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MAJOR HIGURASHI SPOILER WARNING
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This article or section contains untagged major spoilers for all of the original Higurashi When They Cry story and possibly the console-exclusive arcs. Readers who have not completed the story are advised not to proceed further.

Hanyuu (羽入 Hanyū) is Rika Furude's ancestor and the true form of Oyashiro-sama. With her powers, Rika is able to travel between Fragments every time she dies and experience different events in an attempt to escape fate. Hanyuu is first officially introduced in Minagoroshi.

Profile[]

Her favorite food is cream puffs and she doesn't like horns growing on her head. A normal god that seems to be everywhere. She was timid and easy to tease, and she was able to quickly get to know each other in the village and enjoy the long-awaited "school" life...

For her, this event was a big event that she had never expected.

Hinamizawa is wrapped in a tragedy again.

(Translated from the official 07th Expansion website.)

A mysterious transfer student with horns growing from her head. She's supposed to be a relative of Rika, but the details are unclear. Although she is a little sick and a crybaby, she sometimes makes sharp remarks that can be reassuring.

(Translated from the Entergram Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Hou website.)

A mysterious girl with two big horns on her head.

Clad in traditional shrine maiden attire, she seems to know Rika somehow...

(From the Gou website.)

Appearance[]

Hanyuu has purple eyes, long light purple hair and has a pair of dark purple horns sprouting from her head, with one of them having a crack in it. Physically, Hanyuu looks the same age as Rika.[2] Hanyuu's regular outfit is a shrine maiden outfit with a red bow and light red sleeves that expose her shoulders.

When activating her goddess powers, Hanyuu's pupils change into red.

Hanyuu's school attire is a light blue vest and white shirt with a red skirt. Her casual outfit consists of a pink dress, however this is never shown in the PC sprites.

In Kamikashimashi-hen, Hanyuu wears a punishment game outfit that looks like a lion.

Personality[]

In stark contrast to how people viewed Oyashiro-sama, Hanyuu is a very nervous yet pessimistic girl. She has a tendency to mutter "au, au", especially when she's happy, sad or nervous. She often takes the blame for other people's problems and apologizes repeatedly to them.

Hanyuu frequently tells Rika not to get her hopes up in the many worlds they go to, as things can and have gone wrong at a moment's notice.

Hanyuu dislikes the way she was worshiped as Oyashiro-sama and how villagers performed countless sacrifices in her name, with Hanyuu unable to speak to anyone and tell them how she felt.[3] She sometimes throws tantrums due to this.

In the past, Hanyuu used to be much more dignified and mature sounding, especially when it came time to sacrifice herself. Hanyuu will sometimes act in her role as Oyashiro-sama, as seen in Matsuribayashi where she speaks to the Mountain Dogs as part of the club's psychological warfare tactics. Hanyuu has proven to be manipulative, using her cute looks to persuade Ooishi to go along with the club's plan.[4]

Background[]

Hanyuu and the priest manga

The priest of the Furude Shrine refused Hanyuu until his son had a child with her.

Hanyuu's past is unclear due to there being conflicting information in several ancient forbidden documents contained in the Furude Shrine that only the head of the Furude family can access. According to Rika, Hanyuu and her people came to Onigafuchi, the village that would become Hinamizawa, long ago in search of a new home. They wanted to live in the swamp, however there was a village of humans living nearby. Hanyuu's people respected that there were people already inhabiting this land and tried their best to coexist with the villagers however they were rejected, causing a disaster. Hanyuu took a human form and tried to mediate with the humans but was unable to hide her horns. The head priest of the Furude Shrine refused to let Hanyuu's people coexist with them for fear that the villagers would become demons if their blood mixed, but he changed his mind after the heir to the shrine fell in love with Hanyuu and produced a child with her.

The humans' and demons' blood mixed, and the villagers soon became unable to tell who was a demon and who wasn't, becoming suspicious and paranoid of one another. This is believed to be the origin of Hinamizawa Syndrome, as people are rarely able to sense and hear Hanyuu in her incorporeal form, but those at the L4 stage and above will sense Hanyuu's presence more often.[5]

Ouka vs hanyuu manga

Wielding the Onigari-no-ryuuou, Ouka encounters Hanyuu in the swamp.

