This is a Historical Timeline summarizing the geographic and religious history of the Kibogayama region.
Quick Read[]
- A hole connected to The Other Side opened on Nisayama (in Kubitachi). At some point, 3 additional holes opened in Ashidori, Udekari, and Kibogayama.
- The impurities exiting the holes were the source of various misfortunes that often affected the land, such as famine or plague.
- Mercury mining on Nisayama was used to create abortion pills. Unuki-san was worshipped as the deity of the mountain.
- A bizarre phenomenon was said to have occurred where peasants lost their heads in the mountain, and in return the village was granted a feast. Unuki-san was then worshipped as "Nounuki-sama," the Great Brain-snatcher.
- Human sacrifices provided heads to use as offerings to Nounuki-sama. The heads disappeared into the hole on Nisayama. The sacrifices' other body parts were separated and buried: torsos in Kibogayama, legs in Ashidori, and arms in Udekari.
- The people of Ashidori practiced Hole Patching, where children were sent into the hole to sew it closed from The Other Side using a needle and thread.
- An Illegitimate appeared on Nisayama around the same time that Indou Hichi fell ill of a plague and died.
- Hichi's husband brought her head to the mountain and offered it to the Illegitimate, which he believed to be Nounuki-sama.
- He asked it to revive his wife and offered the heads of any villager outside of the Indou family in exchange. As a result, one-third of the village population died. Hichi was revived but remained a severed head, and she died again that night. This incident was considered the Indou family's greatest sin.
- The Illegitimate acted as a lightning rod, attracting impurities and keeping them from leaving the mountains. The calamities affecting the land died down.
- Missionaries arrived from overseas. Their religion took root in Ashidori, Udekari, and Kibogayama, but not in Kubitachi.
- Kubitachi's worship of Nounuki-sama continued mostly in secret.
- Men of the Indou Family perform an apology ritual on Nisayama every 5 years or so following the family's greatest sin. It was believed to seal Nounuki-sama and prevent it from leaving the mountain. It actually had no effect.
Full Historical Timeline[]
???: A Hole Forms on Nisayama[]
A hole connected to The Other Side opened on a mountain in the XX Domain, allowing impurities to pass into the world of the living. This caused misfortunes such as plague and crop failure to frequently befall the surrounding area.[1]
Because of the large amount of traffic through the hole, an additional three smaller holes formed: one each in the modern-day Ashidori, Udekari, and Kibogayama. Note: This event is included in this section for the sake of organization; it is actually unclear at what point the three smaller holes opened.
The XX Domain Territory.
1627: The XX Domain Territory[]
Twelve years after the end of the Keichō era era, a region of land was renamed to "the XX Domain Territory," i.e. the Territory of the larger XX Domain.[2]
Pre-1700: Worship of Unuki-san[]
The mountains in the area contained an abundance of mercury. This resource made people continue to settle in the area despite the difficult living conditions created by the hole.
Mercury made into uronuki medicine.
However, as the amount of mercury dwindled, the harsh living conditions led many pregnant settlers to abort their children. They used the mercury to create Uronuki medicine (うろぬき
It is thought that mercury mining is the origin of the name Nisayama (
Pre-1700: Worship of Nounuki-sama[]
Folktales called "The Farmer's Head"[4] and "The Peasant and His Neck" both tell stories of a mysterious phenomenon where peasants lost their heads to a hole in the mountain. In exchange for the head, the "mountain god" was said to have granted enough food for the village to have a feast.[5] Because of this, "Unuki-san" came to be regarded as Nounuki-sama (ノウヌキ様, Nounuki-sama?, "the Great Brain-snatcher") instead.[4][1]
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Okubi-sama's enshrinement by the Indou family.
Pre-1700: Human Sacrifices and Mass Graves[]
Because worship of Nounuki-sama in Kubitachi involved offering heads to the mountain, humans were sacrificed to supply it. Some were people who offered themselves up because they had little time left to live, such as the ill or elderly. Others were murdered and sacrificed by villagers. Their heads were offered to the mountain god and disappeared into the hole, while the remaining parts of their bodies were separated and buried in different parts of the region. Arms were buried in Udekari, legs in Ashidori (in Ashizukadou), and torsos in Kibogayama (in the location of the modern-day Darumazuka Tunnel).
The Indou family enshrined "okubi-sama", the heads that were sacrificed to the hole in the mountain, by carving replacement heads out of wood and keeping them in the family shrine (堂 dou). This practice was the origin of the surname Indou (忌堂 lit. "mourning/detestable shrine").[6]
Children and their Hoko doll effigies.
