Epitaph: Speculations and Theories [Episode 1-4]

[MeoTwister5]

I might as well add, for anyone trying to figure out the epitaph and whether it has any true connection to the island of Rokkenjima, here's as aerial shot of the island from the anime. Disregard the colored circles for the time being since I was the one who added them for discussion on another thread.

[maximilianjenus]

It could also not be english but italian.

[ProdigalSon]

One of the things that has been nagging at me is the way Beatrice is described in the epitaph. Something to be 'awakened' and then 'put back to sleep.'

It seems likely to me that the witch in the poem is not a witch in the traditional sense, but a place/process/thing/contact that enables the the finding/making of gold/money.

The following is my own speculation, strongly influenced by why someone in fiction usually hides such things in a poem/riddle in books/movies.

Spoiler for My dumb theory:

Now if Kinzo has access to this whatever it is, why does he hide it? Why would you have to put 'her' back to sleep?

Given that Kinzo made his fortune after the war, and in the wake of an earthquake, the easiest explanation would be a mine, or hidden treasure trove of gold, perhaps being spirited out of Japan once the people in charge realized they were going to lose. Or maybe it was sent by the Germans to the Japanese to help fund the war against the Americans. After all, the eagle was a sign of the Nazi party. Maybe that's where the family got its crest from? Do we know if that predates Kinzo or not? This kind of thing is fairly common in fiction, you see stuff like it in manga/movies all the time (the Nazi arc in Black Lagoon, or the Indiana Jones movies spring to mind).

Now, Kinzo would probably not want it widely known that he was financing his own little empire with ill-gotten gains from a previous war. The 'self-made man' is actually feasting like a vulture on money that probably belongs to the Japanese, German, or American government. And we also know that he is not super impressed with his current heir. What better way to find an heir/ensure the safety of the secret of his fortune, than to make sure that it could only be accessed by someone clever enough to figure out his little riddle.

I think this also reconciles with, and I'm trying to avoid spoilers here, some of the things we learn in Episode 3.

Spoiler for Weaknesses and my responses:

Some weaknesses to account for: (1.) Says nothing about all the twilight stuff/where the gold is hidden. I have no idea what's going on there, but I agree with the general consensus that it's a word game that is trying to give us a long/latitude or location name. Or even a person's name.

(2.) I have to struggle to explain the resurrection of 'all the dead' and 'even the lost love.' But maybe by resurrection they mean bringing to light what is dead/unknown. Maybe the war gold is surrounded by bodies and such like the Nazi Sub in Black Lagoon? Or in the movie Goonies, with the dead pirates? Maybe Kinzo is assuming whoever finds the gold will lay the bodies to rest, give them a chance at resurrection. And resurrection of the lost love? Maybe Kinzo's lost love (also named Beatrice perhaps) is laid to rest there. Maybe they fought over the gold, and he would finally like to see her at peace (especially now that he knows he is dying).

Another possibility is that his lover is still alive, in which case Beatrice does refer to a person but she's not a witch in the sense that she knows magic, just that she knows where the gold is (and interestingly witches in the Old Testament were originally defined as those who laid/had congress with the devil...Kinzo=the Devil perhaps? Maybe I'm reaching here). And the location/name pointed to in the epitaph stuff about twilights and such is meant to point you toward her as a contact/middleman to the gold. Resurrection in this sense would mean giving her/her family a share of the gold. This might be appealing considering how suspicious/intriguing the servants act and we know that they are more than they appear to be.

[maximilianjenus]

Just as a mild answer to yoru theory, it's stated since episode 1-1 that kinzo became the leader of the ushiromiya in the 1920s.

[Jan-Poo]

He's not completely wrong, he just mixed up two different events. Kinzo became the head after the kanto earthquake (1923), however he met the "witch" after the war (1945+). It isn't said how he managed to get the family on its feet in those 20 years, but obviously the gold came later. And Kinzo only became super rich after the Korean war in 1950. After that he was able to buy a whole island.

[HigurashiRika_04621]

I'm only on chapter seven of the manga version of Episode 1, and with this damn dialup I can't watch the anime yet or download the patch.

This information may or may not be useless. It probably is, due to my lack of knowledge.

When the conversation of the cousins and Shannon was mentioned in this thread, I noticed Odawara. Originally I thought Odawara in Kanagawa prefecture, so I wikipediaed (?) it for more info.