In order to make peace between the villagers, Hanyuu offered to take all of their sins upon herself and pretended to be a demon living in the swamp that was sowing unrest in humans' hearts. Hanyuu was soon captured by the villagers, sacrificed, and thrown back into the swamp in what would be the very first Watanagashi Festival. One scroll suggests it was the head priest who sacrificed Hanyuu, but in actuality it was Hanyuu's own daughter Ouka who sacrificed her using the Onigari-no-ryuuou, with Hanyuu's horn becoming cracked as a result.[6][7] Hanyuu would become revered as Oyashiro-sama, with the villagers of Onigafuchi unaware that they killed their god.[8]

After her death, Hanyuu remained in an incorporeal form and watched over the denizens of Onigafuchi, later Hinamizawa for years, unable to interact with another human. Finally, after a thousand years, Rika was born as the firstborn daughter of the eighth generation of the Furude family. As "Oyashiro-sama's reincarnation", Rika became the first person Hanyuu was able to interact with after hundreds of years. Hanyuu acted as a mother figure to Rika and taught her how to cook, along with other skills.

Every time Rika dies, Hanyuu travels with her to a new Fragment in the hopes of averting fate and earning a happy ending, however Rika is unable to remember much from previous worlds. As time went on, Hanyuu's powers diminished, and by the current point of the story she can only send Rika two weeks before her death.

The console-exclusive arc Kotohogushi provides possible extra details as to Hanyuu's background. See Hai-Ryun Yeasomul Jedha for more information.

In Higurashi: When They Cry - GOU and Sotsu, Eua refers to Hanyuu as her "failure" and "part of her", and refers to herself as the "original".[9] According to audio commentary, when Eua's horn was damaged, a "small Eua" was created that split off and eventually grew into Hanyuu.[10]

Abilities[]

She has the ability to travel to the Sea of Fragments and can give humans the power of time looping, allowing them to travel between Fragments. However, they cannot fully retain their memories from the fragments, being unable to remember their death. Higurashi Gou suggests that Hanyuu's cracked horn is the reason for Rika's incomplete memories when she loops.

Hanyuu spends most of her time in incorporeal form and follows Rika everywhere, though she will sometimes go out to observe other people. Rika and Hanyuu's senses are linked, meaning any pain or taste Rika feels will also be felt by Hanyuu. Hanyuu also can switch between human form and incorporeal form at will, at least in Matsuribayashi's world. Hanyuu is also able to stop time, teleport, fly and use mind control. In Kamikashimashi, Hanyuu was capable of using her divine powers to momentarily weaken Takano who was given supernatural strength as Tamurahime no Mikoto's "miko".

It is suggested that Hanyuu can cure people's Hinamizawa Syndrome, though this has a temporary effect if the patient is not living in Hinamizawa.[11]

In Kagurashi, Hanyuu is capable of summoning the Onigari-no-ryuuou after Rika discarded it and using it with an excellent level of swordsmanship. She is also shown empowering herself with Fragments, allowing her to beat Eua and damage her horn.

Relationships[]

Overview[]

Relatives

The Club

Other

Rika Furude[]

As Rika grew up Hanyuu acted as a secondary mother to her, teaching her cooking and other skills. Over the years, Rika began treating Hanyuu more rudely. Because of their linked senses, Rika sometimes bullies Hanyuu by eaing spicy food.

Hanyuu is very attached to Rika since she's the only person who can see her and has stated that she wouldn't mind repeating a hundred more years so long as Rika was with her.[12] The Matsuribayashi manga suggests that Hanyuu sees Ouka in Rika.[13]

Rena Ryuugu[]

Rena seems to be one of the few people besides Rika who is aware of Hanyuu's existence due to her many spiritual encounters with Oyashiro-sama in the past. It is implied that Hanyuu saved Rena from attempting suicide after her parents' divorce.[11]

Story[]

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Question Arcs[]

Onikakushi[]

It is implied that Hanyuu went to check on Keiichi at one point and was sensed behind him.

Watanagashi[]

When Keiichi, Shion, Takano, and Tomitake sneak into the ritual warehouse and talk about Oyashiro-sama, Hanyuu throws a tantrum which is heard by Tomitake and Shion.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai[]

Meakashi[]

When Rika fights Shion and gets injected, she starts calling out Hanyuu's name; this is the first time Hanyuu's real name is mentioned.

