Professor Asou's Notes (2)
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Rougetsu Island, historically known as the "island nearest the underworld" has long been feared. However, times have changed. The Rougetsu Archipelago seems to no longer be the kind of place that is closed off to outsiders.
Once, there was some kind of great disaster that destroyed the island, but it has started to recover.
Instead of disliking an unusual person like me, they introduced me to the valuable cultural Rougetsu Kagura Ritual and the island's many beautiful clouded moon carvings.
I seemed to be welcomed by the islanders to the point where it began to overwhelm me.
...I came to this island to search for material for my camera, specific to this island's religion.
On Rougetsu Island, the moon is considered a religious object.
On the island, when the moon is inside the sun as with an eclipse, the soul is revealed.
It is thought that the soul remains even after the body is gone, in the "Other World", and that the moon is the doorway to this Other World. The moon is certainly a symbol of the Other World.
The souls of the dead return to the island during the kagura dance and this is the main function of the island's masks.
The shrine maidens wear masks during the ritual, and it is believed that at this time, the moon makes contact between this world and the world of the dead.
...A mask connected to the Other World.
There is more than one variety of mask on the island. Various types are used.
By examining these masks, I will surely make great advances into my research of the Other World.