Folk Scholar's Writings III

For the version of this note that appears in Fatal Frame II, see Folklorist's Note 3.

For the version of this note that appears in Crimson Butterfly Remake, see (placeholder).

Folk Scholar's Writings III
Kanji	民俗学者の手記 三 みんぞくがくしゃのしゅき さん
Game	Fatal Frame: Deep Crimson Butterfly
Author	Seijiro Makabe
Chapter	Chapter 3: The Repentance
Located at	Kurosawa House, Parlour
Obtained	On the floor by the bookcase
Description	The journal of a folk scholar. It describes the state of the village as the ceremony approaches.
Additional Description	It seems I've found some old texts about the village.
Related Notes	Folk Scholar's Writings I, Folk Scholar's Writings II, Folk Scholar's Writings IV, Folk Scholar's Writings V, Folk Scholar's Writings VI, Folk Scholar's Writings VII, Folk Scholar's Writings VIII, Folk Scholar's Writings IX, Folk Scholar's Writings X, Folk Scholar's Writings XI & Folk Scholar's Writings XII

ENJA

The earthquakes have been getting increasingly frequent over the last few days, and I've also seen more and more of those crimson butterflies fluttering around. Though they are beautiful, they make me uneasy. They look just like human souls, mournfully making their way through the skies, and the villagers always start praying when they see them.
The atmosphere in the village is very tense, as though something terrible is about to happen.

A community that fears the wrath of the earth...

Could this Crimson Sacrifice Festival be some kind of attempt at appeasing it?

Such festivals used to be common all over Japan, generally using live sacrifices to appease the wrath of the gods.
Could that be how the twin maidens that are worshipped in the village are linked to the festival?
If the village were preparing for an ancient appeasement festival, then it would certainly explain why everything is so quiet around here.

ここ数日、地震の回数が増えてきている。
それにともなうかのように、村を舞う
紅い蝶の数も、日を追うごとに増えている。

その姿は美しくも不気味で、まるで無数の
人魂が悲しげに舞っているようにも見える。

紅い蝶を見た村人達は、手を合わせる。
村全体が、何か恐ろしいものを迎えるような
おごそかな空気につつまれていく。


地の怒りにおびえる、小さな集落。

「紅贄祭」とは、地鎮祭のような意味を
持つ祭りなのだろうか。


古くは、どの地方にも地鎮祭のような祭りが
存在した。その多くは供物として生贄を供え
て神の怒りを鎮める。

とすれば「守り神」として祀られている
「双子巫女」の役割は、おそらくそういう
ものなのであろう。


その風習が現在も残っているとしたら、祭り
を前にしたこの村の静けさにも説明がつく。


「守り神」となった双子巫女は「紅い蝶」と
なり、この村に帰る。