Matsuribayashi-hen

Matsuribayashi-hen 祭囃し編
File:MatsuribayashiGame.jpg
Information
Original VN Release Date	August 13, 2006
Translated VN Release Date(s)	July 15, 2010 (Europe)
Anime Air Date(s)	October 8 - December 17, 2007
Manga Release Date(s)	Japanese January 22, 2009 June 22, 2009 December 22, 2009 August 21, 2010 December 22, 2010 April 22, 2011 August 22, 2011 English June 2013 October 2013 January 2014 April 2014
Light Novel Release Date(s)	November 2008 December 2008 January 2009
Platform	PC Nintendo DS PS Vita PlayStation 3
Previous Arc	Minagoroshi-hen
Following Arc	Saikoroshi-hen

Matsuribayashi-hen (祭囃し編, Festival Accompanying Chapter) is the answer arc for the entire series of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. The game was released on August 13, 2006 as the final arc in the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai series. It is mostly told from the viewpoint of Furude Rika, as well as her other friends. Matsuribayashi-hen follows Minagoroshi-hen and precedes Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei, beginning with Saikoroshi-hen. The story resolves the remaining questions, and because of the renewed determination of Furude Hanyū at the end of Minagoroshi-hen, she is now a physical character in this world. All the characters gather together in order to defeat the villain and smash the fates of June 1983.
Matsuribayashi-hen TIPS

Anime Episodes

• Chapter One: Miyo
• Chapter Two: Wriggling
• Chapter Three: The Beginning of the End
• Chapter Four: Plot
• Chapter Five: The Final Piece
• Chapter Six: Beginning
• Chapter Seven: Trap
• Chapter Eight: 48 Hours
• Chapter Nine: Attack and Defense
• Chapter Ten: Bloody Battle
• Chapter Eleven: End

Disappearances and Deaths

All deaths and disappearances are listed only as they are told in Matsuribayashi-hen. Spoilers are only for the individual arc, not the overall series. The following deaths are presumed to have occurred in all the previous worlds as well.

Deaths:

• Ōishi Kuraudo's father, killed in an air raid at a plant in Nagoya during WWII.
• Tanashi Miyoko's mother, died in a train accident while going on a shopping trip. In the anime adaptation, she died in a bus accident.
• Tanashi Takemitsu, died during an emergency surgery. In the anime adaptation, he was injured in a bus accident.
• Eriko, Violently punished for an escape attempt to "Yurigaoka, House of Love and Mercy" by being imprisoned in a henhouse, covered with chicken feed, and left to be pecked to death by chickens.
• Irie Kyōsuke's father, beaten to death after he picked a fight with dangerous people.
• Irie Kyōsuke's mother, died of old age. She refused to be buried next to her husband, due to his violent behavior towards her and despite the explanation that a head injury changed his behavior.
• Takano Hifumi, committed suicide by jumping from the rooftop of the hospital where he had been admitted. He suffered from psychological despair and dementia and took his life to avoid any further effects.
• The Construction Manager, was lynched on the night of the Watanagashi Festival of June 1979 by six of his employees. This was an act of self-defense after they were attacked by the deranged manager. His body was cut into six pieces: head, torso, right arm, left arm, right leg, and left leg.
• Dismemberment Leader, abducted by the Yamainu on the night of the Watanagashi Festival of June 1979. He had his brain dissected by Irie Kyōsuke and was kept barely alive for several months for experiments on the Hinamizawa Syndrome.
• Hōjō Satoko's parents, killed by a deranged Satoko on the day of the Watanagashi Festival of June 1980 after they were pushed over a viewing point at Shirakawa park. The mother's body was never found.
• Furude Rika's father, poisoned by the Yamainu at the Furude Shrine on the night of the Watanagashi Festival of June 1981. His death was made to look like acute heart failure.
• Furude Rika's mother, had her brain dissected by Takano Miyo while she was still alive on the same night as her husband's death. In the manga adaptation, Takano mentions not using anesthesia during the dissection.
• Koizumi, died of an acute heart attack
• Hōjō Tamae, beaten to death with a baseball bat by Hōjō Satoshi on the night of the Watanagashi Festival of June 1982.

Question Arcs

Matsuribayashi-hen effectively answers a majority of the questions left open in the plot, such as what has happened with Hōjō Satoshi, among other things.

Secret Ending

If the game was beaten once, one can reach a secret ending by unlocking piece #52. For this one must again go to the chapter where the pieces are connected with each other (e.g. by using Scenario jump to section Connecting pieces) and view them in the following order (i.e. first selecting the top left scene of screen 2, then the top second left scene of screen 3, etc):

Screen 1:

21　　23　　29　　13
11　　19　　26　　34

Screen 2:

 3　　 8　　24　　 7
10　　22　　27　　33

Screen 3:

 6　　 5　　14　　37
39　　25　　 4　　12

Screen 4:

35　　 1　　 9　　20
17　　15　　32　　31

Screen 5:

38　　36　　28　　40
30　　18　　16　　 2

Screen 6:

42　　41　　48　　43
44　　45　　46　　47

Screen 7:

49　　50　　51　　52

In this ending, the conditions for the rise of the villain are eliminated, thus preventing the events of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni from unfolding. This secret ending is shown at the end of the last episode of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, with Frederica Bernkastel appearing to Tanashi Miyoko and offering her a choice between life and death.

Everyone has a right to pursue a happy life. The difficult part is to be given that right. Everyone has a right to pursue a happy life. The difficult part is to fulfill that right. I too have a right to pursue a happy life. The difficult part is to work out a compromise for that right. Frederica Bernkastel