Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 20: Bupposo(仏法僧ぶっぽうそう)

■第20回　冷静に見て！ふんどし姿なのに何故か人気（開発内）！仏法僧
これはノリノリに作ってしまいました。日本に来ちゃった異国印象の畏哭の剣士的なイメージです。
鞍馬天狗的なイメージで顔のお面を作り、お面に乗っ取られてしまったら！？として、この姿にまとめています。… pic.twitter.com/GElsb97UcE

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) June 29, 2026

■第20回　冷静に見て！ふんどし姿なのに何故か人気（開発内）！仏法僧

これはノリノリに作ってしまいました。日本に来ちゃった異国印象の畏哭の剣士的なイメージです。

鞍馬天狗的なイメージで顔のお面を作り、お面に乗っ取られてしまったら！？として、この姿にまとめています。

当初はウェーブ中に出てくる事を考えて居たので、村人を乗っ取って姿が変わる等も考えたりもしましたが、

大ボスとして改めて考え、ちっこいオブジェから出て来たら面白いだろうと思って演出しました。

アニメーションもノリノリで仕上げてくれたのでカッコよくなりました！でも、ふんどしにお面姿です！！

■Round 20: Look at it calmly! Somehow popular despite the loincloth look (internal development)! Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

I went all out making this one. It's got that foreign, intimidating swordsman vibe that's come to Japan.

I went with a Tengu-from-Mount-Kurama kind of image and made a face mask for it—what if it gets taken over by the mask!? And that's how I settled on this design.

Originally, I was thinking of having it appear during the wave events, so I even considered ideas like it possessing a villager and changing their appearance,

But then I rethought it as a major boss, and figured it'd be fun to have it emerge from a small object, so I added that as a performance element.

The animation team delivered it with full enthusiasm too, so it turned out super cool! But hey, it's a loincloth-and-mask getup!!

Plaque Lore:

その昔、全身にあざや瘤こぶのようなものがあり、異様に大きく手足の長い者がいた。刀を振ふれば岩をも易々と斬きり、人とは思えないほどだったという。戦場にて主を失い行く当てもなく、落人おちうどとして村に流れ着くがその異様さ故に恐おそれられた。しばらくして墓場で消息を断つも後にはとても小さな達磨だるまのような物が置かれていたという。墓場のある森ではブッポウソウがよく鳴くことから村人はその達磨だるまを「仏法僧ぶっぽうそう」と名づけ、御神木ごしんぼくに祀まつった。

Long ago, there lived a man with elongated limbs and a body swathed in bruises and boils. He wielded his sword effortlessly, slicing through even stone with an inhuman strength. The man lost his master on the battlefield, and with no home to return to, found his way to a village. But his strangeness frightened the villagers, and he disappeared one night from the graveyard, leaving behind nothing but a small Daruma-shaped doll. The villagers named it after the birds known as Bupposo, whose frequent cries could be heard from the forest, and enshrined it within a sacred tree.

The knees are inward again but the body is obviously male. 

(maybe they're using female and male references to create androgyny in the Seethe? Or maybe I'm mistaken about the knees?)

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 19: Shiniku Zamurai(屍肉侍しにくざむらい)

■第19回　見た目の衝撃と機能と屍肉侍
刀を使う敵って魅力ありますよね。ゲーム視点は引き気味なので、鞘から抜いても多分、分からないな、如何しようかな。
開発初期にミーティングで体に刺さった刀を抜いて戦う案があった事を思い出し、それを人体でいう所の頭集約。… pic.twitter.com/PJ7nRWsIhm

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) June 26, 2026

■第19回　見た目の衝撃と機能と屍肉侍

刀を使う敵って魅力ありますよね。ゲーム視点は引き気味なので、鞘から抜いても多分、分からないな、如何しようかな。

開発初期にミーティングで体に刺さった刀を抜いて戦う案があった事を思い出し、それを人体でいう所の頭集約。

身体は全体的に抽象化した印象にして、色々な角度や切り取り方で顔に見える様にデザインしています。

複数体での連携した動きは割と厄介。SEに関しても色々とお願いして困らせた気もしなくは無いですが、

総合的にインパクトが出たので気に入ってます。皆さんの協力ありがとう！

■19th Round: The Shock of Appearance, Functionality, and the Corpse Meat Samurai

Enemies who use swords have a certain charm, don't they? From a game perspective, it's a bit reserved, so even when drawn from the scabbard, it's probably hard to tell—hmm, what to do.

