Takafumi Shimura
Miyata Clinic / Abandoned ward / 1976 / 17:19:44
Miyata Clinic / Abandoned ward / 1976 / 17:19:44
At the time when "Strange Tales of Hanuda" was being published as a serial on SCEJ's official Siren website, chapter 4 was the final chapter. As well as revealing that it is Hisako Yao who has been controlling the village's secrets from the shadows, it represents the "Ouroboros" in Strange Tales... the eternal, never-ending "wheel of time" that is stuck in a loop of creating and destroying itself.
Takafumi Shimura, the narrator of chapter 4, which brings the story to its helpless conclusion, is the cousin of the hunter Akira Shimura from the main game. Becoming aware of Hanuda Village's dark side he was labelled as insane and shut away in the hospital, but manages to escape successfully. Hiding out in the abandoned building of the Miyata Clinic he begins to have visions, witnessing the fate of Previous Miyako and Koichi. It is important to note that chapter 4 basically uses Takafumi as a vehicle to show information through his visions.
First of all, Takafumi experiences a vision of Koichi. From Koichi's line here - "We burnt it with your kimono earlier..." - you learn that the holy vessel (Datatsushi's head) that Koichi stole in chapter 2 has been disposed of. From "when power is born there must be some way to combat it" you can also see that by this point he has learned of the existence of the Uryen. However, in the end Koichi shows symptoms of turning into a half-shibito before he can obtain the Uryen, and asks to be impaled inside a coffin and buried that way. Here Takafumi witnesses his impaling through the chest with a stake through the vision of Previous Miyako. Incidentally, the "shibito lying impaled" inside a coffin in the Miyata Clinic basement during the game is the monstrous form of Koichi (this stake is later driven deep into the chest of shibito Risa...).
After this, Previous Miyako and Sumiko are reunited. Sumiko's true form finally comes to light. The kind Sumiko, who freed Miyako from her fate of being offered up as a sacrifice, the bride of the "god"... However, she is also Hisako Yao, the origin of the village's curse! The Uryen is the ultimate weapon that will destroy her desire to resurrect Datatsushi. Hisako seals away the Uryen with Miyako in the Miyata Clinic basement. Hisako's (Sumiko's) at first glance conflicting actions of releasing and then recapturing Miyako stem from the "curse of immortality": having lived for over 1300 years, as she states, she sometimes forgets who she is, interchanging between a variety of names and personalities in a complex manner. Miyako is tightly bound to a chair in the hospital basement by Hisako. Here she remains in the darkness, unable even to die, mummifying, for a period of 27 years. Until the time comes when in the game she hands the Uryen over to Miyata...
The author of the "Guiding Priest's diary" at the end of chapter 4 is the previous Guiding Priest, Reiji Makino. As written in it, Hisako Yao returns... holding in her hands the sacred vessel that should have been disposed of by Koichi. This is, in other words, when Hisako returned riding the utsubobune holding the head. Arriving at this point, a second and eternity, the end and the beginning all merged. This itself is the unending "wheel of Ouroboros"...
Characters
Takafumi Shimura
Girl in patient's garb
The Previous Miyako, who arrives at the Miyata Clinic with Koichi. She appears to have changed into a patient's clothing due to her "black kimono" being dirtied in the landslide.Koichi Shimura
A young man who flees with Previous Miyako. From the line, "Is there nothing I can do, like my father tells me?" you can tell that like Koichi his father Akira realises the darkness of Hanuda Village, but pretends not to know anything.Sumiko
The maid who was in charge of Previous Miyako, though her true form is Hisako Yao. After helping Miyako, who wanted to be free, to escape, she ends up confining her in the hospital basement, due to her complex personalities as both Sumiko and Hisako interchanging."Tamon Takeuchi's Notebook"
Inside the notebook is a comment by Tamon: "When power is born, so is the power to combat it." This concept, also known by Koichi, reasons towards the existence of the Uryen. It appears to have been put forth by Tamon's father, Omito Takeuchi.
English Translation by Chelsea