Tsumihoroboshi[]

Rika talks with Hanyuu late at night in several TIPS, with Hanyuu presented as an unknown character. In "My Very Favorite Wine", Rika speaks to Hanyuu about the impending date of their deaths.

In "Last Night", Rika is convinced she can make something different happen because of Keiichi remembering. Hanyuu says Rika is strong, and Rika replies that it's because she's younger than her. Satoko is woken up by their discussion, not acknowledging Hanyuu at all.

Minagoroshi[]

MinagoroshiCG (6)

Hanyuu makes her first proper appearance, worrying over Rika when she trips and falls while playing with the club. Hanyuu tells her that the Watanagashi Festival is in two weeks, meaning they don't have a lot of time in this world. Rika means to test if Keiichi remembers anything from previous worlds, but the sad look on Hanyuu's face tells her that it won't happen.

At the games tournament in Okinomiya, Rika remembers that this same event happened in previous worlds and that Keiichi received a doll. Rika prepares to tell him who to give it to, but before she can speak Keiichi says he knows and gives it to Mion anyway. Rika and Hanyuu are bewildered, since Keiichi shouldn't remember anything from previous worlds; his failure to give Mion the doll earlier resulted in Shion going insane and causing a tragedy.

MinagoroshiCG (7)

A few days later, Rika has a late-night drink and converses with Hanyuu about how Keiichi, Shion, and Rena seem to be remembering things from previous worlds. Hanyuu thinks they're getting closer to Rika's ideal future, but this is still not a miracle. Hanyuu is asked to think about who might benefit from killing Rika, and the Sonozaki family can be excluded. Hanyuu says they can rely on Irie and that Takano's death has to be connected to Rika. In the pas, they tried to prevent Takano and Tomitake's deaths, but nobody ever believed them.

The next day, Rika allows Takano and Tomitake to visit the ritual tool shed in an attempt to make time to talk with them. Hanyuu objects since the warehouse is like a safe haven for her, and she dislikes the way Takano talks about Oyashiro-sama's history. Hanyuu has no real say however, and as Takano excitedly talks about the horrible past of Onigafuchi, Hanyuu starts throwing a tantrum and stomping around on the floor. Hanyuu insists that she wasn't as horrible as people believed Oyashiro-sama to be and that she never wanted anyone to be killed. Tomitake somehow hears Hanyuu stomping around and asks Takano to be quiet, thinking a child was playing nearby. Rika says there are no children around, and that Takano shouldn't be saying things that upset Oyashiro-sama when they're in front of his statue. On Hanyuu's request, Rika gets Takano to apologize and offer cream puffs as an apology to Oyashiro-sama.

Though Hanyuu frequently tells Rika not to get her hopes up, Rika believes this world is a happy one: the club solved their problems, she got Takano and Tomitake to help when she told them of her death, Ooishi is on good terms with everyone, and even Akasaka returned. However, Teppei returns and takes Satoko back to live with him. Rika is depressed since Teppei returning is an event she's never been able to prevent in other worlds, but she regains some strength when the club goes to the child consultation center. Hanyuu says this won't amount to anything, but Rika still wants to try.

The club protests the child consultation center, and Rika decides that if things don't go well in this world then she'll give up. She knows that Hanyuu being left all alone, which is why she keeps saying such pessimistic things to Rika. Hanyuu professes that she doesn't want to spend eternity without Rika and would repeat everything again as long as it was with her.

Satoko is successfully saved, and the club have fun at Watanagashi. Hanyuu is especially happy, as this is the happiest festival she's ever seen. She still wonders if Rika can prevent Takano and Tomitake's deaths. After the festival, Rika and Hanyuu converse over the possibility that Rika may die the next day. Hanyuu wants to see beyond June 1983 with Rika, but she doesn't want her to get optimistic and end up hurt because of it. Hanyuu doesn't want to live alone without Rika and doesn't want to her just give up in this world.