I recalled that during an early development meeting, there was an idea about pulling out a sword stabbed into the body and fighting with it, so I consolidated that into what would be the head area in human terms.

I've designed the body to give an overall abstracted impression, so that it looks like a face from various angles or cropping methods.

Coordinated movements by multiple units are fairly troublesome. As for the sound effects, I feel like I made a bunch of requests and might have caused some trouble,

But overall, it turned out impactful, so I'm quite fond of it. Thank you all for your cooperation!

Plaque Lore:

合戦の中、敵味方関係なく人を襲おそい刀を振ふるった侍さむらいがいた。ある夜、寝込ねこみを襲おそわれたことで命を落とす。 その亡骸なきがらは無数の顔が集まった見た目をしており、どこが本当の顔か分からなかったと言われている。いつの頃ころからか、夜な夜な戦いを求める侍さむらいが山中に現れ、頭部に刺ささった刀を引き抜ぬき、斬きりかかってくると伝えられる。

There once was a samurai who swung his sword at all those in his path, regardless of friend or foe. His life came to an end one night when he was taken down in his sleep. Legend says the corpse left behind was merely a collection of faces, with no way to tell which one was the true face of the samurai. Even in death the samurai's lust for blood is unyielding, and it can be found roaming the mountains at night, a sword pulled from its own head in hand.

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 18: Nurikabe(塗壁ぬりかべ)

■第18回　驚異で最高の出落ち、塗り壁！？
塗り壁…難しい、とても難しい。動き遅くなるだろうし、大きさにも限界あるしどうにかならんもんかと。
ミーティングの最中に「像が真っ二つに割れて広がって壁になる」というアイデアが出て来た瞬間完成。… pic.twitter.com/r1x0gnRaE2

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) June 24, 2026

■第18回　驚異で最高の出落ち、塗り壁！？

塗り壁…難しい、とても難しい。動き遅くなるだろうし、大きさにも限界あるしどうにかならんもんかと。

ミーティングの最中に「像が真っ二つに割れて広がって壁になる」というアイデアが出て来た瞬間完成。

道の広さは引き具合で制御対応可、速度は一定で近づく恐ろしさ、大事なのは何よりも見た目とギミックのインパクトですね。

像は具体的な見た目にするのは心苦しいので、それっぽい偶像をデザイン。中の畏哭はデカい顔で平べったい身体が入っていて、

広がるとそれを坂に敵が昇ってくると伝え、後は担当者の情熱で仕上げて貰いました。色んな解釈の塗り壁が居ても良いんじゃなのかな…

唯の像がまっすぐ動くだけという事でアニメーターの方もビックリしていました。

■18th Round: The Ultimate Drop Comedy with Amazement, Plaster Wall!?

Plaster Wall... it's tough, really tough. It'll slow down the movement, and there's a limit to its size too—wondering if there's any way around it.

Right in the middle of the meeting, the moment the idea "the statue splits clean in half and spreads out to become a wall" came up, it was done.

The width of the path can be controlled by adjusting the pull, the speed is constant for that creeping dread as it approaches—most importantly, it's all about the visuals and the gimmick's impact.

It felt wrong to give the statue a specific look, so I designed something like a vague idol. Inside, there's the Wail of Dread with a huge face and a flat body crammed in,

and when it spreads, it conveys enemies climbing up it like a ramp—after that, the person in charge wrapped it up with their passion. Maybe it's okay to have all sorts of interpretations of "plaster wall" out there...

The animator was shocked too, since it was just a straight-moving statue and nothing more.

