[No.038] Misumi Gazette
An article about a phenomenon called "light pillars" in Hanuda Village, from the 31 July 1976 evening edition of the Misumi Gazette. The article writes, "Around dawn on the 30th of July, a strange pillar of light was observed in the sky above the Mana river flood gates." According to the explanation in the article, this phenomenon is caused "when a source of bright light refracts off of ice layers in the sky", but obviously this was an omen of Datatsushi's coming before the "holy marriage rites" of 1976 that ultimately ended in failure. However, naturally the public took this as some kind of natural phenomenon. According to Takafumi Shimura, who was labelled insane and locked up inside the Miyata Clinic after catching onto the dark side of Hanuda Village, being manipulated by Hisako Yao, this was a bad omen... In chapter 4 of "Strange Tales of Hanuda Village" Takafumi thinks of the person who describes the light pillar as a natural phenomenon in a boatful manner as an idiot, apparently rejecting the theory, but there weren't many people who knew what was really going on, and no one could have stopped the laws of cause and effect from destroying the 1976 Hanuda Village.
[No.039] Dosojin
Dosojins are statues placed in places such as at the borders of villages, believe to drive away disease and malicious spirits. The normal design featuring a carving of a man and a woman has a Mana cross added to it, the unique symbol of Hanuda Village's religion. This Dosojin stands close to the ruins of the mine on Gojaku Peak. There is actually a scene in chapter 1 of "Strange Tales" in which Namiko Yoshikawa encounters "something" like a wild dog on the mountain path that passes through the old mine, and as she desperately tries to flee she sees a "collapsed stone statue". Similarly, after turning into a dog shibito, the girl who sees her - her past self - and runs away, the same stone statue appearing for a second. The unhappy meeting of the "two Namikos" on Gojaku Peak's mountain path... The thing she saw that moment could possibly have been this Dosojin.
[No.040] Akira Shimura's Hunting License
A license showing that Akira Shimura is a hunter with the right to bear a hunting rifle. Actually, one of the development team was shown a real hunting license by an acquaintance, and it was created from that, but since the layout and the format differ slightly between prefectures it seems to have been quite difficult to do.
[No.041] Library Card
A library card that was inside the red backpack of Namiko Yoshikawa, a girl who went missing on Gojaku Peak in 1976. There is a scene in chapter 1 of "Strange Tales" in which Namiko remembers she has to return the book she borrowed from the library, the book being "A Collection of Hanuda Folk Tales". According to the card, including Namiko Yoshikawa, a total of six people have borrowed the book. Naturally, the name of the last borrower written on it is Namiko Yoshikawa. Though it is faint, you can make out the name "Hisako Yao" as being the fifth borrower. From the line "she hears the clatter of a book inside her backpack" in chapter 1 of Strange Tales, you can tell that at the point at which she is walking along the Gojaku Peak path she already has the folk tales book inside her red backpack, but if you examine the backpack lying on the floor inside East Shaft #3 in the game the book isn't there. This because, as shown in the chapter 1 epilogue "Seven Mysteries of the School', the now dog shibito Namiko holds the book in her mouth and returns with it to the library. It seems as though even after becoming a shibito she still remembers that she has to return the book.
[No.042] Hanuda Triangle
A musical instrument that was inside Namiko's backpack. It is made of Misumi tin, which can only be found at Hanuda Mine, and its identifying feature is the way it changes tone each time it is hit, which perhaps signifies - like the Mana Stone - that the ore is a kind of unknown metal from space.
[No.043] Yoriko Anno's Student ID
As you can see if you open the pass case, this student ID clearly shows Yoriko's youthful crush on Tamon Takeuchi. Upon dropping this while moving through Hirunotsuka, she ignores Tamon's order to wait by the spring in order to try to look for it, a dangerous streak of independence. She was probably embarrassed at the thought of Tamon looking inside the pass case. The heart of a young girl...
English Translation by Chelsea
