The Summer Hikaru Died: the acceptance or denial of truth
Here is some note-taking and analysis on Kibutachi village's plot, and how it relates to Yoshiki and "Hikaru's" relationship and the queer themes in the story. This analysis is based on reading Hikaru as queer and closeted.
SPOILERS AHEAD UP TO CHAPTER 37.4 OF THE MANGA
Kibutachi village had a history of poor luck with crops dying and large famines. These might have been connected to holes to "the other side" that existed in the region.
The villagers sacrificed each other and outsiders to Nounuki-sama, and tossed the body parts into the holes to "the other side" believing it would bring them prosperity.
They also later sacrificed children to try and close these holes.
Nounuki-sama was never real. There was no reason for the villagers to sacrifice each other to it, it was done due to religious superstition.
The village is plagued by "Impurities", souls of the dead.
Many of these impurities exist because of all the human sacrifices the village has done.
The Indoh's predecessor made a wish to a Lost Child ("Hikaru"), believing it was Nounuki-sama. He wished to bring his wife back, in exchange for the lives of others. The "Great Tragedy/Dying" happened as a result (though it was likely a famine). The Indoh family has performed a ritual to spare themselves ever since then.
The Lost Child lived in the forest and attracted impurities to itself, meaning the impurities left the village, and the village prospered.
When "Hikaru" left the forest so did the impurities, and some began attacking villagers.
The forest is where the village's sins and secrets live. The things they don't want to reckon with, manifested in impurities that exist because of the villages violent past, and anything else they won't accept.
Hikaru has to carry the weight of the Indoh's family's past, which has trapped him in the village for the rest of his life. He cannot live as himself (openly queer) as long as he has to fulfill the duty to his family and the village: to perform the ritual and get married and have children who will continue to perform it (this is likely comparing compulsory heterosexuality to a family tradition or ritual).
Therefore, the forest is also the closet, and Hikaru dies in the closet while performing his family's ritual. He dies because of the closet itself (nothing kills him, he slips and dies, the forest itself kills him). In a way, the village killed Hikaru. The village is understood to be conservative and homophobic, with a tragic and violent past that they try to push away, in the same way they push away Hikaru (and Yoshiki's) queerness.
To fulfill Hikaru's dying wish, "Hikaru" goes down into the village, bringing with him not only a version of Hikaru that is open and honest about his queer feelings for Yoshiki, but also all of the impurities that represent the village's sinful past. "Hikaru" exposes everything the village doesn't want to accept. "Hikaru" is a monster by nature, but the village is a far deadlier monster by choice, and always because of their religious superstition (this could be a comment on how homophobia is most often also based on religious superstition).
The acceptance of death is also a constant theme in the manga. Yoshiki struggles to accept Hikaru's death, Kurebayashi struggles to accept the death of her husband, old lady Matsuura couldn't accept her daughter's death, and originally, the Indoh predecessor couldn't accept his wife's death. All of these lead to some sort of paranormal-related tragedy, where someone else's life or their own was affected or ended. This also speaks on how not accepting the truth is dangerous, and how it often means you're sacrificing others to further your denial.
But it's not only about death, it's about the acceptance of truth as a whole. Yoshiki struggles with this when it comes to "Hikaru", he knows he is sacrificing the safety of others by keeping "Hikaru" around carelessly, but he doesn't want to accept "Hikaru" does not belong in the human world. Yoshiki relates to "Hikaru", because he himself feels like a monster for being queer, and if "Hikaru" doesn't belong, that would mean neither does Yoshiki.
Now here's where I'm torn. I would like to think that "Hikaru" is a representation of queerness onto himself. If that were true, then he does belong, and It would make sense for him and Yoshiki to escape together and live happily. However, I'm starting to think it's not so much that "Hikaru" as a character truly represents open queerness, but that he represents "otherness", and Yoshiki is only projecting his own queerness onto him because of how he also feels othered by it.
Yoshiki's queerness belongs in the human world, but first he has to accept that as the truth. "Hikaru", in that case, does not belong in the same way, because he is inhuman. In order to accept his queerness Yoshiki has to also accept that he is not a monster, and that "Hikaru" is, and that means they belong in separate worlds. This would also explain why "Hikaru" doesn't experience romantic feelings. He may love Yoshiki in his own way, but that experience is his own brand of "monster" feelings that are incomprehensible to humans, and are not queerness, because being queer is a human experience. Although this makes me sad in a way, because I would love for Yoshiki and "Hikaru" to remain together, it makes more sense that they won't.
This is also making me come around on the events of the last chapter in the manga, where "Hikaru" harms or possibly kills that little girl. The idea that queerness harms children is a prevalent homophobic belief, that surely Yoshiki is plagued by internally. "Hikaru" harming a child then, might send Yoshiki into a self-hating spiral, since he sees his own "otherness" reflected onto him, and he might see it as a confirmation of his own internalised homophobia. Or, hopefully, it might be what makes Yoshiki begin to understand that "Hikaru" truly does not belong, and that his own queerness is not monstrous or inhuman. Either way, it's a turning point for his development.
I still want to wrap my head around Tanaka's character, and the company he works for, but I don't feel like I have enough information about it yet to understand their role in the themes of the story.
So this is what I have so far, I might add onto this post or review my opinions as the manga continues.
Tl;dr: the yaoi is doomed.
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