- "Hey, son, what are you doing wandering around this late at night? Oh, I get it. You're testing your courage, aren't you? You must want to go to...a graveyard!"
- — Clock Soldier
Kakariko Graveyard (墓地 Bochi) is a recurring location in the Legend of Zelda series. As the name suggests, it is a graveyard located in Kakariko Village.
Appearances[]
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time[]
Kakariko Graveyard can be found at the far northeast corner of Kakariko Village. The graveyard is home to a total of twenty-one graves, most of whose headstones can be pushed away. This will, for the most part, cause either a Poe to appear and attack Link, or reveal a Rupee to have been hidden underneath. Four specific graves reveal a hidden passageway when moved. At the very back of the graveyard is the Shadow Temple, which can only be accessed by playing the "Nocturne of Shadow" on the Ocarina of Time.
Beneath the Royal Family's headstone lies the Royal Family's Tomb, a subterranean complex of large chambers wherein are hidden the notes to the "Sun's Song". The song's composers, Flat and Sharp, collectively the Composer Brothers, are buried right next to the Royal Family's Tomb. If their graves are examined, their spectral Poe forms appear and attack Link. When defeated, they will divulge some information pertaining to their composition before disappearing on friendly terms. Two other graves hide a Piece of Heart, a Hylian Shield (or a blue Rupee if Link already has a shield), and a Fairy Fountain.
Dampé, the gravekeeper, lives in a small hut near the entrance to the Graveyard. When Link is a child, he can be seen pacing the graveyard at night and will allow Link to participate in Dampé's Heart-Pounding Gravedigging Tour where Link can win Rupees or a Piece of Heart. After his death, his ghost can be found in his grave, which is situated on the west side of the Graveyard. Therein, Link, as an adult, can race Dampé to obtain the Hookshot, and a Piece of Heart if he races Dampé again and completes the course in one minute or less.
During the daytime when Link is a child, a young boy paces the graveyard imitating Dampé. Link can sell him the Spooky Mask as a part of the Happy Mask side quest.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess[]
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Kakariko Graveyard from Twilight Princess
The Kakariko Graveyard can be accessed by entering a gate behind Renado's sanctuary. There is a small, hidden area in this graveyard far to the north of the regular Graveyard, and can be entered via a small crawlspace. This area contains a small pond, and a patch of land where the late King Zora and Queen Rutela are buried. To the east and under the lake is a small hole leading to Lake Hylia. After the Zora, Prince Ralis, has recovered from his sickness, he spends some time near his parents' grave until he returns to Zora's Domain to accept his responsibility as king.
A flock of Guays circles the tree near the back of the graveyard where a Golden Ant can be found, and at night, two Imp Poes can be found by pushing the headstones in the front. There is also a beehive, hanging from the same tree that the Guays are circling, where Link can obtain bee larva. Curiously, there is a small structure tucked off to the side that resembles a well of some sort, covered up by plates of tin roofing. This leads down into Renado's basement and is only used once, when Wolf Link is searching for the Tears of Light and breaks out of the 'well' to exit Renado's basement. The 'well' cannot be entered later.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild[]
- "Mother is... sleeping here. She's probably making friends in heaven... Father thinks it's best not to tell us she's gone. But Koko knows. That's why Koko must be strong!"
- — Koko
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Koko secretly grieving her mother's death at the Graveyard in Breath of the Wild
Though it is not identified as such in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild there is a small area north of Kakariko Village which contains several stones which are apparently unmarked gravestones, as Koko reveals her mother is buried there. Link discovers that Koko and Cottla's mother was killed by the Yiga Clan because their father, a former Yiga Clan member, had left the Yiga Clan after falling in love with her and married her, leading to the birth of Koko and Cottla. Koko realizes the truth that her mother is dead though keeps it to herself and occasionally visits her mother's grave to pay her respects and grieve in secret, which she hides from her sister and father, as her father has lied to spare them the truth and Cottla is too naïve and innocent to realize it. Unlike the Kakariko Graveyard in other games, the graveyard that appears in Breath of the Wild is small and its status as a graveyard is not broadcasted, as the grave stones are unmarked and there are no signs identifying it as a graveyard. Presumably this is to hide it and prevent it from being desecrated by the Yiga Clan or monsters. Additionally the graveyard itself is peaceful and not haunted, thus presumably Koko's mother rests there in peace despite the tragic nature of her death. When it rains, Koko takes shelter under the tree and notes to Link she use to not like the rain but her opinion has since changed as the rain hides her tears from her mother as she does not wish to make her mother's spirit sad or worry about her as she tries to be strong for her family. Ironically Koko is afraid of ghosts as she is frightened by Dorian's ghost story of a woman crying in the forest where Cotera's Great Fairy Fountain is located though it is implied that Koko subconsciously fears her mother's spirit may not be at rest as she seems to have a decent understanding of death and the afterlife unlike Cottla. However unbeknownst to either Koko or her sister Dorian's ghost story is made up to scare them away from Cotera's fountain as the forest had become dangerous recently though it ironically only works on Koko as the innocent Cottla finds the story exciting.
The graveyard contains very little in the way treasure or items, though a Iron Sledgehammer spawns behind the tree. Additionally, Bladed Rhino Beetles and Energetic Rhino Beetles can sometimes be found on the tree itself and the gates that lead up to the graveyard.
Though it is not haunted in-game, an early rough design concept by Takumi Wada depicts the ghost of a female Sheikah standing near a tree, presumably representing the ghost Dorian's murdered wife standing by the tree in the graveyard indicating Link was originally intended to encounter her ghost in the graveyard as an NPC presumably tied to some side quest involving her, her family, and/or the Yiga Clan. However ultimately the idea was scrapped and never made it beyond the early concept stages.
Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.
Other appearances[]
Subseries warning: This article or section contains information on a subseries within the Legend of Zelda series and should be considered part of its own separate canon.
Hyrule Warriors[]
Kakariko Graveyard from Twilight Princess appears as part of the Twilight Field stage.
Subseries warning: Subseries information ends here.