Marie Shinomiya

Marie Shinomiya
"I'll make you better, Tomoe, I swear."
Japanese	篠宮　鞠絵 しのみや まりえ
Age	17
Residence	Rogetsu Isle (former) Unnamed boarding school
Occupation	High-school student
Status	Dead
Date of death	August, year of the eclipse
Games	Fatal Frame IV
Other Appearances	A Folie à Deux in August

Marie Shinomiya is a character mentioned in Fatal Frame IV. As a child, she was one of five girls kidnapped during a festival. Ten years later, Marie died mysteriously.

Past

Marie Shinomiya was an outpatient at Haibara Infirmary suffering from Moonlight Syndrome. Unlike Ruka, Madoka and Misaki she was not hospitalized at the sanatorium. She and four others were selected by Shigeto Haibara to perform as Organs in a secret revival of the Rite of Descent. Kidnapped by Yo Haibara, she and the others were dressed in ritual attire, including masks created by Soya Yomotsuki, and performed in the ceremony. However, at the height of the ritual the Mask of the Lunar Eclipse broke, which caused all the girls, Marie included, to collapse and lose her memories.

All five girls were taken to the Moonglow Cavern, where Director Haibara could observe their progress. They spent their time there in a trance-like state, gazing up at the moon through a well that opened in the ceiling. Shoji Katagiri, Haibara's assistant, contacted police to report that he had heard voices from the well, which he believed to be the missing girls. Two weeks after the failed ritual, they were found by Choshiro Kirishima and taken to Amanoura Police Department. Eventually they were released to their parents, and all moved away from the island.

A Folie à Deux in August

Developers created concept art for Marie even though she hardly appears in the game

A short story published in Rogetsu Isle Reminiscences. English translation available here.

After leaving Rogetsu Isle, Marie stays in contact with Ruka, Madoka and Misaki. By coincidence, she and Tomoe Nanamura end up attending the same boarding school, and the two quickly become close after Marie, the more outgoing of the two, recognises Tomoe's name and approaches her. Together they begin researching Rogetsu Isle, the kagura and Moonlight Syndrome, hoping to learn something about their past. They come to believe the Rogetsu Kagura may hold the answers they seek.

Marie writes to Ruka and Madoka for help, and though they are initially reluctant, Madoka sends information from the books in Misaki's house, while Ruka sends a recording of a melody she plays on the piano, which she senses has some connection to the night of their kidnapping. Marie joins a dance club and begins to practice the steps of the kagura.

As the summer holiday arrives, Marie and Tomoe remain in the dormitory together. Marie obsessively practices the kagura dance, but becomes worried about Tomoe, who seems to be relapsing into severe Moonlight Syndrome. Although she knows it might be impossible, Marie promises to find a way to save Tomoe. She is shocked when Tomoe tells her they have had the same conversation multiple times, and have been repeating the same day over and over without realising it. Marie is afraid that she will make Tomoe's condition worse through Resonance and says they should stay apart, but Tomoe refuses to be separated from her.

Sensing that time is running out, Marie and Tomoe decide to perform a full kagura on the night of the full moon, using the music Ruka sent and a mask handed down in Tomoe's family. At first the ceremony seems to be working, but at the climax of the dance, the mask cracks, and the girls both collapse. Tomoe, on the verge of blossoming, tries to tell Marie to run, but it is too late. When Marie sees her own face reflected in the window, she also blossoms.

Fatal Frame IV

Marie is found dead on the floor of her room. Her face is horrifically contorted and her hands are covering her face, just like the islanders found dead on Rogetsu Isle eight years earlier. The sudden deaths of Marie and Tomoe prompt Misaki, Madoka and Ruka to return to the island in search of answers.

Misc. Info

• A photograph of the five kidnapped girls shows Marie and Tomoe as children, but it is not clear which is which.
• The official website for the 2008 version of FF4 says that Tomoe died in a hospital ward or sickroom (病室) and Marie died at home. A Folie à Deux in August clarifies that both died at their boarding school, Marie in her dormitory room and Tomoe in the school sickroom.
• In A Folie à Deux in August, Marie mentions that she has a part-time job at a restaurant.
• Marie was the Drum Organ in the Rite of Descent.

See Also

• For more information on the Getsuyuu Syndrome, see Moonlight Syndrome.
• For other shrine maidens, see Shrine Maiden.
• For other rituals in Fatal Frame IV, see Fatal Frame IV Rituals.