Spoiler for Miscellaneous Wikipedia info:

The city was founded in 1940, only 5 years before the war apparently. To be Kinzou's hometown, I think it would have to be older.
"Hayakawa" was not mentioned, however: "Enoura, a coastal district in Odawara known for its pristine sea, has an abundance of kumamomi, a type of fish which prefers clear and clean water."
"The epicenter of the Great Kantou earthquake in 1923 was deep beneath Izu Oushima Island in Sagami Bay. It devastated Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka, and caused widespread damage throughout the Kantou region. Ninety percent of the buildings in Odawara collapsed immediately, and fires burned the rubble along with anything else left standing."
"On August 15, 1945, Odawara was the last city in Japan to be bombed by Allied aircraft." Can anyone confirm that last little bit? o.o Just personal curiosity.
"Prior to the Edo period, Odawara Castle was the stronghold of the Late Houjou clan warriors. During the Edo, its castle controlled the Toukaidou between the Tokugawa headquarters at Edo and the stations west of Hakone, including Sumpu, Hamamatsu and Nagoya. Today, a reproduction of the castle stands high on a hill above the city."
(The original page has links to all of the aforementioned names, events, and locations.)

By the way, does anyone know the island's relative location to the rest of the country, even if it's fictional?

Originally Posted by Christen

Kinzo, being a western freak, most likely put an English-related step in the riddle. That is just speculation though.

Odawara, Kanagawa has a sister-city relationship with Chula Vista, California, US. I searched that page, but found nothing that stands out.



Sources: Odawara
Chula Vista, CA

And here is my own line-by-line analysis on the epitaph. >>"
I'm a pragmatist, so basically I just go with the literallity (is that a word? o.o).

Spoiler for Line-by-line analysis, could have spoilers for Ryuukishi07's other series, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, and this series, obviously:

My beloved hometown, the sweetfish river running through it.
Self-explanatory. Assuming Kinzou wrote this, it probably does mean his hometown.
I looked up Sweetfish, by the way, and found this sentence. "The name "sweetfish" is due to the sweetness of its flesh." Hm...that makes me think of Beatrice-sama for some reason. I heard that the victims' faces were literally ripped off....
Could "Sweetfish" refer to the eighteen on the island?
Nah.
"The main methods for obtaining ayu (sweetfish) are by means of fly fishing, by using a trap, and by fishing with a decoy which is known as ayu-no-tomozuri in Japan. The decoy is a living ayu placed on a hook, which swims when immersed into water. It provokes the territorial behavior of other ayu, which assault the "intruder" and get caught."
Intruder = Beatrice-sama? ...>>" It's grasping, I know.

You who seek the Golden Land, follow its path downstream and seek the key.
Pretty self-explanatory again.
Metaphorically speaking, the path of the epitaph, perhaps, the path of tragedy maybe.
Maybe saying, "In order to reach the gold, try to find the key by following the path of tragedy."
No idea what the key is.

If you follow the river downstream, you will find a village.
Um...follow the path of tragedy (?) ...find a village...possibly the first sign of relief from the tragedy?

In the village, look for the shore the two will tell you of.
No idea what the 'two' might be.
This line reminds me of a Frederica Bernkastel poem from Himatsubushi-hen.

Spoiler for Higurashi spoilers and an Umineko spoiler I'm not sure should be revealed to those who didn't see Higurashi yet:

First verse of the poem probably means that what Rika seeks is Mamoru, who I believe was vital to end the curse. He's from Tokyo, the faraway land.
Second verse probably means that what Rika seeks is the piece (shore) that will save her and her buddies from the time loop (eternal swamp).
Third verse is most likely that Rika will either obtain the piece to end the time loop, or she'll die again.
The shore in reference to the epitaph might mean the same thing, the piece of the puzzle that will end the time loop within Umineko.

There sleeps the key to the Golden Land.
"Key" might also refer to the piece to end the

Spoiler for Umineko spoiler I'm not sure should be revealed to those who didn't see Higurashi yet:

time loop

within Umineko...?

He who lays hand upon the key shall travel under the rules below.
Eh...I don't know.

At the first twilight, you shall lift up as sacrifice the six chosen by the key.
This line makes me think Beatrice-sama might be the key to the gold.

