Timeline (FF3)

This timeline covers the events of Fatal Frame III, the history of the Kuze Shrine and the spread of the Manor of Sleep urban legend. Very few specific dates are mentioned in the game itself, but it is possible to make approximate guesses based on hints from the story and information gleaned from the rest of the Fatal Frame series.

For a general overview of major events in the series, see Series Timeline.

Early History

An unknown time before the events described in Fatal Frame III.

• First Tattooed Priestess undergoes the Piercing of the Soul in the Kuze Shrine. The Kuze Shrine is established as a place where people can offer their grief.

Before the Unleashing

• Around twenty years before

Akito Kashiwagi visits the Kuze Shrine for research and is introduced to Kyouka Kuze.

Akito Kashiwagi leaves Kyouka two pairs of earrings.

Akito Kashiwagi is cast out (killed) by Yashuu Kuze.

Kyouka Kuze gives birth to Kaname Kuze.

Before Kaname turns four, Kyouka smuggles him out to a nearby village, giving him three of the earrings Akito gave to her.

• 7-9 years before

Kyouka Kuze gives birth to Amane Kuze.

Year of the Unleashing

Yuu's Notes 4 suggests that these events may have taken place in the late Edo period (1860s).

• Kaname leaves the village where he and Reika grew up, hoping to learn more about his background. He leaves Reika an Echo Stone Earring.
• Reika loses her mother, father, and brother in a disaster, possibly an avalanche.
• Reika is approached by representatives of the Kuze Shrine, and agrees to become the next Tattooed Priestess.
• Reika tells Amane about her earring and Kaname.
• After taking some time to setttle in, Kaname writes letters to Reika from the city, which she never receives. He describes strange dreams he is having, in which he hears Reika's voice calling to him from inside an old shrine.
• Reika breaks the Mirror of Loss and enters the Chamber of Thorns.
• Kaname is interviewed by Dr. Kunihiko Asou.
• Kaname leaves behind an earring, which Dr. Asou uses in the development/creation of the first Spirit Stone Radio.
• Kaname visits the Kuze Shrine in disguise, and gains access to the Chamber of Thorns with the help of Amane.
• Yashuu Kuze murders Kaname, causing Reika's tattoo to enter her eyes and the Rift to spill forth.

Aftermath of the Unleashing

• Amane Kuze is impaled as punishment for allowing her half-brother into the Shrine.
• Yashuu Kuze orders the Shrine to be sealed from the outside world. Shrine Carpenters are summoned to build the Shrine of Sleep and contain the Rift.
• The Shrine carpenters and Engraved Men are sacrificed, and the Master Carpenter makes himself a final pillar by committing suicide.
• Yashuu orders Hisame Kuze to carry out the Final Impalement (murdering Shigure and Minamo, and possibly committing suicide herself).
• The Kuze Shrine is abandoned and falls into ruin. The surrounding villages are gradually abandoned, until by the end of the Meiji period (1868-1912), only the house remains.

Spread of the Tattooed Curse

Late Edo/Early Meiji Period

• A psychiatric doctor records the accounts of a group of patients, including Serizawa, who are having the same dream.

Taisho Era (1912-1926)

• Mysterious disappearances are recorded in the mountainous region around Myojin Village. Among them are Makie and Kozue Kuzuhara, who vanish from their house, leaving behind only black, soot-like marks.

1960s

• The "Manor of Sleep" urban legend is picked up in occult magazines. In the psychiatric and medical communities, this legend is connected to a mysterious condition known as the "dream disease", and the phenomenon of "Lost Patients".

1961

6 June

• Yoshino Takigawa is born. (See Timeline Discrepancies: Yoshino's Passport.)

1980s

Unknown dates

• Rei Kurosawa and Yuu Asou meet as students, and eventually get engaged.
• Rei and Yuu move into their house together.
• Kei Amakura and Mafuyu Hinasaki work on the same editing team for a while.

