Northeastern Japan

The Mutsu Province is a former region of Japan where Fatal Frame III takes place, and where some of the folklore that was used as sources for the games comes from. It is part of the modern Tōhoku region.

This mountainous area was a former province of Japan that was separated during Meiji Era into five different prefectures: Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, Aomori, and part of Akita. In the Fatal Frame games, there are many references, both fictional and real, to this region. In addition, folklorists often visit this region in order to perform cultural research. This region was probably used for inspiration for the games because of its remoteness and mysteriousness.

Non-Fiction

• The northeastern part of Japan was one of the last provinces taken from the indigenous Ainu people, who were regarded as primitive and mysterious.
• The northeastern direction was once known as the "Demon's Gate" (鬼門, kimon), and is considered today as an inauspicious direction where spirits travel from.
• A mountain in Aomori prefecture, Mount Osore (恐山, Osorezan), is said to mark the entrance to hell, due to its volcanic nature.
• There is an urban legend about a village in Aomori prefecture called Sugisawa that vanished from the map due to a gruesome massacre.
• It is said that if a straw doll is tied to a tree and a nail is driven through its chest, illness, disease, and sickness can be prevented. In addition, if a ritual is performed and the doll is placed in the northeastern part of the house, then demons (鬼, oni) can be driven away.
• The process of self-mummification was done exclusively in northern Japan. The ghost of Ryokan Kurosawa takes the appearance of a sokushinbutsu, or a mummified priest, and the shrine maidens of Mount Hikami, who were placed in reliquaries, were also inspired by this practice.

Fatal Frame I

• According to Zero Novel, the old house that inspired Himuro Mansion was in the Tohoku region.

Fatal Frame III

• The Kuze Shrine was located in the Mutsu region.
• The folk version of the Handmaiden's Lullaby is sung in this region.
• The folktale known as the "Tattooed Maiden," as well as the connotations associated with snake and holly, are said to have come from northeastern Japan.
• A Buddha statue was found in a derelict temple in the Akita mountains, with traces of blood on it.
• Skewered dolls were made and displayed in "mountain areas" such as Iwate prefecture.
• There is a legend known as the "Sea of Endless Night" in the Mutsu region.

Fatal Frame V

• Mount Hikami, the setting of Fatal Frame V, is probably in the Tohoku region, as the local practice of Shadow Reading is mentioned in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake as being from that region.

References

Japanese Culture
Religion
Buddhism - Shinto
Japanese Ghosts/Creatures
Funayūrei - Goryō - Hitodama - Ikiryō - Onryō - Ubume - Yōkai - Yūrei
Specific Japanese Ghosts/Creatures
Oiwa - Okiku - Yuki-onna
Terms
Dosojin - Grave Mound - Hannya Mask - Higanbana - Jizo - Kaidan - Miko - Mukoyōshi - Sanzu River - Shimenawa - Toro-Nagashi - Wara Ningyo
Locations
Northeastern Japan - Shizuoka - Sugisawa Village - Tono
Media and Entertainment
Kagome, Kagome - Ringu