Mask of the Lunar Eclipse

Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
Kanji	月蝕の仮面
Game	Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
Chapter	Final Phase: Hallowed Realm
Located at	Cape Tsukiyomi Lighthouse
Function	Ritual mask
Description	Black mask made by Soya. Worn by the Vessel in the Rite of Descent.
Additional Description	All four pieces combine to form a whole mask. So this is the Mask of the Lunar Eclipse...

The Mask of the Lunar Eclipse was a mask created for the Rite of Descent by Soetsu Yomotsuki, ancestor of Soya Yomotsuki. The Mask of the Vessel would cause her to lose her sense of self gradually as she danced, but the Mask of the Lunar Eclipse was designed to completely obliterate her memories in an instant and return her mind to its point of origin. It was hoped that by stripping away memories, the core of the soul would be revealed, and the person wearing the mask would be able to return with a true understanding of themselves, and therefore be cured of Moonlight Syndrome. However, if the soul or memories were absent, the mask would "either kill the wearer or make them blossom immediately."

When the Vessel wore Soetsu's Mask of the Lunar Eclipse in the Rite of Descent, the ritual failed and caused the original Day of Tranquility. The Vessel blossomed and spread the blossoming to others through Resonance. Even more dangerous than Moonlight Syndrome, the Mask of the Lunar Eclipse could cause resonance even in those who did not witness blossoming themselves. Soetsu's work was destroyed, and the Rite of Descent became taboo for decades.

In the 1970s, the Haibara Family decided that the ritual must be performed again. Shigeto Haibara found a photograph that Dr. Kunihiko Asou had taken, in which the Mask of the Lunar Eclipse appeared. When he saw the picture, Soya became obsessed with the mask and worked day and night to perfect it, using lost techniques from documents restored by the power of the Camera Obscura. Finally, believing that he had "completed" the mask, he gave it to Shigeto Haibara, who then used it in his daughter Sakuya's ritual. At the height of the dancing, however, the mask shattered and the ritual failed. The four pieces of the mask were scattered around the island. When they were found and brought together, the mask reformed and was used by Ruka Minazuki to complete the ritual at last.