Tattooed Stakes

Tattooed Stakes
Kanji	刺青木
Game	Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
Chapter	Hour XII: The Ceremony of Commandment
Located at	Doll Altars
Function	Stake to impale priestesses
Description	A stone stake engraved with meticulous writing.
Additional Description	A strange pattern has been carved into the stone stake.

Sacred stake piercing the middle of a Doll Altar.

There are 4 stakes to collect. They were used to impale the Tattooed Priestess' hands and feet, so that she wouldn't be able to wander around the surrounding shrine during her eternal sleep.
When Kei goes to collect the stakes, he must solve a puzzle to release them from the altar.
"Inside the miniature shrine, there is a stake made of stone piercing the middle. In the shadow of the stone, at the lower part of the shrine, there is a minutely engraved script:
By the balance of light, purify the shadow of the Tattoo Stake. Subdue the priestess in the Chamber of Needles."

Misc. Info

• These stakes are also known as "Sacred Stakes" and "Shinue Stakes". 'Shinue' is an Ainu word meaning 'tattoo'.
• Similar stakes were used in a local custom called Impaling the Sin.
• The characters engraved on the stakes are in Siddham script, which is often used for writing out Buddhist sutras and texts that are in Sanskrit. The same script is used on the Carvings and Camera charge points in Fatal Frame; in Fatal Frame II it appears written on the Veiled Priests' skin and on the outside of the Camera Obscura.