Plaque Lore:

巨大きょだいな仏像の姿をした畏哭いこく。宗そうたちの目の前で壁かべとなり妨害ぼうがいしてくる。とある村の男の話では夜道を歩いていると、 地響じひびきと共に暗闇くらやみの中から巨大きょだいな仏像が現れたという。男が先に進もうとすると突如とつじょ仏像は二つに割れ、壁かべとなって道を塞ふさがれてしまったという記録が残されている。

The Nurikabe appear as large Buddha statues, but can turn into walls to block Soh's path. Legend says that there was once a man who was walking in the pitch of the night when all of a sudden the ground beneath his feet shook, and a tremendous Buddha statue appeared as if from the shadows themselves. The man tried to continue past, but the statue split into two, forming a large, impassable wall.

A dangerous enemy in the DLC. It can flatten Yoshiro, defiling her instantly.

 

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 17: Shokera(しょうけら)

■第17回　畏哭一のスタイリッシュ！しょうけら
題名通りです、今までもこの先も割と敵のクセが強いと言われてまして。一体ぐらい所謂カッコいい枠があっても良いのでは？
そう言われる日が来ると思って、考えてました、本当です。… pic.twitter.com/M7XZbAGMZv

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) June 22, 2026

■第17回　畏哭一のスタイリッシュ！しょうけら

題名通りです、今までもこの先も割と敵のクセが強いと言われてまして。一体ぐらい所謂カッコいい枠があっても良いのでは？

そう言われる日が来ると思って、考えてました、本当です。

素直にしょうけらをイメージしつつ、今作に合うようにディティールと攻撃性を詰めました。

動きは創作ダンス等で活躍する渡辺さん。とても魅惑的な動きを吹き込んで頂けたので想像以上のカッコ良さ！！

■17th Round: Ikkyu's Stylish Style! Shoukera  

As the title says, it's been said up until now and probably will be in the future that the enemies have pretty strong quirks. Wouldn't it be nice to have at least one in the so-called "cool" category?  

I was thinking that a day like this would come, I really was.  

I imagined Shoukera straightforwardly while packing in details and aggression to fit this work.  

The movements are by Mr. Watanabe, who shines in creative dance and such. He infused it with such bewitching motions that it's cooler than I could have imagined!!

Plaque Lore:

高所から飛び掛かかって人を襲おそう畏哭いこく。その鋭するどい爪つめは頑丈がんじょうな鎧よろいさえも、いともたやすく切り裂さくという。二カ月に一度の庚申かのえさるの日の夜、罪を犯した人間が寝静ねしずまるのを見計らって罰ばつを与あたえるという神が穢けがされて畏哭いこくになったとする説がある。そのことから、しょうけらが現れる夜は大勢で集まって寝ねずに過ごすという風習がある。

The Shokera leap from great heights to attack their prey. Even the strongest armor is no match for their sharp claws. Legend states that on the night of Koshin, occurring once every 60 days, a god transformed into a Seethe after passing punishment upon the slumbering humans for the sins they had committed. It has now become a custom for people to gather together and stay awake throughout the long nights the Shokera are said to appear.

The head wears a veil like Yoshiro and the horns remind me of Cursed Soh.

Don't you think the lower body looks quite feminine in its proportions? The knees are inward, which is a female trait. The smaller waist in comparison to the hips.

The Seethe are said to be the Goddess's 'kin'. Was this considered when designing them?
These twitter posts don't always give too much information...

Why do these villagers not have masks?

Another discovery.

These characters never have masks in this cut-scene. It's not pre-rendered as you can see Yoshiro's clothes can be changed.

Even though any villager can equip any mask(except for shaman and sumo wrestler) during game-play, lore-wise only the descendants of an ancestral deity can use its mask.

So..is that what this scene is establishing? That only the descendants may use the mask?

Even though I've put archer on everyone here, only those shown in archer clothes would be allowed to actually use the mask? (but cannoneer and woodcutter will show up on the masked villagers...)

Or are these villagers outsiders who moved here and so would not be able to use the mask?

If the boat capsizes, their cocooned bodies float away (RIP)

Extremely amusing.

A new discovery after 400+  hours. The third clip is me realizing it.

Human Sacrifice.

 Some information dump about this. I'm collecting information.

Source: ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/人身御供

In times of disaster, it was believed that nature, in its hunger, was unleashing its fury by demanding sacrifices. Therefore, before a large-scale disaster occurred, a suitable human sacrifice was offered to pray for its prevention.

