Rogetsu Kagura Chronicle

Dr. Asou's Account of the Festival
Kanji	朧月神楽鑑賞記 ろうげつ かぐら かんしょう き
Game	Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
Author	Dr. Kunihiko Asou
Chapter	Phase IX: Descent
Located at	Birth Chamber
Obtained	After leaving the tunnels, on top of the big altar
Description	A record of Dr. Asou's viewing of the Rougetsu Kagura.
Additional Description	Picked up an old book.
Related Notes	Dr. Asou's Note 1, Dr. Asou's Note 2, Dr. Asou's Note 3 & Dr. Asou's Mask Research

ENJA

A Tsukimori shrine maiden has been assigned to accompany me as I observe the kagura and take some test shots with the Camera Obscura.

The Rougetsu Kagura is rather grand by the standards of village kagura. What begins as a slow and elegant dance gradually becomes more wild and frenzied. At its climax some participants are even known to lose consciousness.

During the festival, it is said that a malady appears among the local population, which they call "moonwalking".

This ambiguous term probably serves to avoid the apparent connection to spirit possession. Perhaps when one's soul departs their body to welcome the spirits of the dead in the ecstatic trance of the kagura, it returns somehow changed...or fails to return at all.

Those of the Tsukimori bloodlines are easily possessed, as well, and undergo rigorous training around the time of the kagura.

I inquired about their traditions and what I've heard so far is very intriguing.

From the perspective of the dead, the living, they say, appear as a mass of sound called a "lunar melody". Every individual is unique, and so every melody is, too.

One might describe it as the expression of a person's true nature - their character and personality.

And while it may rise as a person gets angry, soften in the presence of sorrow, and waver in moments of doubt, the melody itself should never change.

Except, that is, in cases of moonwalking, whereby the melody of the afflicted appears distorted and broken.

Even if the belief that people are masses of sound is just a local superstition, I must admit that it has a certain charm.

One role of the Tsukimori shrine maidens is to use various musical tones to make one's lunar melody ring clear and true.

While there is no cure for moonwalking, local folklore claims that this approach has cured many other maladies.

Folk medicine often attributes healing power to prayer, but I have never heard of it being attributed to sound.

Allegedly, she can see my melody, as well. She says that it is "remarkably pleasant".

She may be a little eccentric, but like all Tsukimori she is a contemporary thinker blessed with intellect, kindness, and beauty.

If only she could accompany me on all my travels...

「月守」と呼ばれた巫女に
付き添われて朧月神楽を鑑賞し、
射影機の試し撮りを行う。

朧月神楽は、里神楽の中では
非常に大きなものだ。
静かな舞から、次第に荒々しいものに変わり、
神楽が最高潮に達すると、興奮のためか、
酩酊が極まり気を失うものも出てくる。
 
神楽の際に、「月歩き」という
病になるものが現れる。
「月歩き」というのは、憑き物の
変節なのであろう。
神楽にて脱魂し、御霊を迎えた後、
自分の魂が戻りきらない、もしくは
戻った魂が変化した
ために起きるのではないのか。
月守の巫女も憑きやすい血筋にあたり、
神楽の際には修行をして望むらしい。
月守の巫女の伝承を聞いたが、
実に興味深い。
人は死者から見ると音の塊にみえるという。
その音を「月の音」といい、
人は皆それぞれ異なる音をもっている。
「月の音」は人となりを表す
ようなものなのだ。
不思議なことに、月の音は、
その人が怒れば高まり、
迷えば揺れ、悲しめば低くなるが、
音自体は変わらない。
だが、月歩きになれば、月の音は歪み、
壊れてしまう。
それにしても、人が音の固まりだとは、
迷信にしても魅力的な迷信だ。
そして月守の巫女は、さまざまな調べを奏で、
月の音をただしく澄んだ音にする
役目があるという。
月歩きで壊れてしまうと治せないが、
さまざまな病とを治したという伝承がある。
祈祷による治療は珍しくないが、
音を使ったものは聞いたことが無い。
彼女にも、私の音が見えるらしい。
なかなか良い音だそうだ。
たまに奇妙なことを言うが、
月守の巫女はみな現代的な思考を持ち、
理知に富み、優しく、美しい。　
次の旅先にも付き添ってもらいたいものだ。

Additional Information

Village kagura, or sato kagura (里神楽), is a distinction created between rural folk customs and the formal court rituals of imperial kagura, or mikagura (御神楽).

Translation Notes

When Asou comments on moonwalking, what he really says is "This 'moonwalking' is probably a characteristic nickname for tsukimono (possession)." Despite not knowing the name "ghostwalking", Asou is likely able to make this connection because "moonwalking" (月歩き) and "ghostwaking" (憑き歩き) share the same pronunciation: tsukiaruki.