Worshippers

Worshippers Game Fatal Frame III Kanji/Kana 参拝者　（さんぱいしゃ） Alias(es) Funeral Procession Range of Age Varies Occupation Varies Purpose To offer up the pain of loss to the Tattooed Priestess Rituals Piercing of the Soul Location Kuze Shrine Total Member Many

The term used in Fatal Frame III to describe those who visited the Kuze Shrine to offer their pain to the Tattooed Priestess. These worshippers were residents of the mountain villages that were near the Kuze Shrine. Whenever a loved one perished, that person's loved ones would journey to the Kuze Shrine to offer their pain of loss to the Tattooed Priestess. They were only allowed to travel to the Kuze Shrine during the winter months; once the snow in the mountains melted away they were no longer allowed to offer their pain. In preparation for their journey to the shrine, the worshippers would shroud the bodies of their dead loved ones in hemp sacks and transport them on open carts. Because the ritual was held at intervals of several years, worshippers would travel in groups together to the shrine; the sight is frequently compared to a funeral procession. Once they reached the shrine, the worshippers would wait their turn to offer their pain. At all times while at the shrine, the worshippers were required to cover their faces with masks.

The worshippers were required to make an offering both of their own blood and that of their loved one. The living blood, half of the ink required for preparing the Ink of the Soul, was known as Red ink. The worshipper was expected to carry out the entire ceremony without feeling. During the ceremony, incense was burned and the Handmaidens would sing the Handmaiden's Song. The bundle containing the worshipper's loved one's body was taken to the Wooden Figure Room. In this room, the body was suspended on two ropes between a pair of giant Buddha statues and an Engraver would draw blood from it to obtain the Indigo ink. The two kinds of blood were then mixed and the worshipper's pain was tattooed onto the priestess, thus concluding the ceremony.

After the ceremony was complete, a Kushimi Doll was created, dyed with the worshipper's ink and enshrined in one of the Doll Altars, to deify the worshipper's loved one before the worshipper would return to their home village. The worshippers' blood would also be used to record their names in the back of the Commandment Tome, to register their participation in the ritual.

One of the symptoms of the Tattooed Curse mentioned in the game is seeing a masked funeral march walking towards an old shrine.

Misc. Info

• A picture of the hidden ghost "Funeral Procession" can be taken from the roof of the Manor of Sleep.