Dark Gathering - Ch. 68 - Zero/First Battle

[sotokouya]

Search out the concept of Gu/Kodoku, you will understand better than the explanation given here. In short, it is an ancient type of Chinese Sorcery where several venomous animals were put together in a sealed jar, letting them fight amongst each other until there's only 1 remaining left. The surviving venomous creature was then used to cast a black magic that causes illness, separation between family members and even death of the targeted victim.

In Yayoi's room case, each of the doll were given a piece of substitute(hair, nail, etc...) so they won't get attacked by the other residents ghost following Yayoi's teaching. In DG verse, when spirit/ghost possessed an object, their supernatural body also follows the state of the object, for example if the doll was damaged by another supernatural attack, so will the same injuries applies to the ghost residing in it. That's what motivates them to fight in order to gain a substitute/piece of the caster to avoids getting caught up in a fight/crossfire between other similar captured ghosts. They were all left in semi-sealed state and from there Yayoi established an absolute defense system where she is basically immune to supernatural attack as the captured ghosts will take the impact/curse on her behalf. This system only applies to low to medium level ghost though, as taking damage/curse also works as some sort of training system to make them stronger.

After some ghost were fed enough of other rebellious ghosts, they evolved to being a graduate-class ghost which was stronger and required many sealing methods to keep them contained and not harm the living. Some of the graduates were not necessarily evolved but reverted back to their original form like in the case of Taira no Masakado or Otogiri Oiran.

The caster then used a Kotodama, some sort of Japanese belief that words contains power, to call out the sealed ghost and make them behave in that manner. Example was Grieve(this is a Kotodama), High Priest of Evil Sutra, making him chant an unintelligible sutra that forced the living and the dead to pass on to the afterlife, in his case, the destination of his curse was actually hell. Graduate-class ghost can also holds a piece of a substitute of the user, similar to Kodoku system or paper Katashiro(paper human-like substitute), making them take the attack/curse of another supernatural beings.

Edited: Fix minor grammar mistakes and added some missing words

didn't consider that they're trying to gain a piece of yayoi part but that make sense

also i kinda imagined the judge of hell (yama) being confused over the sudden influx of animals in hell

 

[Forikorder]

didn't consider that they're trying to gain a piece of yayoi part but that make sense

also i kinda imagined the judge of hell (yama) being confused over the sudden influx of animals in hell

I picture it as hasbin hotel and chatlie ecstatic about the influx of cute animals

 

[Elenesia]

I feel like there are two inconsistencies here though. First, the substitute room worked because all the ghosts in the dolls were linked to Yayoi and therefore if any of them attacked Yayoi, it would hurt another ghost who would retaliate on them. This locked them in a stand off where nobody could attack Yayoi without harming his neighbors and being mauled in retaliation. Taking damage doesn't train them, it weakens them. She trains them by feeding them dangerous ghosts.

As for the kotodama, the effect is less full on control and more part of control. The High Priest debuted already using the sutra before he got his name.

I wouldn't go so far as calling them inconsistencies. First, notice this line in my paragraphs? "That's what motivates them to fight in order to gain a substitute/piece of the caster to avoids getting caught up in a fight/crossfire between other similar captured ghosts." This sentence basically had the same meaning of "This locked them in a stand off where nobody could attack Yayoi without harming his neighbors and being mauled in retaliation." if I continued elaborated on that matter. Part of the inconsistencies was my inability to phrase it better, considering I'm writing a full paragraph on the subject of Kodoku alone. So thank you for your clarification and usage of good phrasing.

Second, I'm gonna quote some definition from the wiki: Kotodama or kototama (言霊, sometimes written as 言魂, lit. 'word spirit/soul') refers to the Japanese belief that mystical powers dwell in words and names. The notion of kotodama presupposes that sounds can magically affect objects, and that ritual word usages can influence the environment, body, mind, and soul. In DG verse chapter 47, Yayoi had already stated that "There are exceptions but, by giving them a command(Kotodama) plus saying their name(Posthumous name), you can get them to behave in that way." Not anywhere in my paragraphs do I stated that Kotodama was used for any kind of control, it was established as more of a command to call out the graduate and make them behave in that manner. The sutra of a High Priest of Evil Sutra(Posthumous name) was already a part of his curse, so it never have any implications on the subject of the Kotodama itself. I only mention the sutra as some extra unrelated detail to the subject of "Kotodama" to explain how High Priest curse actually function.