1986

For more information about Mafuyu's disappearance and Miku's experiences in Himuro Mansion, see Timeline (FF1).

October

• Mafuyu Hinasaki goes missing in Himuro Mansion.

Unknown date

• Miku goes to live with Mafuyu's friend Yuu Asou and his fiancée, Rei.
• Miku starts to work as Rei's assistant.

1988

Note: Although the year is not mentioned in the game, the Zero Shisei no Koe Official Fast Capture Book gives Miku's age as 19, meaning two years have passed since the events of Fatal Frame.

In the summer of 1988, Mio and Mayu Amakura stumble upon the Lost Village. For more information, see Timeline (FF2).

July

Two months before the beginning of Fatal Frame III.

• After Mayu's disappearance, Mio causes Yuu Asou 'a lot of trouble'.
• About a month after her ordeal, Mio begins suffering from symptoms of the Tattooed Curse. Kei asks for Yuu's help in researching the Manor of Sleep urban legend.
• Kei visits the abandoned Kuze Shrine and finds an old Camera Obscura in the ruins. The camera frightens Mio, so he sends it to Yuu.
• Rei Kurosawa and Yuu Asou are in a car accident. Rei survives, but Yuu is killed.

After Yuu's death

• Rei stops photographing people, and only leaves the house on job assignments.

August

• Early August

Yoshino Takigawa is the only survivor of a deadly plane crash.

Yoshino is trapped alone, surrounded by the corpses of her loved ones, until her rescue four days later.

Yoshino is admitted to Katsuragi Hospital.

• August 10

While hospitalised, Yoshino Takigawa begins to keep a diary of her feelings.

• August 11

Yoshino writes about the loss of her family and fiancé, and her fear of being alone.

• August 13

Yoshino dreams of the Manor of Sleep for the first time.

• August 18

Yoshino writes that her family and Naoya are all inside the Manor.

• August 27

Yoshino writes of painful tattoos that no one else can see.

• Several days afterward

Yoshino has been asleep for several days. She doesn't know what day it is.

She struggles to tell the difference between waking and sleeping.

The doctor seems interested in/sympathetic to her story.

Yoshino's 'pain is spreading'.

• Unknown days in late August/early September

She mentions a tattooed woman coming after her, and claims to be able to see the woman even when she's awake.

• Unknown day

Yoshino writes she can't take being touched (by Reika) again.

She doesn't 'want to see anymore'.

September

• September 7

Rei Kurosawa and Miku Hinasaki visit the ruins of the Kuze Shrine on a photography assignment.

Rei sees Yuu and takes a photograph.

Rei has her first dream of the Manor of Sleep - Hour I.

• September 8

A large number of human bones (Shrine Carpenters) were discovered in castle ruins in the northern part of the prefecture.

Miku gives Rei Kei's first letter.

Rei finds the broken Camera Obscura in Yuu's room.

Rei finds Letter from Kei 2 on Yuu's desk.

• Between September 8th - 11th

Mio is hospitalized. She only wakes up every two days, and only for a few hours at a time.

Kei writes his third letter.

Kei dreams of the Manor of Sleep and pursuing Mio.

Kei starts showing symptoms of the curse.

Kei writes his fourth letter.

• September 9

Rei gets call from Miku about Yoshino Takigawa.

Rei goes to visit Yoshino Takigawa at Katsuragi Hospital.

Yoshino disappears in front of Rei, leaving only traces of black soot and ashes behind.

• September 10

Rei receives Yoshino's photo and diary from Miku.

• September 11

Newspaper publishes article 'Patient Disappears'. Rei finds this on Miku's desk.

Rei finds the picture of Miku and her brother Mafuyu on Miku's desk.

• September 12

Rei catches Miku singing the 'Sleeping Priestess' Song

Rei receives Letter from Kei 3

Rei asks Miku about the photo, and Miku explains that her brother went missing.

Rei witnesses Miku's dream of the Manor of Sleep.

• September 13

Miku tells Rei she had trouble sleeping the night before.

