Misono Hill
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Misono Hill is a location in Minakami Village, shown in Fatal Frame II.
General Info
Misono Hill is the only known path into Minakami Village. It is a promontory located at the south of the village, with a torii gate marking the entrance. After the village disappeared during the Repentance, anyone who became lost in the Minakami area came to the Lost Village via this hill. Once someone crosses beneath the torii gate, the path behind them vanishes and the person is trapped within the village.
In the centre of the hilltop is a massive stone pedestal, called the Offering Stone. Masumi Makimura studied the stone in his exploration of the village and determined it to be a "cover" for a hole.
Misono Hill played a role in the festival attached to the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual.[1] Flaming torches were lit at the beginning of the ceremony, and the Offering Stone was moved away from the hole. The villagers would gather on the hill, surrounding the stone, chanting and offering up prayers for the sacrifice's soul. At the same time, the Veiled Priests would chant the Sacrificial Song underground at the site of the ritual.[2] Mayu will also comment that, although there is no one on the hill, she thought she heard "singing" - likely referring to the chanting.
The stone lies directly above the Hellish Abyss. In The Repentance cutscene, the Darkness is shown erupting up from the Abyss and covering Misono Hill. In the Crimson Butterfly Ending, crimson butterflies are shown flying out of the hole.
Ghosts Encountered
- Minakami Villagers - attack after checking the Twin Deity Statue and receiving the left half of the Twin Statue Keys.
- Masumi Makimura - vanishing ghost appears during the Bloody Ring Sidequest.
- The hidden ghost of Yae Kurosawa can be photographed at the Shinto Gate during Chapter 9 only.
Notable Events
- Mio Amakura finally catches Mayu overlooking the Lost Village from here.
- Masumi Makimura searched this area in hopes of finding a way out.
- Seijiro Makabe and his apprentice Ryozo Munakata also arrived at the village from here.
- A flashback shows Yae Kurosawa mourning at this gate after escaping the Repentance.
In Other Games
- Although Misono Hill is not an explorable area in Fatal Frame III, it does appear very briefly in one of the visions Kei Amakura has as he falls asleep.
- An edited version of the Misono Hill environment from Deep Crimson Butterfly was reused in Fatal Frame V to depict a different location seen in a cutscene. A video exploring this area can be seen here.
Misc. Info
- If you try to leave through the torii gate entrance, Mio will comment that she can no longer see any path that leads back to the woods.
- The area is known simply as "Misono" in Japanese, which means "holy/sacred place".
- Although Tamashizume states that the villagers would gather on Misono Hill at the time of the festival, in-game information suggests the villagers were nearly all in Kurosawa House at the time of the Repentance.
- Concept art shows the path to Misono lined with headless Buddha statues.
Gallery
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Butterflies rising from the hole under the Offering Stone
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Concept art of the summit of Misono Hill
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Concept art showing a path lined headless Buddhas. The stone circle is visible in the distance
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A brief shot of Misono Hill from one of the dream sequences in Fatal Frame III
