Do you ever heard about Okiku ghost tales in Japan folklore? Okiku is a famous Yurei in Japan and her tales have many different version, because almost every castle in Japan have an Okiku tale. It isn't always named as Okiku but the story details are almost same. I will show four oldest tales of Okiku, so let's check it.
Around the time after the Kakitsu Revolt (1441), there lived a man named Odagaki Shumesuke, a chief retainer in a prestigious family in the Hatama country of Aoyama (Modern day Himeji city). Oda lived in a magnificent mansion in the mountains. In his household was a beautiful serving girl named Hanano, who was the object of many desires.
A young samurai named Kasadera Shinemon pursued Hanano, writing her love letter after love letter; but she always refused him.
One of the great treasures of the Odagaki family were five precious abalone drinking cups that they had received from the lord of the clan. One day Odagaki noticed that one was missing. He questioned Hanano about the missing cup, but she could only express her surprise. In a rage, Odagaki tortured Hanano, demanding the return of the priceless heirloom.
In truth, the cup had been hidden by Kasadera in revenge for Hanano’s repeated rejections. Kasadera eagerly joined in the persecution, beating Hanano severely while demanding return of the cup. Finally, while bound and hanging from a pine tree, Hanano died.
From then on, the terrible power of Hanano’s rage could be felt at the mansion every night, and the tree from which she died became known as the Hanging Pine.
A samurai named Hattori lived in the Ushigome area of Edo. His wife
was surpassingly jealous. One day the wife discovered that her husband’s
mistress had broken one of the ten heirloom plates that the house had
from Nanking, rendering them unsuitable for service to guests. The wife
would not take money, but insisted that the mistress replace the broken
plate. As the plates were quite old and rare, the wife knew this was an
impossible demand.
Until the matter was settled, the wife had the mistress confined to a cell. She was given neither food nor drink, and the wife expected she would starve to death. However, on the fifth day the wife checked in and found the mistress still alive. Out of patience, the wife took matters into her own hand and strangled the mistress in her cell. She then paid to have her body taken from the house. To everyone’s surprise, the mistress suddenly revived insider her coffin and begged for release. Exasperated, the wife paid four strong men to strangle the mistress, and bury her body in an unmarked grave. With the deed done, the wife thought she was at last free of her rival.
But suddenly, the wife’s throat began to swell. She could no longer swallow food, and even had difficulty breathing. A doctor came to attend to her, but it was too late. The doctor could find no cause for her condition, and decided it must have been the onryō of the mistress coming for revenge. Later, it was found that the four men who had killed the mistress had died in the same way.
The Yoshida Mansion sits in the 5th ward of Ushigome-Gomon. The lot
on which it was built was once the home to the palace of Lady Sen before
she made her journey to Akasaka in Edo in 1626. After that, another
building once stood in that lot which was burned down to the ground—the
home of the minor lord Aoyama Harima.
In the house of Aoyama a young girl named Okiku worked as a maidservant. On the second day of the second year of Jōō (Jan 2nd, 1653), Okiku accidently broke one of the ten precious plates that were the heirloom of the Aoyama clan. Harima’s wife was furious, and said that since Okiku had broken one of the ten plates it was fair to cut off one of Okiku’s ten fingers in return. The middle finger on her right hand was chosen, and Okiku was confined to a cell until the punishment could be carried out.
During the night, Okiku managed to slip her bonds and escape from her cell. She ran outside and threw herself into an unused well, drowning at the bottom.
The next night, from the bottom of the well came a woman’s voice. “1 … 2 … “ Soon, the sound of her voice could be heard echoing throughout the mansion, counting the plates. Everyone was so terrified their hair stood up all over their bodies.
Harima’s wife was pregnant, and when she gave birth her child was missing the middle finger on its right hand. News of this made it back to the Imperial Court, and the cursed Aoyama family were forced to forfeit their territories and holdings.
The sound of the counting of the plates continued. The Imperial Court held special ceremonies to calm Okiku’s spirit, but all in vain. At last, they sent a holy man to the cleanse the spirit. That night, the holy man waited inside the house. He waited patiently as voice counted “ 8 … 9 …” and then he suddenly shouted “10!”
Okiku’s yūrei was heard to whisper “Oh, how glad I am” before she disappeared.
This version kinda like first tale, but as I explain in the beginning. Although have many version, the okiku folklore have almost same story one to another. It is probably because this story has been spread from mouth to mouth from a long time ago, so it have changed many time depending to the area or depending to who is telling the story.
Even there is a well that believed as an actual place of Okiku murder. It is in Himeji Castle and named "Okiku Well", you can visit it if you travelling in Japan.
Reference from Hyakumonogatari, Nihon no Yurei and other sources
Nine Plates Counting
Appear under title Bancho Sarayashiki in July 1741 at the Toyotakeza theater (folk version).