Rika gets both the Mountain Dogs and police protecting her. Hanyuu says she still won't expect anything different from this, and Rika calls her out for being similar to how Satoko was earlier. Hanyuu is just acting like a bystander and waiting for a miracle to happen, afraid of doing anything by herself. Hanyuu is stung by her accusation and then questions how she can even do anything when she can't touch or talk to anybody else. Rika apologizes for being harsh and says that Hanyuu is her friend, and her friend shouldn't be trying to discourage her all the time.

The club hides out at Rika's shack and realize too late that Takano is the mastermind. They escape in the middle of the night as Mountain Dogs chase them, and as they plan to steal a Mountain Dog van, Hanyuu uses her powers to stop time and point out that Keiichi is about to be shot. The club notices in stopped time that it was Takano who fired it, but they cannot do anything to save him. Time resumes, and Keiichi falls over dead. The rest of the club is summarily captured by the Mountain Dogs and executed by Takano. Rika asks that she be dissected while conscious, wanting to remember Takano's face for when she heads to the next world. Hanyuu cries, feeling that she's once again failed to provide a happy future for Rika. She promises that if Rika doesn't remember Takano's face then she'll tell her.

Minagoroshi manga page 411

Rika dies, and her spirit joins the other deceased club members as they acknowledge Hanyuu's existence for the first time. Rena asks Hanyuu if she ever believed in them, saying that they could've performed a miracle if she did. Hanyuu questions if she can really make a miracle happen just by believing, and Rena says that she's always sensed her, even if she could never see her. Hanyuu thinks everyone would see her as a monster if she met them, but Keiichi and the club say they'd never do that.

Hanyuu joins hands with the club and promises to believe.


Matsuribayashi[]

MatsuribayashiCG (5)

Takano goes to make a mocking donation at the Furude Shrine, where Hanyuu rejects her offering before appearing before her. Takano realizes that she's a god, and Hanyuu admits that she surrendered in the face of Takano's willpower in the past but now believes that she and her friends can create a miracle to defeat her. Takano swears to defeat her and become a god herself.

The Connecting Fragments section has Hanyuu piecing together several Fragments of different worlds and creating an ideal June 1983. Hanyuu takes a physical form and plays with Rika out in a field, convincing Keiichi's father to build a house in Hinamizawa and move there.

This information is based on alternate scenes or routes in console ports and is not considered canon within the overall plot of the series.
Hanyuu speaks to the Akasaka in the future of Himatsubushi's world and passes his knowledge to the Akasaka in her ideal world.

Hanyuu enrolls in the Hinamizawa school and is introduced as Hanyuu Furude, an exchange student and Rika's relative. The class readily accepts Hanyuu as one of their own. Rena feels like she's seen Hanyuu plenty of times before, and that she's been watching everyone for a long time. Hanyuu later says she wants to join the club, albeit nervously.

Hanyuu successfully joins the club and plays with them. Keiichi finally notices the horns on her head, wondering if they're some sort of accessory, and Hanyuu anxiously touches her horns while Rika explains that she can't take them off. The rest of the club doesn't mind Hanyuu's horns, and Keiichi apologizes for sounding insensitive. Rika then explains Hanyuu's past and how she was persecuted because of her horns.

Hanyuu has a flashback to her telling her daughter to kill her, and she gets distracted and falls down a hill. Tomitake and Takano catch Hanyuu when she falls, with Takano pointing out Hanyuu's horns and comparing them to a monster's. Hanyuu is taken aback, and the rest of the club admonish Takano for saying such a rude thing. Hanyuu whispers to Rika and asks if she remembers Takano, but she realizes that Rika has completely forgotten that Takano is the culprit. That night, Hanyuu informs Rika that Takano and the Mountain Dogs are her enemy. Rika takes her words to heart but doesn't understand how they can beat Takano. Hanyuu becomes frustrated when she learns that Rika also forgot how the club banded the village together against Teppei. Hanyuu swears that she isn't going to run away anymore, and that she and Rika can bring everyone together for another miracle.

The next day at school, Hanyuu provides an opportunity for Rika to speak alone with Irie so she can get him on their side. They learn that Takano is displeased with having to finish Hinamizawa Syndrome research in three years, and that the Emergency Manual calls for the eradication of the villagers with poisonous gas if Rika dies. Hanyuu convinces Rika to speak with the club members at lunch, and they explain the secrets of Hinamizawa while pretending it's a comic idea that Rika developed. The club gives advice on how to defeat these mysterious enemies, saying they could easily beat them if they were the main characters. Akasaka returns to the village later, and Hanyuu proves Rika right that miracles really do happen.

