The Cannoneer's Eye.

When the Cannoneer aims, the eye on their helmet looks to the target alongside the nozzle of the canon.

Those glowing blueish jewels are often placed on the 'eyes' of the masks.

Spirit Stone Yoshiro's Body and Cursed Soh's Body.

Defiled Yoshiro≠Cursed Soh: The Spirit Stone and previous misconceptions.

Building off this post...I noticed something when looking very very close at Yoshiro and Cursed Soh.

I mentioned Yoshiro's Spirit Stone body is to protect her from impurity. There's very faint kaleidoscope patterns on her!

It looks exactly like the sky in the Unknown Land, too.

(PS4 isn't very high quality so I can't get good photos. It's also why I didn't see the pattern at first. That and the lighting made a huge difference.)

look at her glove, too.

Cursed Soh also has these patterns all over her. It's a symbol of the power of purification(or the Goddess) because we see it in Soh's attacks and when she makes her appearance. 

Another detail: Soh has a fox on her glove. Does Cursed Soh have a nine-tailed fox? Is that what those shapes could represent?
(Upon closer inspection, it might a deer, another animal widely considered to be a messenger of the Goddess)

Cursed Soh, the Goddess, is trying to protect herself from impurity and has possibly turned her body into Spirit Stone?

Or is it that the Maidens who become these things and have merged with the Goddess has caused her to turn into this?

When Yoshiro's hair turns pale lilac/grey, we get the scroll 'Birth of a Goddess', signally she's become like the Goddess. Or has merged with her.

She indeed looks like Cursed Soh.

When the pair sync up Yoshiro's movements sync with Soh's, not the other way around.
Yoshiro is becoming like Soh(Cursed) but because the lines have blurred due to Maidens being worshiped as the Goddess, Cursed Soh in turn became like her. (The long hair and outfit changes)

I talked here about the Goddess's behavior when encountering Soh and Yoshiro.

Another detail that rattles me:

Cursed Soh's footwear is symmetrical, unlike Soh's.

But in artwork, it's symmetrical:

A very deliberate change. But why?

Pure Speculation.

I'm still awaiting my collector's edition but someone made an unboxing a few months ago.
(I only saw it now. I don't search up Kunitsu-Gami much.)

Everything is so small...

Look at this screenshot I nabbed:

On the left is the new Maiden we see in the normal ending. On the right...who is that? It looks like a Maiden.

Look at the shape of the crown.

Is that Soh's Maiden form...? But the hair is Yoshiro's.

The reason I wonder if it's Soh is that it resembles horns.

The design reminds me of a wedding dress.

I read that the first god a shrine maiden is possessed by is the god she is considered to be married to.

It's apparently an old thing where a shrine maiden was considered to be the bride of the god/kami she was in service to.

Now if only I would finish my post on the relationship between Yoshiro and Soh...

Incense and the Tsuba Guards.

While doing some Taoism research, I discovered incense is a way to communicate with the 12 Divine Generals.

 In Taoism you can use incense to communicate with the Divine generals. The Tsuba guards(containing the divine generals' powers) charge with incense! 

That's how I learnt that the 12 Divine Generals are associated with the animal zodiac and that it's a very common idea in Eastern myth!

Soh's sword is said contain the power of the 12 generals. Remember how she can fast forward and rewind time using it? And we see the animal zodiac?

But, more on incense...

Ten has a post on the Tsuba Guard power.

The world of "Kunitsugami" (Path of the Goddess) as seen through its design: The spiritual power of the tsuba.

Isn't that beautiful?

The 12 Tsuba Guards are the 12 divine general's powers. Incense is used to communicate with them.

So the Tsuba Guard gauge being incense fits perfectly because we need it to be 'full' in order to use the power of the generals! (We are offering incense to them)

Taoist Incense Culture

Shinto has its roots in Taoism so they have much in common. That's why I wonder if the Shinto present in Kunitsu-Gami is closer to Taoism.

(I know it's correct English to write out 'twelve' but that's just for books, right? I prefer using 12.)