At the second twilight, those who remain shall tear apart the two who are close.
The two who are close...presumably the two aforementioned.
"Close"...close to Kinzou...servants, maybe.
After Shannon and Gouda are killed, the servants who remain are: Kanon, Genji, Kumisawa, maybe Nanjou could be considered one.
Kanon strikes me as a possibility, but if he's one I think Shannon would have been one as well. Genji, according to Wikipedia, is the one that Kinzou trusts the most. And, according to Wikipedia again, Genji is ranked first of all the servants, Shannon was second. Hm.
Kumasawa is only a part-time servant, and Gouda was hired by Krauss and Natsuhi.
Maybe, if it refers to the servants, it would be Nanjou (since he's apparently a close friend of Kinzou) and Genji (because of his first ranking).
Who was killed after the first six? o.o

At the third twilight, those who remain shall praise my honorable name on high.
Praise Beatrice-samaaaaaa.

>>"

At the fourth twilight, gouge the head and kill.
Self-explanatory.
Did whoever allegedly shot him/herself do that yet?
I heard somewhere allegedly s/he shot him/herself in the mouth with a shotgun.
"Gouge the head", maybe.

At the fifth twilight, gouge the chest and kill.
Self-explanatory.

At the sixth twilight, gouge the stomach and kill.
Self-explanatory.

At the seventh twilight, gouge the knee and kill.
Self-explanatory.

At the eighth twilight, gouge the leg and kill.
Self-explantory.

At the ninth twilight, the witch shall be revived and none shall be left alive.
None but the one who seeks the gold...?
Otherwise, it wouldn't make much sense.

At the tenth twilight, the journey shall end and you should reach the village of gold.
The tragedy (?) will end, and who seeks the gold has found it.

The witch will praise the wise, and should bestow four treasures.
Whoever solved the puzzle shall be granted four wishes.

One shall be, all the gold from the Golden Land.
Self-explanatory.

One shall be, the resurrection of the souls of all the dead.
Resurrection of all who were killed during the search for the gold...?

One shall be, even the resurrection of the lost love.
Resurrection of the lost love for whoever finds the gold....?
Love meaning the feeling, not the object of?

One shall be, to put the witch to sleep for all time.
This actually makes sense.

Putting this whole verse together, what I think it means is:
If you solve the puzzle, you will be granted four wishes
One is, all of the gold within the Golden Land
One is, reversing all of the tragedies that have occured, in other words, reviving all dead
One is, revive the feeling of love for a person or object (possibly returned if it's a person)
One is, to put the witch back to sleep for eternity

One thing I've gathered through skimming Wikipedia (my only source of info) is: Beatrice-sama's " "Endless Magic" allows her to kill anyone indefinitely, by killing and resurrecting them endlessly, regardless of the methods or circumstances", and Bernkastel-sama's " "Magic of Miracles" allows her to reset a desperate situation as long as the probability of a favorable situation is not equal to zero."
So, I've gathered that Beatrice-sama can kill and resurrect.
Bernkastel-sama can reset time as long as there is a possibility of coming out with a "perfect world" where there are no tragedies.
If Beatrice-sama is the instigator of the tragedies, then if one solves the puzzle and one of the wishes is to put her to sleep for eternity, that would end the tragedies

Spoiler for Umineko spoiler I don't think should be revealed to those who didn't see Higurashi yet:

...and Bernkastel-sama wouldn't have to reset time. So, the time loop would end.

But, in solving the puzzle, people would be killed...but one of the wishes at the end is "the resurrection of the souls of all the dead".
So my guess is, in order to break the

Spoiler for Umineko spoiler I don't think should be revealed to those who didn't see Higurashi yet:

time loop

, one must solve the epitaph.

Sleep peacefully, my most beloved witch, Beatrice.
This could be either:
-Sleep peacefully until your resurrection, Beatrice-sama.
-Sleep peacefully after the puzzle is solved.

A couple random questions that have no bearing on anything, really:
-Wouldn't it be funny if one of the mods ended up being someone from 07th Expansion and they were just hiding it from everyone? Just saying. I know that there's a 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999998% probability that's not true.
-The full title for the answer arc section of the games, is it Umineko no Naku Koro ni San or Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru? I've heard both.

[Christen]

Just a clarification, are we allowed to put hints related to the epitaph that was revealed in Episodes ahead of the anime? I'm just wondering because I believe the epitaph thread is for the anime watchers.

[Klashikari]

No. This thread serve for anime watchers mainly (especially due the lack of written material and the fact the whole epitaph was barely mentioned). This is why the epitaph has its own thread because it is highly possible that details will be omitted in the anime series, so a thread dedicated to the epitaph isn't a luxury.

Any hints from the games should NOT be hinted unless their proper timing have been reached by the anime plot progression.
This is considered as a "anime thread", hence the spoiler policies do apply for this thread as well.

[fish eric]

Since the anime just had the first twilight does that mean someone has already found the key?

