Sekiro Lore | The Apparitions of Ashina [O'Rin, The Headless & Shichimen Warriors]

[@Detman101]

08:20 Did you ever notice the face that appears in the ghostly smoke when these guys are killed?

[@bullsmoothtime]

i think it might be a reference to the head they lost

[@pr6235]

It shows up in other of his orbs. It inflicts terror and they harness the death. While they are not apparitions themselves they harness their power. Oooo comment necromancy ooOooOoo

[@KaiserAfini]

In the Sengoku Jidai, headhunting was common. Killing a famous/key target and bringing their head to be recognized by a commander awarded a bounty, which not only included money, but sometimes titles or even land. But because the body was buried was buried incomplete due to becoming someone else's prize, this was seen as a great dishonor for the vanquished.

[@serlistogiette4168]

I know you

[@047-j2y]

@@serlistogiette4168 Wtf

[@serlistogiette4168]

@@047-j2y Crazy that i know someone whoaaa

[@047-j2y]

@@serlistogiette4168 Yes sir

[@andrew-rn9ui]

Then what about samurai who get beheaded during seppuku ?

[@duchi882]

*Oh wait this isn't Vaatividya* Oh well, its quality content anyway

[@natandustin3875]

:))))

[@caluwebrendbc]

love vaati but this dudes dedication is inspiring and vaati is a bit slow

[@TRU_Lunchy]

He does ape Vaat's tone and pace.

[@misalive]

Brend Caluwe a lot of people like vaatis slow and calm voice

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks bud! 😀glad to hear you liked my take!

[@Kid_Naps]

The Red Helmet on Shichimen has a gold centipede on top.

[@bimbim1885]

Does it involves the fountainhead palace / rejuvenating waters then? I guess some guy from those place maybe

[@Kid_Naps]

@@bimbim1885 or, centipedes are literal manifestation of corruption, which is what I would take out of it

[@teddyberghammer5689]

We know

[@alexandreoliveiras7760]

i dont even understand wtf is that in shichimen head

[@Sithlug]

@@Kid_Naps We need Valtr to come help crush these vermin centipede scum!

[@DOMINNIMOD198]

Watch the documentary ''samurai headhunters'', in ancient Japan battles, it was common to capture the heads of your enemies, the highest ranking the head was the highest reward, lands, houses...etc you would receive for it. It was like a kill proof. Gyobu references this,'' you won't take this gyobu's head'', and Jozou the drunkard also posses a bags of heads on his back.

[@SmoughTown]

Rodd I’ll give it a look! Thank you :)

[@Nanorisk]

East Asian warriors tend to use enemy skulls as a proof of kill counts.

[@gamer-ff6mh]

Regarding O'rin and Jinza... Do remember that Buddhism believes in reincarnation... So Jinza can also be a reincarnation of Sakuza. Probably he kept hearing the song from the forest since childhood and his father wanted him to stay away fearing some kind of spirit or superstition. Spirits again ...both good and bad...were/are pretty common in Eastern lore. In my country a stranded spirit of a lover reuniting with his lost love through their reincarnation is a pretty common theme.

[@starman69]

I really think jinza is o’rin’s child. The fact that she plays a lullaby for him and doesn’t attack him, and that he has the cloth he would have be swaddled in.

[@joelperry997]

Wow! That's actually an insanely good theory , that might very well be possible.

[@onewontdo]

This is not much of a theory but pretty much a confirmed fact. One of the best and the most tragic lore arc in the game

[@joelperry997]

@@onewontdo how exactly has this been confirmed??

[@onewontdo]

@@joelperry997 Item description, condition in which item was found, context of the dialogue and the dialogue itself. I cannot see any other way this story arc would have intended to be interpreted. Obviously the baby was taken away from his mother by his father's associates, likely because of clan feud between Orin's Okami(can be observed from her weakness to poison and style of fighting) Clan and Sakuza's either Ashina or Interior Ministry Clan. That longing to see her lover and her baby kept Orin to the living world long after passing(either died waiting, assassinated by Sakuza's clan or committed suicide). Jinza's(by the way whose name ending is similar to Sakuza, common practice for Japanese children to share similar endings with their parent's)statue is wrapped around in Orin's pink cloth which Jinzo, as a baby, was wrapped in when he was taken away from Orin. Also the description of the statue mentions about wishing the baby to live in peace, another evidence of feud between parents' clans.

[@onewontdo]

@@joelperry997 Orin's longing drew Jinza in and tragically, when they were finally able to meet each other after all this time, Jinza dies probably because of the battle injuries sustained during his travel to the final destination.

[@edi9892]

Me: this chick looks like trouble. I'll explore the arena first. O Rin: how dare you ignore me? Me: OK. This was not what I've expected...

[@tylercronley6047]

We should get a dlc or sequel where we get to see Ungo, gachiin, yashariku, ako and gojin in their primes

[@House_of_Green]

O’rin reminds me even more of the blind girl from samurai champloo even more now

[@OblivionsAbyss]

Yea me too

[@CrowPiper]

yeah damn, right down to the longing to see her own child. and the eventual tragedy of it

[@DantzikZodarro]

Smough, just felt like letting you know, the small assassin guys don’t seem to be the ones that the Tengu was talking about, as you only need to kill the one next to the tree which seems to be spying on the other two

[@adamtoth5025]

Yeah, you can actually tell by the hat, since the one next to the tree has a smaller round hat, and the others have bigger hats. In Senpou temple when you find these little guys they have the smaller hats, though there is one in Senpou temple with a bigger hat, but I'll asume it's a spy from Ashina Castle.

