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!

Forgotten God(祇去) is a former Maiden.

The rock fragments and underneath her are spirit stone.

The gold 'tears trail' is similar to the gold lining on Yoshiro.

The colors inside her are the colors of the barrier we fight Cursed Soh.

So, is it safe to stay we fight the battle against Cursed Soh inside the spirit stone body?

And that the 'spirit stone' is meant to contain the defilement, like a barrier?

There's also the Japanese name:祇去. Kamusari. ( かむさり)

(Google translated it as 'kami gone' It meas the death of a God, according to the Kojiki but the kanji used in the Kojiki is 神避)

祇: Kunitsukami. Read as かむ. Kamu.

'去' can be read as the ashes of a Buddha, and we have seen that the Maiden is alike to a Buddha.

Soh's mazo talismans are also titled in reference to Buddhism: Deva, Bodhisattva, Nyorai.

They resemble Nanamagari and those figures on the sides of the Torii Gates:

The kanji used for this talisman aligns with the title of the game. But why 'forgotten' when she's actually 'dead'?

The stories of the Seethe mention monks a few times so Buddhism is likely existing alongside Shinto? We are in the Heian period after all.

During the Heian period (794-1185), a form of Buddhism usually called Tantric Buddhism in India, but Esoteric Buddhism in Japan became widely popular. The Shingon (True Word or Mantra) sect, founded by Kukai (774-835), was one of two Esoteric sects to spread at this time.

Shingon was associated with a unique style of meditation that involved mandalas (artistic representations of various Buddhas and bodhisattvas or of the world as seen by those enlightened beings), mudras (symbolic hand positions associated with each Buddha and bodhisattva in the mandalas), and mantras (sacred Sanskrit verses associated with these figures). (source)

mandala on the maiden's belly in artwork. we can see them in Cursed Soh's arena too

Mudra. She also performs a set of mudras in the beginning + the talisman 'Cursed Mudra' 

かむ can also be read as 'chew', and when combined with 'bones', does it imply the Seethe chewed on this Spirit Stone?

(the rice might be relevant too since Inari is a kami associated with rice)

In the fight with Nanamagari, I called Shadow Soh the liquidated Spirit Stone, but when she goes to the shrine, the spirit stone is already there. 

But it's not there when we fight Nanamagari and look into the shrine.

So I don't really know if the stone appears because Cursed Soh wants it to and it was originally absorbed by Nanamagari, or if only the power of the Goddess was absorbed from the stone and the stone was left.

Forgotten God has both spirit stone and bland stone that resembles the stone of Cursed Soh, which has no 'spirit stone' appearance like we see in Yoshiro and this talisman.

So the reason it's a talisman is likely the spirit stone in it!

I talked before abut this mazo talisman here: Soh's Spirit Form + another hint that she was a former Yoshiro + a Forgotten Goddess

Is Soh purifying Yoshiro or is she taking away her powers?

I ripped the track from the true ending and decided to post it on Youtube.

The working title was 'Final Purification & Yoshiro's Gratitude'

As I was making the video, I noticed Soh is absorbing something from Yoshiro.

That's how purification of the Goddess's power works: it's transference. 

She must be purifying Yoshiro. I've always thought this.

But then it seemed to me that Soh is actually absorbing her spirit from Yoshiro, causing the spirit stone transformation to reverse as there's no Goddess power within Yoshiro anymore.

When the pendulums swings to misfortune, does the spirit stone become defilement? As we saw with the previous spirit stone turning into pure defilement?
(Even though I've said this multiple times about the spirit stone becoming defilement, in this new context, is it actually a part of the cycle? That which is sacred becomes defiled? That which is pure must become impure?
The spirit stone becomes impurity. The pure Maiden becomes impure by making the impure pure?)

 And when it swings back to fortune, the defilement is turned into spirit stone.

When Yoshiro dances, this time there is no magic anymore.

For Eternal Pool of Sunlight, Ten's post suggested the Maiden's lineage has lost its power. At the time, this remark about her lineage confused me but it turns out this was revealed in Soh's Japanese bio:

She is the protagonist of this story and the guardian of the mountain shrine maiden, who belongs to a long line of such maidens.

It's also definitely implied, I guess...

I'll call it 'The End of Yoshiro', since Yoshiro seems to be the name given to the chosen Maiden and they will no longer exist.

In the end, the pure parts of us make peace with the impure parts...

Turtles and Cranes.

In Kunitsu-Game, cranes symbolize women and turtles symbolize men.

An artistic way of communicating men and women. Fitting as the game tells much of the story through visuals.

Soh's dancing talisman is titled 'dancing crane', and when purifying, two cranes can be seen.

Dancing Crane

Congratulations Crane in Otherworldly Venture

Only women(cranes) can use the power of the goddess, hence why only women can be shamans.

Specifically, it is the purifying power that only women can use.

I interpret the kaleidoscope to be implying she is the battery

The masks are all powered by the Goddess Soh. Thus, if Yoshiro falls in battle, they all fall, too.