[MeoTwister5]

Originally Posted by fish eric

Since the anime just had the first twilight does that mean someone has already found the key?

Not necessarily. It might be more correct to say that no one, not even the VN players, know if this key was found by then, so there is no definitive answer.

[maximilianjenus]

Originally Posted by fish eric

Since the anime just had the first twilight does that mean someone has already found the key?

Nobody knows.

[Golden Witch Drugs]

I don't know if this helps (Probably not) But I'm going to post it here anyways since it is mostly related to the epitaph

Spoiler for Ep 1, Six chosen by the key:

In ep 1 when Natsuhi wakes up the other morning she sees that bloody handprints are covered all over her door. And the only reason the culprit couldn't enter her room is because of Maria's scorpion charm. So that could mean that either she is one of the six chosen by the key but the culprit could not get her. In that case the key need to chose 1 more, wich sounds quite strange to me. Or, since the handprints are bloody, the culprit could have come there after he/she killed the six for some other reason. But the culprit can also have killed 1-5 people and then come to claim it's next offer who he/she couldn't claim. So the six chosen by the key can be changed apparently (Or not, I don't know if this helps to solve the riddle, but anyways~)

[fish eric]

Originally Posted by Golden Witch Drugs

I don't know if this helps (Probably not) But I'm going to post it here anyways since it is mostly related to the epitaph

Spoiler for Ep 1, Six chosen by the key:

In ep 1 when Natsuhi wakes up the other morning she sees that bloody handprints are covered all over her door. And the only reason the culprit couldn't enter her room is because of Maria's scorpion charm. So that could mean that either she is one of the six chosen by the key but the culprit could not get her. In that case the key need to chose 1 more, wich sounds quite strange to me. Or, since the handprints are bloody, the culprit could have come there after he/she killed the six for some other reason. But the culprit can also have killed 1-5 people and then come to claim it's next offer who he/she couldn't claim. So the six chosen by the key can be changed apparently (Or not, I don't know if this helps to solve the riddle, but anyways~)

Honestly at this point in the series I think its futile to try and solve the epitath. From what I read in the episode forums there is just not enough details at this point to even come close.

Try using your mental strength towards something more productive like umm... complaining about Haruhi?

[Cytrus]

There are two ways to approach the above:

Spoiler for Spoilers up to episode 3 of the anime:

Assumption A: The murders are carried out by means of witchcraft

This would make them impossible to stop by ordinary means and explain a lot of the incredible stuff that has happened so far and is bound to happen in the future (sadly, it would also mean trying to use reason to deduce what happens next is pretty useless).

In this case, as you noted, the witchcraft-literate Maria would be capable of interfering e.g. by handing out scorpion charms. If we assume that Natsuhi was the proper sacrifice and somebody else was chosen, wouldn't it be possible that the replacement was the person "next in line"? Basically, Shannon's death fulfills the condition of the second twilight, and does it better than the simultaneous death of Eva and her husband. This could mean that Maria's interference accidentally messed up the proper order of the killings to the point where the game may be impossible to solve properly, just like the worlds of Higurashi where Keiichi didn't transfer to Hinamizawa at all. Of course this would be a nasty thing to do in the first chapter... but who knows.

But less complicated is the other option:

Assumption B: The murders were carried out by conventional means only.

In this case, Natsuhi's survival appears not to make sense... until you flip the chessboard. The murderer has already "created" Beatrice by writing the first letter, now they act in ways allowing them to maintain her existence - that's why there was that occult circle (recognized by Maria, meaning the culprit is deeply knowledgeable about witchcraft) on the door. If that person saw Natsuhi receiving the pendant or found it in her room before murdering her, it would make them not want to kill Natsuhi, because anything that discredits Maria also discredits Beatrice. However, if that person were to make it seem as if the pendant was the only thing that saved Natsuhi, the Beatrice theory would gain additional points. Shannon would get killed to fill the six people quota required to upkeep the image of the curse.

The fun part is, the murders would follow the epitaph regardless of which of the above were true. So it's a preview for us right now. I don't think it'll be possible to solve the message behind the epitaph for us anime viewers for quite some time to come, though.

[risingstar3110]

I still don't think the epitaph itself means human sacrifice.... (as I stated in that [Anime] Umineko - Speculation & Theories for first time viewers)

By ep 1-3....

Spoiler for Anime, ep 1-3:

Eva and Hideyoshi was killed right before the dinner after the 1st twilight.... Now looks back at the epitaph:

"At the second twilight, those who remain shall tear apart the two who are close."