[@jessiejoy1703]

These fucking rats are everywhere lol. Ones in Senpou, two different teams in Ashina , Blackhat, the red ones with the ministry, fuckers

[@brandonpejchl]

You can kill any of the 'rats' in the game to continue isshins tengu quest... Not just the one watching the two at the castle gate. Just so you know!

[@batchagaloopytv5816]

NuggitzBuggitz u dont have to kill two at the castle ,its the tree single small hat rat hes speaking of

[@DantzikZodarro]

NuggitzBuggitz I tried killing just the ones with the big shield hats nearby and not the one by the tree and it didn’t work

[@weirdreportt]

Jinza is Orin's son. Perhaps, the reincarnation of her miscarriaged baby. Or maybe, the baby doesn't actually died and was taken by Lord Sakuza from Orin and distanced themselves as Lord Sakuza didn't love Orin anymore. This was supported by the fact, Jinza's father prevents him from going to the ravine in which he was aware that her former lover went mad after leaving their relationship without closure

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

The Spiritfalls text at the top indicate that they are the spirits of the namesake. "Fallen, headless spirit of 'Yashariku."

[@nickykeefover6659]

Yeah I'm confused why he "doesn't buy this"

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

I'm no lore expert, but it seems pretty straight forward to me. *shrug*

[@chantingzhang]

This actually involves a bit of translation (or in this case, what failed to translate) The Buddha Sugars's, and by extension, the Spiritfall names in the original and the Chinese texts are actually not names of people, but rather a Buddhist chant combined with the sugar's property, but they do not have an English equivalent, and therefore they are only translated in sound, which made them look like names. Arko's Sugar was originally 阿攻飴, 阿, was a Buddhist word originating in the hindu language, originally sounded "A", representing the sound the mouth makes first (when it opens to begin a speech) , and 攻 means attack. The sugar increases attack. Ungo's Sugar was originally 吽護飴, 吽, was a Buddhist word originating in the hindu language, originally sounded "hu^m", representing the sound the mouth makes last (when it closes after completing a speech) , and 護 means protection. This sugar is for defense. In a few factions of Buddhism, "Ar" and "Un" represents the beginning and end of everything, Alpha and Omega, but if they actually translate them to Alpha and Omega, the buddhist connotation would be lost, so that was a bit of a bind there. Also, Gachin's Sugar was originally 月隐飴, 月, means the moon, and, 隐, hiding or stealth, combined they mean something or someone stealthy, like a ninja. The sugar increases stealth. Gokan's Sugar was originally 剛幹飴, 剛, means hard, or unyielding, and 幹, pillar, or body, combined they mean of course, steady posture. The sugar or spirit fall increases posture. Yashariku is a special case though. Originally 夜叉戳, 夜叉 in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist texts means a class of fierce spirits usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, but always said to be devouring evil spirits, whether would they devour the occasional people vary between texts (its.....complicated, you may wiki Yaksha and see for yourself). Just think of them as inhuman warrior spirits. And 戳 means either a stab, or a special polearm originating in South and East Asia. Whether the sugar and spritfall means you got stabbed by a Yaksha or are granted its strength (like, its weapon figuratively?), the result is you traded defence for inhuman power when you consume the thing......so...either works I guess, but surely it is not a name.

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

@@chantingzhang Couldn't they be people named after the chants? The image for the sugars have a figure and each spiritfall image has that figures respective head above a headless.

[@aphidamas1]

@@chantingzhang Whether weeb or Asian, I appreciate you.

[@brebor4282]

Boys, I have a crazy theory about the headless. We are told that they were once great warriors who were corrupted. We also know that seven people helped Isshin retake his lands during the rebellion. Those guys (the seven ashina spears) were incredibly strong, but throughout the game we only meet two of them and both are similar in size to the headless minibosses.

[@kankawabata3398]

BreboR but they use swords not spears

[@jackwithrow536]

Gyobu was one of the spears

[@wumarNart]

7:27 I like how this scene matches what you said.

[@MrSlaughterrific]

Your gameplay upsets me, but I enjoy the rest of the video

[@jordyboy321]

Haha same

[@Trap-chan750]

same

[@alastor8091]

Pfp matches perfectly.

[@Belial289]

i can't be upset because my gameplay looks almost the same.

[@funkrobot9762]

Imagine getting upset over something so trivial. Elitist souls fans are the worst

[@Yashahiro_]

The Spirtfalls literally say “Fallen, headless spirit of ____” so i think they are indeed the corrupted spirits of the people that the candy is named after

[@jrmorrow2]

This is one of the best lore theories I’ve heard on the Shichimen and probably one of the closest that make sense

[@CarlMatthewWCamba]

Dealing vitality damage to these dudes without divine confetti is a pain in the ass.

[@TiggZ_]

Definitely! I personally used the lilac umbrella to beat most of em

[@Argonak1]

J4Y50N lilac umbrella is a godsend for apparitions.

[@itzmrinyy7484]

@@Argonak1 and the purple gourd, I can't tell you how many times I ran out of pacifying agents until I got the purple gourd

[@Khan-_-Art1st]

Does Headless even take damage at all with no Divine Confetti?

