These are brief thoughts adjacent to Kunitsu-Gami so you may skip it if you like.
Whether something is masculine or feminine depends entirely on the perceiver.
A Youtube comment mentioned Soh being a masculine woman and I'd argue she's maternal, as they are quite the same thing.
Providing and protecting is the mother's job in nature for quite a few animals. Or it's a joint duty the male and female share.
The maternal aspect fits even more when you consider Yoshiro is possibly her descendant. There's also the Goddess aspect and how we sometimes consider such a deity as a 'mother'.
Women are said to 'let themselves go/become more masculine' after having a child and the implication is they dress comfortably and don't have much time to adorn themselves. Their priority becomes their child.
Dressing comfortably or practically being equated with masculinity is a common idea.
On the opposite end, fragility, impracticality and 'beautiful' is feminine, as we see in Yoshiro's design. Her naked body is visible in certain angles and her feet are bare. Her outfit, by all means, is not practical.
(Of course, Soh's beautiful armor is very feminine and shows traces of her feminine figure yet many thought she was male. She's also considered 'masculine')
In order for such beautiful fragility to survive, it must be protected and guarded.
There's an emergence of this in the online scene, isn't there? Something about a 'soft life' and providing a woman a life where she's able to be 'feminine'. That is, her mate must provide a safe environment for her to be allowed to be fragile. Valuable things are often fragile. (Or perceived as such.)
...A pearl is embraced by an oyster. The oyster creates the pearl. Treasure belongs in a treasure chest or is guarded by a dragon. It's sought out by thieves, adventurers and pirates. (and Seethe, in the game's case) It's always guarded because it's always sought after.
Valuables are always guarded by default...
If you guard something, does it instinctively seek to become more valuable? Or does it become valuable automatically? (by virtue of being protected?)
What I mean is...if you guarded someone, would they find such value in themselves that they will become a valuable thing? If you personally give value to something, does it change? Or rather, does it change itself because of you?
Or is it like they say, to be loved is to be changed?
Then loving, too, must produce a change.
