Records of the Kuze family and Kuze Shrine cease roughly 100 years ago, at the time of the final Rite of Commandment, and the Tattooed Priestess called Reika Kuze appears to have been the last one.
Below, I will summarise the many tragedies that affected Reika Kuze, garnered from the remaining records of Dr. Asou's investigation and affirmations from Kei Amakura's own investigation. Perhaps it will provide some clues as to what caused the "Unleashing" to occur at that time, and what the situation at the time was.
- The Birth of Reika Kuze
No in-depth data regarding the particulars of Reika's entering the shrine remains. However, since the condition for becoming a priestess was being a young woman with no relatives, she must have lost her family in some kind of incident. There are records indicating that multiple large-scale avalanches occurred in northern Tohoku in the late Edo period (1860s), so perhaps they died in an unfortunate accident resulting from a natural disaster.
She was now without a single relative. This caught the eye of those at the Kuze Shrine, and that winter Reika entered the Kuze Shrine as a priestess, becoming "Reika Kuze". For a young woman with no one to rely on, life in a poor village was very harsh. Without knowing the true extent of her circumstances at the time, it seems as though she could no longer hope to live a life of average happiness. In that sense, it seems as though at a time when she had to make a decision about her life, she felt resigned to ending her life as a priestess.
Just as in the "Sleeping Priestess" song, it appears as though when she entered the shrine she was carried there in a kago (palanquin), abiding by ancient customs. According to Akito Kashiwagi's records, the kago that brought the priestess to the Kuze manor seems to have been stored in the entrance hall, where it was hung from the ceiling. Just like the way bodies were hung when seeking out the dead blood in the Rite of Purple Ink, like the Hanging Prison previously described, the act of "hanging" itself seems to have some meaning with regards to Kuze tradition.
Like previous priestesses of the shrine, she was gradually tattooed in the Piercing of the Soul ritual as worshippers visited, and she would spend her time in the Hanging Prison until the Rite of Commandment. I have confirmed the four Handmaidens from this time as "Hisame", "Shigure", "Amane" and "Minamo".
- Kaname Ototsuki's Homecoming and Death
After Reika Yukishiro became a priestess and joined the Kuze family, due to some queer fate, an incident occurred that had not affected any previous priestess. One of the Handmaidens, Amane, was the half-sister of Kaname Ototsuki.
Initially, he had very few tangible memories of his hometown. If he was adopted before he developed an awareness of his surroundings, this would be understandable. Because of this, while he was researching the House of Sleep he only recognised it as a story that sounded similar to one from his hometown until the very end, and spoke of the house of his birth that appeared in his dreams - in other words, the Kuze Shrine - this way. He seems to have realised that the Tattooed Priestess spoken of in the village was Reika, and left a testimonial tape to this effect. Perhaps when he began to have questions about the dream Reika he kept seeing in the House of Sleep dream he visited the Kuze Shrine, where he thought she would be, after which several details came to light and he learned that one of the Handmaidens was his younger sister.
- Ototsuki's Movements
Elopes from his hometown in order to clear up the mysteries of his birth
↓
(Reika goes to the Kuze Shrine)
↓
Makes contact with Dr. Asou
Investigates the mysterious dream
Testifies about the customs of his hometown
↓
Returns to his hometown, sneaks into Kuze Manor
Ascertains whether Reika is alive or dead
Learns of his sister?
↓
Makes contact with Reika, killed by Yashuu
↓
(Unleashing?)
Parts of the notebooks of the final Kuze family head, Yashuu, corroborate his actions. It seems as though after he returned to his hometown he sought out the help of Amane, and set foot in the forbidden place, the Engraving Shrine. The Engraving Shrine was where the Piercing of the Soul took place, and was a central part of the Kuze Shrine, concealing the path leading to the place known as the Chamber of Thorns where the priestess was put to sleep. It is not hard to imagine that the priests would be upset by such a prohibited act being committed by a forbidden male child, known as an "imiko" (taboo child). According to Yashuu, Kaname and Amane were both "cast out". Perhaps this is why all traces of his route since his return home stop abruptly. The diary of a person who seems to be Amane also records these events. She speaks of leading her brother to the priestess, and chasing after him out of concern. If Kaname followed Reika to where she was submerged in the Rift, in the deepest part of the Kuze Shrine, surely he must have met with her as she was going to sleep.
However, in front of his lover Reika's eyes, Kaname was murdered, which gave birth to an irredeemable tragedy.
- The Unleashing and Downfall
Note: Not "child" - the "horizon"?
What fate befell the Kuze Shrine in the "Unleashing" brought about by Reika?
From generation to generation, the Kuze manor was taken care of and repaired by shrine carpenters, and at this time also it was in the care of the Narumi clan of shrine carpenters, who were mobilised and took measures to stem the spread of the Unleashing. In other words, in order to stop the Miasma from seeping out from the Abyss into the outside world, they built a building called the "Rift Shrine", which completely covered the Kuze Shrine. A further two or three layers were added, so that the entire shrine became completely isolated from the outside world, and the manor turned into a huge building with a very complex layout.