Cranes are also on lanterns. On the same lantern is what I thought was maybe a lotus but it's actually Rindo Kamon:

Sasa Rindo (笹竜胆), meaning "Gentiana and Bamboo", this mon was used as kamon by the Minamoto clan in Heian Jidai.

So, it is the Heian period!
(As I theorized in my Kuon post and Yoshiro's eyebrows post)

Soul Division.

 The Tsuba Guard Kijin's specter shows Soh can divide her soul.

The created spirit uses the same model as the dark Cursed Soh.

(In the files, they are (basically)the same model)

Spot the difference(the little flap one is Soh's spectre. Why? Who knows)

When the Goddess possess Yoshiro, she splits her soul and puts a piece of her inside the Maiden.

For the Ritual, the Goddess possesses a Maiden, enabling the Maiden to use her purifying power. Overtime, it caused her spirit to become cursed because of the Maiden also doubling as a katashiro. The Maiden absorbs defilement, affecting her body and eventually the spirit within. But it's only a piece of the Goddess, this is why we have Soh and Cursed Soh.

It's all because of the Goddess dividing her soul.

Cursed Soh is the Goddess. Soh is the Goddess.
Cursed Soh has the halo. Not Soh.

Yoshiro is also drawn with a halo and she has the ability to affect Cursed Soh's power. Yoshiro, too, is a vessel for the Goddess. Just like Cursed Soh is.

The vessel of the Goddess is drawn with the halo because that's where she actually resides. The Messenger is but a physical manifestation of her.

The Goddess is present in both Yoshiro and the corrupted body of the previous Maiden.

Soh is the Goddess given physical form through Yoshiro serving as an abode.

Cursed Soh is a version of Soh that materializes when the vessel is defiled/extremely impure.

But in Cursed Soh's case, she's merged with her vessel. This is why it says Cursed Soh is the Goddess who's become 'twisted with the impurities of the people' and why she has a halo.

If we consider artwork showing the Maiden physically changes upon becoming an abode, then we can assume in Cursed Soh's case, the opposite occurred: the vessel changed the spirit.

If the Normal Ending broke the cycle, we can speculate it's because:

Soh left her mask with Yoshiro, causing Cursed Soh because the two merged.
After several generations, the impurity is so potent within the 7th Maiden's body that the Goddess becomes cursed.

(I use abode=yorishiro)

Red bibs & hinting at the cycle of the Goddess.

While researching the red bibs in Kunitsu-Gami and their possible significance, I learnt no one knows why these bibs are added to statues. 

But it's speculated to honor children who died.

(My research is what began my Spirit Stone post but I never posted on the bibs themselves as it turned out to not go anywhere. It's not unique to Kunitsu-Gami.)

I thought child mortality, or even infertility, was an issue in Kunitsu-Gami but actually, in the past Japanese children would die young often. So this is rather normal.

But I wonder in times of woe, when the Seethe attack, is infertility an issue? The Path takes at least a year. It confirms all 4 seasons pass in the game. 

What does the pact affect? How bad do things really get?

Some photos of statues:

They are in many places. Along with pinwheels, too. Pinwheels can represent the cycle of life, reincarnation or to honor dead children.

But here, they're put by the Goddess:

Is Kunitsu-Gami using the old belief that the Mountain God is an ancestral deity? It would explain why she is 'replaced' every cycle by the new Maiden, who was first worshiped as the Mountain Deity she had devoted herself to, effectively being able to replace her due to this perceived fusion.

(there's a belief that the maidens who worshiped the agricultural(mountain) goddess fused with her and were worshiped as well. This is what happens to Yoshiro)

A short that touches on the Red Bibs topic:

New Mineral Discovered: Amaterasu.

【研究成果】岡山県から新種の鉱物「アマテラス鉱」を発見💎✨
浜根大輔技術専門職員らは、日本の国石であるヒスイの中から新種の鉱物を発見しました。
本鉱物の結晶構造に二面性があったことから、「荒魂」と「和魂」という二面性を持つ天照大神に因んで名付けられましたhttps://t.co/5FZmvQvpV3 pic.twitter.com/KkXEIcCUH7

— 東京大学 物性研究所 (@UTokyo_issp) August 7, 2025

Research Achievement】New Mineral "Amaterasu Mineral" Discovered in Okayama Prefecture 💎✨

Technical Specialist Daisuke Hamae and others discovered a new mineral within jade, Japan's national stone.

Due to the duality in the crystal structure of this mineral, it was named after Amaterasu, the deity embodying the duality of "Ara-tama" (wild spirit) and "Nigi-tama" (gentle spirit).

An exciting discovery.

I posted this here because of Amaterasu but also mentions of the duality of kami.

Since Yoshiro channels the Goddess and Soh is also the Goddess(through the mask?)...

Is Yoshiro the Nigitami, the gentle side, and Soh the Aratama, the wild side?

Ten actually suggested this in his post on the scrolls, for the Moment of Peace scroll. At the time, I agreed for my own personal reasons but now I think now that he was indeed objectively right.

I'll repost here:

The animals that have been cleansed of impurities go to Yoshiro, so this scene can be seen during the day.