[@danielchristensen3657]

Brow Ming some do, some don’t. The ones underwater will take damage without confetti

[@aphidamas1]

Another Senpou connection for the Headless is the statues found in a couple of places throughout the temple area. When you enter one of the temple buildings through the rafters there are five statues. Five Headless, five statues. It's easiest to recognize the connection when you look at the center statue that greatly resembles the Gokan's Sugar/Spiritfall item icons. The poses aren't the same so the other two armed statues aren't so easy to match but Gokan's statue is pretty spot on.

[@VikingBrave]

Those statues are the four heavenly kings along with Taishakuten or maybe Ashura. They are very common in Buddhist temples. So I don't think they have a connection. Here's a source: www.onmarkproductions.com/html/shitenno.shtml

[@aphidamas1]

@@VikingBrave Hmm, interesting. I've heard of Bishamon before but didn't know about his origin. Is Taishakuten ever depicted with multiple arms? I still think that From is drawing a connection to the headless and these Buddhist figures since they show up in all of their item icons. Maybe there is something to their mythology that could shed a light on the lore of the headless?

[@VikingBrave]

@@aphidamas1 Michael W After some thought I think the central figure is Ashura (considering he is depicted with multiple heads and arms). Just like this: yokai.com/ashura/ . They reason I don’t see a connection is because the ako and the ungo sugars seem to depict the guardians of a Buddhist temple, these guys: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nio, and not the figures in the rafters. They are actually at the first gate at senpou temple too. So that no longer creates a connection between the headless and the statues. However, I do think you’re right when it comes to the central figure and the gokan sugar. Maybe Gokan is another word for Ashura? When it comes to the other sugars I have no idea lol.

[@aphidamas1]

@@VikingBrave You might be overlooking the strongest bit. The spiritfall items that you get from killing the headless have the same icon pictures as the sugars except portraits of the headless are in front of them. They share names and effects too i.e. Ako's sugar/Ako's spiritfall, both boost attack. There's something there but heck if I know what it means.

[@VikingBrave]

@@aphidamas1 That could be true, but your original comment was about the connection between the figures in the rafters and the headless.

[@a7xandria198]

I didn't realize that I stopped listening to the commentary when the First Hunter score started playing in the background. :/ I did go back to finish it, though, and certainly enjoyed your take on O'Rin.

[@rohandcosta4019]

When the samurai actually performs the seppuku, the kaishakunin steps forward, letting the katana drop straight through the back of the neck of the dying samurai. Just before making contact, the kaishakunin grips the handle (tsuka) with both hands, giving precision to the katana's blade and strength to the downward cut (kiritsuke). The final cut must be controlled in order to reach only half the neck of the samurai; the kaishaku, leaving the required skin to hold the head attached to the samurai's body, was performed by a single slashing/withdrawing motion of the katana. ( My brother told me if the Samurai gets beheaded ( head is separate from the body) the soul does not find peace ) . I do not if it right. I feel like the headless are Soldiers that were given a disgrace death

[@aphidamas1]

Naawlegde!

[@jocksmachina7759]

I agree with this. I think you can see the piece of skin on the headless as well a creepy detail for sure! I think they were heroes given brutal dishonourable deaths. Or not given their heads in burial.

[@ratasslordofyoink4542]

You have never felt the touch of a woman.

[@aphidamas1]

FYI, if anyone is having trouble with O'Rin try using Floating Passage, it's useful against a tough enemy for once. O'Rin has a tough time blocking every hit so the skill is an almost a guarantee to get in some chip damage. It's not quick but it will get you there all the same.

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

Sabimaru is good against her too

[@rieJW]

That note at 1:03 was truly intimidating and creepy, a whole group of soldiers hell maybe even a army failed to kill it so it was contained instead

[@ThiagoCRocha-fh6lg]

it's facinating that the game tackles different topics of the main theme of Consequences of Immortality and its pursuit. While we have The consequences of being immortal while being used by mortals in Kuro and The Divine Child (and Takeru); We have the Consequences of achieving immortality in Sekiro and Tomoe; We have the consequences of having a immortal society in the Palace Nobles; We have the consequences of pursuing immortality in Genichiro and Dousaku; and now this, A comparison of immortality between living and the not living. This was an amazing lore video for adding this Holy From Software, this game is the just the best game

[@SmoughTown]

Thiago C.Rocha definitely agree! It’s granted by the divine but it still must drain life from elsewhere. Aside from that there is the human aspect - where people will do unconscionable things to get it. Glad you enjoyed!

[@weirdreportt]

Yet they say, Sekiro isn't deep as Souls borne series.

[@ThiagoCRocha-fh6lg]

@@weirdreportt by far this game was more aproachable. I guess That's why some players are saying that. Since we needed to dig far more from previous titles. But i would argue that because this game is more direct, the quests are defnetly easier, and the story is more proeminent, it made it better, because they could throw more lore in the background

[@yakdeculture9761]

Your narration is much more natural paced and easier to listen to here! Thank you!

