Ashina Arts [Japanese in Sekiro]

Discussing original Japanese descriptions of Ashina 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
0:54 - Disclaimers
1:30 - Tiny Transcription Legend
1:38 - Sources
1:53 - History of Ashina
5:48 - The Land of Ashina
8:24 - The Hirata Family
9:24 - The Tamura Clan
10:32 - Ashina Esoteric Text
12:19 - Ichimonji
13:29 - Ichimonji Double
13:45 - Ashina Cross
15:31 - Ascending Carp
17:48 - Descending Carp
18:45 - Flowing Water
19:25 - Breath of Nature
21:02 - Breath of Nature: Light
21:14 - Breath of Nature: Shadow
21:45 - Conclusion
Read more:
Taira clan - en.wikipedia.o...
Miura clan - en.wikipedia.o...
Ashina clan
www.japanese-w...
en.wikipedia.o...)
Battle of Suriagehara - ja.wikipedia.o...
Aizu - en.wikipedia.o...
Aizuwakamatsu -ja.wikipedia.o...
Hirata Family
ja.wikipedia.o...
www.japanese-w...
Tamura clan
en.wikipedia.o...
sengokujidai.o...
Dragon Gate - en.wikipedia.o...)
Koinobori - en.wikipedia.o...

[@shetanislair]

I mixed up the Battle of Sekigahara and the Battle of Suriagehara (っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ Sorry! Date Masamune defeated the Ashina in the Battle of Suriagehara (摺上原の戦い). I'll update the blogpost. Big thanks to @CannibalLollocaust for catching this mistake!

[@canniballollocaust9174]

In Shetani's defense, the Ashina being defeated at Sekigahara is top-notch headcanon

[@swagiro824]

if english and japanese are your second and third languages what is your first

[@TheNafets105]

I can only speak for myself but I can't be the only one who would love to listen to you talk about important events/time periods from japans history once you are done with sekiro! Speaking of, I think the time has come for another run.

[@netocock]

Nice one, thank you Shetani ;D

[@FSVR54]

Amazing concept and channel. Sekiro is my favorite game of all time, I just started learning Japanese and I think Russia is awesome!

[@shira_yone]

I like this style the most, Ichimonji is just a refreshingly straightforward combat art in a game filled with cool anime moves, and then the Ougi art just have to be one of the most anime to complete the package. I will start calling Ashina Cross as Ashina Juumonji from now on.

[@Rosegold_sky]

i lost it at isshin marketing the ashina's art

[@Duv1995]

The deep dive in real history was real interesting, however in a pre-release interview with game produced Yasuhiro Kitao, he explicitly said it's the game's story and lore is not based on real world events, but in an original world inspired by sengoku era japan.
Or at leas the english subtitles says so, we'll need your help to double check if thats correct!
Here's the original video: ruclips.net/video/RAU3xAXPRXY/видео.html
Dont wanna sound annoying by pointing this out, I just wanted to let you know there might be a different key to understand Sekiro's lore, and maybe save you some time if you ever decide to look through pages and pages of japanese historical documents :P
Aside from that, great video as always, my heart always jumps when I see a new sekiro translation video pop up in my yt, hehe :>

[@shetanislair]

Well, he says that they did not bring into the game any real places and any real people. And this is true, Isshin Ashina wasn't a real person, neither was Genichiro Ashina, and so on. There isn't "Ashina land" on the map and Mt. Kongo is not where it is in real life. He further says that this is "an original world that is a re-interpretation of the real motifs that existed during the Sengoku Period, done by FromSoftware" plus "some beautiful sceneries that existed in Japan from time immemorial like giant castles".
Of course, the game is not a documentary, however, I think, we can still derive some interesting details by looking at the real history of the Sengoku Period that they "re-interpreted". I think, you need to study something pretty hard to build a narrative inspired by that something.

[@herofromthedark]

Thanks for another great video. Wasn't expecting a deep dive into real history, but I love it!

[@metumortis6323]

This one was the most interesting episode yet! I remember when I played Sekiro for the first time I wondered if the Ashina were a real clan but never bothered to look it up.

[@sarkasmdaimyo2572]

@shetanislair The part where You say Isshin learned The Way/Lightning of Tomoe in His ISS day's I doubt it because He had not only
the Ashina arts but the Mushin/Hidden arts(when necessary) to rely on in battle, He highly respected the art but found the philosophies of it heretical
(even though there are grey area's with the whole concept) He inherited it from Genichiro at the end. With the Black Mortal Blade Genichiro not only
resurrected prime ISS He imparted The Way/Lightning of Tomoe & The Black Mortal Blade as added bonuses to the immensely marvellous skill set
to honour & aid Him, just as Mega Man gains the ability to use a Robot Master's special weapon/skill-set/arts/identity when defeated.

[@Late0NightPC]

I suspect the Flowing Water mistranslation was just a result of some grammar misunderstandings, by any chance is the possessor of the Katana not specifically mentioned in the description? I can see how the localized text coveys the same idea, that if you have a blade and are attacked, reduce posture damage taken, it just could be a lot more clear on who specifically needs to have the sword when you are being attacked.

[@hatskeleton635]

One thing I am confused about is how Mount Kongo is so close to Ashina Castle, since the real Mount Kongo is very far away from the Fukushima prefecture. Is it infact not a real mountain, and just happens to have the same name?

[@shetanislair]

I've been thinking about it too! Mt. Kongō in Sekiro is undoubtedly a reference to the real Mt. Kongō in Osaka Prefecture (it's the birthplace of Shugendo). The more geographically accurate mountain would be Iimori Mountain, they probably chose Mt. Kongo instead because of how prominent the religious theme is, even though it's located in a different place (￣ω￣)

[@hatskeleton635]

@@shetanislair Ah that makes more sense!

[@Er404ChannelNotFound]

@@shetanislair I found a comment on Fextralife explaining this commenting on their Senpou Temple article specifically and idk how accurate it is if at all since this is Fextra we're talking about XD. I'm leaning more on it being meant to reference the Osaka one myself, especially considering tjose striking autumnal colors which look stunning on the real thing in the pics I've looked at.
I'll paste the commenf here but yeah take it with a grain of salt:
"Mount Kongo is also a very common mountain name in Buddhism-influenced countries. There's a Mount Kongo (specifically 金剛山) in Japan, China, and North Korea. It's like finding a zone called The White Mountains in a Souls game and claiming the game's world is based in New Hampshire's White Mountains when there's probably hundreds of White Mountains in the world, the most famous being Mont Blanc."

[@shetanislair]

There are indeed several Kongō mountains (there is one in Niigata too) probably because of the 金剛 [kongo:] being such an important Buddhist symbol (or because people mined adamantine there). I'd say that it's still more specific than "White Mountains" and I still think that the in-game mountain is a reference to the Osaka one, mainly because of Shugendo. I hope to find more similarities when I get to this part of research (≧◡≦)

[@the-man-who-bites-his-tongue]

I refuse ju as ten. the true kenshin goes to Jumanji and learns swords from Robin Williams.

[@canniballollocaust9174]

I think you confused Sekigahara & Suriagehara

[@shetanislair]

You're right, I somehow did! Thanks for correcting me!

[@jimzenn]

20:27 Isn’t “a state of continued alertness” UNAGI? 😉

[@whentheshroomish]

Emma is a pretty interesting fight: she's not as fierce as Isshin, but she has a weird rhythm to her attacks that can make her tricky to beat if you're not being aggressive enough. Maybe it's a sign that she has good knowledge of Ashina techniques but not enough practical experience.

[@zifny3035]

Is there a Shetani's Lair discord server?