Notes from Ushinawareta Kioku

-The History of Silent Hill section states that the Native Americans' organized 
resistance ended around 1890, but no details are mentioned concerning the reason 
for this, which is that the Native Americans were finally crushed so severely 
that they were no longer able to fight back against the settlers.  In December 
of 1890, hundreds of Native American men, women and children were brutally 
slaughtered in what is known as "the Wounded Knee Massacre."  That this event 
corresponds exactly to the mysterious disappearance of many of the town's 
residents almost seems too deliberate to be a coincidence.  Could it be that 
this act of violence against the Native Americans was a catalyst for the power 
of the town to cause something to happen to the settlers who took their land 
from them?

-Sanguelia, the film mentioned in the commentary for Lisa Garland, has a few 
different names depending on the country of its release.  Some of its other 
titles are:  Zombi 2, Gli Ultimi Zombi, Island of the Living Dead, Island of 
the Flesh Eaters, Zombie, Zombie 2: The Dead Are Among Us, and Zombie Flesh 
Eaters.  Strangely though, there doesn't seem to be anyone in the cast by 
the name of Lisa.

-In Japanese, the borrowed English word "image" can have the connotation of 
"a set picture in one's mind" or "something that one imagines."

-"Gugenka shita mono" is a phrase used often when referring to the creatures
that appear in Silent Hill.  I've translated "gugenka" a few different 
ways depending on the context (materialization, incarnation, manifestation, 
embodiment, etc.) but it always carries the connotation of something (such as
a mental image) being made real or being given concrete form.

-"Kanri," the Japanese name for the "mandarin" creature, provides some context 
as to what the creature's name implies.  The word mandarin can be used to 
refer to a public official in the Chinese Empire, and "kanri" means "government 
official" or "clerk."  (The word for clerk in James' profile ("jimuin") doesn't 
have the connotation of being a government employee or official though, so I'm 
not sure whether there's an intended correlation between the two or not.)

-It seems possible that the name "Xuchilbara" is a slightly altered version 
of "Xibalba," the Mayan word for the underworld (also referred to as "the 
otherworld").  It is said that the Mayans used human sacrifice or bloodletting 
as a means to open a portal to the otherworld.

-The trick or treat special on page 95 uses the phrase "hazamakuukan"
(interval space).  What it literally says is "wall of the interval space of 
the hospital," which I attempted to make sound less awkward by saying "in 
the hospital during the interval space" but I think it could still use some 
clarification.  Although I would've guessed that the room in which Heather 
climbs the ladder is actually in the otherworld, this sentence seems to 
indicate that the "interval" is what takes place between the end of the maze 
on the second floor of the hospital and Heather's emergence on the third 
floor after climbing the ladder.

-I wasn't sure whether Vincent was speaking literally or figuratively when
he says that he "built the church" with the power of money until I noticed
what Heather says if you examine the stained glass in the main room of the
chapel.  The fact that Alessa visited the church as a young girl means that
it's been around for 24 years at the very least, and 24 years ago, Vincent
was no more than one or two years old.

-An image caption in the "Judgement" section of the fugue states that Valtiel, 
the being that Pyramid Head is modeled after, is also seen in different forms 
(the form in which he appears depends on the person).  Originally I decided to
add context by saying his form appears differently depending on the person 
(who sees him), but is it possible that the implication could be "depending 
on the person (whose mental image is the basis for the form in which he
materializes)?"

-"It can be surmised that the cult's influence grew over a period of 
seventeen years before the church was constructed."  This sentence is from 
the last body paragraph in the "cult" section of the fugue, and I've always 
thought it was strange.  Although I'm certain that it's translated right, 
seventeen years would seem to indicate the time span between the first and 
third games, and we know from Silent Hill 3 that the church had already been 
built before the first game took place.  Even if was somehow intended to say 
that the church was constructed before the cult's influence grew over a period 
of seventeen years, the time frame indicated just doesn't seem relevant.  To 
further complicate this, a paragraph in Alessa's history states that for ten 
of the seventeen years between the first and third games the cult was not 
gaining influence but lying dormant.

-The book mentions that what's written on the moon door is "a metaphor for the 
sequence of events from conception to childbirth," but I think it's possible 
that there is some intended symbolism on an even deeper level that has to 
do with the fairly common belief that there is a strong correlation between 
lunar cycles and women's reproductive cycles.

-A sentence in the "Key Items" section of the fugue states that in the 
Kabbalah, Metatron and Samael originally "shared the same (or shared one) 
existence."  It seems possible that what this refers to is the fact that 
both Samael and Metatron originally occupied positions on the Tree of Life, 
and shared the same existence as spheres (sephiroth) that were part of the 
Tree.

-In his commentary in Heather's section of the fugue, Hiroyuki Owaku says
that in a sense, Heather has "junsuisa" (she's "genuine," or "innocent").  
I've noticed that this is also mentioned in the Making of Silent Hill 3 DVD 
where it was translated as "innocence," but I decided to go with "genuineness"
because I think it's kind of strange to characterize Heather as innocent 
given that she travels to Silent Hill for the sole purpose of murdering 
Claudia. 

-The "Otherworld Laws" memo from Silent Hill 3 states that Metatron is known 
as "kami no dairinin," or "the Agent of God."  In one of his commentaries in 
the "Wheel of Fortune" section of the fugue, Hiroyuki Owaku mentions that 
Valtiel is also a "kami no dairinin."  Could the reason why Valtiel appears 
to have the Seal of Metatron tattooed on his shoulders have something to do 
with this parallel?




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