The Narumi clan of builders seems to have originally been involved in upholding the tradition of silencing the shrine carpenters and turning them into sacrificial pillars, and were apparently used many times as human sacrifices known as "taboo pillars". Two generations before Yashuu, the final family master, major repair work was performed, and quite a few members of the Narumi clan carpenters appear to have become victims then as well.
The carpenters considered their job to be a means of "serving god", and it is somewhat ironic that they were always seen in white clothing. According to Yashuu's records, as successors to the original techniques it was their job to kill the carpenters who tried to escape and turn them into pillars. Tengai Narumi, who was likely the final Narumi master, appears to have had superior technique even to the masters of past generations, but the fact that even his life was risked in the quest to stop it provides us with a glimpse into how dreadful the Unleashing must have been.
Furthermore, beginning with Kaname Ototsuki, according to the stories told by those who visited the House of Sleep in their dreams there was a courtyard enclosed in a corridor, in which there were a number of skewered straw dolls. Although this is only a tale of the dream, it is true that customs like this frequently pop up in old folk beliefs. These straw dolls stand on the boundary of the world of gods and the world of people, and as such are viewed as guardian deities in the place of living people, frequently used as humanoid offerings. Consequently, things viewed in this scene, which was supposedly seen in the dream, would not have been unusual to have actually been performed at the Kuze manor. Perhaps they also took on the role of protecting the manor along with the people made into sacrificial pillars from Reika's curse after the Unleashing occurred.
Photo: Skewered dolls that were worshipped as guardian deities. Even now in some areas these dolls can be seen used in festivals.
- What Triggered the Unleashing
The Unleashing occurred because of Reika's despair and grief at the loss of Kaname, but conversely, you could say that if Reika hadn't known of Kaname's death, she would not have released her hatred and malice as the holly, and this tragic incident would have been averted.
The primary influence was most likely Reika witnessing Kaname's death. If you think of it like the Tattoo Master, that because the tattoos were engraved as far as her eyes they rebounded; the priestess' eyes, which are very important and should be submerged in the Rift with her, should not see anything. This is similar to the way in which the eyelids of the dead are closed for cremation.
Although she shouldn't be burdened with her own pain - from losing relatives, or the grief that results from giving up her own life and ceasing to exist - Kaname's death caused everyone, not only herself, to feel her pain. Those emotions were engraved upon the priestess' whole body as a tattoo, particularly her eyes, which became her soul. Just as in the legend of the Tattoo Master, the tattoo engraved into her eyes ran amok, bringing about the Unleashing - perhaps this is why she was impaled so soon.
- Karma Surrounding Kaname Ototsuki
Without exception, the Kuze family was made up of fatherless women. Since all boys born to the Kuze family were killed while still children, from the start it was a family without any men. Another tradition was that men who conceived children with the Kuze women would vanish without the rest of the world noticing.
The circumstances surrounding Kaname and the priestess Reika have been described many times up until now, but I would like to record them properly here. His mother was a daughter of the Kuze family, Kyouka Kuze, through whom he was the grandson of the final family master, Yashuu Kuze. According to the descriptions in Kyouka's notes, his father was Akito Kashiwagi, a folklorist who visited the Kuze manor to conduct research.
The Kuze family, possessing no males, had to welcome in guests on a regular basis in order for the bloodline to survive, seemingly to conceive children with the female family members, and Akito Kashiwagi seems to have accepted the union having understood the position. However, even though they may share blood, no men are permitted in the Kuze manor. Kashiwagi's writings end with the notebooks he kept during his stay at the Kuze house, which naturally seems to suggest that he was sacrificed in some unpleasant, long-standing custom.
While Kaname Ototsuki was born into a very unique family, he grew up without knowing his birthplace, making him an extremely rare male. Also, before the father sees his child's face he is killed by the mother's family; in time-honoured tradition, the mother entrusts her child to an unknown person, in an attempt to keep the child safe. Bearing the burden of such an upbringing, the foster parents would have told Kaname nothing of the truth.
However, due to fortune and his coming of age, he returned to his hometown in order to check on the wellbeing of his lover, and probably in the same way as his father he was killed by his real grandmother.
If there was someone amongst the women of the Kuze family - for example, Kaname's mother, Kyouka - who possessed an enlightened ideology and enforced these customs, perhaps this disaster may not have occurred. If Kaname had not left the village, and had stayed by Reika's side, even though Reika may have had no relatives, there is the possibility that she may not have become a priestess.
Reika's grief, which caused the Unleashing, was of course due to the loss of her childhood friend and lover Kaname, but I think it maybe also included the despair of the Kuze women who were unable to break the chain of tragedy.