Regarding Yamata no Orochi, the eight-headed serpent in the Kojiki , Masayuki Tsugita (1909-1983), a scholar of ancient Japanese literature , pointed out that the "wo" in "orochi" means "peak" and "chi" is a word that represents something supernatural, and that it is a water god in the form of a serpent with many heads and tails, and the spirit of the Hinokawa River (present-day Hii River) which flows through a confluence of large and small tributaries. Kushinadahime is written as Kushinadahime in the Kojiki. This name means the goddess of the miraculous rice fields, and the character for "comb" suggests that Hime was a miko (shrine maiden) who wore a comb. [ 17 ] [ Note 1 ] Takeo Matsumura believes that the eight victims in the myth of the slaying of the eight-headed serpent , including Kushinadahime, were spirit masters—that is, "human sacrifices of shrine maidens."

In his book "A History of Japanese Shrine Maidens," Taro Nakayama cites examples of shrine maidens and travelers who are thought to have been sacrificed as human offerings. [ 19 ] Nakamura states that the reason shrine maidens were sacrificed as human offerings is "it goes without saying that it was because they were in a sacred position that could appease the gods." He also mentions that there were Shinto rituals in various regions in which travelers were sacrificed as human offerings, and Nakayama cites the Naorai Festival of Owari Kokunomiya as an example.

Yatsuro has orochi vibes and has a maiden 'face'. Orochi ate seven daughters. Just a reference.

So perhaps it's not an Inari curse.

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 16: Hirafugai(ひらふ貝がい)

■第16回　畏哭の船だよ、ひらふがい。
船のステージなので水辺の敵が必要です！他の畏哭は船に乗ってる？流石に船に乗ると雰囲気が…という事でどうせなら、その船が敵で良いのでないかと思いまして。
ここに至るまでにも水辺の敵のデザイン案は色々生み出されてはいましたが、今一しっくりこず。… pic.twitter.com/badey8gGWw

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) May 22, 2026

■第16回　畏哭の船だよ、ひらふがい。

船のステージなので水辺の敵が必要です！他の畏哭は船に乗ってる？流石に船に乗ると雰囲気が…という事でどうせなら、その船が敵で良いのでないかと思いまして。

ここに至るまでにも水辺の敵のデザイン案は色々生み出されてはいましたが、今一しっくりこず。

蓮、水草、浮草等の類をみてて、根っこが人の身体だと面白いかもと…。

何体か乗れるサイズなので大きい、明らかに変な乗り物、実は顔、実は海坊主感を感じさせる大きさ、ついでに船沈める。

と頭に浮かんだのでこれらを纏めて現在に至ります。行動、やる事はひらふがいに近いので、そのまま名前を付けました。

■16th Round: It's a Fear-Weeping Ship, Hirafugai.

Since it's a ship stage, we need enemies near the water! Are the other Fear-Weepers on the ship? Honestly, putting them on a ship changes the vibe too much... So I figured, why not make the ship itself the enemy?

Up to this point, we'd come up with various design ideas for water-edge enemies, but none of them quite clicked.

Looking at things like lotuses, water plants, floating weeds, and such, I thought it might be interesting if the roots were human bodies...

It's a size that can carry a few, so it's big, an obviously weird vehicle, actually a face, gives off a big sea monk vibe, and by the way, it sinks ships.

That popped into my head, so we've bundled all that together to arrive at the current version. Its actions and behaviors are close to Hirafugai's, so I just named it that way.

Plaque Lore:

海や湖といった水場に現れ、舟を破壊はかいするとされる畏哭いこく。巨大きょだいな頭部に他の畏哭いこくを載のせて船上にいる人間を襲おそうため、漁師たちの間では非常に恐おそれられている。ひらふ貝がいは舟を転覆てんぷくさせる際、体内にある肝きもを舟に貼はり付けるため、転覆てんぷくさせられる前に肝きもを対処したことによって助かったという村人の話もある。

The Hirafugai appear in bodies of water to capsize the boatsfloating there. Fishermen often fall victim to their attacks as the Hirafugai will attach their own innards to the boats, shaking them and unleashing the hordes of Seethe they carry atop their heads. One tale states that a fisherman once kept his life by destroying the Hirafugai's innards before it could sink the boat.

