仕舞しまい物語は風習となり語り継つがれ祭祀さいしとして後世へと続いて行く.

Yoshiro's name is read as 'generations' here. Many Yoshiros have passed. 7 in total. 

Cursed for 7 generations. 

Is the Goddess inspired by Inari? Or perhaps a mixture of Inari and Konohanasakuya-hime?

Is it a Dakiniten /Inari situation? The Dakini, after being purified by the Buddhist counterpart of Amaterasu(Dainichi Nyorai), became the deity Dakiniten.

Dakiniten is said to be a manifestation of Amaterasu, likely the result of this purification.

Inari is a Kunitsukami. Amatersu is an Amatsukami. The lines between these two categories eventually disappeared through worship, according to Kunio Yanagita in his 'Mountain Lives':

The Jingiryō of the legal codes preserves the names heavenly gods and earthly gods; down to the time of Wamyōshō, the earthly gods were read as kunitsu-kami or kunitsu-yashiro. But these two alike were to be worshiped by the Jingikan according to the regular rites, and by the Nara period the spiritual lives of the old and new peoples may be recognized as having fused without remaining trace. The register of deity names in the Engishiki, while including many gods clearly known from their names—such as kunitama and kōritama—to belong to the gods of the land, no longer even preserved the distinction between heavenly gods and earthly gods.

Kunitsuyashiro (国津社 or 国つ社).

A little on 'kunitsu-kami' from the book:

It is transmitted that when the ancestors of our great sovereign first arrived on these islands, there were already many earlier inhabitants in the land. In the ancient records, these are named kunitsu-kami, “gods of the land.” 

This is about actual people however so it's not helpful. But it did remind me of the Maiden's ancestors cultivating the land and making a promise to the Goddess. 

Could the Goddess actually have once been a local woman? ...

(I guess not since there's magic and Seethe.) 

But...

"...people and gods, gods and Seethe, and misfortune and fortune are two sides of the same coin." according to Capcom.

There is another Goddess that appears very important: Seoritsuhime, the mysterious Goddess of purification. Said to be the aramitama of Amaterasu and her consort when Amaterasu is male.

Chozuya that feature dragon ornaments such as this are  referencing Seoritsuhime. Dragons and purifying spring water from mountains are her symbols.

Perhaps I have it wrong on the 'mitama'.

Soh & Yoshiro are the nigitama of Amaterasu.

Cursed Soh is the aramitama of Amaterasu, the Goddess of Purification Seoritsuhime.

There are a few Goddesses that could have served as inspiration. I'll touch on them in the next post.

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 27: Kagokaburi(籠かごかぶり)

■第27回　何だこいつは！？ラッキーボーナスだよ、かごかぶり
籠、箱から手足が生えている、ネタキャラ。実は仏法僧を運ぶ畏哭としてデザインしていました。
この箱の中に巨人の仏法僧が入っている的な。色々あって目先の金に釣られて現場を疎かにする状況を作りたいという、… pic.twitter.com/4AZZmsnh72

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) July 15, 2026

■第27回　何だこいつは！？ラッキーボーナスだよ、かごかぶり

籠、箱から手足が生えている、ネタキャラ。実は仏法僧を運ぶ畏哭としてデザインしていました。

この箱の中に巨人の仏法僧が入っている的な。色々あって目先の金に釣られて現場を疎かにする状況を作りたいという、

意地悪な発想から、お宝放出畏哭となりました。本当に箱から手足が生えている位に考えていた所、

モデリングの際に構造が具体化され、それを見てなるほどな…と感心しました。

異界遷宮ではプレイヤーにとっては強力な助っ人でもあります！

■27th Round: What the Heck Is This!? Lucky Bonus, It's the Basket-Headed One  

A comedic character with arms and legs sprouting from a basket or box. Actually, it was designed as a fearsome entity for transporting the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.  

The idea was something like a giant Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha crammed inside this box. From a mischievous concept of creating a situation where, due to various circumstances, one gets tempted by immediate gains and neglects the site at hand,  

it became the Treasure-Releasing Fearsome Entity. I had envisioned it to the extent of arms and legs literally growing out of the box,  

but during modeling, the structure became more concrete, and seeing that, I was genuinely impressed, like, "Ah, I see..."  

In the Otherworldly Migration Palace, it's also a powerful ally for the player!

Plaque Lore:

ある村に、たいそう金持ちな屋敷やしきがあった。屋敷やしきで働くも精が出ない男がたまたま、屋敷やしきの主の隠かくし財産の話を聞いてしまう。つい魔まが差した男は籠かごを盗ぬすんでしまうが、屋敷やしきの用人に見つかり討伐とうばつされてしまったという。その亡骸なきがらは籠かごから手と足が生えた不思議で不気味な姿をしていたと記されている。

There once was a village with a mansion full of riches. One day, a boy of lowly birth employed there heard rumors of the lord owner's secret stash of treasures. Struck with greed, the boy attempted to run off with a basket of riches, but was quickly caught by the other servants and executed. It is written that the basket clutched by the corpse of the young boy became shrouded in an ominous aura as it sprouted arms and legs.

Such an adorable thing! He carried me in the DLC. 

The commentary on greed is accurate. I died many times in the DLC because I rush to grab this box-boy and then get one-shot smacked by a gaki as I'm charging up.

The google translation says 'A man who worked at the mansion but lacked motivation happened to overhear the owner of the mansion talking about his hidden fortune.'
So I wonder if he heard rumors or overheard some things...

