Professor Asou's Notes (2)

The English content of this page features unofficial fan translations.

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	Kunihiko Asou Museum
Obtained	On the floor beside the desk
Description	A note seemingly left behind by Dr. Asou. It's about Rougetsu Island.
Additional Description	The dust has been wiped off the fallen notebook. It's as if someone touched it recently...
Related Notes	Dr. Asou's Note 1, Dr. Asou's Note 3, Rougetsu Kagura Viewing Record & Dr. Asou's Mask Research

ENJA

Rougetsu Island was once feared as "the island nearest to the underworld". However, unlike in that bygone age, it seems that the Rougetsu Archipelago is no longer an insular region that shuns visitors.

It is said that the island was once all but wiped out by a great calamity, but opened its doors after rebuilding and recovering.

Rather than treating a visitor from afar such as myself with hostility, the head of the island seems almost to welcome me with open arms, introducing me to precious traditions such as the Rougetsu Kagura, as well as the island's beautiful local crafts, including mother-of-pearl inlays and Rougetsu-style wood carvings.

...But their unique belief system is what drew me here, seeking materials to further develop the Camera Obscura.

On Rougetsu Island, the moon is an object of faith.

Here, the sun represents the outward appearance visible on the surface, while the moon represents what is within. That is to say memory and personality...and thus the soul.

They believe that the soul remains connected to the Other World even after the physical body has perished, and that the moon is like a gateway leading there. Perhaps, then, the moon itself is something like a symbol of the Other World.

There is a kagura during which the souls of the dead return, and the masks of the island play a vital role in it.

The mask worn by the shrine maiden during the kagura seemingly becomes a point of contact between our world and the Other World. That is to say the moon, where the dead reside.

...A mask that leads to the Other World. There is more than one type of mask on the island. In fact, it is said that there is a wide variety. Examination of these masks should greatly advance my research into the Other World.

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 referred to here is called Raden (螺鈿).