Yoshiro's Descent alongside Soh.

 Thanks to Japanese twitters, I have found a potential answer on how Yoshiro descends alongside Soh.

In the Japanese plaque, there is no subject given.

Soh is the messenger of the mountain goddess and governs the world alongside Yoshiro. Descending into the world, guidance is provided by Yoshiro and the power of the masks is bestowed by Soh.

In ancient Japan, there's something called a Miko's Divine Descent. It's when the kami descends into her body. The kanji for descent used is the same one in the plaque. It's not the descending from heaven kanji. When translated twice, it calls it either the miko's descent or the god's descent.

When the plaque mentions this descent, could it be to reference this type of descent?

So when it's 'the two descended into the human world' it could really be that Soh, through Yoshiro, descends into the human world. This fits because why include Yoshiro in Soh's bio unless she plays an active role in what Soh can do?

Something else to wonder about: Soh's bio mentions her 'taking up her own sword to protect the maiden'. Why phrase it this way unless it's meaningful that Soh has joined the battle? I'd figure it was a normal part of the pact.

Possibly implying the defilement gets worse over time and eventually, Yoshiro needs help from Soh.

Curses, Batsu, Soh's name, Yoshiro's power and Cursed Soh.

A post that begun simple but ended up going in different directions!

The Batsu post from the Kunitsu-Gami twitter had me thinking about the interaction again.

The Seethe steal Yoshiro's power whenever they attack her. Their attacks are 'curses' that defile her.

I've seen mixed information. on Twitter, a Japanese person said Tatari is from kami but noroi is different. Noroi are done by humans or yokai or demons.   祟り (tatari) is from kamis: divine retribution.

A google result said:

Noroi (呪い) = something from one person to another

Tatari (祟り) = something from a god, demon, ogre, or dead person to a human.

When Batsu attacks Soh, Yoshiro's 'miko barrier' breaks, meaning she was affected by the attack. Some of Soh's power is then stolen. We can see power is being stolen from Yoshiro too:

Lore-wise, when Yoshiro is attacked and her power is stolen, Soh loses power in battle.

We can safely conclude that Yoshiro's power(of purification) is Soh. When Yoshiro is fully defiled, Soh loses her body.

Whatever Yoshiro is doing, Soh is doing. When she dances upon the Spirit Path to purify the village, Soh runs around purifying it.

Soh is her power/she's channeling Soh.

Batsu does not curse Soh. Humans and yokai cannot curse those higher in the hierarchy. Soh cannot be cursed then. But Yoshiro can be.

(However, Batsu's curse was strong enough to affect the mountain. The mountain is the Goddess, isn't it?)

We see the Curse symbol when Yoshiro's attacked as if we are also getting 'cursed'. Because she's our vessel.

But why does Soh's name-card become 'noroi' when she takes enough damage?

The kanji 祟 is slightly similar to Soh's kanji 宗. 

呪 is 'noroi' and means curse. The kanji 詛, meaning curse ad can be read as 'noroi' too, can also be read as Soh.

In combinations, it usually takes the on-yomi (Chinese reading) of so (そ) or sho (しょ).

詛呪 (soju): Curse

詛呪【そじゅsoju】curse

Soju, which is basically Cursed Soh's Japanese name: 宗呪そうじゅ (souju)

そじゅ (soju)

そうじゅ(soo-ju / sou-ju)

It can mean 'twin trees', something relevant to Buddhism.

Two trees...!

Let's talk about these twin trees in Buddsim. Shara-sōju. (shorea robusta/Sal tree)

I'm pulling from this article: https://gardenstory.jp/plants/103746

Most of the trees referred to as "Shara trees" in Japan are actually summer camellias (Stewartia pseudocamellia).

Because the Japanese sara tree (Stewartia pseudocamellia) dislikes cold, it cannot be grown in Japan's climate unless it is in a greenhouse. However, since it is considered a sacred tree in Buddhism, the Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia), which has similar-looking flowers, is planted as a substitute and called the Japanese sara tree. 

