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Plot Summary:
One hot day in 1983, a transfer student named Maebara Keiichi comes to live in the peaceful villiage of Hinamizawa. He befriends fellow classmates, Mion Sonozaki, Rena Ryugu, Rika Furude, and Satoko Houjou who welcome him with open arms as a member of their after-school "club". However, Keiichi soon stumbles upon Hinamizawa's dark history: Each year, during the infamous Watanagashi Festival, one person from the village of Hinamizawa goes missing and another winds up dead. As Keiichi delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the Watanagashi Festival, Hinamizawa's resident "God" called Oyashiro-sama, and the strange disease known as "Hinamizawa Syndrome", he learns that there may be more to his new friends than meets the eye.

Age Rating:
Mature (Contains extreme graphic violence)

Current Number of Tankoubon:
13

Japanese Staff:
Original Creator: 7th Expansion
Publisher: Square Enix

Artwork:
En Kitou (Onisarashi-/Utsutsukowashi-hen)
Jiro Suzuki (Tatarigoroshi-hen)
Karin Suzuragi (Onikakushi-/Tsumihoroboshi-hen)
Mimori (Yoigoshi-hen)
Yoshiki Tonogai (Himatsubushi-hen)
Yutori Houjou (Watanagashi-/Meakashi-hen)

"Naku" / なく:
The "naku" of the title contains a double-meaning. Firstly, "naku" can mean "to make sound", specifically referring to the sounds created by non-human organisms. Secondly, "naku" can also mean "to weep". The English verb "to cry" also carries the same double-meaning as "naku" does.

Main Characters:

Furude Rika / 古手梨花
Rika is a part of one of the three head families that control Hinamizawa, the Furude family. They take care of the shrine honoring Oyashiro-sama, and every year Rika takes part in the Watangashi Festival. Since Rika's parents died, she and Satoko live together near the shrine.

Houjou Satoko / 北条沙都子
Satoko is a year younger then Keiichi and the same age as Rika. She loves setting and catching people in her traps, and is very energetic and mischievous. Satoko's parents died a few years ago, her aunt was killed the previous year, and her brother went missing, so she now lives with her friend Rika.

Maebara Keiichi / 前原圭一
Keiichi is the main character of the "Question" arcs. He recently moved to Hinamizawa and quickly made good friends with Rena, Mion, Satoko and Rika. Keiichi lives with his mother and his father, who is an artist.

Ryuguu Reina (Rena) / 竜宮礼奈(レナ)
Rena is a young teenage girl who loves cute things, and some would say she has strange tastes for the things she likes. She recently moved back to Hinamizawa, after having moved away a few years ago. When she moved back, she quickly made friends with Mion, Satoko, Rika and Keiichi. For some reason, Rena seems to have a strong belief that Oyashiro-sama and Oyashiro-sama's Curse exists.

Sonozaki Mion / 園崎魅音
Mion is a part of one of the three head families that control Hinamizawa, the Sonozaki family. She has a twin sister Shion, but since Mion is set to become the head of Sonozaki after her grandmother dies, she lives in Hinamizawa and Shion lives in Okinomiya. While Shion is quite girlish, Mion acts as the tough boyish sister. She usually carries an airsoft gun in an armpit holster, and she is also the leader of the school's game club.

Sonozaki Shion / 園崎詩音
Shion is Mion's twin sister. While Mion is the boyish, tough sister, Shion appears to be the shy caring one. Though they're twin sisters, Shion doesn't live with Mion and their grandmother. Instead, she went to a private school, but escaped and moved to Okinomiya.


Supporting Characters:

Akasaka Mamoru / 赤坂衛
Akasaka is the main character of the Himatsubushi arc. He is a police investigator at the Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo and was sent to Hinamizawa on a kidnapping case.

Chie Rumiko / 知恵留美子
The teacher of Keiichi's class. Her favorite food is curry.

Furude Hanyuu / 古手羽入
A mysterious transfer student who wears a miko outfit and has a pair of horns attached to her head.

Houjou Satoshi / 北条悟史
Satoko's older brother and an ace player in the Hinamizawa Fighters baseball team. He went missing a few years ago when his aunt was killed.

Houjou Tamae / 北条玉枝
Wife of Houjou Teppei, raises Satoko and Satoshi with her husband Teppei.

Houjou Teppei / 北条鉄平
Satoko and Satoshi's uncle and guardian after the death of their parents. He frequently abuses the two physically and currently resides in Okinomiya.

Irie Kyosuke / 入江京介
Irie is the head doctor of the local clinic in Hinamizawa. He has a maid fetish, and is the coach of the local baseball team, the Hinamizawa Fighters.

Kasai Tatsuyoshi / 葛西辰由
Caretaker of Shion.

Kimiyoshi Kiichirou / 公由喜一郎
Village head of Hinamizawa.

Mamiya Rina / 間宮リナ
Teppei Houjou's lover. They often work together to swindle men out of their money through dubious schemes.

Oishi Kuraudo / 大石蔵人
A veteran police investigator at Okinomiya who is investigating the Hinamizawa murders. He hopes to solve them before he retires next year, but his relationship with the Sonozaki family is somewhat hostile.

Sonozaki Oryou / 園崎お魎
Oryou is the harsh leader of the Sonozaki household and also the grandmother of Mion and Shion. She is also the most powerful person in Hinamizawa.

Takano Miyo / 鷹野三四
A nurse from the local clinic in Hinamizawa. She has an interest in the occult and Hinamizawa's past. She is often seen together with Tomitake.

Tomitake Jirou / 富竹ジロウ
A freelance photographer from Tokyo that comes to Hinamizawa a few times a year, and usually around the Watanagashi festival. He is often seen in the company of Takano.

In reality, Hinamizawa Village is known as "Shirakawa Village" of Gifu Prefecture, which is a world heritage site.

Okinomiya Town is located in Edogawa-ku of the Tokyo Metropolis within Chiba Prefecture.

However, Okinomiya in Higurashi is actually Toke Town in Midori-ku of Chiba City in Chiba Prefecture, quite a distance away from the actual location of Okinomiya Town and in a suburban region as opposed to a metropolitan one.

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Shirakawa Village Commerce and Industry Society's Homepage
Contains an abundance of information regarding the village.

Okinomiya
Images of the original location as evidence of its existence.

聖地巡礼レポート「ひぐらしのなく頃に 背景探索編」
Pilgrimage Report: "Exploring the Setting of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni"

ひぐらしのなく頃に　雛見沢舞台　～背景写真を撮影してみよう～
Pilgrimage Report: "The Setting of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 's Hinamizawa - Let's Try Taking Pictures of the Place"

ひぐらしのなく頃に　舞台探訪　～台風に挑め。降水確率100％～
Pilgrimage Report: " Exploring the Setting of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - Challenging the Typhoon, 100% Chance of Rainfall"