Writing on the Seethe(Part 2 featuring Ten's work)

Writing on the Seethe as they emerge.

A mystery solved by Ten!

Deciphering "Kunitsugami" in cursive writing: "Path of the Goddess" - The Cry of the Earless Hoichi

It seems the writing is the symbols for the twelve animal zodiac signs.

(I used google translate here)

Transcription and Characters:

1. "Tamahiki yometa matamafu (太満飛記与女天多満不)"

2. "Tofukami e mi tame ne u (止不可美衣三多女禰宇)"

3. "Hitsushitorau tachimuma (比徒之止良宇多川美武満)"

4. "Inuihara hishi sarutori (以奴以八良比之左留止利)"

Since "sarutori" and "ne u" appear infrequently, it seems reasonable to consider them as part of the latter half of the sentence. It can be seen that the twelve zodiac signs (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig) have been slightly rearranged.

Contents of cursive writing

1. "Tamahiki yomedatamau"

It seems unusual to start with "Tamahiki" if it translates to "to bestow purification."

2. "Tohokamiemitameneu"

"Tohokamiemitamene" is a relatively common phrase in Shintoism.

4. If we remove the zodiac signs from this sentence, only "Harai" (purification) remains.

After removing the zodiac signs from 1-4, the remaining phrases are "Tohokamiemitamene," "Harai," and "Tamahiki yomedatamau."

Upon checking "Shintoism Glossary of Key Terms: Rituals and Ceremonies," it was found that this originates from the "Sanju-daigarae" purification ritual.

Very interesting!

The text is a combination of the twelve zodiac signs ("Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig") and parts of the "Sanju Daiharae" purification ritual ("Tohokami Emimame, Haraitamai Kiyometamae"). 

Seethe is the embodiment of the sins and impurities that people have committed, and what is engraved on their bodies is the prayer, "God of our distant ancestors, please look upon us, purify us, and cleanse us."

Therefore, for Kyoku, being defeated by villagers wearing masks of the sect or ancestors is a form of "purification."

Even if the moment he is born from the torii gate he has inscribed on his body the wish to be "purified and purified," he soon forgets it (the inscription disappears) and begins attacking in an attempt to eliminate Yoshiro.

It's quite sad...

A prayer on their body, asking to be purified. Specifically by the God of their ancestors. 

The twelve zodiac animals are the twelve divine generals. Are the Seethe calling out to them, too?

Maiden Yoshiro's Guestbook.

Since I want this blog to be like those old fansites...

I'm adding a guestbook!!

I decided to call it 'The Maiden's Guestbook' since it seems more fitting for it to belong to the Maiden.

Yoshiro's Guestbook

As you can see by the first comment, I made it months ago and didn't post it...

I'm trying to figure out how to add it on top without cluttering. Should I just remove the link to my twitter? It's not important. Or remove the link to the soundtrack?

Tried making Guest Book Banners but...not quite there yet?

Hmm...

You know, her face really does look different at times

These are morbid. There are better photos of her but I can't decide which...

I want it to be like a Shinto Shrine stamp book but I have yet to figure out how to implement such an aesthetic in a way that satisfies me. 

What about adding a button at the top of the blog? I'm working on it...something like this:

but smaller...?

maybe even smaller...? but quality is getting ruined

At the bottom of my blog is a follow button, which I made because I wanted to use those icons. (I now use them for my featured post so I'll remove the button soon)
But her icon is too small to use for the guestbook banner. The button might be too big to use on the blog anyway...

I added a little 'What's your villager role' question to be funny. 

If you visit, please sign your name, if it's not too much trouble!

Blooming Yoshiro: jewel in the lotus.

When Yoshiro blooms at night, the pattern of her lotus resembles the shide (zigzag paper strops) of Soh's pink haraegushi (purification wand). Or should they be called paper streamers?

Soh's flower is also the lotus.

The lotus blooming from her head

Maybe a little bit like the crystals too?

Inside:

The lotus blooms in muddy(impure) water. It's often a symbol for spiritual enlightenment.

There's also the mantra phrase Om mani padme hum, speaking of a jewel in the lotus.