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Rogetsu Isle
Rogetsu isle
Japanese name 朧月島
Romaji name Rougetsushima
Other names Rougetsu Island
Location(s) South of Honshu
Function Island
Status Abandoned/exorcised
Game Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse


Rogetsu Isle is the island where the Rite of Descent took place, located at the south of Honshu Island. It is also the main setting in Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.

This island is where Ruka Minazuki, Madoka Tsukimori, Marie Shinomiya, Misaki Asou, and Tomoe Nanamura were kidnapped.  Unlike most areas that have connections to the spirit world, (Himuro Mansion, All God's Village, Kuze Shrine) the island and its inhabitants were welcoming to anyone who had entered the island.  As such, they even let tourists onto the island and watch the Kagura Ritual as it is performed.

Topography and Features[]

Rogetsu is a small, mountainous island, South of Honshu (the main island of Japan). It may actually refer to a series of small islands, but the game takes place only on one.

Its mountain is largely made up of red and blue crystal deposits, and the island itself is nearly hollow from its large cave systems, featuring many large, empty chambers.

These features combine to create a phenomenon (likely based in the Stone Tape Theory) called Resonance. This Resonance results in the spirits of the dead having an immensely strong presence on the island, and the spirits of the living becoming corrupted or distorted. Many islanders suffer the unique-to-the-island Moonlight Syndrome because of the affect of the island's Resonance on their souls.

Every ten years, the black reflection of the lunar eclipse on the ocean surface creates a portal to the land of the dead. Because the island's unique features trap and amplify the spirits of the dead, this event is used to cleanse the island of the built up spirits.

Construction of basement levels has been traditionally forbidden on the island, to avoid interference with the cavern systems. However, the modern hospital ignored this.

Religious Beliefs and Practices[]

The islanders do not believe in or worship any gods or kami. Rather, their belief systems are focused on the Moon and placating the dead, with music and masks taking a prominent place in their practices.

Islanders believe the Moon represents the internal world of the mind, spirit, and memory. Each person's soul is said to have a unique vibration, creating their personal Moon Song. These soul songs can be amplified, diminished, or affected by things such as the island's Resonance, sacred music, the light of the moon, or other's Moon Songs. If a person's song is distorted or corrupted, they Bud and contract Moonlight Syndrome, which causes them to forget themselves and their memories. Bathing in moonlight was considered purifying and calming to those who have Moonlight Syndrome, and the moon itself was believed to have its own Moon Song, which changed according to current lunar phase.

The island is famous for its woodworking handicrafts, specifically their carved masks. Masks are believed to preserve or erase a person's sense of self, as such the masks are prominently used during funerary practices, and during the holy dances. The masks are exported to the mainland and their expert craftsmanship increased the island's prominence and fame.

Historically, the island's beliefs and practices were overseen by the Guardians. These shrine maidens were reportedly able to hear a person's Moon Song. The sect was responsible for caring for islanders suffering from Moonlight Syndrome, performing sacred music to counter the island's Resonance, selecting and preparing maidens for the Rite of Decent, and monitoring the phases of the moon. For unknown reasons, the group had largely died out by the 1940-50's.

Perhaps because of the island's dwindling modern population, visitors from the mainland are encouraged to visit and participate in its traditional practices.

Main Rituals[]

  • Rite of Decent - Forbidden and no longer practiced
  • Rogetsu Kagura - Dr. Asou observed the 1910 Kagura under escort of the Tsukimori Shrine Maidens. The Kagura was made open to the general public and advertised as a tourist attraction in 1940.
  • Face-Cutting

Disasters[]

First Day of Tranquility[]

Unknown date. A corrupted Rite of Decent caused the deaths of the majority of the islanders. The Rite was forbidden thereafter.

1970 Kagura[]

During the dance, all 6 of the maidens collapsed, with the center Vessel dying instantly. Approximately three months before the kagura, 5 young female patients, all around aged 10, were kidnapped and went missing from their ward in Rogetsu Hall. The kidnapped girls were discovered shortly after the disastrous dance, all of them with their memories completely gone, with a 6th woman in a coma.

Second Day of Tranquility[]

1972. All of the islanders died after Sakuya Haibara awoke from her coma, fully Blossomed and resonated with all islanders. The disaster was discovered by a supply ship from the mainland. Along with numerous dead bodies, all of which were found to have died non-violent deaths while covering their faces, the majority of the island population was missing, and not recovered. It was initially thought that there were no survivors, but at least one living person was found, who later died in a mainland hospital.

The island is now abandoned and devoid of living residents.

Locations[]

Trivia[]

  • Rogetsu translates to "hazy moon"[1].
  • In Japanese culture, mountains are considered sacred spaces. With the entire island being a mountain, the whole of the island could be considered a sacred space.
  • (Unconfirmed) Rogestsu Island may be inspired by Shikoku, a large island also South of Honshu, famous for the large, ocean whirlpools which appear in the Naruto straight, extensive Obon festivals and kagura dances, and its 88-temple pilgrimage.
  • (Unconfirmed) Another possible inspiration may be the famous Italian island of Poveglia. Used for centuries to quarantine the mentally ill or those who have contracted one of various plagues, the reportedly-haunted Povelgia is dominated by a large, abandoned hospital asylum, similar to Rogetsu Island.
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