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 re-absorbed 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.

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(tatari) is slightly visually similar to Soh's kanji 宗. But that's not important.

呪 is 'noroi' and means curse. The kanji 詛, meaning curse, which can be read as 'noroi' too, can also be read as Soh. (this is wrong)

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

詛 → のろい → curse

詛 → ソ → So

? Is this right...?

Kanji	Reading	Basic idea
呪	のろい (noroi)	A curse/spell placed upon someone
詛	のろい (noroi) / ソ (so)	An imprecation, cursing someone
祟	たたり (tatari)	Supernatural retribution / divine or spiritual curse

(handy little table from ChatGPT when I asked it to check if what I'm saying works. But can you trust a robot? haha)

Soh is そう though and that extra part matters. So I'm actually totally wrong!

(After I typed all this out...!)

Although here's a funny thought: when Soh loses her body, she becomes cursed.

So her orb body is cursed Soh! (credit to Ten for this cute little detail)

--

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!

Name Cards: Soh & Cursed Soh. (Lotus & Water Lily?)

Cursed Soh

Soh

Cursed Soh has lotus leaves on hers. But why?

I thought it had to do with lotus's booming in muddy waters. (defilement)

I asked ChatGPT to see what it says.

In Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, that contrast feels very intentional symbolically.

A lone lotus blossom on Soh’s normal name card suggests an idealized or purified state:

• spiritual clarity,
• devotion to the Maiden,
• transcendence above corruption,
• a singular sacred purpose.

When the “Cursed Soh” version includes lotus leaves around the flower, it changes the symbolism from a pure emblem into part of a living pond ecosystem. Lotus leaves are closer to the muddy water the lotus grows from, so visually they can imply:

• connection to impurity or the earthly realm,
• being surrounded by corruption instead of rising above it,
• a return to origin or instinct,
• spiritual burden rather than pure transcendence.

Because lotus leaves are broad, shadowing, and rooted to the water surface, they also create a more enclosed feeling. The flower alone feels elevated and clean; the flower with leaves feels immersed.

There’s another layer too: in Buddhist imagery, the lotus flower is often the enlightened state, while the pond/leaves/stems represent the cycle of suffering and worldly existence that enlightenment emerges from. “Cursed Soh” having both could symbolize someone pulled back into the mire instead of remaining detached from it.

Visually, it also makes Cursed Soh’s emblem feel denser and more organic — less like a sacred crest and more like something overgrown or overtaken. That fits the game’s recurring themes of defilement, transformation, and purification rituals.

Very interesting information from a robot.

The arena is also watery, which was the first thing I thought of.

Soh's flower has a stem and is shaped very slightly different to Cursed Soh's.

!!! Cursed Soh's might be a Water Lily and Soh's a Lotus! It explains why Soh's has a stem. To show it's rising above water. Cursed Soh's is on the water, alongside its leaves.

This could be another 'two things which are mistaken for each other'. Another would be Cursed Soh's name which could be a reference to the Sal tree. A tree which has a substitute in Japan.

Another discovery I made much later:

Soh's flower is the same as Cursed Soh's here:

no stem

Maybe it was a design error and the flowers are meant to be the same...?

Former Spirit Stone Maiden.

A look at the former Yoshiro in a video!

Spirit Stone 3.0

It's (a)Yoshiro.

This means Maidens all look the same and are likely named Yoshiro, after the term 'yorishiro'.

Yoshiro's Japanese biography says she comes from a lineage of Maidens with the same power. 

Is she praying to the Goddess within the stone or is she praying to her ancestor, the former Maiden?

Or both, and this directly contributed to the mixing of the Maiden and Goddess?

This spirit stone body is very different to our Yoshiro, who is covered in cherry blossom motifs(from pieces breaking off). In general, she looks like normal stone more than 'spirit stone'.

Forgotten God has both this bland stone and spirit stone, so perhaps this spirit stone is devoid of Goddess power? And the shiny appearance of spirit stone is what marks it as containing the power of the goddess.

If Nanamagari pulled the Goddess power out of the spirit stone, then it would just become plain stone?

For comparison, our Yoshiro:

Why's some of her foot not crystallized? 

More images of the spirit stone below the cut.

Spirit Stone Maidens: Normal ending Soh vs True Ending Soh.

In many of my old posts, I'm always asking:

Why does Soh poof into white light in the normal ending but in the true ending, she turns into her spirit state and disappears into the heavens?

It finally dawned on me the obvious: the normal ending takes place within Yoshiro.

It's even shown directly.
(God, grant me better eyes so I may stop humiliating myself)

The Soh she meets is the piece of the Goddess she held within her.

