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】curseSoju, which is basically Cursed Soh's Japanese name:
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!