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 26: Yatsukahagi(やつかはぎ)

■第26回　最高峰に厄介な畏哭はやつかはぎ
機能としては、自らはあまり戦わず、ザコを召喚してくるボス。
悪徳でズルい感じの奴が偉そうにして居座り、高つ鳥の災のイメージで何処か鳥っぽさを感じさせつつ、纏まっていきました。… pic.twitter.com/RvvWcjBGUq

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) July 13, 2026

■第26回　最高峰に厄介な畏哭はやつかはぎ

機能としては、自らはあまり戦わず、ザコを召喚してくるボス。

悪徳でズルい感じの奴が偉そうにして居座り、高つ鳥の災のイメージで何処か鳥っぽさを感じさせつつ、纏まっていきました。

聞き取れそうで何言っているのか分からないけど、SEもハマったのではないでしょうか。

この畏哭もフットロックによって８本脚という複雑な移動を解決して貰う事が出来ました。今作のデザインが活きているのも技術のおかげと感じます。

■26th Round: The Most Troublesome Peak - The Fearful Cry of Yatsukahagi

In terms of function, it's a boss that doesn't fight much on its own, but summons minions.

It has a wicked, sly vibe, lording it over everyone with an air of arrogance, and we wrapped it up with an image of the calamity of the high-flying bird, giving it a subtle bird-like feel somewhere.

It sounds almost intelligible but you can't quite make out what it's saying—don't you think the sound effects fit perfectly?

This Fearful Cry also benefited from Footlock to resolve the complexity of its eight legs for movement. I feel like the design of this game really comes alive thanks to the technology.

Plaque Lore:

その昔、山裾宿やますそじゅくに住む怪僧かいそうがいた。この僧そう、生き物を共食いさせ生き残った方を呪術じゅじゅつに用いていた。呪のろいの言葉と共に己が居るべき真の居場所を求め、夜な夜な路地を出歩き、異界の門を探し回ったという。そんな僧そうを人々は不気味に思いつつも、相手にしなかった。それから暫しばらくして、その町では恐おそろしい笑い声が度々聞こえると共に、路地には異界の門が開き、神隠かみかくしなども頻繁ひんぱんに起こったとされる。蜘蛛くものように見えることもあれば、時には猛禽もうきん類のように上空を飛行し、その笑い声の雨を降らしては村人たちに恐怖きょうふを与あたえたという。

There once was a monk that lived in Yamasuso Lodging. He would pit living creatures against each other, using the last survivor for his dark magic. Night after night, he went outside with his cursed words to find the gate to the other world and return to his true home. The villagers kept their distance from the unsettling man, but their neglect soon led to disaster. Crazed laughter rang throughout the streets and the villagers began to mysteriously vanish as gates to the other world opened. The monster may appear as a terrifying spider or like a raptor that surveys its prey from above, cackling as it rains terror upon the village.

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 25: Noderabo(野寺坊のでらぼう)

■第25回　畏哭は出落ち、いやいや個性です。野寺坊
プランナーから大餓鬼の上位版が欲しいと話があり、前面が無敵が良いです！と。という事は後ろは弱点になる。
古のギャグマンガを連想してしまうも、これは大真面目に作るぞと。… pic.twitter.com/0wKkBMwjQx

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) July 10, 2026

■第25回　畏哭は出落ち、いやいや個性です。野寺坊

プランナーから大餓鬼の上位版が欲しいと話があり、前面が無敵が良いです！と。という事は後ろは弱点になる。

古のギャグマンガを連想してしまうも、これは大真面目に作るぞと。

出て来た時に姿は見えなくても音で存在が分かる様にプレイヤーにはプレッシャーをかけないといけません。

ああ、あいつが来たな、と。という事で、防御も兼ねて鐘を被らせれば万事解決だ！となりました。

■The 25th: The Fearful Cry is a letdown, no, it's a personality trait. Yatera-bo  

The planner mentioned wanting an upgraded version of the Great Hungry Ghost, and they said it'd be great if the front was invincible! Which means the back would be the weak point.  

It reminds me of old gag manga, but no, we're making this dead seriously.  

When it appears, even if its form isn't visible, the players need to sense its presence through sound so it doesn't pressure them too much.  

Ah, that guy's coming, you know. So, to handle that, we decided to have it wear a bell for defense too, and that solves everything!

Plaque Lore:

寺の鐘かねを突つくと決まって大量の蛙かえるが寄ってくる。その様子を見て楽しんでいた坊主ぼうずがいた。ある時、傷を負った落ち武者が寺に迷い込こんだ。 追手が来るも咄嗟とっさに坊主ぼうずは嘘うそをつき落ち武者を匿かくまったがその嘘うそがばれてしまい、切り殺されてしまう。坊主ぼうずの亡骸なきがらの周りには蛙かえるたちが寄り添そい、助かった落ち武者は自らの鎧よろいを坊主ぼうずに着せ供養したという。

There once was a priest who enjoyed ringing the temple bell to lure in a colony of frogs. One day, a wounded warrior came to the temple with his pursuers in tow. The priest tried to hide the defeated warrior, but his lies were seen through and he was cut down. Frogs gathered around the fallen priest's form, and the rescued warrior shrouded him in his own armor.

Frogs are on him in the artwork! Too bad none come when he rings his bell.

This story is quite touching...