[@SmoughTown]

De Culture thanks! I’ve been trying to listen to feedback :)

[@tamamonomae2740]

Orin of the waters has a bit of a different backstory. I believe instead that she was in love with Lord suzuka. And like you imagined had a child with him. However, she is a simple worker, not royalty or divine. Just a common peasant. Thus Lord suzuka could not join her and she was constantly lied to, her letters not delivered. Eventually, she is killed by 1 of the retainers and her body was thrown into the forest sending Lord suzuka to die, causing the headless spirit in the forest as he tried to return to her but lost his way there. The retainers would thus continue to perform the Buddha statue wrapping as an offering to keep the child safe from hearing the voice of Orin who sought the blood of Suzuka even if just an heir. Eventually, their lordship is lost and they became peasant forced to abandoned the ritual and leaving the guard to hear her voice. And as the story follows. When she is defeated by Sekiro, she is able to live by the side of her child, her heir, and take care of him in his passing. The statue kept sacredly by lord suzuka once for their heir and onwards now to sekiro and his attempt to protect his own child of sort. Kuro.

[@Interneter1245]

Ummm, WOW!

[@gabzdark07]

Sounds like fanfiction to me.

[@tamamonomae2740]

@@gabzdark07 Well there are just 2 parts that might be considered fanfiction. The headless in the forest being Lord Suzuka. Orin being assassinated. The former is simply due to a complete lack of information. The later being a lack of detail which insinuates her death. I like to assume that the headless is Lord suzuka since generals and samurai tend to hold large blades. It helps that the video did bring up the sumo type enemies being the same body type with 1 being a general so it's actually somewhat safe to assume as such. Orin's situation is mainly guessing since we can't see scars, disfiguration and such. Her kimono doesn't give a wedding person in white or a married woman who got murdered while wearing white since her outfit is naturally decorated to we can't even assume she was harmed. And the only close up on her face doesn't show anything bad so... Yeah. Those 2 points are the only fanfiction as far as I know. Though the story and circumstances pretty much line up.

[@ibn_adham]

@@tamamonomae2740 The headless in the forest is not Lord Sakuza. He is the spirit of the fallen warrior Gachiin. You are completely ignoring Headless lore. This is entirely made up of fanfiction. O'rin cannot possibly be a peasant if she is wearing a decorative kimono and is capable of making use of a blade. Smough's theory actually uses substantial evidence as opposed to your lackluster drivel.

[@rozmarinideas5340]

@@ibn_adham Gachiin is a stance taken in Japanese theatre, not the name of the spirit. It is the lotus-like position Sekiro takes when biting the candy.

[@House_of_Green]

Jinza might’ve been her son since she plays him a lullaby

[@gabbywana8657]

😱😱🙌🙌

[@JoKad17]

His garb kinda reminds me of the Jizo statues cloth. But I might be grasping at straws here.

[@House_of_Green]

JoKad17 the purple is definitely significant, I think it adds to the theory more

[@JoKad17]

@@House_of_Green tbh it is miyazaki game so coincidences are kinda rares. I just don't like to build theories based on insubstantiated evidences but this definetly goes on the pile. He could be a reincarnation of the soul of her stillborn

[@hood-phantom]

JoKad17 that could also explain why he is the only one who could hear the melody

[@Wes]

Quality has definitely improved from the first few lore videos. You're more focused and are speaking much more clearly. Probably the most interesting episode so far too. Nice work!

[@SmoughTown]

That's kind of you, thank you so much!

[@NamelessKing1597]

17:00 The two aren't mutually exclusive and actually fit really well together. Isshin is lord of the Ashina and in addition to being a sword saint is very good with a spear hence he himself could be a Spear of Ashina. The other 6 would be his retainers. We meet Gyoubou, Shikibu, and Shume. 3 are unaccounted for; the Shichimen could be those 3. They could even still be in the places you said for the reasons you said.

[@jocksmachina7759]

Are there the same amount of headless as shichimen? How many of each? Maybe the 3 missing spears were killed and decapitated? My thought is that the headless could be the former heroes aka ashina spears. Perhaps the shichimen are their angry spirits or the shichimen raise the headless or curse them.

[@soybajo-kira8585]

@@jocksmachina7759 there are more headless than there are shichimen

[@rbelljr29]

I was fascinated by O'Rin from the moment I saw her name....why "of the water", then I listened to your explanation, and read the story in the link about the blind shamasien player, and how she was dumped in a river on the way from Edo. Amazing connection. I'm of the believe that jinzo was possibly her son, because why else would she let him even live long enough to die outside the graveyard.

[@lonewolf4689]

Also the statue he gave to us is covered with piece of cloth that is similar to O'rin as some people pointed out so yeah it's confirmed he's her son.

[@helfire14]

It's funny to think that if the theory is true, that O'Rin became a ghost by being ghosted, lol

[@Oddwinters]

Something that I accidentally found, if you kill a shichimen warrior with a backstab then use puppeteer ninjitsu on it, the red mask which you speculated was the lord’s has the blue glowing eyes, suggesting it is the main head controlling the body

[@SmoughTown]

Great spot!

[@thebruh9547]

I know Im year's late but I realized recently that if you look at the concept art of the Shichimen warrior, he is supposed to represent two sides. One mound of masks are looking upwards, surrounded by yellow cloth and the top mask having some sort of disc or sun on it. While the other mound is looking downwards, surrounded by black hair and with a centipede on its main mask. Also it wears 2 breast plates that fit each side: one is a light color and the other is red. This is interesting considering the ways characters seek immortality and where the warriors are located.

[@Dingus7696]

Perfection. Smoughtown. I have one word for Your content, PERFECTION ! I love leaving you feedback on all your videos (as you may have noticed) I truly think you're at the top of the lore channel list. Never have I ever followed a lore channel so Religiously. But man. You bring quality content to the table. Absolutely fantastic.

