Temple Arts and Mushin Arts [Japanese in Sekiro]

Discussing original Japanese descriptions of Temple Arts and Mushin Arts.
I am a curious linguist, English and Japanese are my second and third languages respectively.
Orginal blogpost - shetanislair.c...
Other The World of Sekiro videos - • The World of Sekiro
Other The World of Sekiro blogposts - shetanislair.c...
Twitter - / shetanislair
Sources:
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Official Artworks
English wiki - sekiro-shadows...
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:56 - Disclaimers
1:43 - Tiny Transcription Legend
1:52 - Sources
2:06 - Senpou Esoteric Text
5:39 - Praying Strikes
6:25 - Praying Strikes: Exorcism
7:53 - Senpou Leaping Kicks
9:03 - High Monk
10:20 - Virtuous Deed
10:46 - Most Virtuous Deed
11:10 - Devotion
11:45 - Mushin Esoteric Text
13:33 - Shadowfall
15:07 - Mortal Draw
15:59 - Empowered Mortal Draw
17:21 - Spiral Cloud Passage
17:54 - Conclusion
Read More:
Kenpou - en.wikipedia.o...
Nippon Kempou - en.wikipedia.o...
Merit - en.wikipedia.o...)
Kleshas (worldly desires) - en.wikipedia.o...)
Satori - en.wikipedia.o...
Bodhisattva - ja.wikipedia.o...
Raga - en.wikipedia.o...)

[@metal_face9399]

Just wanna say that I really like these videos, and am looking forward to the second part of the project with all the environment exploration. I know these videos have a very niche audience, so I'm very grateful to you for making these. Keep up the great work!

[@shetanislair]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy the videos (っ˘ω˘ς )

[@BillyL_13]

Another amazing translation lore video! We all really appreciate the time you put into these. Thank you :)

[@tsubarashiii6251]

Huge. Was just rewatching your Sekiro playlist :)

[@labshire]

This series has been amazing! Thank you for all the hard work 💖

[@rusty0136]

Yay!!! I’ve been really hyped for the next video and here it is, it’s like a dream come true

[@tallowick6082]

Amazing vidoe as ever! Always love the insights in these.
As for Genichiro wielding the black mortal blade. I just always assumed he did die when he first drew it, but the rejuvenating sediment brought him back, like after being killed by wolf in Ashina Castle, and Isshin, well, he just came out of the underworld, so we'll assume wielding it doesn't kill him XD
That does still contradict the text saying only the oathbound of the divine heir could perform/master the mortal draw.
Perhaps the swords do differ in the sense that the red blade being meant to collect the dragon tears can indeed only be wielded by the oathbound due to its connection with the divine dragon? And the black blade either doesn't kill the user, or just needs any kind of immortality (rejuvenating sediment, centipede infestation, carp scales etc.)
Then again, what if the blade only needs to be drawn *once*. Wolf doesn't die every time he unsheathes the mortal blade. It only happens once. The divine child said the blade has never been drawn by anyone who survived, and we could see wolf didn't fully draw the blade before dying. Maybe it just needed to be fully drawn once? If that's the case then it would explain how Owl could take the black blade from Genichiro after killing him and not die from touching or wielding it despite not having any immortality himself.

[@shetanislair]

Oh no, I completely forgot that in Shura ending Owl has it! It's hilarious how many people who have nothing to do with the Dragon Heirs get to wield Kaimon :D

[@kyps1259]

Been looking foward to this video since i saw your ashina arts video

[@Duv1995]

Congrats on completing another set of items! These videos are my fav thing on youtube since a while now.
Also, good find in tomoe's name written on her tombstone, I never noticed that :o
Btw, there's a cool detail I found when you fight Owl on top of Ashina castle, if you don't perform the finisher deathblow and let him recover his health, he says something in japanese, which hasn't been translated in subtitles or even in the other dubs.
It's quite hard to grasp i'm sure, so you'll have to lower the music volume, but if you find out what he says that'll be another nice find!

