The bruising tattoo that appears on Vanishing Patients and other victims of the Tattooed Curse. It is the tattoo engraved upon the body of the Sleeping Priestesses of the Kuze Shrine. The tattoo is composed of two separate images: a snake and a holly tree.
The Holly Tree[]
The holly pattern represents pain of love over those who have died and aches of the heart. The holly plant is symbolically associated with pain owing to its prickly leaves. Its leaves were used as a ward against evil, it is also associated with divinity. The holly tree appears to be the final pattern that is tattooed over a priestess' eyes before they are "consumed by the snake".
This pattern is based on the hiiragi-gi (疼木), which means "aching tree".
The Serpent[]
The snake is the more active element of the tattoo, as it symbolizes the yearning for the dead that will eventually consume and destroy the individual(s) overwhelmed by feelings of loss.
In the stories mentioned in Tattoo Folklore, the snake is said to become an entity that deals the final blow. For example, in the Tattooed Maiden Story, the snake tattoo "fuses with her soul and eats her heart", referring to the maiden. In the first version of the story, the snake tattoo also becomes a separate entity, but instead consumes the girl completely.
In the second version of the story, it is implied that the maiden herself becomes the snake (her eyes turning into mirrors - like a snake's eyes, related to how the tattoos cannot reach the priestess's eyes) and proceeds to eat anyone and everyone whose pain she consumed.
In Japanese folklore, the snake represents divine power and associated with the dragon. It is also often associated with female shamans, notably the legendary ancient shaman queen Himiko. The snake is also associated with water, and one form of the legend has the tattoo being rinsed away with spring water.
Application[]
The snake and holly tattoo was tattooed little by little upon the skin of the Tattooed Priestess during the Piercing of the Soul ritual, which lasted for all of the winter season. The ink that was used for the ritual was called the Ink of the Soul, which was made using both red and indigo ink. The tattoos were treated with great reverence and care. If the priestess proved unworthy, the tattoos would be stripped from her in a ritual called The Tearing, and enshrined in the Tattoo Altar.
Victims of the Tattooed Curse would at first only see slight bruising on their bodies before the tattoos start to spread to the rest of the body. However, the tattoos are only visible to those affected with the curse. The victims feel the tattoo expand upon waking from dreams of the Manor of Sleep. Characters' tattoos also appear to grow when they are in close proximity to a ghost, or when they are thinking about painful things.