[@SmoughTown]

Kedar Rao awesome bud! Really glad you enjoyed this! I love making this videos but it’s so nice to hear feedback like this :) I’ll keep making them

[@Chyguy]

I feel like the candies and spiritfalls are connected, personally. The bloated, decrepit form of Ashinas old heroes who potentially fell into the path that lead that way. It makes sense that the headless would drop the spiritfall connected to which hero they were.

[@jacopoarmini7889]

it's odd that ghostly beings in Sekiro are so tied with the concept of identity loss, probably because these beings are so obsessed with their malicious thoughts that they have forgotten who they were, becoming faceless machines of death. O'Rin maintained a semblance of her original form probably because she was still hoping for Sakuza to recognise her, although her straw hat implies that her transformation in a blood-crazed monster has already begun. By the way, what's with flutes in Sekiro? Whenever you hear one you know it's either some lovecraftian blueblood out for your youth or a vengeful spirit who wants to use Sekiro as a punching bag.

[@jessiejoy1703]

O’rin of the water is most definitely an O’Okami warrior lol. The sabimaru attack gives her the same affect as the snake eyes, who are Okami descendants.

[@GameOHolicsGitTurntGud]

what about the random ghosts that appear, and fight you in ashina as you progress though the game? (normal mobs, but just in spirit form.)

[@bimbim1885]

I also wanna ask that too, these phantoms are specifically ashina enemies (Ashina castle swordsmen and Nightjar Ninja),and the place that they spawned are on the Senpou temple entrance lift, Shadow Forest, and Mibu Village... I don't know if there's an explanation of them being related to the apparitions lore or just one of Dragonrot punishment system as like the Black Phantom system in Dark Souls 1

[@bimbim1885]

Oh, and did you remember that folding screen monkeys have a groups of phantom monkeys that the colors of them just like the ashina enemies phantom? But the difference is the monkeys deal terror build up, I dunno man, maybe he would explain this if you really request him to do so... But you know, I think we can blame it to Mist Noble? As that guy creates illusions

[@planetxaudio1699]

I think they only appear if you take the prayer bead from the grave site in the suken valley. Since you take the prayer bead they appear as karma

[@dragonsdream4236]

This has never happened to me

[@titiansenjaya3432]

I think there is an explanation on that in the loading screen, they are vengeful spirit and only appears after dawn if memory serves me right.

[@jameelbassier7703]

In the sengoku jidai I remember reading or watching something that stated samurai took heads of other powerful samurai and lords as trophies to increase their rank, however after presenting the head to their warlords they were required to send the head back home to the family of the fallen warrior as they believed that person couldn’t enter the afterlife if the head was missing. Maybe the headless are beings that got decapitated but never got their heads back meaning they are unable to enter the afterlife therefore becoming cursed

[@EldritchHarrr]

It's been a while since I've done a full exploration of the game so I may be a bit rusty on the details, but there's something extremely peculiar that's been nagging in the back of my head ever since I found it. Remember how those samurai ghosts come out in specific locations after dark? I believe most of them appear near the places they died, usually in graveyards or places littered with corpses like Senpou. Because of this, they usually appear in groups. Well, only a single ghost appears in all of Mibu village as far as I can remember, and it appears on the bridge right after O'Rin's arena-- so long as you go there after dark, of course. Like, it's the first thing you walk on after the fog wall disappears. I guess whether or not there are more of them in the village doesn't really matter, what stands out here is that you fight O'Rin, and then the first thing you encounter is a single samurai noble who appears on a tiny bridge that is too narrow to cross while someone is blocking the way. This guy isn't just climbing out of his grave and attacking whatever's around, he's here to fight *you*. As you might imagine, the first thing that entered my mind was "Oh, this must be Lord Sakuza." I feel like it would be too much of a coincidence to not be the case. Even if her character was inspired by that real-world story-- which she probably was--- I think that the similarities end after her aesthetic and the theme surrounding her. What my experience led me to believe is that Lord Sakuza never stopped trying to spend time with O'Rin, I think he simply died upon either exiting or returning to the village, perhaps falling into the lake or something. It's not uncommon to find tales of a love-struck person falling into complete denial or simply going crazy after their lover dies. Imagine Sakuza promises to return and leaves her home, only for the villagers to tell you that he died right there in the village shortly after. I don't think it's hard to imagine that she went nuts and called them all liars, just like she does to you. She sends letters to someone who doesn't exist anymore, maybe even starts attacking people who even suggest that he's dead. Maybe she even killed herself after coming out of the denial, either out of a loss of a will to live, or in hopes of being with him in the afterlife, maybe? Now I'm sinking into speculation, I know, but I feel like it doesn't contradict anything about her and fits the ghost-- who I feel is very obviously connected to her somehow-- into her story cleanly, still "watching over her" or something like that. Remember, O'Rin is an *apparition* and not a ghost like the samurai is. She's not fully dead like he is, so it makes sense that there would still be a separation preventing them from being together. After all, she's the one who died with something heavy on her mind, tormenting her until the very end. I'm sure most of us here are familiar with how that turns out in Japanese folklore. Also, I do think that Jinza is a descendent of a child they had together, but probably multiple generations down the line. Idk about the rest of you but I get the vibe that most of the headless have been dead for a loooooong time, so I feel like there's no way to tell how long ago this all went down. As for why his father told him to stay away from the forest... well, recall what I speculated about her mental state near the end of her life. If you were raised by a mother who went crazy from pure heartbreak-- in Mibu Village of all places, where everything's just fucked-- I imagine that whole experience would have you warning your children's children about how that place is just nothing but bad news.

