I used to know the meaning of this word in the context of what I was reading,
but I've since forgotten. I remember that it had something to do with the
60-year sexaganary cycle, but I can't recall much more than that.

The word is a part of this phrase:空亡風のマーク, and is describing the hand-shaped
marking on the mast of the ship.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GpNqI.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GpNqI.jpg)

Any and all help in understanding this will be greatly appreciated.
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2016-09-09T17:54:36.503
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2016-09-12T05:53:02.907
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question
meaning
What does 空亡風 mean?
**In the context of what you are reading** , 空亡 is simply another name of
常闇ノ皇, the [final boss of _Ōkami_](http://okami.wikia.com/wiki/Yami). The boss
is also known as _Yami_ (="darkness") in the English version, and is
symbolized by its hand. Therefore 空亡風のマーク means "the Yami-like mark/symbol".
(～風 = "-like", "-style", "-esque", etc)

> [常闇ノ皇
> （とこやみのすめらぎ）](http://dic.pixiv.net/a/%E5%B8%B8%E9%97%87%E3%83%8E%E7%9A%87)  
>  災厄の元凶であり、箱舟ヤマトに潜む暗黒の君主。 **別名「空亡（くうぼう）」とも呼ばれる** 。
> どうやらウシワカがタカマガハラにヤマトをもたらした時から舟の奥底に潜んでいたようである。
>
> [常闇ノ皇](http://dic.nicovideo.jp/a/%E5%B8%B8%E9%97%87%E3%83%8E%E7%9A%87)  
>  **常闇ノ皇はデザインされた当初「空亡」という名前であった** ことが「大神絵草子 絆 -大神設定画集-」の中で明らかにされている。 それに続く形で
> 「真珠庵の妖怪絵巻で最後に登場して、全ての妖怪を踏み潰すという、まさに最強の妖怪。

The both links above explain why 常闇ノ皇 was initially named 空亡, which was
originally [a jargon word of fortune-
telling](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%AD%E6%AE%BA). Actually
some sources explain that 空亡 is a _yokai_ created in the 21st century. See
[this
entry](http://dic.pixiv.net/a/%E7%A9%BA%E4%BA%A1\(%E3%81%9D%E3%82%89%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8D\))
and [this blog article](http://tateito1.blog48.fc2.com/blog-entry-1775.html)
for details.
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2016-09-10T02:34:49.700
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answer