Rei receives Letter from Kei 4, in which Kei says that he has started dreaming of the Manor.

Rei witnesses Kei's dream of the Manor of Sleep.

• September 14

Rei finds the Spirit Stone Radio in the attic.

---

(From this point on, Rei's sleeping patterns become irregular, and it is unclear whether or not the waking periods represent full days.)

---

Events of Hour VII

• Kei's curse symptoms are getting worse.
• Kei writes his sixth letter.
• Rei receives an eerie phone call that sounds like Kiriko Asanuma's voice, screaming "Let me out!"

Events of Hour VIII

• Kei telephones Rei Kurosawa and learns of Yuu's death. Rei asks him to continue researching the Manor of Sleep.
• Rei encounters the Engraver while taking a shower.

Events of Hour IX

• Rei finally gains access to the Shrine Courtyard.
• Rei receives another creepy phone call that sounds like Kiriko Asanuma.
• Rei receives another phone call from Kei, who suggests they visit the ruined house again.

Events of Hour X

• Rei once again hears Miku singing the Sleeping Priestess song.

Events of Hour XI

• Miku finds the Mirror of Loss in Reika's cell. (Night 13)
• Miku finds the Engraving Shrine. (Night 13)

(Rei wakes up)

• Rei wakes up and goes to Miku's room, where a depressed Miku is sitting on her bed. Rei discovers the tattoos on Miku.
• Miku falls into a coma.
• Kei arrives, and shares his research with Rei.

Events of Hour XII

• Kei collects all four Tattooed Stakes from the Handmaidens. (Night 15)
• Kei is caught by Reika in the Chamber of Thorns.

(Rei wakes up)

• Depending on the player's actions, Kei has either fallen into a coma or disappeared from the couch, leaving behind only black soot marks.
• Rei finds Kei's notes.

(Final Night of cursed sleep)

• Rei discovers the attic above Miku's room.
• Rei finds The "Other World", Dr. Asou's record of his interview with Kaname, put away with an Echo Stone Earring.

Events of Hour XIII

• Rei discovers the fate of the three surviving Handmaidens.
• Rei collects all five mirror fragments by following Reika's voice.
• Rei fights Yashuu Kuze and restores the Mirror of Loss.

Events of Final Hour

• Rei descends to the Chamber of Thorns, and sees in a vision how Kaname's death in front of Reika triggered the Unleashing.
• Rei defeats Reika, and successfully sends Reika and Kaname to the Other Side.
• Rei meets Yuu's spirit crossing over. He takes her tattoos, and tells her to live on and remember him.
• Miku and Mafuyu meet at the Abyss of the Horizon and Miu Hinasaki is conceived. (Not shown in FF3.)

Unspecified days after the events of the Final Hour

(Assuming the Photograph Ending is canon.)

• Rei, Miku, Kei and Mio wake from their cursed sleep.
• Kei and Mio visit Minakami Dam.
• Kei introduces Mio to Miku and Rei.

Aftermath

• See Timeline (FF5) for Miku's later actions.

Timeline Discrepancies

Yoshino's Passport
The in-game image of Yoshino Takigawa's passport shows that her date of birth is June 6, 1961, and a newspaper article about her disappearance gives her age as 26, which should mean that Fatal Frame III takes place in 1987. However, Miku's age, given in the Zero Shisei no Koe Official Fast Capture Book, indicates two years have passed since the events of Fatal Frame in October 1986. It could be argued that, as Miku's age is only included in supplementary material, specific dates provided in the game itself should be given primary consideration; however, in creating this timeline, Zero Wiki has chosen to use Miku's age as a baseline, as she is a major character.

Masumi's Disappearance
Rei's Notebook entry Missing in Minakami #2 states that Masumi Makimura went missing "three months ago". This contradicts a previous news clipping about Masumi's disappearance, which is described as being about a year old when Mio finds it during Fatal Frame II. This discrepancy has no major effect on the series timeline as a whole.