Now that her duty is done, Soh leaves Yoshiro's body.(?)

If Soh's spirit that resided within the former Spirit Stone Maiden is returned to her after Yoshiro absorbs Nanamagari(both the defilement and the spirit in its belly) then the glowing Soh in the normal ending is the glowing Soh in the true ending because Soh regains her full powers as the Goddess in both.
(But why nullify the pact in the latter?)

The True Ending occurs because Soh's spirit becomes cursed from the defiled body it's been housed in. The Goddess spirit mixing with the Maiden's putrid body.
Soh's mask contains the pattern of impurity and it is her mask that remains with the Maiden inside her spirit stone.
(Is this what the director meant when he said Soh's mask represents her relationship to the Maidens?)

But this means a piece of the Goddess remains in the crystallized body of the Maiden for there to be remnants of Her power in the spirit stone.

So why does Soh poof away in the normal ending? Doesn't the spirit of the Maiden and Goddess remain together, inside her body?

Or is leaving her mask with Yoshiro meant to be leaving some of her spirit behind?

In the opening, Yoshiro is praying to the spirit stone. We know she prays to ancestral spirits, so is she praying to her ancestor, the Maiden, or is she praying to the Goddess inside? Or both?

Yoshiro comes from a long line of Maidens such as herself, according to Soh's Japanese bio:
(this is a mistranslation. Although it is stated in her plaque that Yoshiro's family made the pact so it's technically true. Google translated Yoshiro's name as the 'long line of maidens'. But maybe it's also a bit of wordplay on her name...?)

本作の主人公であり、山の巫女「世代」の護人。村人たちと協力し、自らも刀を取って巫女を護りぬく。

She is the protagonist of this story and the guardian of the mountain shrine maiden, who belongs to a long line of such maidens. She cooperates with the villagers and takes up a sword herself to protect the shrine maiden.

Yoshiro's:

穢れ祓いの力を宿した山の巫女。穢れに覆われた村々を救うために宗と共に各所を巡る。その力が原因で、人々を脅かす存在である「畏哭」に狙われている。

A mountain shrine maiden possessing the power to purify corruption. She travels with So, visiting various villages to save them from being overwhelmed by corruption. Because of her power, she is targeted by "Ikoku," a being that threatens humanity.

It specifies that Soh took up a sword herself. Does it have meaning for it to be phrased that way? Perhaps t's about Soh descending to help?

The normal ending has people praying to Yoshiro the same way she prayed to the stone. Is this meant to show how the lines blur and the Goddess and Maiden become intertwined through worship?

Then again, she's housing the Goddess so praying to her is fine.

To rehash: 

A Spirit Stone Maiden is a girl who becomes crystallized after purifying the mountain using her body, and then her crystallized body continues to serve as a yorishiro for the Goddess, warding off calamity and misfortune. Because this crystal also houses defilement which accumulates through generations, the influx of impurity in the 7th stone defiled the Goddess.

I made a post claiming Yoshiro was and is and will be Soh's Spirit Stone.

Now I realize it becomes more sensible if I replace 'Spirit Stone' with 'yorishiro'. Or just abode, as I've always called her.

The Maiden serves as an abode until the next time calamity hits. This means she's still housing the Goddess even when she's a spirit stone. This is how the Goddess becoming mixed with impurity occurred. Her vessel was tainted, always. For 8 cycles, including ours.

When the game starts, it starts with Yoshiro activating her powers as an abode, and allowing Soh to occupy physical space in the world. Soh can no longer manifest once the spirit stone is taken and so Yoshiro is the next abode.
(Why does she appear so far from Yoshiro?)

Yoshiro is the 'body of the goddess'. The Spirit Stone Maiden. Her destiny is to become the next Spirit Stone.

In the Normal Ending, we see Soh watching a Maiden, which made me think this Maiden was already an abode. Instead, it's more likely that Soh is still tethered to our Yoshiro. Only when the spirit stone is stolen by Seethe for the Goddess power within it, does Soh need a new abode.

(Speaking of stolen power and stolen masks, when Nanamagari stole the Spirit Stone, did it steal the mask of the Goddess that was given to/left with the Maiden? Is this why Nanamagari wears a bastardized version of the Goddess's mask in its first phase? Or did it steal the power, but the power is symbolized as the mask?)

As for the True Ending, I believe Soh turns into a spirit because Yoshiro is no longer an abode.
As she departs, she says something about the mask. Maybe that she's taking it back, if the mask symbolizes a portion of her power?

Is Yoshiro holding the mask within her? Who can really say...but she certainly is in the normal ending.

This nullifies quite a bit of what I've previous said, I think...

