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Summary of Uzumaki Chapter 4: “The Firing Effect”
In Chapter 4 of Uzumaki, titled “The Firing Effect,” the spiral curse in Kurouzu-cho manifests through the town’s ancient kilns and the pottery they produce, twisting human remains into grotesque, spiral-patterned ceramics. The chapter follows Kirie Goshima and her friend Shiho as they uncover a horrifying connection between the kilns and the curse.
The story begins with Kirie noticing strange activity at a local pottery workshop near Kurouzu-cho’s old kilns, which have been in use for generations. Shiho, whose family runs the workshop, invites Kirie to observe a firing process. During the firing, the kilns emit an eerie glow, and the pottery emerges with intricate spiral designs that seem unnaturally vivid. The workers, including Shiho’s uncle, become obsessed with the kilns, spending long hours experimenting to perfect the spiral patterns.
Kirie learns that the kilns require a special clay found near the town’s Dragonfly Pond, a place tied to the spiral curse. Suspicion arises when Kirie and Shiho discover that the clay is mixed with human ashes, as the kilns seem to “demand” human remains to produce their finest pottery. The situation escalates when Shiho’s uncle, driven mad by the curse, throws himself into the kiln to become part of the pottery, believing it will immortalize him in a perfect spiral form. The resulting ceramic is a twisted, humanoid shape with spiral patterns, both beautiful and horrifying.
Other workers follow suit, sacrificing themselves to the kilns, which produce increasingly grotesque pottery that captures their contorted forms. Kirie and Shiho flee the workshop, horrified by the curse’s ability to corrupt the creative process and turn human lives into spiral art. The chapter ends with the kilns still burning, their eerie glow casting a pall over Kurouzu-cho, as the curse continues to claim victims through obsession and sacrifice.
Themes and Notes: “The Firing Effect” explores themes of artistic obsession and the perversion of creation, with the spiral curse transforming a traditional craft into a deadly ritual. Junji Ito’s art vividly depicts the haunting beauty of the spiral pottery contrasted with the grotesque sacrifices behind it, amplifying the chapter’s blend of cosmic and body horror. The kilns symbolize the curse’s ability to infiltrate cultural practices, making even art a tool of destruction.