[@shetanislair]

Thanks! I tested the Owl fight and he doesn't seem to say anything meaningful, there are no JP subs for this, it's just some old man grunting, that's all I hear :D

[@Duv1995]

@@shetanislair Oh! it seemed to me like he said something and I wondered if he was taunting wolf or begging for his life before getting killed... Well thats another mystery solved thanks to you haha :>

[@kckc2286]

I actually saw a video a while back that was showcasing the missed deathblows on him
According to the comment section he says 'you’re good' the first time and for the second time he says 'not yet'
Nothing groundbreaking but interesting nonetheless~

[@shetanislair]

@@kckc2286 Weird that I didn't hear anything even though I had the music almost turned off and the voices turned all the way up. I'll do more testing, I'm curious about it now o(>ω

[@kckc2286]

@@shetanislair if you type “sekiro owl deathblow” in the yt search bar you should see a video titled “Sekiro- Great Shinobi Owl Missed Deathblow Dialogue” in case you have troubles hearing it properly
I never heard it myself as well since I never miss deathblows lol >:3 but might be worth to try it out on other bosses as well now

[@Hitsoyu]

For some reason this video won't play when I'm logged in but I managed to watch the vid in a private window, Great as always!

[@krogaen741]

Also for the Divine Heir clause for both mortal blade skills, when it says, "only servants of the Divine Heir of the Dragon's Heritage" I think it's just implying that you have to overcome death to even use the sword, much less master a skill. I'm not sure how Genichiro managed this (he was doing his own quest through the game to get the blade, so maybe something happened there, or maybe it's the rejuvenating sediment that keeps him alive) but when Isshin uses it, he literally had popped out from the underworld, so I guess that's how he could do it. OR you are right and the black blade just doesn't kill the wielder :/

[@shetanislair]

Genichiro's story has a lot of untold parts. He shows up with another Mortal Blade (where did he get it and why couldn't Tomoe?) and starts Empowered Mortal Draw-ing like he's been doing it all his life, completely unbothered by the fact that ordinary people can't even wield Fushigiri swords. Since I'm not done with my research I hope to find some more details on it in the future (*・ω・)

[@Late0NightPC]

I don't think the Black mortal blade ever required it's user to die in order to draw it, only the Red mortal blade specifically notes that it will kill those who draw it. As far as I remember, there are only two bits of info you can get about the Black blade, one from spying on Isshin where he talks about how Genichiro must have the black version if you have the red version, and how tragic it is that he'd "abandon oneself in search of strength". Then there's the black scroll which mentions it's power is to open the gate to the underworld, and it's through that power that it creates life. But only the time it's mentioned that drawing any mortal blade will kill the user is the red mortal blade we get, but it specifies that "Its crimson blade" does so, marking it as an effect of just the red blade, or at least it says so in english.
So I think the two blades are meant to be two opposite parts of a duality. The Red blade is the "blade of death", able to kill anything permanently, but also killing the user in the process, making it only able to be used by the very immortals it's meant to kill. The Black Blade in contrast is the "blade of life" so to speak, able to open up a gateway to the afterlife and bring anyone back from the dead, though it requires the user's life to be utilized. They seem to reflect the Yin-Yang concept, with each one being focused on either life or death, but also having elements of the opposite trait to allow for that specialty.
Both blades will kill the user if their special ability is used, the one that allows you to bring death with any cut will kill you when you draw it to kill something, while the one that brings life will kill you when it brings the dead back to life.
Both also seem to be loaded in irony as a result of the specific context of the game's story. The Red Blade seems like the "bad" one, as it can only be used to kill and destroy in a selfish and domineering manner, yet we use it selflessly to end the suffering of people like Hanzo, serve Kuro and eventually return the Divine Dragon back home. Whereas the Black Blade seems like the "good" blade as it allows someone so absolutely devoted to another to sacrifice their very life in order to undo the loss of their lord, yet instead it's utilized by Owl in the Shura ending solely for the sake of power and dominance, and Genichiro throws everything away to desperately try and revive a legacy that even Isshin himself mentions is already long dead.
It may only be a result of looking at it with a western view, where we have a stronger concept of "good and evil", but I find the irony of what seems like the "evil cruel blade" being honestly utilized for only good, whereas the "good blade of great loyalty" ends up being utilized ignorantly and foolishly resulting in just more pain and suffering, even going as far as to inflict that pain on the dead, as Isshin was brought back just to see and confirm what he feared Genichiro would end up doing.

