In Japanese mythology, Takamagahara (高天原, "Plane of High Heaven" or "High Plane of Heaven"), also read as Takaamanohara, Takamanohara, Takaamagahara, or Takaamahara, is the abode of the heavenly gods (amatsukami). Often depicted as located up in the sky, it is believed to be connected to the Earth by the bridge Ame-no-ukihashi (the "Floating Bridge of Heaven").
So, Ten said it was just a term that implies it's a bridge from where a god resides but in mythology, its the bridge that actually connects heaven to earth. The heaven here is where the heavenly gods reside.
If Soh crosses this bridge to earth, she is coming from heaven itself.
However, the writer of Kunitsu-Gami was inspired by many things but said he interpreted things in his own way. This game has its own lore and mythology.
So both might be right.
Heaven in the Kunitsu-Gami world might be the peak of the mountain. It's why we see the sun behind the Goddess. She is at the top of everything.
She is called a kunitsukami because she rules over the mountain.
Soh is the Goddess. Cursed Soh's plaque confirms it.
In the Japanese lore of the Mountain God, it's said that the Mountain God who lives at the top descends as a god of agriculture(rice in particular) and then returns in Autumn. The god is said to have two spiritual personalities and is a god of two things: the mountain and agriculture.
We can then assume that in Kunitsu-Gami, the Mountain Goddess descended as Soh. (Originally nameless)
Keep in mind, the Maiden's ancestors are said to have cultivated the land and made a pact with the Goddess. It's possible they had contact with Soh as Soh's inspiration might be the agriculture Goddess.
The mountain god is also believed by many to be an ancestral spirit who watches over its descendants.
Foxes are considered the Messenger of this god. (it's why Soh is fox-themed)
The shrine maidens who worshiped the god of agriculture are said to fuse with it, becoming worshiped as gods themselves.
Let's put this together in the world of Kunitsu-Gami.
The Goddess descends as Soh. Because she descends, she is a Messenger of her true divine self as she does not possess all her powers. Fox-themed, you can say she's the god of agriculture this way and so is possibly weaker. (Soh always helps bring prosperity back when she 'fixes' the villages through influence)
The Maiden prays to the Goddess and in doing so, becomes her abode but more than that, she fuses with her. This fusion possibly takes place through the course of the game but in the very beginning, who knows how long it took?
When the Maiden's ancestors cultivated the land, a Maiden must have fused with the Goddess(as Soh) back then already. This wasn't the sacrifice yet. The sacrifice occurs when the defilement inevitably happens. The Maiden then offers herself as a sacrifice, gaining the ability to purify the land by absorbing defilement. While she's fused with the Goddess.
When the next Maiden prays, she prays to the spirit stone, the previous Maiden's body who fused with Soh and became the Goddess.
When the Maiden is fully fused with the Goddess/Soh, her body becomes the next spirit stone. This stone wards off all evil and bad spirits. It's why the villagers all seem to have such happy lives in general and why the Seethe get rid off it.
The Goddess then returns to the peak, as the Mountain Goddess.
The Maiden and Soh fuse together. Yoshiro is the name given to the Maiden when she begins to fuse and act as an abode. It's why 'Yoshiro' descends alongside Soh. Because they are 'one', in this way.
This is why she is viewed as a god to humans and a human to gods. Not because she dances the Kagura but because she's fused with the Goddess. This fusion is important for when we look at Cursed Soh.
This is where Yoshiro and Soh return to in the NG ending. It looks like heaven. It's the peak of the mountain, the heavenly world the Mountain Goddess lives in.
When the fusion is complete, Yoshiro is the Goddess, but so is Soh. They meet in 'heaven', where the mask is passed onto Yoshiro, who is now the Goddess. I suspect the union of the Maiden and Goddess is expressed through the ownership and eventual wearing of the mask when she descends.
Yoshiro as the Goddess is very clear in artwork. You can see it in her expression and the halo behind her.
Yoshiro then descends as the Goddess Soh and merges with the next Maiden who is probably from the same lineage. In this way, the Goddess is also an ancestral deity. But she was not one originally. The very first descent was the Goddess only.
I always ask: If Soh is the Goddess, and Yoshiro is channeling her, why do the Seethe attack them? The Seethe are the defiled goddess's underlings.
They will ignore Soh unless she attacks them or gets very close. Festering Seethe will usually go straight for Soh.
Is it because Cursed Soh is the one who sent them?
Cursed Soh is a defiled Goddess because she's the Goddess entangled with impurity brought on by fusing with Maidens absorbing defilement.
Or is it because Soh is the version of the Goddess having descended as a different Goddess? (two spiritual personalities)
Cursed Soh only appears in cycle 8, so cycles before that, Seethe might just be the cause of human impurity.
But now they specifically want to steal and defile Yoshiro because it's Maidens fusing with the Goddess that has caused the Goddess's defilement.
Cursed Soh's Japanese Plaque:
A spirit who rules the mountain from the heavens.
In the past, people ravaged the mountains without permission and were therefore cursed.
When the ancestors of the maiden pioneered the mountains, they made a promise to the Goddess(祇) of the Mountain, the ruler of nature.
The ritual of “cutting off defilement”.
People were allowed to live in the mountain by respectfully worshiping them.
After a long period of time, the image of the god became entangled with the impurities of the people and kept reflecting in the mirror.
/
Over a long period of time, the goddess became entangled with the defilement of the people.
The image of the tangle is reflected in the mirror.
祇 is Kunitskami.