The reason why summer camellias are often planted at temples is said to be because they were planted as a substitute for the Japanese sara tree, which cannot withstand the Japanese cold, as the summer camellias have similar leaves and flowers. As a result, summer camellias have become widely recognized in Japan as the Japanese sara tree. 

"The summer camellia has been cultivated in temples and shrines as a substitute for the Japanese sara tree."

Yoshiro is a substitute for the Goddess. All the defilement that accumulates in the mountain is transferred to her.

More information:

The "Shara Twin Trees" appear at the beginning of "The Tale of the Heike" in the following form:

The sound of the bell of Gion Shoja echoes the impermanence of all things. The color of the flowers of the twin sala trees reveals the principle that the prosperous must inevitably decline. Those who are arrogant do not last long, they are merely like a dream on a spring night. Even the mighty eventually perish, just like dust before the wind.

- From "The Tale of the Heike," Volume 1, "Gion Shoja"

The opening phrase, "Shogyo Mujō" (諸行無常), refers to the fundamental Buddhist idea that the world is constantly changing. The following phrase, "Jōsha Hissui" (盛者必衰), means that even those who are powerful will eventually decline and perish.

"The sound of the bell of Gion Shoja echoes the impermanence of all things. The color of the flowers of the twin sala trees reveals the principle that the prosperous must inevitably decline." This expression finds in the fading sound of the bell and the changing colors of the flowers that everything in this world is constantly changing and that even the most powerful things will eventually perish."

Even the most powerful things. Is the death of Cursed Soh the death of the Goddess then?

The Japanese stewartia the camellia, grows in Japan and Korea.

Awhile back I had a thought: is Yoshiro actually Korean? Is her family foreign to Japan?

I asked myself this because Inari is said to be a foreign deity and it's believed to have been brought over by the Hata-clan, who were Korean.

Soh is a kunitsukami:

国津神(くにつかみ) not 祇(くにつがみ), which is the title of the game.

Batsu cannot be a kunitsukami. He's a man who became a demon.

But if it's meant to be Batsu, then the villagers are worshiping him as a kunitsukami?

御阿礼みあれ

"Miare" is an archaic word or Shinto term (御生・御阿礼) meaning the birth or descent of a deity into this world.

Yoshiro is said to descend into this world alongside Soh. 

Soh is likely the real Goddess and Yoshiro is the local deity that is enshrined on the mountain. She's a human to gods and a god to humans, so she's just a human who is enshrined as a kami. But she's enshrined as the Mountain Goddess, which appears to end up cursing the Goddess herself?

Soh and Yoshiro were confused for each other over time.

Yoshiro's family cultivated the land which means they came from somewhere else. But this is just speculation. They might've come from another area in Japan to cultivate the mountain.

So the worship of the Maiden did cause the big issue. They confused her for the Goddess. 
(I touched on this in the 'shrine maidens who worshiped the rice kami were also worshiped as the kami)

Soh is the Goddess having cursed Yoshiro's lineage and possesses the chosen Maiden.

Soh even wears 'noroi' on her outset armor. Maybe because...she's a curse? 

 and 呪 is the main kanji used for curse in the game, appearing when Yoshiro is attacked and Soh is depowered. But Soh wears that kanji on her outset armor. It's also somewhere in her normal armor but I can't figure out where...it's a texture. But where could it be placed...? I'm not good enough to at Blender to figure it out.

Nanamagari represented the curse as it means 'seven turns'. For seven generations, what humans created is destroyed and a Maiden must be offered as a katashiro.

In conclusion: Soh is the curse upon Yoshiro's lineage and is the source of her power.

We see Soh at the end to show the Maiden lineage is still cursed.

In true ending, Soh removes the curse from Yoshiro and in doing so, departs.

Defile Mountain>Become cursed for seven generations>make pact to offer human sacrifice>maiden serves a katashiro to purify the mountain/goddess>is enshrined as he Goddess>8 generations later and the Goddess is cursed>defeat and purify cursed Goddess>save 8th Maiden and break pact.

Did you know there's a mountain called Yoshino known for its cherry Blossom? Just thought it funny!