[@alyseleem2692]

​​​@@shetanislairAside from the view already established ( that is, that a sufficiently advanced imitation of the immortality of the Oathbound might be effective in allowing one to survive wielding the Mortal Blades, as with Genichiro having the Rejuvenating Sediment), I believe it is not impossible for Tomoe to have had the black Blade for one reason;
In the endeavour of Immortal Severance, Open Gate is utterly useless. It cannot draw the Dragon's Tears; that is simply not it's function. Returning to the divine realm is hopeless because even if they theoretically used Open Gate to construct the necessary aroma to return there, they wouldn't have the necessary tool to acquire the Dragon tears and achieve Severance or Purification.
The high priest likely locked away the Red Mortal Blade out of a desire to include Takeru in the plan for the Dragon's Return, but evidently, his methods if convincing needed work, as Takeru would die before it could come to fruition.
I don't think Takeru died of Dragonrot; even Kuro's cough is just him sneezing at dusty books, and is never really mentioned again, to my knowledge ( correct me if I'm wrong). Takeru might've had some sort of condition, even Dragonrot, but considering that the Oathbound only has the power to pull life and cause Dragonrot because of their ties to the Divine Heir, he wouldn't likely be one to die because of it.
The simplest answer is, they had the Black Blade, and Takeru's condition was bad enough for someone to use it to kill him, without achieving Immortal Severance.
Note: this isn't really my own theory, but still.

[@swootproonce634]

Your videos are pretty dope

[@shira_yone]

If we assume the black Mortal Blade has never been sheathed since the last time it was drawn (as someone said, we never saw the scabbard), then everyone can actually use the sword itself _but_ they can't *draw* the sword from it's sheath. Another assumption is someone only have to draw it once, dies, resurrect, and then they can use it repeatedly without dying again (like how Sekiro use it); Genichiro already did this ritual before we start the fight.
I'm inclined to believe in the former.

[@kckc2286]

The whole thing with the black mortal blade is definitely a curious topic.
I always assumed that Geni must somehow know its location due to the fact that Isshin wields it during the opening cutscene and therefore it should have been in his possession prior to the events of the game.
I also saw some fans making the association based on this fact that it was given to Tomoe by Isshin at some point, possibly offering it to her in order to try and achieve purification since she wasn’t able to get her hands on the proper one?
Hence why Geni possibly saw her developing and performing the mortal draw?
Plus in order to use its extended misty effect you need the blood of a divine heir right? In the opening cutscene there is no effect on the blade when Isshin is wielding it after all.
And since Takeru was a divine heir that could be a possibility I guess.
Also after the fight with Geni on the rooftop and after his “resurrection” you can see him staring at the direction of the fountainhead before jumping off all dramatically lol
I always assumed he went there in order to get the black blade but then again idk how he would manage to reach the top of it.
Since you would need the fountainhead aroma =0=
Also we never see the black blade in its sheath so maybe that’s why their users don’t have to be an immortal oathbound? Since it technically hasn’t been drawn lol?
Plus Owl is wielding it just fine.
Curiously enough the misty effect is already present in the Shura ending.
And with Kuro crawling up all weakened towards the end of the ending either he or Geni must have used his blood in order to get the effect and by extension access to its main usage.
At least that’s what I’ve been assuming.
Which puts me down the rabbit hole of what Owl actually was after and why he got his hands on Kaimon in the first place lol…
But I’ve been speculating and rambling at this point for too long now sorry about that ><
Great video btw thank you for your insights once again and keep it up pls!

[@krogaen741]

So if Tomoe could've been the only one who could've figured out Mortal Draw, but never had a mortal blade, then Genichiro, who learned everything from Tomoe and who actually acquired a mortal blade, then wouldn't he naturally have figured out the move? Since he is essentially picking up where Tomoe left off?

[@traceursebas]

Please do the shrine maiden next !

[@shetanislair]

We'll cover the shrine maiden in the Fountainhead Palace video (￣ω￣)

[@robertoblarasin1846]

Wow 😮 Thanks