The Strangling Ritual is the primary ritual of the Himuro Mansion. It
is always performed on December 13th, approximately 10 years after the
prior sacrifice.[1] It is a Shinto ritual that has been performed by the
Himuro Family since ancient times.[2] The ritual involves the Rope
Shrine Maiden being sacrificed and the ropes, saturated with her blood,
are then used to bind the Hell Gate shut until the next ritual must be
performed.



Preparation

Of the girls participating in the Demon Tag Ritual, the last caught is
chosen to be the next Rope Shrine Maiden. She is then taken from her
family and cut off from the outside world for 3,669 days [3] (roughly 10
years). The four priests that care for her wear masks to prevent her
from becoming attached to them, and therefore the living world. She is
designated certain days in which she is allowed outside, though which
days are not clear. Overall, the maiden must be kept completely detached
from the world and must be willing to die. If she retains the will to
live at the time of her death, or is emotionally conflicted, the
Strangling Ritual will fail.



The Ritual

When it is time for the ritual, the Rope Shrine Maiden is taken from her
cell to the Moon Well to purify herself in the moonlight. She then
enters the basement through a door that only she is allowed to use,
located at the bottom of the Moon Well. [4] The rest of the Himuro
family must use the Demon Mouth entrance to access the basement. Both of
these paths cross and lead to the ceremony chamber. The family master
leads the maiden, the priests, and the rest of the Himuro family down,
while the priests walk alongside the maiden.







In the chamber there is a large pedestal with five wheels, which ropes
are attached to and pulled by. The Rope Shrine Maiden is put on the
pedestal, and ropes are tied around her wrists, ankles, and neck. The
order is right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg. [5] The head is not
specified. The ropes are then attached to the wheels and turned, one by
each of the four priests. The family master turns the wheel connected to
the maiden's head. She is pulled limb from limb and sacrificed







The Himuro Mansion Haunting

According to urban legend, lying just beyond the city of Tokyo is one of
the most haunted locations in all of Japan. The exact location of the
Himuro Mansion (or Himikyru Mansion as it is sometimes known) is widely
unknown but the legend puts the mansion in a rocky region just beyond
the city limits of

The mansion is said to have been home to one of the most gruesome
murders in modern Japanese history. Local lore has it that for
generations, the Himuro family had participated in a strange, twisted
Shinto ritual known as “The Strangling Ritual” in order to seal off bad
karma from within the Earth, every half century or so.



The most popular version of the tale states that bad karma would emerge
each December (other versions simply say “toward the end of the year”)
from a portal on the Mansions grounds. In order to prevent this, a
maiden was chosen at birth by the master of the household and isolated
from the outside world in order to prevent her from developing any ties
to the outside world, which would in turn, jeopardize the effect of the
ritual.



On the day of the Strangling Ritual, the maiden was bound by ropes on
her ankles, wrists, and neck. The ropes were attached to teams of oxen
or horses to rip her limbs from her body, quartering her. The ropes used
to bind her appendages would then be soaked in her blood and laid over
the gateway of the portal. They believed that this would seal off the
portal for another half century until the ritual had to be repeated.



During the last recorded Strangling Ritual it is said that the maiden
had fallen in love with a man who tried to save her from the ritual.
This “tie” to Earth tainted her blood and spirit and ruined the ritual
altogether. Upon learning of the maidens love, the master took up his
sword and brutally murdered all of his family members, before finally,
in fear of what would soon happen, fell upon his own blade.



This is the basis of the “haunting” of the Himuro Mansion. Local legend
has it that these souls of the murdered family wander the mansion
attempting to repeat the failed ritual using whomever enters the
abandoned building. Blood splashes on the walls are reportedly seen, as
if they were flicked from the blade of a sword that had recently sliced
through flesh. Many have reported seeing spirits and apparitions dressed
completely in white, rinsing cloths and preparing the grounds for the
ritual.





Himuro Mansion





The Himuro Mansion is the haunted setting for the first Fatal Frame
game. The mansion is centuries old and dates back far further than the
Edo period of Japan. In the game's setting, the mansion was owned by the
powerful Himuro family. The mansion is situated in such a way that it
is surrounded and protected by five shrines in the surrounding
mountains, that house five gods.







The mansion is located in the Himuro Mountain area, located in the
southern region of the prefecture. [1] The mansion was the residence of a
landowner that controlled vast areas of land in the region







Fatal Frame





Storyline

"I wonder how long it's been... since my brother and I... began to see things that other people couldn't see..."

―Miku Hinasaki src

Nine days have passed since Mafuyu, brother of Miku Hinasaki, had disappeared.



It all began about a month ago.



The media reported that the famous novelist Junsei Takamine disappeared
while gathering research for an upcoming novel. Mafuyu, an aspiring
journalist, suspected that something was wrong. Why would his mentor
simply vanish into thin air? Mafuyu decided to conduct a private search
for his friend, with the investigation eventually leading to the grounds
of a secluded mansion. The Himuro Mansion stands silent and imposing
deep within the forest. It's said that years ago the mansion belonged to
a powerful landowner who had absolute control over the area. But now
it's a shadow of its former self, dilapidated and desolate...



As Mafuyu searched the mansion, he found scraps of paper left by Junsei
and his staff throughout the mansion. The writings recounted a number of
ominous events that happened in the mansion's dark past. Eager to find
additional clues within the mansion, Mafuyu rushed in and suddenly
realized that he wasn't alone...



Miku came to the Himuro mansion in search of her missing brother. But she had no idea what she was getting into...