Pre-1700: Ashidori's Hoko Festival[]
One of three smaller holes connected to The Other Side opened in Ashizukadou (
Hōko are soft-bodied dolls given to pregnant women to protect mother and child. They were made as offerings to the children who were sacrificed.[7]
~1700: The Territory Splits into 5 Towns[]
Around 1700,[3] the XX Domain Territory was split into 5 towns: Kubitachi, Ashidori, Udekari, Udeiri, and Darumasute.
1749: “Something” Arrives on Nisayama[]
An Illegitimate crossed into the world of the living and remained on Nisayama until present day.[3]
Hichi's head is offered to "Nounuki-sama".
1749: The Indou Family's Sin[]
At same time that the Illegitimate appeared on Nisayama, a Kubitachi villager named Indou Hichi fell ill and passed away due to a plague that had struck the village. Her husband brought her severed head up the mountain and encountered the Illegitimate, which he believed to be Nounuki-sama. He requested that Nounuki-sama bring her back to life, offering the heads of any villager outside of the Indou family in exchange. Hichi was revived, but she was only a living head. She suffered painfully and died again the same night. Meanwhile, the village also suffered a huge number of casualties – one-third of the population died in mysterious, head and neck-related incidents. With the exception of Hichi, the Indou Family were the only ones who remained completely unharmed.[3][5]
The Kubitachi "famine".
This event went down in history as a famine, and Nounuki-sama became known as a malevolent deity (
The Illegitimate attracted impurities like a lightning rod, keeping them in the mountain and away from the villages. The calamities affecting the villages began to die down thereafter.[9][4]
Post-1749: The Indou Family's Apology Ritual[]
Every five years or so following the Indou family's greatest sin, men of the Indou family entered the forbidden area on Nisayama to complete an apology ritual.[5] The ritual was thought to seal Nounuki-sama and prevent it from coming down into the village (thus preventing impurities from coming down into the villages),[8] although in reality it did not have an effect on “Something” at all.[10] Hichi-san (the head of Indou Hichi) was used as a protective item to ward off impurities while the ritual is carried out on the mountain.[11]
Christianity arrives in the region, and Nounuki-sama worship declines.
Post-1749: Arrival of Christianity[]
There were rumors that settlers who interfered with the XX Territory would be cursed, which caused the Domain overseeing the XX Territory to mostly leave it alone. This allowed the area to receive an influx of Christian immigrants who were fleeing religious persecution from overseas.[3][1] Christianity took root in Kibogayama,[11] Ashidori, and Udekari,[12][7] but it did not become established in Kubitachi. Rather, worship of Nounuki-sama continued in secret.
Modern-day Hoko Festival effigy.
Post-1749: Modern-Day Hoko Festival[]
After the arrival of Christian missionaries, the Hoko Festival was changed to use only Hoko dolls instead of humans and its purpose became solely symbolic. The townspeople would arrange a large number of Hoko dolls on a monument which would then be transported to Ashizukadou. This version of the festival continues to be celebrated until modern day.[7]
Late 1800s: Kibogayama is Formed[]
During the Meiji era, Darumasute and Udeiri were merged to form Kibogayama.[8]
???: Collapse of Udeiri and Darumasute Holes[]
At an unspecified time, the holes present in Udeiri and the southern leg of Darumasute (modern-day Kibogayama) collapsed. This not only altered the landscape of the area, but also wiped away the humans living in the area and the collective knowledge about their existence.[13] Although there is still written record of these villages once existing,[14][10] other humans have no memory of the people or villages that disappeared.
January 2020: Down the Mountain[]
"Something" takes the body of Indou Hikaru and comes down the mountain into Kubitachi, causing an uptick of impurities in the villages.
July 2020: End of Timeline[]
The current plot begins.[15]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mokumokuren, Twitter @mokmok_len (June 10, 2024). 今週の更新はお休みです。代わりに今まで出てきたクビタチの歴史をまとめてみました！ Retrieved on May 12, 2025.
- ↑ Chapter 19 (Vol. 4)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Chapter 23 (Vol. 5)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chapter 27 (Vol. 6)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Chapter 25 (Vol. 5)
- ↑ Chapter 24 (Vol. 5)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Chapter 31 (Vol. 6)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Chapter 18 (Vol. 4)
- ↑ Chapter 20 (Vol. 4)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chapter 28 (Vol. 6)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chapter 14 (Vol. 3)
- ↑ Chapter 30 (Vol. 6)
- ↑ Chapter 39 (Vol. 8)
- ↑ Chapter 17 (Vol. 4)
- ↑ Episode 1 (Season 1): Replacement
[]
| Ashidori • Kibogayama • Kibogayama High • Kubitachi • The Other Side • Udekari | |
| Historical Timeline • Map of Villages | |
| Miscellaneous | Gold Silkworm • Hichi-san • Holes • Hunting Dog • Illegitimate • Impurity • Master x Master |