Rika tries to convince Ooishi to join her, but he doesn't want to risk losing his retirement pay. Hanyuu praises Ooishi for living an honest, worthy life and gives him time to reach a decision. When Ooishi is told that the Sonozakis don't have anything to do with the curse, Hanyuu comments that it's a momentous thing since he doesn't have to hate them anymore. With three days until Watanagashi, Hanyuu suggests that Rika and Satoko hide at Mion's house until then and convince them that the comic idea wasn't just fiction.

The club gathers to plot against the Mountain Dogs, coming up with a plan to fake Rika's death and cause them to scramble. They tell Ooishi about this plan since he's important to it but he still doesn't know what to do. Hanyuu says it's alright if he doesn't want to go along since they don't want to sacrifice him to win. The rest of the club apologizes for not consulting Ooishi about this, and he decides he's going to talk it out with someone first.

The club hides out with Irie at the Sonozaki main house's torture chamber as the Mountain Dogs begin invading the area. The club prepares to escape to Satoko's trap mountain through the passage in the well while Kasai and Shion stay behind and fend off the Mountain Dogs, but the two are knocked out and held hostage. The Dogs demand that Rika come with them or else they'll drop Kasai and Shion into the well, killing them. Rika is at a loss and asks Hanyuu to use her god powers, but she slaps her. Hanyuu says that at this point, Rika should know how to make miracles happen, especially in this final world. Rika decides to come along with the Mountain Dogs as long as they let her friends go, otherwise she'll kill herself. The Dogs were planning to kill everyone once they had Rika however, and Hanyuu uses her god voice to convince them to take the deal, belittling them as humans and admonishing them for pretending to be more. Rika is soon saved thanks to Akasaka's intervention, and the Dogs retreat. The club heads to the trap mountain.

At the trap mountain, the club engages the Mountain Dogs and defeats many of them with Satoko's traps. Hanyuu obtains a Dog's radio and uses her god voice to psychologically torment the men on the other end as Keiichi pretends to be tortured horribly. Though the Bloodhounds arrive to arrest the Mountain Dogs, Takano still runs through the woods and is met by Hanyuu. She admonishes Takano for wanting to become god even though she's been defeated and says she can obtain godhood if she takes her gun and commits suicide with it Hanyuu says that being a god is lonely and that Takano can't expect people to recognize her existence. Takano laughs at the thought that something so simple could make her a god, showing derision when Hanyuu suggests that she can obtain it by taking the blame for everything. Takano says she doesn't want to die to become a god and is fine with being human.

Matsuri manga v8 page 324

Hanyuu decides to forgive Takano, having found a world where God didn't need to make peace. The rest of the club soon appears, and Takano threatens to shoot Hanyuu with her single bullet. Hanyuu agrees to become the bearer of sins once again and thanks the club for admitting her before telling Takano to shoot her. Takano fires and Hanyuu stops time, the bullet inches away from her chest. Reminded of what happened in Minagoroshi's world, the club watches in horror as Takano laughs, knowing that Hanyuu will die anyway. Just then, Rika moves during stopped time and grabs the bullet, protecting Hanyuu from harm. Rika compares the situation to the club game of Old Bachelor and how they discard a random card every game, with the matchless card forced onto others. Hanyuu is that random card, and by inserting her back into the deck, a world without losers is created. In the manga, Hanyuu is happy that Rika has created a world where everyone's sins can be forgiven and says that's the world she wants to be in. She sees her daughter Ouka appearing and welcoming her back home.

Takano is taken away and Hanyuu heads with the rest of the club to enjoy the Watanagashi Festival. Hanyuu narrates on what happened after the festival, with Hanyuu herself settling in her new life as Hanyuu Furude and getting better at club games.

Matsuri manga volume 8 page 386-387

At the festival, Hanyuu watches Rika's ritual dance with the others and cries, thinking it the best dance she's seen in a thousand years. At the stream, Hanyuu takes a cotton ball from Rena and cleanses her sins before sending it off. Hanyuu wishes to have more in this ideal world, thinking she will be even more happy in the future.