And lastly, "Taking damage doesn't train them, it weakens them. She trains them by feeding them dangerous ghosts." Please refer to chapter 34, your statement had some truth to it but it also contradict some of Yayoi's statement and early intention, not that it's totally wrong. Yayoi said "I needed to train them, so I didn't use it("it" in this sentence refer to infinite repairing Katashiro)". She never use that method in the beginning since she wanted the graduates to gain some battle experiences by making them receive damage/curse and thus increased their battle experiences and rectify their past mistakes/weakness. The last line of my second paragraph referenced Yayoi's statement in Chapter 34 and aligned with her original intention. This also fits the experience gained by the Self-Slitted Maiden in chapter 57, where she had been reminiscing of how she was defeated in the first place by the High Priest, further proving the point that just feeding off dangerous ghosts alone was not a sufficient method to improve their fighting knowledge when they're up against incompatible/powerful enemy.

So in short, the ways of training each and every single ghosts varies greatly depending on the hostility and friendliness of the spirit itself. For Maiden and Sergeant, Yayoi never make make them a substitutes because they were never hostile towards Yayoi in the first place, plus they were already a graduate-class when they joined Yayoi's armies.

However your point still stands though, as Taira, Kishimojin's index finger and the unnamed woman ghost(in chapter 7) was trained by taking damage and eating dangerous ghosts. And Maiden's many bunreis being sent to hell also weakened her greatly. The ghosts won't improve their battle strategy through eating dangerous ghost alone, so most the ghosts in Yayoi's armies were made into a substitutes as a way to train them and protect Yayoi at the same time.

Control(movement, judgement, pleasure, submission, etc...) of the ghosts was achieved by combining many different methods including stabbing a nail/screwdriver to various parts of the doll, binding their doll with Shimenawa(Sacred Shinto Rope)/Shinto talisman and also putting their doll/vessel in purifying salt. The latest additions of control methods was Marbas's sacrificfial ring and Wukong's Headband(Tightening Fillet-Spell) which were both ultimately used on Bunrei Taisai.

Edited: Added some explanations to my points and agreements to some of your points. Thank you for pointing out some core points, while maintaining civil and respectful discussions, cheers😃.

 

[rckvnka]

We're so back! Thanks a lot for the update!

 

[UncannyLuck]

God this series doesn't miss.

 

[Sakuyadorf]

hahaha
That Granny is pretty badass despite only giving advice

 

[Strela]

Fuck yeah Dark Gathering is back!!

 

[Torappu]

So they're finally explaining where she got her super intelligence and athleticism from, along with some of her ghost knowledge.

 

[pepperonimadness]

This is why you don't smoke mmkay kids

 

[Grye]

Aw man

 

[NIB]

What a way to come back.
I really miss this manga, thank you for the translation.

 

[Julayi]

I'm glad this is back

 

[Mr_Stizblee]

Everyone's all hyped up about a new graduate but I'm too worried about this panel:

Also, why is some random nurse talking about "divine double pupils"?

 

[Elenesia]

Everyone's all hyped up about a new graduate but I'm too worried about this panel:

Also, why is some random nurse talking about "divine double pupils"?

In modern medical literature, polycoria is known as a pathological condition of the eye characterized by more than one pupillary opening in the iris. Although, some ancient writers in the west refer double pupil as “evil eye”. In Chinese mythology, double pupils are often associated with great virtue or supernatural perception, good omen and people who have double pupil are always those who make huge impacts.

For me however, I prefer this theory for general concept of "evil eye":

Eye-shaped patterns on clothes used in rituals are often associated with the belief in the "evil eye", a supernatural curse believed to be caused by a malevolent glare.
It is found in many cultures in the Mediterranean region, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America, with such cultures often believing that receiving the evil eye will cause misfortune or injury, while others believe it to be a kind of supernatural force that casts or reflects a malevolent gaze back upon those who wish harm upon others (especially innocents).

"Evil Eye/Jagan" concept that I quote here was referring to the nature of the curse of the Nurse Ghost.

 

[Pepsioverdose]

Holy crap it’a really back!!!

Story is peak as always. Yayoi might just be my favorite anime/ manga girl at all times. What a badass