Yoshiro is a shrine maiden, and it is a lonely role where she cannot get along with the villagers.

This is a scene where she comes into contact with the animals and feels comforted.

Rabbits, sparrows, deer, and cows are animals that appear in myths and are considered messengers of the gods.

Yoshiro has a halo around her head.

Nigimitama is a name that honors the god's calmness, affection, and harmonious work, and is considered to be the main characteristic of the god.

Aramitama is "constructive, enterprising bravery, and work on the side of creation"*16.

It does not mean a "wild god," but if ara goes too far, it becomes "wild."

Aratama and Nigimitama are terms that refer to certain aspects, so it is not that there are "separate souls" or that the "soul has been split into two"; they are the same spirit.

It is said that "he accomplishes things with a rough spirit and serves with a peaceful spirit," and he accomplishes his tasks by working both actively and passively.

She appears to be enjoying a peaceful time away from the roughness of battle, and Soh, who is not depicted, can be seen as an "aramitama."

If they're both channeling the Goddess, why are they so different? Because of the dual nature of the Goddess!

It's worth noting that Cursed Soh, the defiled Goddess, resembles a fusion of Soh and Yoshiro. 

If Yoshiro walks the Path of the Goddess, appearing to become her, then Yoshiro and Soh ultimately become one. (Since Soh once walked the Path as the previous Spirit Stone belongs to her.)

The statue of the Goddess + a Divine Heir.

 In many villages of Kunitsu-Gami, we see statues of the Goddess.

It's definitely the Goddess because it's seen in the center of the Great Cherry Tree, where the mikoshi was carved from.

We can probably assume Yoshiro's clothing is meant to resemble the Goddess.

I ended up thinking of the ending again.

Doesn't it seem like the Messenger is returning the mask of the Goddess back to Her?

It really appear as though Yoshiro becomes the Goddess and then sends herself as the next Messenger. (Or does Soh take up her duty once again? If so, who is she? A female samurai's spirit?)

Here we have a flower with the sun. Flowers symbolize the Maiden/Maidens. It's in the center of the sun.

If the Maiden is used to purify the land by becoming the Goddess...does she become the agricultural Goddess?

I've been working on a new post with Soh as the agricultural Goddess(the Mountain Goddess is said to descend as the agricultural Goddess. They are one in the same), that descends and fuses with the Maiden.
But perhaps Yoshiro is meant to be the agricultural Goddess since it's the Goddess shrine maidens were said to fuse with?

When the villagers leave offerings to Yoshiro, she gives them to Soh because the Villagers are worshiping Soh through Yoshiro as they are seen as one in the same.

It's why they sync up in battle, too.

My original thoughts were that Soh, the agricultural Goddess and descended Mountain Goddess, fuses with Yoshiro, and Yoshiro becomes the next Goddess, the proof being her inheriting the mask.

Something new caught my attention though.

Cursed Soh's wheel. It's called 光輪. Korin.

Let's look at Homonyms.

こうりん

[noun] descent of a god from heaven to earth

[noun] (respectful) arrival

[verb] (of gods) to descend from heaven to the earth

[verb] (respectful) to appear; to arrive

I found this word: tensonkourin  天孫降臨 

(n) the descent to earth of the grandson of the sun goddess.

Regarding Soh's descent...it means to descend from a high place, like a mountain, but not from heaven. To descend from heaven is 降臨. (The homonyms I posted)

It's said Yoshiro descends alongside Soh. (I interpreted this to be talking about the former Maiden(a Yoshiro) wearing the mask and descending alongside the Agricultural Goddess(Soh) who she is fused with. Especially when looking at what she can do when she loses all her health or Yoshiro is unwell.
She can still guide Villagers(Yoshiro) and bestow masks(Soh). With the mask, she is the Goddess.

But what if Yoshiro is actually related to the Goddess?

What's with the magatama on her chest?

Does the Goddess accept her as a descendant in order for her to be an abode?

Soh is quite cold to Yoshiro at times. Due to her dutiful nature and stoic personality. It's just business. But they seem to have fun in the tent together, and Soh provides comfort at times. They don't speak because they communicate telepathically. Soh also doesn't speak English, she speaks the language of the spirits. (The language we hear the Seethe and Shaman and Ascetic use)

She's definitely the Goddess, as it's confirmed by the developer we play as her.

In my post on their names(which is now a bit outdated), I mentioned Soh contains the spirits of 7 Maidens. This is possibly still true? Or they all merge into one.

Merging?

The first reminds me of the impurity pattern.

So her heavenly self becomes corrupted through merging with Maidens because the agricultural Goddess and Mountain Goddess are one in the same...

After looking at some in-game statues, it seems merging was the intention. I will post about it as soon as I can get better shots of the carvings.

I wonder if these are all sacrificed Maidens?(And I'm wrong about 7 only) 

Or is it just those who have passed?

I'm actually changing my mind about the 7 Maidens being one with the Goddess as Soh is dismissed from her service in the normal ending, which represents a normal cycle.