[@sul141]

I choose to believe all your speculations because they all make a lot of sense mate. Good job.

[@SmoughTown]

sul141 thanks buddy! Glad you liked my take on this

[@devinguy]

Genichiro also matches the description of the spiritfalls.

[@jamesburk8145]

man if i have to fight genichiro AGAIN as a vengeful apparition in DLC i'm gonna be pissed.

[@namelessknight7510]

Genichiro i pity that one lol

[@rizkivieri9890]

James Burk yeah, but the idea of fighting him one more time as a headless spirit is awesome tho

[@bimbim1885]

hold on, what?

[@lonewolf4689]

@LeadFaun Wait he never lost his head except in the Shura ending

[@playmsbk]

Great video mate, but I want to add a little more to your shichimen theory. Due to the centipede on one of the heads I think that the requirements for the creation of a shichimen is everything you said in addition to the death of one who has consumed the rejuvenating waters. The first shichimen drops the ceremonial tanto, which is something the vassals of ashina would use, in addition to doujun dumping the bodies of his experiments there, which had to do with the waters. The second shichimen appears only after we kill the headless ape, an infested being, and the shichimen there is probably an amalgamation of all the warriors the ape has killed. Lastly the third shichimen is located near the source of the waters. My point is there are lots of places with lots of death in this game, but shichimen only appear where there was a lot of death and a source of immortality as well. Sorry for the long comment, but what do you think?

[@quentinr5286]

Ya the one warrior that appears after the ape could be Kingfisher who was most likely eaten by the Ape as you get The Kingfishers ring when you kill the ape.

[@bimbim1885]

Ah, so they attracted by the lost souls and also rejuvenating waters

[@playmsbk]

@@bimbim1885 I don't think they're attracted by these things but actually created by them. For example the malcontents ring is something that only kingfisher would own. That for me confirms that the kingfisher is one of the spirits forming the shichimen, as it would be weird to assume that a shichimen who would be attracted there from some other location should have this item.

[@bimbim1885]

@@playmsbk ah I see I see, so they are instead an amalgamation of those souls and rejuvenating waters? Thanks for clearing my head

[@TooBigBirdy]

Top shelf video, Smough. I speculate that Jinzou is O'rin's son, as some other folks mentioned in the comments. Interesting intake on Headless as well, I at first thought that they are Ako, Gaichin and the rest of the sugar gang but your claims make sense! Would be interesting to hear your opinion about barrel bros who crave carp scales for days. Cheers.

[@SmoughTown]

TooBigBirdy thanks buddy! Glad you liked it. Yeah he defo could be, certainly would make sense.

[@DivineBanana]

Dude excellent analysis on the headless, I was thinking the same thing about how "Headlessness" is a concept in Buddhism and the way you apply it to the in game lore was brilliant! I didn't know about the basket head monks, and how the basket in a way represents the same thing as headlessness

[@andrevaldez2810]

Great video ! In brazilian portuguese Shichimen Warrior is translated as "Thousand Faces Warrior"

[@SmoughTown]

André Valdez thanks my friend! It’s interesting to hear how these things translate in different localisations

[@andrevaldez2810]

@@SmoughTown Yes ! and Seven Spirits or Thousands both makes sense

[@kobiromano6115]

I love your vids and I love that you credit the other researchers

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks buddy, I really appreciate the support.

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

Dude it's crazy... Dark Souls 2 was the first game that really expanded the fanbase and introduced a huge amount of people to the Souls series. Then Bloodborne did the same. Now it's Sekiro that has really mainstreamed it all. Lore channels are becoming popular and getting lots of traction. And good on you, I wish you nothing but success on youtube.

[@SmoughTown]

iWillWakeYouUp thanks friend :) I love when a FS title brings more and more people into the franchise. I absolutely love delving into the lore of this game and will continue to do so

[@borischan5252]

Is this SekiLore?

[@gaunterodimmmastermirrors72]

One in the cave is named "Ako." He's one of the headless who is the light red sugar candies.

[@crozraven]

When someone become "shura," it's better to be cut down immediately. The sculptor was one of the rare one to survive after being a shura, which showed how skilled Isshin was. Even then, Sculptor was in constant struggle thus keep making idols & eventually succumb (as Demon of Hatred). It seems a person that fall into "shura" state condemned to be targeted vessels of evil/corrupted souls, so even after death they get re-animated again which are the headless guys. This is also kinda coincided with Sekiro's Shura's ending as his bloodlust succumbed him into madness & became a demon in the end.

[@theprotato5774]

sekijo didn't become a shura. He almost became one.

[@aphidamas1]

I figured that Isshin cutting off his arm is what prevented him from becoming shura.

[@Akko1]

Can you make a lore investigation about the great carp? Consider the connection between the waterfalls from fountainhead palace and the place where the undying monkey is found for the first time, if Im not mistaken this carp died and fell from the palace sky waters, this means the palace waters are the ones this river carries, and that could also explain why the myst village got haunted by the villagers drinking the river water. Lots of stuff going on here lol.