If the epitaph really means human, then they are both dead now, how can they be teared apart by the coming 2nd twilight? Then by "those who remained" as well. No way it could be possible.

Therefore the epitaph likely means something else.....
What is it ? Trees? No. River. not possible. Statue? Maybe. Could even be Beatrice portray

How about a Japanese character? A character can indicate certain place/ coordinates to where the gold is.
I have 0 knowledge in Japanese Kanji so can't attempt anything. "Kill" and "gouge" and "those who are close" make sense if it means stroke of certain characters. "Key" could means a certain "keyword". But then the "twilight" and "the witch shall be revived and none shall be left alive" makes little sense.....

[kagato3]

Originally Posted by Shinndou

"The two" doesn't necessarily refer to "people" though. It's a riddle, so let's not forget that there's metaphors in it, including that sentence.

I'll post a theory/interpretation that a friend of mine and me came up with. It shouldn't be spoilerish since it doesn't really contain infos on the game's plot:

Supposing that the sentence "follow the river downstream" is actually referring to the Ushiromiya's descendence, in the bit of the riddle where it talks about finding the village (里) it's basically saying that we need to focus our attention on Maria's name (真里亞). So, keeping that in mind and going on with the following lines, we combine the kanjis 二 and 口 from the sentence "二人が口にし" (the two will tell you) and we obtain the kanji 目.
Now, following the riddle, a shore is a portion that's between land and sea. It's telling us to look for it ("岸を探せ"). Keeping in mind Maria's name as well, the kanji 目is contained in 真. So this is the "shore". In this shore (meaning in this kanji), we have to look for the "Key".

Here's the creepy curiosity about the last bit: the origin of the kanji 真. It was originally meant to indicate a corpse that lays upside down, the lower part of the kanji should depict the hair sticking out from the beheaded corpse. The story behind it says that the man who died this way became a ghost and possessed a strong spiritual force. Then the spirit of this deceased man was caged inside a sanctuary, in order to calm him and purify him.

Among the most popular meaning/uses for the kanji 真 there's "reality", "truth", "genuine", "pure" and all things related to this. Could this be a way to say "please find the truth?"

Intresting haveing no kanji knowlage are there any vaild resualting kanji if you follow the directions?
At the first twilight, you shall lift up as sacrifice the six chosen by the key. (remove 目 from 真?)
At the second twilight, those who remain shall tear apart the two who are close. (move some of the stroke apart? Break down the Kanji?)
At the third twilight, those who remain shall praise my honorable name on high.
At the fourth twilight, gouge the head and kill. (add or remove strokes?)
At the fifth twilight, gouge the chest and kill. (add or remove strokes)
At the sixth twilight, gouge the stomach and kill. (add or remove strokes)
At the seventh twilight, gouge the knee and kill. (add or remove strokes)
At the eighth twilight, gouge the leg and kill. (add or remove strokes)
At the ninth twilight, the witch shall be revived and none shall be left alive.
At the tenth twilight, the journey shall end and you should reach the village of gold.

[Demoned Away]

Mmkay this has really been bothering me and I feel stupid for asking this.

When the epitaph says at the first twilight, second twilight, etc, when IS a twilight? I thought it was midnight but that's not the case since a buttload of people have died in one episode... and since this is all happening in a span of 2 days (right?) then that kills my thought.

[Ithekro]

Either it means what it says it means, or someone is doing it wrong.

It suggests ten days (well, nights), but evidence points to this being incorrect, either in subtile translation, or more likely or those acting upon it.

Spoiler for But what does it mean? (theory):

It suggests the death of 13 people. While five of those are clear by the "kill", the other eight are slightly different, thought "sacrafice" and "tear apart" have few other meaning. Context of the original might mean something different to the one writing this passage rather than those reading in.

Like say you are suppose to offer your six best people choosen by the "key". These six offer themselves up for something, perhaps noble instead of for greed of gold.

Then two others are torn apart (a friendship or marriage breaks down for the good of the many).

Praise someone's name:: assumed to be Beatrice, but maybe another.

Here we try something different. What if this is a ritual of faith. What if the next five twilights are for the faithful to show their faith? Gouge themselves with something in different places and kill an offering or foodsource for their people/god/Beatrice. It doesn't exactly specify does it?

After that? The witch is reviled. None shall be left alive. His one is harder, but it can be seen a different way. It could mean the faithful is reviled, or perhaps the doubters. Either the doubters are all dead, or perhaps the witches are all dead...they found them all at last.

