Kirie

Template:FFMajorGhostKirie is the main antagonist in the first Fatal Frame game. She was the last Rope Shrine Maiden to perform the Strangling Ritual at Himuro Mansion before the Calamity occurred and the Malice was released.

Demon Tag Ritual

When Kirie was about seven years old, she participated in a game of Demon Tag that was played on the 26th of November 1827. All of the girls in the Himuro family above the age of seven, including Kirie, were gathered into the Demon Mouth in Himuro Mansion. As the last girl to be caught, and therefore the one considered to have the greatest spiritual power, Kirie was selected to be the next Rope Shrine Maiden.

Following the Demon Tag Ritual, Kirie was taken away from her family and isolated from the outside world for ten years. During this time, she lived alone in her cell at Himuro Mansion with hardly any guests and only the attending priests for company.

Kirie and Her Lover

Near the end of her seclusion period, there was a visitor staying at the mansion. Kirie saw him out of her window, and they met one another unexpectedly in the Cherry Atrium. He continued to visit her and tell her about the outside world, and Kirie slowly began to fall in love with him, and learn the simple joy of life.

Suddenly, the young man stopped visiting. The truth was that Lord Himuro ordered the man to be disposed of, out of fear that he was becoming too close to Kirie and might cause Kirie to not fulfill her duty as the Rope Shrine Maiden. The head priest told Kirie that the guest had gone back to his home village, but Kirie had a disturbing dream about him and realised what had really happened. Stricken by guilt and regret, Kirie began to question her own ability to serve as the Rope Shrine Maiden.

The day before the ritual, Kirie had a strange dream about a samurai who spoke of a Holy Mirror. He told Kirie that breaking the mirror was the only way to stop the ritual and for her to be with the man she loved.

The Strangling Ritual

As the day of the ritual approached,

all the members of the Himuro Family gathered at the mansion, and even in her isolation, Kirie noticed the busy, lively atmosphere. On December 13, 1837, Kirie purified herself in the Moon Well and was escorted by Lord Himuro and the other priests to the Rope Altar. Kirie was tied down by her hands, neck, and feet, and each of the priests turned the gears connected to the corresponding rope, strangling Kirie to death. The blood-soaked ropes were then taken and bound in front of the Hell Gate.

Due to her doubts, guilt, and wish to live, Kirie's ropes failed to bind the Hell Gate, and it swung open, shattering the Holy Mirror and releasing the Malice, which spread throughout the entire mansion.

As the Malice possessed Kirie's spirit, she split into two forms: her adult form, possessed by the Malice, and her younger form, that remained untainted. Her younger form tried to find a way to free the mansion of its curse and fulfill her duty.

Events of Fatal Frame

When Mafuyu Hinasaki visits the mansion, Kirie mistakes him for her dead lover and doesn't kill him. When his younger sister appears, Kirie's younger spirit sees her chance and helps Miku solve the mansion's curse. When Miku finally finds all the pieces of the shattered Holy Mirror and puts them together, she uses it to purify Kirie's soul of the Malice. At the same time, Kirie releases Mafuyu.

Kirie's younger self reminds her not to forget her duty, and the two merge, becoming whole again. Kirie grabs the broken rope and binds herself in front of the Hell Gate, telling Miku and Mafuyu they need to leave. Mafuyu refuses and tells Miku to go on without him, because he will stay so that Kirie isn't ever alone again. Miku escapes just in time as the mansion collapses, and all the trapped spirits are freed.

Alternate Endings

While the first ending (as mentioned above) is considered the true canon ending, Fatal Frame has two alternate endings. In the second ending, Mafuyu doesn't stay with Kirie, but leaves with Miku as well. When the game was brought to the Xbox console, another ending was added. This ending had Mafuyu and Miku escape the mansion, but Kirie's lover returned to be with her as the mansion collapsed.

Victims

Kirie Himuro's known victims

• Koji Ogata
• Tomoe Hirasaka
• Junsei Takamine
• Mafuyu Hinasaki

Possible victims

• Bound Man

Misc. Info

• While director Makoto Shibata has admitted that the movie Ringu was influential in designing Fatal Frame, Kirie's character design comes from the classic Japanese interpretation of ghosts. There is no evidence from behind the scenes content or articles to suggest that her character design is based on the character Sadako.
• The Rope Shrine Maiden in Fatal Frame III is not Kirie Himuro, but Kizuna Himuro.
• Kirie can only be harmed by shots that are at Max Charge, all of which are automatic Zero Shots. The camera's special abilities have no effect on her.
• During the final battle with Kirie, earthquakes can cause the camera to shake, making it difficult to aim.
• At one stage during development, the creators planned to have an encounter between Miku and Kirie's mother, who tried to save Kirie by hiding her from the Himuro family.

See Also

• For quotes by Kirie, see Quotes: Kirie
• For other members of the Himuro family, see Himuro Family.
• For more information on the Himuro Mansion curse, see Rope Curse.
• For other shrine maidens, see Shrine Maiden.
• For other rituals in Fatal Frame, see Fatal Frame Rituals.
• For other antagonist ghosts in the Fatal Frame Series, see Antagonist Ghosts.
• For images related to Kirie, see Images of Kirie Himuro.