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Kyozo Kururugi
Kyozo Kururugi
Japanese name 枢木恭蔵(くるるぎ きょうぞう)
Romaji name Kururugi Kyozo
Other names Man With a Blade
Age Unknown
Hair color Unknown
Eye color Unknown
Occupation Unknown
Cause of death Suicide by burning and slitting his own throat
Encountered in Fourth Drop, Unfathomable Forest (Optional)
Sixth Drop Watarai Residence
Family Shino Kururugi
Appearances Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
Voice actor (Jp)
Voice actor (Eng) None

Kyozo Kururugi is a powerful hostile ghost and one of the secondary antagonist in Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water.

Background[]

Kyozo Kururugi lived a normal life until his sister Shino was harmed in some way by her lover. Kyozo killed the lover in revenge, but in the event, Shino was overcome with guilt and hanged herself on Mt. Hikami under the watch of a Maiden of Black Water.

Kyozo in turn came to the mountain to die properly. The then-shrine maiden Emi Mikomori prepared to perform Kagemi upon him so he can die in peace. Struck with an insane fear of having his sins and secrets exposed, he killed Emi and fled the mountain in defiance of tradition. Painting himself with sacred writing and resolving to kill every shrine maiden on the mountain, he began a killing spree that included Flamekeepers at the Hall of Fire. For the shrine maidens, he also gouged out their eyes so they would not see his sins. Finally, he returned to the Pool of Purification, then set himself on fire and slit his own throat.

His ghost would continue to haunt the Unfathomable Forest near the hanging tree, running down those unlucky enough to cross his path and gouging their eyes out.

Aside from appearing within Mt. Hikami, he also appears within the Veiled House and attacks both Ren Hojo and Rui Kagamiya during their first visit.

His dialogue when battled also implies his anger towards the shrine maidens, believing them to also be responsible for sister's death.

Battle[]

Kyozo is one of the more mobile enemies fought, often sprinting and dashing towards the player before striking. He has three primary attacks:

  • An upward slash with his right hand, and the Shutter Chance being when he draws his blade to his left hip before striking.
  • A forward stab followed by a diagonal slash. Each hit has its own shutter chance, the first is indicated when Kyozo pulls his right arm back before moving for a stab while the slash is identical to the aforementioned attack.
  • Sometimes, when pulling his right arm back, Kyozo can also perform a downward slash instead. If Kyozo goes invisible, he will usually go for this attack and may occasionally follow-up with an upward slash.

As none of his attacks involve grabbing the player, it's best to maintain some distance when he attacks since he usually makes a forward step when using his blade, which can cause him to exit the camera's range. Kyozo's blade also has the occasional chance to taint the player should it make contact with them.

A notable ability that Kyozo has is the state of his torch. While he has no offensive attacks related to it, the torch can be focused on, and, if lit, leaves Kyozo visible. A strategy he tries is to unlit his torch in order to become invisible before teleporting elsewhere and ambushing the player.

Though he cannot be seen, Kyozo's target spots can still be found through the viewfinder, and taking a picture of him in this state will force him to break his cover. Be warned, however, simply breaking his cover doesn't guarantee a Shutter Chance, and he may still attack the player as soon as he reignites his torch if they fail to properly get the Shutter Chance.

Kyozo has three target spots; his head, the head of his torch, and his right hand and all three can be focused on. When he goes invisible, his target spots are his head, torch, chest, and knees. Once his health bar is depleted, Kyozo will light himself on fire and will dash towards the player before collapsing. It is possible to stop Kyozo's charge with a photo using any film, and this will cause him to collapse on the spot instead. The player can only perform a Fatal Glance on him while he collapses after his dash.

His encounter in the Fourth Drop is optional, and he only appears if the player examines the empty sack near the hanging tree though he also has a random encounter in front of the Shrine of Dolls or if the player attempts to pick up the first Bloodstained Note. In the Sixth Drop, he acts as the penultimate obstacle keeping Ren and Rui from leaving the Veiled House. In Final Drop, he can be encountered with a Shrine Maiden at the Unfathomable Forest.

Files Authored[]

Etymology[]

  • The name Kyozo means "respect" (恭) (kyō) and "storehouse" (蔵) ().
  • Kyozo's surname Kururugi means "hinge" (枢) (kururu) and "tree" (木) (ki/gi).

Trivia[]

  • Kyozo's ability to become invisible during battle thanks to writing in his face is a possible reference to the folklore, Hoichi the Earless, where Hoichi, a blind musician, ironically had to be painted with words from the Heart Sutra to be invisible towards the ghosts that had tricked him into performing for them.
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