There was once a great disaster on this island which almost destroyed it and caused Rogetsu Isle to become feared as a place close to the underworld. However, it has recovered from that disaster and is no longer closed off to people from outside the Rogetsu Islands.
As an outsider, I had anticipated resistance to my visitation. To my surprise, the chief welcomed me gladly to the island, seemingly in the hope that I would help introduce its native culture, such as the Kagura festival, and traditional Rogetsu engravings and craftsmanship, to the outside world.
I came to Rogetsu Isle to look for materials for my Camera Obscura because of the unique indigenous culture, the folklore of which is based upon the moon.
In that folklore, the sun represents the outer form of things and the moon the inner. The moon therefore represents memory, personality and the soul.
Believing that the soul is still connected to the underworld after the body dies, they say that the moon is a symbol of that world, as well as a gateway into it.
They have a Kagura festival where the souls of the dead return to this world, and the most important element of that festival is the masks worn by the participants.
The mask worn by the maiden during the Kagura is the point of contact between the living world and the world of the dead: the underworld, represented by the moon.
A mask that connects to the underworld! There are many kinds of masks on this island, and I hope to greatly advance my paranormal research by investigating them all.
Professor Asou's Notes (2)
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Professor Asou's Notes (2) | |
| |
| Kanji | 麻生博士の手記 二 あそうはかせのしゅき に |
| Game | Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse |
| Author | Dr. Kunihiko Asou |
| Chapter | Phase I: The Summoning |
| Located at | Asou Museum |
| Obtained | On the floor beside the desk |
| Description | Notes about Rogetsu Isle, thought to be left by Professor Asou. |
| Additional Description | The notebook has had dust wiped from it. Someone must have picked it up recently. |
| Related Notes | Professor Asou's Notes (1), Professor Asou's Notes (3), Rogetsu Kagura Chronicle & Prof. Asou's Mask Inquiries |
古くは「黄泉に近い島」として
畏れられていた朧月島だが、
今は以前とは違い、朧月群島の
人間以外は立ち入れぬような
閉鎖的な場所ではなくなったようだ。
かつて島が滅びかけるような
大きな災厄があったが、
そこから復興したことがきっかけだという。
私のような稀人を嫌うどころか、
朧月神楽といった貴重な文化や、
螺鈿細工や朧月彫りなどの
島の工芸品の美しさを紹介して
くれるのではと、むしろ長には
歓迎されているようだ。
⋯この島に射影機の材料を探しに来ようと
考えたのは、この島の特殊な信仰のためだ。
朧月島では、月を信仰の対象にしている。
この島では、表面に見える姿形を太陽と
すれば、月は内面、つまり、記憶や人格⋯
ひいては魂を表している。
魂は肉体が滅びた後も異界とつながっている
と考えられており、月は異界への扉の
ように考えられているのだ。
月は、異界の象徴のようなものなのだろう。
その死者の魂が帰ってくる神楽があるのだが、
その要になるのが、この島の面だ。
儀式の際に巫女がつける面は、
死者のいる異界、つまり月と我々の世界を
結ぶ接点となっていると思われる。
⋯異界につながる仮面。
この島の面は一種類ではない。
さまざまな種類の面があるという。
面を調べることで、私の異界研究は
大きく前進するだろう。
Additional Information
The woodworking technique Asou refers to here is called Raden (螺鈿).