Rogetsu Kagura[1] | |
---|---|
Japanese name | 朧月神楽 |
Romaji name | Rougetsu Kagura |
Other names | N/A |
Location(s) | Rogetsu Isle |
Participants | Vessel, Organs |
Frequency | Every 10 years on September 17th |
Purpose | Purely a tourist attraction |
Game | Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse |
The Rogetsu Kagura (朧月神楽) was a ceremony originating from Rogetsu Isle. It took place every ten years on the evening of the lunar eclipse. The dance consisted of a Vessel and five Organs, who performed a traditional Japanese Shinto dance.
The ceremony originated from the Rite of Descent, which was established an unknown number of years prior. However, this lead to the first Day of Tranquility, and was thereafter forbidden to be used in the dance.
The dance became reinstated as both a way to purify the spirits of the island, but also bring joy and hope to the individuals afflicted with Moonlight Syndrome. The ritual of the Rite of Descent long forbidden and forgotten, the Rogetsu Kagura merely served as a dance to entertain.
Preparation[]
Preparation for the dance began months before the intended performance day and would train in the various musical instruments. After the loss of the Guardians, islanders would select the Vessel and Organs based on their beauty, performance ability, and personality--an "impressionable" woman was deemed ideal.
Unlike the previous Rite of Descent, the performers' preparation did not involve living in darkness underground or enduring tests of spiritual medium ability. The selection process also appears to be very casual, since the nurse Tsubaki Tono, was simply asked to be the Vessel without ceremony or testing. Outsiders who had moved to the island were also eligible for selection (and may even have been preferred).
Before the ceremony, the performers would undergo a purification ritual and attempt to 'bond' with their mask for the ceremony.
Ceremony[]
The dance was performed at night under the open sky on the Rogetsu Stage, since the moon was the intended channel for the dance. The rite was open to the public, and even actively publicized on the mainland to attract tourists to view the ceremony.
Both the witnesses and the performers would wear masks specifically created for the occasion. Note: While the masks worn by the Vessel during the Rite of Descent were lined with the purified face of an uncorrupted, un-Budded person, it is unknown if this practice was carried over to the modern Kagura masks.
The lunar eclipse's shadow on the ocean would open a gateway to the Hallowed Lands. The Vessel would begin to dance as the lunar eclipse started, while the Organs played sacred music. The Vessel would dance for the entire duration of the eclipse, becoming more and more frenetic as the ritual carried on, stopping only once the lunar eclipse was concluded. The goal of the Kagura was to draw the Vessel and the audience into an “empty body”, or trance like state, in order to open a pathway through her to funnel the spirits trapped on the island to the Hallowed Lands.
Risks and Results[]
If successful, the Kagura would cleanse the island of the accumulated spirits from the past decade, though those spirits would not be restored to their original moonsong before their journey, due to the loss of the true moonsong's song and music.
The Kagura was very risky to the participating Vessels. Likely as a result of the lost training methods, Kagura Vessel's were very susceptible to Budding after their role, and then spending the remainder of their lives in the Haibara Hospital being treated for Moonlight Syndrome.
A nefarious and likely, if unconfirmed, interpretation would be that Vessel's were specifically chosen for their weak, 'impressionable', sense of self, in the hope that they would more readily lose themselves during the dance and easily become a better passageway for the spirits. However, without the rigorous training in spiritual mediumship, the Vessel's would be unable to regain their sense of self after completing their role, have their Moon Songs corrupted from the spirits, and succumb to Budding.
In this way, the Kagura was more harmful than the original Rite of Descent, since the Vessel essentially became a "sacrifice" to throw away after the ceremony's completion. If this is true, the choice of using outsiders was likely a purposeful preference.
Sakuya Haibara was one such Kagura Vessel who contracted Moonlight Syndrome from her role, and it is alluded to that her mother likewise performed in the Kagura and went insane from it.
Disaster[]
During the 1970’s, a group decided to reenact the original Rite of Descent, which was secretly recreated underground, directly underneath the tourist dance being performed at the same time on the island's surface. The Vessel in the Rite of Descent entered the Resonance stage of Moonlight Syndrome, causing her mask to shatter and her to fall into a comatose state. The tourists present were unharmed and completely unaware of the Rite being carried out beneath their feet, but the failed Rite cause all of the performers in the tourist Kagura to simultaneously and instantly die of heart attacks during the dance. This bizarre occurrence lead to wild rumors and newspaper scandals.
Trivia[]
- Kagura is a Japanese word referring to a specific type of Shintō theatrical dance, intended to please and gain the attention of kami.
- Japan has a widespread practice called the Bon-Odori, which is a ritual group dance intended to welcome the spirits of the departed and then send them off again.