Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Daki no Obyaku, Hyakuno O-Hyaku
Category: Ghost
The Myth
Daki no O-Hyaku was a notorious villainous woman whose name was associated with the legendary Chinese temptress Daji, the infamous consort of King Zhou of the Shang dynasty. In Japanese tales, O-Hyaku was portrayed as a beautiful and ruthless woman whose ambition, seduction, and cruelty brought ruin to the men and households around her. Her story became especially infamous through tales of murder, betrayal, robbery, and schemes to seize the wealth and power of the Satake family of Akita.
In the popular stories, O-Hyaku was born as the sister of a fisherman named Shinsuke and entered domestic service at the home of Tokubei, a wealthy shipowner in Naniwa. After becoming his mistress, she revealed her cruel nature by accusing his pregnant wife, Otaka, of infidelity and driving her from the household. O-Hyaku then indulged in a life of luxury until Tokubei’s business collapsed. The pair travelled to Edo, where O-Hyaku met Hikogorō, a notorious bandit, abandoned Tokubei, and became Hikogorō’s lover. She established a geisha house in Fukagawa and sometimes performed as a geisha under the name Kosan.
When O-Hyaku later encountered Tokubei, who had fallen into poverty and become a ragpicker, she pretended to calm his anger and lured him to a deserted reclaimed area of Fukagawa. There she stabbed him in the stomach with a large kitchen knife and pushed him into a pond. When he struggled to rise, she kicked him back into the water until he died. As she prepared to leave, Tokubei’s ghost appeared before her as a pale blue ball of fire, hovering around her in silent accusation. Rather than show fear, O-Hyaku mockingly told the spirit to illuminate her way home like a paper lantern. His ghost became one of the most chilling signs of the wickedness attributed to her.
O-Hyaku’s ambitions grew beyond personal wealth. She joined forces with Nakagawa Chūdai, an official serving the Satake family in Edo, and plotted to corrupt the family lord, Satake Sakyō-no-daibu, by encouraging him to indulge in alcohol and pleasure until he became incapable of ruling. Their ultimate goal was to seize the wealth and power of the Akita domain. Other tales accuse O-Hyaku of deceiving a blind travelling entertainer named Omine, selling her daughter, and arranging for Hikogorō’s men to murder her. She was also said to have escaped exile on Sado Island, extorted money from wealthy farmers near Niigata, and eventually become a pirate commanding numerous followers. Her schemes ultimately failed, and she was cornered by her pursuers.
Behind O-Hyaku’s transformation into a monster of cruelty lay the vengeance of a supernatural sea creature. Long before, Tokubei’s father, Tokuzō, had been sailing aboard the Satake family’s ship, the Sen-nichimaru, when a violent storm arose and a giant sea monk, or umibōzu, appeared offshore. Tokuzō courageously borrowed the lord’s sword and cut the monster down with a single stroke. The slain creature’s vengeful spirit flew inland and possessed O-Hyaku, transforming her from a naturally gentle woman into a figure consumed by lust and wickedness. At the end of the turmoil, when O-Hyaku was surrounded and could no longer escape, an enormous monk-like figure rose behind her, towering to an impossible height. Declaring that the vengeance had run its course and that the events should serve as a warning to future generations, the giant vanished. Freed from the sea spirit, O-Hyaku returned to her former gentle nature and was captured without resistance. In one version, she repented of her crimes and accepted death at the hands of Tokubei’s son, believing this was the only fitting end for her. She died at the age of twenty-five.
Sources
“妲己のお百 (Dakki no O-Hyaku).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1060567084.html