[@XDRONIN]

@SmoughTown, After watching your video it occurred to me that perhaps the Headless of the forest is Lord Sakuza, also because, if you tell Rin that you don't know *Where he is,* she calls you a liar like *the rest* but, perhaps the rest also didn't know and the Headless description seems to describe a man who fell apart, went insane and ultimately lost his way into the forest, that's my theory anyway. Good video.

[@michaeldouglas1042]

It's nice to hear a Scottish accent. Love your vids man

[@scarlet__eye9489]

Yes!!! Been waiting on this one! Quality as usual 👌👍

[@SmoughTown]

Arron Davidson Thanks bud, glad you enjoyed it!

[@alastor8091]

Man, Vaati has been slacking a lot. You new guys are poised to take his spot.

[@orc001]

Haha Vaati's newborn must be taking a toll. What a .. slacker

[@alastor8091]

@@orc001 Vaati has a baby?

[@orc001]

@@alastor8091 haha yup, announced in his latest. But I agree, this real life stuff is really getting in the way of my lore'ing!

[@antyey6437]

Considering all the info we have on the Headless, isn't it likely that Genichiro becomes one in the Shura Ending? -He gets beheaded by Owl. -He is a corrupt hero who protects his country. -Has made deals with Senpou Temple monks, most likely. Which may mean that there's a Genichiro's Sugar most likely being made in honor of him.

[@GregoryMom]

Genichiro Ashina I wonder what his Spiritfall is like.

[@antyey6437]

​@@GregoryMom I've seen lots of people commenting on my reddit post that it could be shooting infinite centipedes 'out of your arse' or screaming 'FOR THE GLORY OF ASHINA!'(the second one is a joke obviously ;P). :-| Hmm...personally I'd say it'd be either the effect of the Red Lumps or something else entirely. Like, say for example, increasing the DOE(duration of effect) of certain prosthetics(mainly Firecrackers, Flamethrower, Mistraven, etc.).

[@col44446]

Says Genichiro himself.

[@antyey6437]

@@col44446 For the sake of preserving Ashina, I will seize any manner of heretical strength :P

[@TheOfficialNightLite]

This is exactly what i wanted to learn about! Good job smoughtown! :D

[@SmoughTown]

LiamNL thanks bud! Something I’ve been thinking about for a long time

[@wobbegong4366]

Did anyone else notice that when the Shichimen warrior fires his death beam it sounds like the beam is screaming in agony? Since his death balls/ beams are made of tortured souls this makes him even more disturbing...

[@Horaud]

I wonder if maybe the headless in the forest was attracted by from the sound of the flute that the mist noble was using?

[@endorianki]

thank you for doing sekiro lore! it's my favorite game

[@Spencisms]

A thing to note on the Schichimen Warriors: If right when they die and you use the Puppeter Ninjitsu to control them, the eyes that light up are on the specific mask you pointed out, the red one on the shoulder

[@bimbim1885]

Hold on, so you can puppet them...? They are mini boss, but a backstab death blow is possible when you break their posture and turn to their back to do it I guess?

[@Spencisms]

@@bimbim1885 Yea it's crazy, but a lot of mini bosses you can backstab them and use a Ninjitsu. Like the Drunkard, any General, the 7 Spears guys. The only one I can think of that you can't is the Headless, and that's cause they have no head

[@aphidamas1]

Oh yeah, one last little off-topic detail I noticed in Doujun's workshop is that the blood stains on the two straw mats covering the bodies inside look more like Koi Carp coloring than actual bloodstains.

[@-alt-122]

Lol Gehrman boss fight music for the background

[@levicurtis6669]

The fact that you get each hero's spiritfall from each headless tells us that each headless is the hero who's spiritfall we get

[@samhoppy5527]

Quality lore video again ! Keep them up dude !

[@SmoughTown]

Sam Hoppy will do bud!

[@roojackaroo8517]

One more thing, I'm pretty sure the headless were warriors who betrayed ashina/slash regretted doing it so they committed seppuku (evidenced by a gash in their abdomen and seppuku was followed by beheading in ancient Japanese practise)

[@EfenBeats]

I once met a spirit of a warrior on the bridge behind orin. I always thought he was the one who she seeked. But I only met him once while i ran away from orin and wanted to go back to her

[@lawbringer693]

It should also be worth mentioning the pond of mibu village is full of these headless heros if you dive underwater thare legs are sticking out of the ground

[@ToxicallyMasculinelol]

for the underwater headless guys, just lock on and keep moving left or right while dashing. you'll basically circle around them and dodge every attack, then you can dash in after the weird black vacuum attack to do damage.

[@ToxicallyMasculinelol]

also holy shit a real-life mid air takedown, in the flesh

[@aphidamas1]

@@ToxicallyMasculinelol I've only managed two mid-airs in just as many playthroughs and neither was against those Shichimen guys that are always in the air. I never got the prompt and it wasn't for lack of trying.

[@gravewalker1671]

It would be quite suprising if the lord sakuza was the person that drink sake in the house just before the corrupted monk.

[@omaralajmi1551]

The Guardian Ape's neck was struck by a similar Shura Samurai Odachi haven't you all noticed that?

[@niceteal]

Excellent video man. I loved that you included actual Japanese History, even if it ends up being wrong I think it would be cool if you did that more

[@masterzoroark6664]

I assume the headless partook in something from Senpou. Maybe the centipeeds to boost their strength, that's why they are headless, their heads were cut not only as execution but also to get the centipeede out.