Trivia[]

Hi-lune

Sotsu artwork showing alternate reading of Hanyuu's name and her Ryuun name

  • Hanyuu's name was originally going to be written as 羽生, but Ryukishi07 changed it because he believed it was too difficult to read.[14]
    • A piece of Sotsu merchandise features Hanyuu's name written as 羽生 and a romanized version of her Ryuun name from Kotohogushi as "Hi-Lune Yeasomur Jeda".
Oyashiro-sama fanart example

A fan rendition of Oyashiro-sama's human form by Chikage Yuuki.

  • Before Hanyuu's debut, there was a popular fanmade anthropomorphic design of Oyashiro-sama that circulated on the 07th Expansion bulletin boards. This character was called Oyashiro-sama (尾八白様), meaning "eight white tails", and had purple hair, sometimes cat ears, and several white tails. The earliest known artwork of Oyashiro-sama was created by user Chikage Yuuki in 2005.[15] Ryukishi had long since planned for Hanyuu to appear with long hair and horns, and based Hanyuu's hair color on Oyashiro-sama, referring to the character as Oyashiro-tan (オヤシロタン).[16]
  • Hanyuu's punishment game outfit in Kamikashimashi-hen resembles Sakutarou from Umineko When They Cry.
  • In the PC version of Hou, Oyashiro-sama's sprites in Hinamizawa Bus Stop are Hanyuu's sprites colored pink.
  • Hanyuu is meant to be a stand-in for the player, being an existence that has observed the story and characters and knows everything about them thus far.[16]
  • The original C62 version of Onikakushi contained an unused TIP that referred to Oyashiro-sama as "Mizuha-no-Hinanome-no-kami" (弥都波能雛女神).[17] This title contains the same "hina" (雛) character as in Hinamizawa's name, and contains the kanji for "goddess" (女神), identifying it as a female god.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "作品紹介 — ひぐらしのなく頃に" on the Official 07th Expansion website https://07th-expansion.net/hig_gensaku
  2. Matsuribayashi Chapter 9. "Hanyuu was popular all day today. She's Rika-chan's age, so all the lower-grade students gathered around her.
  3. Minagoroshi Day 6
  4. Matsuribayashi Chapter 16
  5. Minagoroshi Day 5
  6. Matsuribayashi Chapter 11. "It's a child's job to bury their parents."

    "But Mother... I've never heard that it's a child's job to kill and bury their parents."

    "Don't ask, child. I'm not human. My horns are proof that I'm a demon. A demon's job is to take on the calamities of the human world."
  7. Matsuribayashi TIP: The forbidden treasure: Onigari-no-ryuou
  8. Matsuribayashi Chapter 11
  9. Kagurashi-hen Part 3
  10. Kagurashi-hen Part 4 BD Audio Commentary
  11. 11.0 11.1 Tsumihoroboshi Day 13. Rena's narration: "My body was filled with maggots. I had to squeeze all my blood out of me!! And then... a very bright light shone upon me. (...) ...It was very warm and gentle. That was... Oyashiro-sama. Oyashiro-sama was looking at me with gentleness and sadness in his eyes. As he touched my wound... the maggots started melting and disappeared in front of my eyes. That wasn't all. All the maggots that were moving throughout all my veins disappeared, too...! Oyashiro-sama taught me. ...These maggots were the curse. People of the demon's blood can't live outside of Hinamizawa. (...) Oyashiro-sama also told me this: He could make the maggots, the embodiment of the curse, disappear. But only temporarily, because I lived far from Hinamizawa. After a while, the power of Oyashiro-sama would fade away, and the curse would start eating my body again. ...If that happened, the maggots would take over my body, and I would go insane and die... I must go back to Hinamizawa... before his power to hold down the curse faded away."
  12. Minagoroshi Day 16
  13. Festival Accompanying Arc Manga Volume 8 Chapter 35
  14. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Famous Scene Investigation File 100
  15. https://web.archive.org/web/20071118202845/http://rena07.com/Cgi/bbsnote/bbsnote.cgi?fc=thread&log=1116
  16. 16.0 16.1 https://0707toshokan.wordpress.com/2021/01/31/higurashi-no-nakasekata-how-to-make-them-cry-iv/
  17. https://twitter.com/0707tosho/status/1549405551548850176
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