Kirie Himuro
| ||
| "Feel my pain..." | ||
| Japanese | 氷室 霧絵 ひむろ きりえ | |
| Alias | White Kimono | |
| Age | 17 | |
| Family | Himuro Family | |
| Occupation | Rope Shrine Maiden | |
| Cause of Death | Sacrificed in the Strangling Ritual | |
| Date of Death | December 13, 1837 | |
| Encounter | Hell Gate | |
| Games | Fatal Frame | |
| Other Appearances | Zero Novel Pachislot Zero | |
| Notes | Kirie's Diary | |
| Japanese Voice Actor | Yoko Yamamoto | |
| English Voice Actor | Lenne Hardt | |
Kirie Himuro[1] is the main antagonist in the first Fatal Frame game. She was the last Rope Shrine Maiden to perform the Strangling Ritual at Himuro Mansion before the Calamity occurred and the Malice was released.
Demon Tag Ritual
When Kirie was about seven years old, she participated in a game of Demon Tag that was played on the 26th of November 1827. All of the girls in the Himuro family above the age of seven, including Kirie, were gathered into the Demon Mouth in Himuro Mansion.[2] As the last girl to be caught, and therefore the one considered to have the greatest spiritual power, Kirie was selected to be the next Rope Shrine Maiden.[3]
Following the Demon Tag Ritual, Kirie was taken away from her family and isolated from the outside world for ten years. During this time, she lived alone in her cell at Himuro Mansion with hardly any guests and only the attending priests for company.[4]
Kirie and Her Lover
Near the end of her seclusion period, there was a visitor staying at the mansion. Kirie saw him out of her window,[5] and they met one another unexpectedly in the Cherry Atrium.[6] He continued to visit her and tell her about the outside world, and Kirie slowly began to fall in love with him, and learn the simple joy of life.[7]
Suddenly, the young man stopped visiting. The Himuro Family Master had ordered the man to be disposed of, out of fear that he was becoming too close to Kirie and her feelings for him might make her unsuitable to be the Rope Shrine Maiden.[8] The head priest told Kirie that the guest had gone back to his home village, but Kirie had a disturbing dream about him and realised what had really happened.[9] Stricken by guilt and regret,[10] Kirie began to question her own ability to serve as the Rope Shrine Maiden.[11]
The day before the ritual, Kirie had a strange dream about a samurai who spoke of a Holy Mirror. He told Kirie that breaking the mirror was the only way to stop the ritual and for her to be with the man she loved.[12]
The Strangling Ritual
As the day of the ritual approached,
all the members of the Himuro Family gathered at the mansion, and even in her isolation, Kirie noticed the busy, lively atmosphere.[13] On December 13, 1837, Kirie purified herself in the Moon Well[14] and was escorted by the Himuro Family Master and the other priests to the Rope Altar. Kirie was tied down by her hands, neck, and feet, and each of the priests turned the gears connected to the corresponding rope, strangling Kirie to death. The blood-soaked ropes were then taken and bound in front of the Hell Gate.[15]
Due to her doubts, guilt, and wish to live, Kirie's ropes failed to bind the Hell Gate, and it swung open, shattering the Holy Mirror and releasing the Malice, which spread throughout the entire mansion.[16][17]
As the Malice possessed Kirie's spirit, she split into two forms: her adult form, possessed by the Malice, and her younger form, that remained untainted. Her younger form tried to find a way to free the mansion of its curse and fulfill her duty.[18]
Events of Fatal Frame
When Mafuyu Hinasaki visits the mansion, Kirie mistakes him for her dead lover and doesn't kill him. When his younger sister appears, Kirie's younger spirit sees her chance and helps Miku solve the mansion's curse. When Miku finally finds all the pieces of the shattered Holy Mirror and puts them together, she uses it to purify Kirie's soul of the Malice. At the same time, Kirie releases Mafuyu.
Kirie's younger self reminds her not to forget her duty, and the two merge, becoming whole again. Kirie grabs the broken rope and binds herself in front of the Hell Gate, telling Miku and Mafuyu they need to leave. Mafuyu refuses and tells Miku to go on without him, because he will stay so that Kirie isn't ever alone again. Miku escapes just in time as the mansion collapses, and all the trapped spirits are freed.
