Rogetsu Kagura: Difference between revisions
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|purpose = To honour the dead<ref name="flyer">''[["What is the Rogetsu Kagura?"]]'', [[Fatal Frame IV]]</ref> | |purpose = To honour the dead<ref name="flyer">''[["What is the Rogetsu Kagura?"]]'', [[Fatal Frame IV]]</ref> | ||
|games = [[Fatal Frame IV]] | |games = [[Fatal Frame IV]] | ||
}}The Rogetsu Kagura was a ceremony performed every decade on the evening of September 17. An [[Vessel (FF4)|Vessel]] and five [[Kanade]] performed a traditional Japanese theatrical dance known as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagura kagura]. The ceremony was based on a much older ritual known as the [[ | }}The Rogetsu Kagura was a ceremony performed every decade on the evening of September 17. An [[Vessel (FF4)|Vessel]] and five [[Kanade]] performed a traditional Japanese theatrical dance known as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagura kagura]. The ceremony was based on a much older ritual known as the [[Rite of Descent]]. After a [[Day Without Suffering|tragedy]], the Kiraigou became taboo, and the Kagura sprang up in its wake. | ||
==Preparation== | ==Preparation== | ||
Revision as of 23:03, 13 March 2023
 This page contains spoilers for Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. |
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The Rogetsu Kagura was a ceremony performed every decade on the evening of September 17. An Vessel and five Kanade performed a traditional Japanese theatrical dance known as kagura. The ceremony was based on a much older ritual known as the Rite of Descent. After a tragedy, the Kiraigou became taboo, and the Kagura sprang up in its wake.
Preparation
Like the performers of the Kiraigou,[2] the Utsuwa and her Kanade must meditate beneath the mask in the Antechamber for a certain period of time, in order to become one with their masks.[3] Islanders preparing to attend the Kagura would receive masks at the Luminary Sanctum.[4]
Formerly, the Tsukimori Shrine Maidens played an important role in preparations for the festival, particularly in selecting the Kanade,[5], but as the Tsukimori clan declined, their role was all but forgotten.[6]
The Ritual
At 10pm on the day of the festival,[4] the residents of Rogetsu Isle donned their masks and gathered in the Lunar Eclipse Hall to view the performance. The five Kanade stood around the circular platform with instruments, playing music to accompany the dance. The Utsuwa, dressed in white, would then begin to dance.
Beginning with the Utsuwa, the participants in the Kagura would enter a trance-like state in which the soul was said to have departed the body. This state was referred to as "utsusemi", or "empty body".[7] At the end of the ceremony, the souls would return, along with lost memories.
The Result
On the night of the lunar eclipse, it was believed that the minds of the living sank closer to death, while the souls of the dead returned.[7] The Kagura honoured the dead and protected the living.[1]
Although the Kiraigou was intended to summon a gate to the Other World and guide lingering spirits to the other side, the tourist Kagura never served this purpose.
Disaster
On the night of the lunar eclipse in the 1970s, the true Kiraigou ritual was secretly performed at the same time as the Kagura. When the Mask of the Lunar Eclipse shattered, the Utsuwa and Kanade participating in the Kagura collapsed and died. The interruption of the ceremony initiated a "Getsuyuu Syndrome crisis".[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "What is the Rogetsu Kagura?", Fatal Frame IV
- ↑ Antechamber Origins, Fatal Frame IV
- ↑ Fatal Frame IV Spirit List, Entry #225, "Utsuwa and Kanade Meditating"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Rogetsu Kagura Event Details, Fatal Frame IV
- ↑ Dr. Asou's Account of the Festival, Fatal Frame IV
- ↑ Letter to Soya, Fatal Frame IV
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Keywords, Fatal Frame IV official website. English Translation
- ↑ Post-Mortem: Tomoko Hinuma, Fatal Frame IV