| Shadow Reading | |
|---|---|
| Japanese name | 影見 |
| Romaji name | Kagemi |
| Item type | A supernatural ability |
| Description | The ability to see the shadows of the past, through handling objects with strong associations to people or past events.
A person with this skill will use a "Yosuga," which is a clue or item connected with a lost object, to learn about the past, or to create a Zamei. A "Zamei" is the shadow of the past. Usually appearing as a white mist or figure, or a flashback image, a Zamei acts out the past, showing a trace of where an item, or person, had gone before. |
| Purpose | This ability can be used to trace missing objects or people, and learn secret histories. The connection of a shadow reader to something lost can stretch into the supernatural world and be used to draw the missing out of the spirit world and return it the normal one.
Conversely, an unskilled shadow reader may be drawn into the spirit world or into danger while connected through the shadows of the past, or if they mistakenly follow a true spirit, rather than their Zamei, which is not a ghost of a departed person. |
| Location | Mount Hikami, Kurosawa Antique Shop |
| Variants | Mitori, or "Glancing," is the ability to read the secret histories and memories of a person, rather than object. |
| Appearances | FFV, Hisoka Kurosawa, Yuri Kozukata, Shrine Maidens of Mount Hikami |
Shadow Reading is a term used in Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water. It is the ability to see the secrets of subjects when handling them, and involves following the "shadows" of the past (hence the name), of missing things or people who have been spirited away. Some special items, known as yosuga or Tokens, have quite strong residual memories and emotions, and create a much clearer impression for the practitioner to follow. The Camera Obscura may be used to aid the process, since it captures things hidden by ghostly powers, but carries a risk of drawing the seeker closer to the spirit world themselves.
This practice has been passed down since the olden days around Mt. Hikami, where it was performed as a form of fortune-telling. In the game, all the playable characters have this ability to some extent. Hisoka Kurosawa learned it from an old woman of her acquaintance, and uses it to find lost items for clients, or to bring missing people back from the spirit world, and has been training Yuri Kozukata in its use as well. Ren Hojo and Miu Hinasaki are also able to follow traces and use Glancing on ghosts they defeat.
In gameplay, Shadow Reading is used to:
- Create traces to guide players towards chapter objectives
- Perform a Fatal Glance
- Used for a Phantom Exposé or Psychic Photographs