[@Ashley-the-fox]

This is great I hope you enjoy the rest of your day mate

[@GroundResider]

I had the anti air death blow and didn’t know how it worked, fought the schichimen in fountainhead and anti air deathblowed him and was surprised to say the least

[@PADDLEMUSTAH]

The headless are a result of ‘seppuku’ where they commit suicide by stabbing themselves on the side of their stomach ( you can see the scar on their left side) and when they are at their most painful limit, a kaishakunin will cut their head off.

[@dantessMG]

for the Shichimen Warriors, one of them is a woman and a friend of the sculptor, i found this out when i gave the sculptor a certain sake, and starts talking about his shinobi best friend who used to train with him, and used to use her ring to do some whistling music..

[@Glocktopus129]

It’s also worth noting that the headless as a special grab attack, where he literally reaches his hand up your butt and rips something out before then putting it in his butt. At face value this just looks goofy as hell but in Japanese folklore, it’s believed that the soul is contained near the rectum, so it seems like he is literally ripping out your soul and putting it in his body.

[@mrorlov2706]

Headless are the guys sugars are named after. You can find their statues in Senpou temple by the way.

[@guidomista1459]

I'm watching this at 1,25X speed and it sounds more normal than the original video, great video though

[@joecrail7596]

Or maybe the dude she lures there is her and lords child and that's why he hears the music and why she caresses him and sings him a lullaby as if comforting a child

[@dr.steinman9652]

That was a top notch video and making Shadows die twice all the more fascinating

[@Mop890]

Great video! Definitely learned a lot. I initially thought this video would be about those apparitions of monks that seem to randomly appear depending on the time of day or something like that, would be interested to know your thoughts on those.

[@SmoughTown]

Mop I do actually have some things to say about that and so we can maybe look at that in the future!

[@Mop890]

@@SmoughTown Awesome, keep up the good work!

[@sneekmuch]

9:40 That applies even today. Before taking someone home from the bar/club make sure you see em in good light. Don’t wanna wake up to an Adam’s Apple 😂

[@Sabbathtage]

Here's what me and my friend thought first play through but I'm not disputing your interpretation. It sounds pretty good to me. We thought Jinzaemon was a decendant of Sazuka and O'Rin, perhaps another child kept their bloodline going. That's why we thought she played a lullaby as you would to your own child rather than to hateful curse that we'd come to expect from Yurei. We have no evidence of another child or significant relative though so to it's a shaky reading. Now I think Jinzaemon might of been the last descendant of Lord Sakuza and with his death the curse has ended. Her song to him was pleasant because it was the final release of the whole ordeal. Or maybe she prefers to take life with lullabies.

[@danooshansureshkumar8405]

I don't know if you noticed it, or if anyone noticed it... but Jinza's Jizu statue is wrapped in what looks like the kimono Orin's wearing 0_0

[@soybajo-kira8585]

The headless ARE the people the candy is named after. “Fallen, headless spirit of Yashariku” it’s pretty clear who it is

[@xAeternalGD]

You're right, and how does your comment only have 1 like?🤔

[@StarlightDragon]

I'm so confused by this video. The candies ARE named after and honor the warriors who are the headless (or at the very least, they represent the headless). Each candy represents a different headless, which is confirmed when you get the permanent version of the candy from defeating each headless. It's not even a question. The candies are each made in honor of each of the great heroes, now corrupted and headless.

[@m00nbutter7]

Ghermans theme in the background Nice 👌🏽

[@ThunderWolfUE]

Do a video on link between Lady Tamoe and fountainhead people every warrior on fountainhead uses the lightning of tamoe and a technique similar to Floating Passage which is also sold to us by a pot noble and she couldn't have learnt it from them either because genichiro already knew about the technique before Tamoe and Takeru try to went to the divine realm

[@SmoughTown]

ThunderWolf check my ‘Lady Tomoe’ video out, I was explore her links to the clan in some detail there

[@MWDFrancis]

The female ghost reminds me tangentially of Matsukaze.

[@Aetlaify]

Fantastic video mate! Can't get enough lore of Sekiro. Brilliant channel insta sub!

[@juliandiaz5226]

Really interesting content my dude, keep it up!! on a side note your pronunciation is killing me

[@fireblast133]

I think these headless are actually part of the reason for the isolation of Senpou. A group of warriors who demanded more and more of the sugars, and their rage eventually lead them to kill the monks the sugars are named after. But then again the spiritfall item descriptions pretty much confirm these are the guys the sugars are named after. Fallen, headless spirit of Ungo that reduces Vitality damage taken from physical attacks. Consume spirit emblems to use repeatedly. Headless are the ruined form of corrupted heroes who once fought for their country. This warrior lost his mind in defense of the state. His attempted mutiny was met with a swift beheading, and the lifeless body sunk to the bottom of the moat. It says plainly it’s the fallen, HEADLESS spirit of Ungo.

[@kevinthatcher2376]

This is great, not watch full vid yet, will finish tonight. But a sub is called for.

[@slicksilver9441]

Very good content. I just recently played this game for the first time @ week ago. I finished my first playthrough today and def rate sekiro as one of the best games I ever played. Anyways, the lore is very, very interesting. Good vid man👍👍

[@bimbim1885]

A really good insight, man, thanks for explaining them

[@SmoughTown]

BimBim glad you enjoyed my take friend

[@gutts1943]

Man your content is so amazing.. I was thinking something similar and you confirmed it This channel is underrated..I'm turning the notifications bell on