Mount Kegare

Mount Kegare Kanji 穢山（けがれさん） Game ZERO: Shadow Priestess Located at Unknown Function Holy mountain Status Active

Mount Kegare is a setting mentioned in Fatal Frame: Shadow Priestess. It is a sacred mountain located close to Karasawa Village. Its reputation is similar to that of Mount Osore, a real location in the north of Honshu, but whereas Mount Osore is a place to pay tribute to purified ancestral spirits, Mount Kegare is said to be the place where the spirits of suicides, murder victims and criminals congregate. Sara initially believes that a spirit from the mountain might have escaped the seals somehow and taken up residence in Karasawa Elementary, before she learns about Suzume Umishima, the true source of the curse.

Mount Kegare is also associated with the Shadow Priestess tradition, although the women who hold the title of Shadow Priestess often do not return from the mountain when they venture there. It was customary for visitors to the mountain to first pay a visit to the Shadow Priestesses and buy a protective paper doll to act as a substitute.

The spirits on the mountain are trapped by spiritual seals that surround them on all sides. Once, a hidden path led to the mountain through an underground cavern, but the Washizuki family sealed that too, and fenced off the area around the cave entrance. The ritual to seal the path involved two priestesses, one to pray eternally, and one to sacrifice herself and watch over the cave forever.

However, the waters of the mountain still flow through hidden springs around the village. One of these is beneath the pool at Karasawa Elementary, linking it to the Karasawa Shrine. Water from Mount Kegare, blessed before the holy relic at Karasawa Shrine for three days and nights, is used to make holy water, which can be used to repel spirits.

Misc. Info

• "Kegare" has various meanings relating to sin, defilement or impurity.