Alternate Endings
While the first ending (as mentioned above) is considered the true canon ending, Fatal Frame has two alternate endings. In the second ending, Mafuyu doesn't stay with Kirie, but leaves with Miku as well. When the game was brought to the Xbox console, another ending was added. This ending had Mafuyu and Miku escape the mansion, but Kirie's lover returned to be with her as the mansion collapsed.
Zero Novel
In Zero Novel, Kirie is a girl who was once sacrificed to the Hell Gate, resurrected in a virtual world as the antagonist of a video game. After some time, the virtual version of Kirie began to show a will of her own, and as a result of her interference, the Hell Gate could no longer be completely closed, even by sacrificing young girls. Kitaike, the creator of the game, plotted to lure in a young man who would take the place of her beloved and subdue her rebellious spirit. Before Kitaike can achieve his goals, however, Kirie lashes out and throws him into the Hell Gate. Stricken with remorse at all the pain she has caused, Kirie walks inside the Hell Gate as well, closing it behind her.
Pachislot Zero
Kirie appears as the main antagonist of Pachislot Zero, a slot machine game based on the original Fatal Frame. Like other Fatal Frame characters and ghosts, her design was updated to suit modern aesthetics, but her story is the same. Her battle music can be heard here.
An information card that appears in the Pachislot states that the Himuro Family Master is Kirie's father.[19] This was never mentioned in FF1, and due to the source its canon status can be considered dubious, but it has been a consistently popular theory in fandom.
Victims
Kirie Himuro's known victims
Possible victims
Misc. Info
- While director Makoto Shibata has admitted that the movie Ringu was influential in designing Fatal Frame, Kirie's character design comes from the classic Japanese interpretation of ghosts. There is no evidence from behind the scenes content or articles to suggest that her character design is based on the character Sadako.
- The Rope Shrine Maiden in Fatal Frame III is not Kirie Himuro, but Kizuna Himuro, a previous Rope Shrine Maiden.
- Kirie can only be harmed by shots that are at Max Charge, all of which are automatic Zero Shots. The camera's special abilities have no effect on her.
- During the final battle with Kirie, earthquakes can cause the camera to shake, making it difficult to aim.
- The developers originally planned to include a scene in which Kirie would cross the beams in the Buddha Room to visit her mother in the Koto Room, though this was scrapped from the final game.[20]
See Also
- For quotes by Kirie, see Quotes: Kirie
- For other members of the Himuro family, see Himuro Family.
- For more information on the Himuro Mansion curse, see Rope Curse.
- For other shrine maidens, see Shrine Maiden.
- For other rituals in Fatal Frame, see Fatal Frame Rituals.
- For other antagonist ghosts in the Fatal Frame Series, see Antagonist Ghosts.
- For images related to Kirie, see Images of Kirie Himuro.
References
- ↑ Character correlation chart, History of "Project Zero": Kurosawa Report booklet, p29, 2005.
- ↑ http://www.tecmo.co.jp/product/zero/himuro/menu.htm#
- ↑ Blind Demon Ritual Document, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Strangling Ritual Document, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Kirie's Diary 1, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Kirie's Diary 2, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Kirie's Diary 3, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Priest's Writings 2, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Kirie's Diary 4, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Kirie's Diary 5, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Kirie's Diary 6, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Kirie's Diary 7, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Kirie's Diary 6, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Research Scrap 8, Fatal Frame
- ↑ The Rope Priestess, Fatal Frame III
- ↑ The Calamity Document, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Priest's Writings 4, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Mafuyu Notes 6, Fatal Frame
- ↑ Screenshot of Himuro Family Master's spirit card, Nana Press. Japanese: "それに、氷室家の当主は霧絵の父親だったなんて・・・" Translation: "And to think the Himuro Family Master was Kirie's father..."
- ↑ Fatal Frame Story Recap: Changes made to the Himuro Family Master's massacre scene, Fatal Frame Fanbook, p 36-41. Japanese: "ちなみに、仏間の梁は、琴の部屋への隠し通路になっていて、幼い霧が家の人間に隠れて母親に会いに行っていたという設定もあったんです。" Translation: "Incidentally, the beams in the Buddha Room served as a hidden passageway to the Koto Room, and there was also a scene where the young Kirie would hide from the people in the house to visit her mother."