Google translates the last part as:
Ruling from heaven, Cursed Soh is a ghostly being who is an image of the Goddess entangled with the impurities of people.
The 'otherworldly' kanji seems to be read like 'ghostly light'.
She looks this way because she's an image of Yoshiro and Soh fused.
The Maiden, the dumping ground for impurity, merges with the Goddess for 8 cycles. This is the result.
So, the image of the Goddess, due to Soh's fusion, was affected by impurity and reflected thousands of times. I guess it's why she's so strong? And because this is the Mountain Goddess personality, the greater of the two.
I am still trying to understand why it's called 'Phantom Paths'.
Ten's comment is this:
The painting is reminiscent of Ogata Korin's Red and White Plum Blossoms.
Cursed Soh and Soh are separated by darkness, and they lean forward with their faces close together, facing each other with their backs to each other, showing that they are opposing forces.
Since they are about to fight, it is natural for them to face each other and approach each other. The toes and forehead of your dominant foot should be facing your opponent.
A gold flowing water pattern on a black background is at the base of the feet, indicating the final stage, "Foreign Land."
The upper left half of Yoshiro's body is the same color and pattern.
The title refers to a place of fork in the road, like a boundary between this world and the next.
This is a scene where two people who were traveling the same path part ways at a crossroads.
In some areas, the mountain god is considered to be the god of mountain paths, mountain passes, and forks.
Yoshiro's pattern is there because the fusing with Maidens caused this. But she's also the 'foundation' of this version of the Goddess as she has fused many times with Maidens.
Remember how I said that in NG, Yoshiro inherits the mask and becomes the next Soh? And that's why only one half was illuminated? This illumination is the continuation of the cycle.
"Human sin never wanes, no mater how many nights pass. But to walk among the endless shadows is to be human."
I don't know why Yoshiro says this at the first ending.
The sins of the human world are endless, no matter how many nights pass, but it is also the human world that walks with an unbreakable shadow. (Japanese)
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| Beautiful |
Maidens are represented by flowers so it's oddly appropriate to see this is the inspiration.
And the black decorated river here, when looking back at Phantom Paths, gives the impression the impurity all stems from Yoshiro.
In my old long lore post, I mentioned how translating the kanji called the maidens 'apricot blossoms' and it wasn't the translation I should be looking at.
Prunus mume is also referred to by its flowers, as a plum blossom or flowering plum. Although referred to as a plum in English, is classified in the Armeniaca section of the genus Prunus making it an apricot. (X)
So many secrets in the kanji...
But there's a lot to think about now. More things make sense once we consider Goddess fusing with Maidens through worship and the detriments that result from this once the Maiden has to purify the land.
Yet...why does the fusing even happen? Was the the Goddess(as Soh) impressed by the purity and devotion that they fused?
One more thing I'll add here that will be discussed in a future post I'm already writing so there will be some repetition in it(happens often with my posts):
Ten says this has a wedding atmosphere. It possibly resembles a 'wedding room'.
A marriage symbolizes a mental, physical and spiritual union. In Christianity, it's becoming one flesh. A divine union with God is always seen as a 'marriage'. Nuns are seen as married to Christ.
If you marry a god, you merge with them. You house them within your body. They act through you.
I believe this is symbolizing the fusion and becoming of an abode. That is a wedding veil, after all. I've compared Yoshiro to a bride before.
I don't know if there's divine love involved but possibly. Soh is clearly fond of Yoshiro, judging by their interactions in the tent. The symbol of their union is marriage. (I am not talking about human love here)
But is it a new Maiden every time? Or is there reincarnation of the same Maiden but a different body? As in, does the Goddess send the Maiden's spirit down to be reincarnated to fuse with her specifically once again?
Since the mask passes to Yoshiro, probably a new one. And her body replaces Soh's spirit stone...
But it is a romantic notion that the Goddess rewinds time and repeats the cycle because she's fond of a Maiden. Just unlikely as well.
Also, Soh's spirit form is a tamagushi, which hints at her having been fused with a Maiden, a yorishiro.
Some articles I referenced...
Yama-no-Kami (山の神) is the name given to a kami of the mountains of the Shinto religion of Japan. These can be of two different types. The first type is a god of the mountains who is worshipped by hunters, woodcutters, and charcoal burners. The second is a god of agriculture who comes down from the mountains and is worshipped by farmers. This kami is generally considered as a goddess, or a female deity. (X)
Farmers have a belief that in spring , the mountain god descends from the mountains and becomes the god of the rice fields, and then returns to the mountains in autumn . In other words, one god is seen as having two spiritual personalities: mountain god and rice field god. In Japan, not just farmers, there is a belief that the dead go to the eternal world in the mountains and become ancestral spirits to watch over their descendants, and the prevailing theory is that for farmers, the mountain god is actually an ancestral spirit .
Yoshiro's plaque says her ancestors cultivated the land. I believe this is Soh's first appearance.
Regarding this, Kunio Yanagita has suggested that the shrine maidens who worshiped the spirit of rice became fused with the god and were worshiped, and that this is why the agricultural deity came to be thought of as a goddess. (X)
I intend to build on this. After reading interviews to understand what the director was influenced by, it all began making sense.
The Japanese folklorist Kunio Yanagita wrote a book on the Okinawa region, which is where the '7 generations to become a god' thing supposedly originated from. So I believe this is why it was 7 maidens and why Soh, after 7 generations, possibly ascended to more than a kunitsukami.
Lots to digest...