End of the journey...whatever journey it was to begin with. That seems fairly reasonable.

The problem of course is that is not what is happening.

[Jan-Poo]

Originally Posted by Demoned Away

Mmkay this has really been bothering me and I feel stupid for asking this.

When the epitaph says at the first twilight, second twilight, etc, when IS a twilight? I thought it was midnight but that's not the case since a buttload of people have died in one episode... and since this is all happening in a span of 2 days (right?) then that kills my thought.

I couldn't say it until now, but with Ep4 released I can finally state it (mind this is not a fact but a personal opinion):

"the killer who's trying to recreate the epitaph literally is doing it wrong".

First the epitaph says "the remaining shall", but that's not what happened. Second the third twilight is completely messed up. Not only it appears after the fourth and fifth twilight, but it isn't even done correctly. They only read that letter, but no name was praised.

There is also the fact that he is completely overlooking the "twilight" part, he just kills people at random intervals.


Anyway to answer demoned away: that "twilight" is read as "ban", the same reading as the kanji "番" whom is frequently used for numeral orders. If you read it that way and remove the "の" you get: "first time" "second time" "third time" and so on.
So my idea is that that "ban" has no other purpose but to make more creepy and suggestive what is nothing else but a list of things that must be done in succession.

[chounokoe]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Either it means what it says it means, or someone is doing it wrong.

It suggests ten days (well, nights), but evidence points to this being incorrect, either in subtile translation, or more likely or those acting upon it.

Spoiler for But what does it mean? (theory):

It suggests the death of 13 people. While five of those are clear by the "kill", the other eight are slightly different, thought "sacrafice" and "tear apart" have few other meaning. Context of the original might mean something different to the one writing this passage rather than those reading in.

Like say you are suppose to offer your six best people choosen by the "key". These six offer themselves up for something, perhaps noble instead of for greed of gold.

Then two others are torn apart (a friendship or marriage breaks down for the good of the many).

Praise someone's name:: assumed to be Beatrice, but maybe another.

Here we try something different. What if this is a ritual of faith. What if the next five twilights are for the faithful to show their faith? Gouge themselves with something in different places and kill an offering or foodsource for their people/god/Beatrice. It doesn't exactly specify does it?

After that? The witch is reviled. None shall be left alive. His one is harder, but it can be seen a different way. It could mean the faithful is reviled, or perhaps the doubters. Either the doubters are all dead, or perhaps the witches are all dead...they found them all at last.

End of the journey...whatever journey it was to begin with. That seems fairly reasonable.

The problem of course is that is not what is happening.

I often heard the idea, that the sacrifice must not necessarily mean a blood-sacrifice, yet the only meaning to 生贄 is exactly that, an animal or human is sacrificed for a 'higher gain'.
The only thing that is not clearly described in this paragraph is the key (鍵) and what those six are.

Of course it can be meant literal, but until now there is no direct evidence that it isn't meant that way.
BUT what is indeed interesting is the fact, that the key itself does only the first choice, yet the rest is up to those who remain (残されし者).

Originally Posted by Jan-Poo

I couldn't say it until now, but with Ep4 released I can finally state it (mind this is not a fact but a personal opinion):

"the killer who's trying to recreate the epitaph literally is doing it wrong".

First the epitaph says "the remaining shall", but that's not what happened. Second the third twilight is completely messed up. Not only it appears after the fourth and fifth twilight, but it isn't even done correctly. They only read that letter, but no name was praised.

There is also the fact that he is completely overlooking the "twilight" part, he just kills people at random intervals.


Anyway to answer demoned away: that "twilight" is read as "ban", the same reading as the kanji "番" whom is frequently used for numeral orders. If you read it that way and remove the "の" you get: "first time" "second time" "third time" and so on.
So my idea is that that "ban" has no other purpose but to make more creepy and suggestive what is nothing else but a list of things that must be done in succession.

The idea with 番 is interesting and it could be that the 晩 used in the written epitaph is there to confuse us. Or maybe the text was dictated by someone and interpreted in a way that it shouldn't have been, yet for that to be relevant we would have to find more instances of ambiguous writing.

Concerning the 残されし者 I have one other thing to offer:
It is never explicitly explained from WHAT this person or people has/have to remain. Of course we interpret it as the people who have remained from the sacrificed, yet it can also be read as 'She/He who remained (from a previous incident that happened concerning the house of Ushiromiya) shall....'.
Maybe we really are searching in the whole wrong corners for shards of truth's that aren't there.