/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>20332998
I'm not gonna finish Okina anytime soon so I'll just answer this question now, it's an easy one anyway.
>天空璋 (Tenkuushou)
天空 tenkuu = the heavens (the presence of the character 天 always signifies divinity so translating it to just "sky" or "firmament" is a disservice to the title; 天空 literally means "heavenly sky" but such a translation is redundant as "the heavens" and "sky" mean the same thing in English)
(note: 天空 tiankong lit. "heavenly emptiness/void" in Chinese is also a concept in Confucianism; tiankong is the great fluctuation of qi (force) in the universe responsible for its birth and maturation) (this has nothing to do with the game, however, and was likely not even in ZUN's mind at all)
璋 shou = dipper/ladle; 璋 comes from the Chinese word 璋瓚 (zhangzan), a jade libation ladle used in relgious ceremonies
(璋, when used and pronounced as たま tama, is a jade shaku) (that has nothing to do with the title though and is not what ZUN meant)
In game files reveal that a prototype title was 天星璋 (tenseishou lit. "Heavenly Star Dipper"), which obviously references the Big Dipper, the symbol of Matarajin. ZUN also talked about the title in the HSiFS interview. It was gonna be 天空障 (Tenkuushou lit. "Heavenly Sky Hinderance") (and yes it's still pronunced "Tenkuushou") as well at one point but ZUN decided against it because that title looked odd. 障 (hinder) refers to 障碍神 (literally "hindrace obstacle god"). One of Matarajin's many roles was as a god of obstacles/hindrances/pestilence that must be worshipped in order to remove said hindrances/obstacles/pestilences. When ZUN made the new title (the one he would keep, 天空璋) he specifically said he kept the 王 (king) radical in mind. He never revealed why in the interview though. The radical for 璋 is actually 玉 (jade) though, but that makes sense in Japanese because 玉 and 王 are interchangeable. 玉 (jade) has nothing to do with the title yet ZUN put it there because it's interchangeable with 王 (king). Why would ZUN want to reference 王 in the title specifically? "Kings" have nothing to do with HSiFS, or so you think. Okina, being Matarajin, is actually connected to that radical. You see, as I've said earlier in Eiki's analysis, the hats of the yama (specifically the Ten Kings of Hell) usually are inscribed with the character 王. One of Matarajin's many forms is that of Taizan Fukun, otherwise known as Taizan-O, the 7th King of Hell. When I go over Okina (god knows when) I'll talk all about it. Anyway, in the interview ZUN basically confirms that "Tenkuushou" refers to the Big Dipper (which is Matarajin's symbol). The jade in the title literally means nothing, it's there because ZUN wanted to allude to the 王 (king) radical for some unknown reason that I just presented the strongest theory to.
Here's the full interview by the way
https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Strange_Creators_of_Outer_World/Hidden_Star_in_Four_Seasons_Interview_with_ZUN
>>20333165
No English site or wiki has this level of depth, unfortunately. The Japanese and Chinese wikis go into more detail than their Western counterparts but you, of course, have to know the language. By the way, the ancient Chinese and Japanese used the Big Dipper to forecast the seasons (pic related). This is why Okina is associated with the four seasons, it wasn't just something random that ZUN put in.
>>20333319
Her last name is spelled 稀神 (rare god) not 鬼神 (oni god). They're both pronounced the same but mean different things.
>>20333301
Please don't kusopost in this thread.