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| Painting of Okiku by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi August 1890. From the Thirty-six Ghosts series. The print depicts the ghost of Okiku appearing by the well in which her master, Aoyama Tessan, murdered her. |
Once there was a beautiful servant named Okiku. She worked for the samurai
Aoyama Tessan. Okiku often refused his amorous advances, so he tricked
her into believing that she had carelessly lost one of the family's ten
precious delft
plates. Such a crime would normally result in her death. In a frenzy,
she counted and recounted the nine plates many times. However, she could
not find the tenth and went to Aoyama in guilty tears. The samurai
offered to overlook the matter if she finally became his lover, but
again she refused. Enraged, Aoyama threw her down a well to her death.
It is said that Okiku became a vengeful spirit (Onryō)
who tormented her murderer by counting to nine and then making a
terrible shriek to represent the missing tenth plate – or perhaps she
had tormented herself and was still trying to find the tenth plate but
cried out in agony when she never could. In some versions of the story,
this torment continued until an exorcist
or neighbor shouted "ten" in a loud voice at the end of her count. Her
ghost, finally relieved that someone had found the plate for her,
haunted the samurai no more.
Night Stories of Takemata
Translated from Takemata Yawa; 1557
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| Okiku painting by Mike Dorsey (2013), she look confused about the plates |
Around the time after the Kakitsu Revolt (1441), there lived a man named Odagaki Shumesuke, a chief retainer in a prestigious family in the Hatama country of Aoyama (Modern day Himeji city). Oda lived in a magnificent mansion in the mountains. In his household was a beautiful serving girl named Hanano, who was the object of many desires.
A young samurai named Kasadera Shinemon pursued Hanano, writing her love letter after love letter; but she always refused him.
One of the great treasures of the Odagaki family were five precious abalone drinking cups that they had received from the lord of the clan. One day Odagaki noticed that one was missing. He questioned Hanano about the missing cup, but she could only express her surprise. In a rage, Odagaki tortured Hanano, demanding the return of the priceless heirloom.
In truth, the cup had been hidden by Kasadera in revenge for Hanano’s repeated rejections. Kasadera eagerly joined in the persecution, beating Hanano severely while demanding return of the cup. Finally, while bound and hanging from a pine tree, Hanano died.
From then on, the terrible power of Hanano’s rage could be felt at the mansion every night, and the tree from which she died became known as the Hanging Pine.
The Plate Mansion of Ushigome
Translated from Tosei Chie Kagami; 1712
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| Painting of Okiku by Toyohara Kunichika, from the series One Hundred Roles of Baiko, 1893. |
Until the matter was settled, the wife had the mistress confined to a cell. She was given neither food nor drink, and the wife expected she would starve to death. However, on the fifth day the wife checked in and found the mistress still alive. Out of patience, the wife took matters into her own hand and strangled the mistress in her cell. She then paid to have her body taken from the house. To everyone’s surprise, the mistress suddenly revived insider her coffin and begged for release. Exasperated, the wife paid four strong men to strangle the mistress, and bury her body in an unmarked grave. With the deed done, the wife thought she was at last free of her rival.
But suddenly, the wife’s throat began to swell. She could no longer swallow food, and even had difficulty breathing. A doctor came to attend to her, but it was too late. The doctor could find no cause for her condition, and decided it must have been the onryō of the mistress coming for revenge. Later, it was found that the four men who had killed the mistress had died in the same way.
A Doubtful Record of the Plate Mansion
Translated from Sarayashiki Bengiroku; 1785
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| A painting of Okiku appear from the well with her plates. Kinda creepy isn't? |
In the house of Aoyama a young girl named Okiku worked as a maidservant. On the second day of the second year of Jōō (Jan 2nd, 1653), Okiku accidently broke one of the ten precious plates that were the heirloom of the Aoyama clan. Harima’s wife was furious, and said that since Okiku had broken one of the ten plates it was fair to cut off one of Okiku’s ten fingers in return. The middle finger on her right hand was chosen, and Okiku was confined to a cell until the punishment could be carried out.
During the night, Okiku managed to slip her bonds and escape from her cell. She ran outside and threw herself into an unused well, drowning at the bottom.
The next night, from the bottom of the well came a woman’s voice. “1 … 2 … “ Soon, the sound of her voice could be heard echoing throughout the mansion, counting the plates. Everyone was so terrified their hair stood up all over their bodies.
Harima’s wife was pregnant, and when she gave birth her child was missing the middle finger on its right hand. News of this made it back to the Imperial Court, and the cursed Aoyama family were forced to forfeit their territories and holdings.
The sound of the counting of the plates continued. The Imperial Court held special ceremonies to calm Okiku’s spirit, but all in vain. At last, they sent a holy man to the cleanse the spirit. That night, the holy man waited inside the house. He waited patiently as voice counted “ 8 … 9 …” and then he suddenly shouted “10!”
Okiku’s yūrei was heard to whisper “Oh, how glad I am” before she disappeared.
This version kinda like first tale, but as I explain in the beginning. Although have many version, the okiku folklore have almost same story one to another. It is probably because this story has been spread from mouth to mouth from a long time ago, so it have changed many time depending to the area or depending to who is telling the story.
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| Okiku Well in Himeji Castle |