The story is quite simple, isn't it? 

The Messenger of the Goddess is the Goddess that's manifest when she uses a yorishiro.

A cursed yorishiro produces a cursed messenger. And when said yorishiro has 'merged' with the Goddess, its form is alike a sum of its parts.

But the mirror part of Cursed Soh's plaque is still mysterious to me.

This represents the normal ending. We receive it when Yoshiro is nearly completely stone.

What battle? Against impurity? But it's a part of life.

Or is the battle against Cursed Soh actually occurring multiple times?

(I have many unpublished posts and in one, I thought the circles on Yoshiro's head were related to her becoming an abode. Rather than it being fashion lol. I have come a long way with theories. It's impressive, the leaps I have made in the past.)

Remember someone calling Yoshiro a Living Buddha? Crystallized alive...

Cursed Curves.

I may have questions.

For comparison:

A fox. A deer.

 While Soh has a fox on her glove, Cursed Soh has a deer!

Both foxes and deers are considered messengers of the gods.

Datamined Details.

 A collection of small discoveries!

Th shrine emblem is named as a 'tsuba' in one image. As you can see, it does appear to be able to fit on a sword. (Specifically Cursed Soh gets hit with it by Yoshiro)
(It might actually be called tsuba in this file because it's used as the background when we view tsubas!)

but it's also titled as 'Soumon', when it comes to Cursed Soh's files.

Mon, meaning emblem. Soumon can mean a Buddhist temple gate. 

Since 'Sou' is Soh, it means this is Cursed Soh's emblem.

Or rather, it's Soh's emblem. It's the symbol of the Goddess.
(I was right the entire time. Such a simple thing but the steam information made me doubt my own eyes.)

It's also called 'Shinmon'.

Shin can be (新), true/reality (真), heart/mind (心), belief/faith (信), or god/spirit (神). 

On the Steam page, it's called 'Shrine Emblem'.

This emblem is also on Nanamagari. There's a big link between Soh, Yoshiro and Nanamagari.
A link between the heart and source of all the chaos and the one who brings salvation and prosperity.
The Maiden does both. But Nanamagari is specifically a representation of the ritual...the form the Maiden's spirit takes...

(The Dark Cursed Soh shares filenumbers with the Nanamagari who holds the shrine hostage.)

This cute little Yoshiro image. Where is it used? It's showing Yoshiro opens the Torii Gates.

開? But in script.

It's used on the music menu to represent her vocals! It's 歌! Song/singing.

If Soh tries to approach the Torii gate, a ribcage will appear to block her. 

Why is Yoshiro the one who has such an effect on the cursed Torii gates? (who bear likeness to Nanamagari, who is (possibly) the spirit of the former Maiden)

when they were testing things?

The first Maiden!! Doesn't she have similar buns to the Goddess in the opening?

An image of Yoshiro singing to Soh. Context unknown...

樂多餓鬼.
(The translation might be 'Happy Gaki/Gaki full of joy'?)

This little piece of art is present and it was right after a calligraphy brush, meaning there's an NPC drawing it?

Someone is drawing it!

'calamity'

When Nanamgari uses its KO attack, its texture is called 'Yakusai'.  Calamity. There's this overlay of 'Dead Soh' as it unleashes the attack.

This feels very ominious lol. There are hands in the folder too but they're not in calamity KO:

Do you think the spirits of the Maidens want revenge against humans and even Soh herself? I've suggested before that Nanamagari is the spirit of the 7 Maidens, which I've since discarded, yet it's still an intriguing idea.

Here's 'Dead Yoshiro':

katashiro torn

Not sure when we see this...It's on the screen after Yoshiro's death!

As for the sounds, there is an actual man wailing in some boss battles. The Seethe are called the wailing so a man actually wailing is appropriate.
(Will update once I've checked every boss sounds to see what differences there are)

I got excited and thought there was a different voice for every boss but no...I saw it in another boss file.

 Notsugo has a baby crying in his sound effects. 

Long ago, a great famine seized the mountain. The villagers prayed to the goddess, begging her to spare their kin, but their pleas went unanswered as lives continued to be lost to the marsh. Legend states that at nightfall, an infant's cry can be heard from Renge Marsh. If anyone attempts to approach the marsh to offer aid, they too will be dragged down into the depths.

In Yatsuro's battle and Nanamagari's battle, there's a high-pitched Seethe voice coupled with a more monstrous voice. Interesting...

Datamining revealed some intricate details I didn't see very well on PS4. Cursed Soh has geometric patterns from the kaleidoscope on her mask. 

I'll make a separate post for her because her model is truly beautiful!