Matsuribayashi-hen

Matsuribayashi-hen (NIHONGOOOO) is the eighth arc of the series as well as the fourth and final arc of. It is told from a variety of perspectives due to its unusual style of story progression.

Plot
Matsuribayashi-hen opens at the an orphange and follows four girls, Eriko, Tomomi, Kikuko, and Miyoko, as they attempt to escape from the facility and seek refuge in the Yurigaoka House of Love and Mercy. During the escape, Miyoko stumbles across a phone booth and uses it to call Hifumi Takano and begs him to help her. Shortly afterwards, Miyoko is found by orphanage workers and is returned to the facility. She quickly realizes that the other three girls had been captured as well and all four of them are tortured for their disobedience. Hifumi eventually shows up at the orphanage and rescues Miyoko. Hifumi adopts her and Miyoko takes the name Miyo Takano.

After this prologue, Ryukishi07 speaks directly to the reader who is then taken to the "Connecting pieces" screen. In the "Connecting pieces" screen, the reader goes through several specific TIPS scenarios, some of which are immediately available to read and others can only be read after a certain other one is read. Below are all of the connecting pieces and their prerequisites.

After completing "Leftover pieces", "A piece from the Matsuribayashi episode" changes to have a broken overlay. By clicking once again on "A piece from the Matsuribayashi episode", the player can advance to the true game board.

The game opens with Hanyuu being introduced to the class of the Hinamizawa school as "Hanyuu Furude". After her first day at school, Hanyuu asks to join the club and undergoes an initiation similar to the one Keiichi Maebara undergoes in.

Meanwhile, Mamoru Akasaka is working on a special operation with the Tokyo police force. Upon the mission's completion, Akasaka obtains several important documents regarding corruption within the Japanese government. While looking through the documents, Akasaka sees one regarding the Irie clinic, which floods him with memories of his brief time in Hinamizawa 5 years prior. He remembers the predictions of Rika Furude and her requests for help. As a result of this, Akasaka decides to return to Hinamizawa and try to help Rika.

Despite her efforts in, Rika still cannot remember that Miyo Takano kills her. Hanyuu, however, does remember and desperately attempts to convince Rika of the truth. Eventually Rika understands her predicament and orchestrates a plan to avoid her impending death. Rika meets with Tomitake, Ooishi, Akasaka, and Irie. She convinces Tomitake to investigate Takano and has Akasaka move into her house to keep the appearance of daily routines constant. Meanwhile, Rika and Satoko will move to the underground Sonozaki torture chamber and live there for a short time.

Villagers

 * Satoshi Houjou
 * Satoko Houjou
 * Rika Furude
 * Hanyuu Furude
 * Mion Sonozaki
 * Rena Ryuuguu
 * Keiichi Maebara
 * Ichirou Maebara
 * Rumiko Chie

Outsiders

 * Miyo Takano
 * Eriko
 * Tomomi
 * Kikuko
 * Jirou Tomitake
 * Kyousuke Irie
 * Kuraudo Ooishi
 * Mamoru Akasaka

Mentioned

 * Hifumi Takano
 * Koizumi
 * Haruyama
 * Mochizuki

Deaths and Disappearances
All deaths and disappearances are listed only as they are told in  and apply only for the individual arc, not the overall series.

Deaths

 * A janitor at the hospital Yukie Akasaka stayed at, slipped on a loose tile and fell down a flight of stairs June 1978.
 * The dam construction manager, beaten to death with a shovel and disembered June 1979.
 * Construction worker, dissected alive by Miyo Takano and Kyousuke Irie June 1979.
 * Satoko and Satoshi's stepfather, pushed off of a cliff by Satoko Houjou June 1980.
 * Satoko and Satoshi's mother, pushed off of a cliff by Satoko Houjou June 1980.
 * Rika's father, killed by the Mountain Hounds June 1981.
 * Rika's mother, dissected alive by Miyo Takano June 1981.
 * Tamae Houjou, beaten to death by Satoshi Houjou June 1982.

Disappearances

 * Satoshi Houjou, disappeared June 1982.

Trivia

 * Matsuribayashi-hen is the chapter with the greatest number of different perspectives in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Among them are Miyo Takano, Kyousuke Irie, Jirou Tomitake, Hanyuu.