Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: お菊, おきく, Banchō Sarayashiki, The Dish Manor at Banchō
Category: Ghost
The Myth
Okiku was a beautiful servant girl who worked as a dishwashing maid at Himeji Castle. She became the object of desire of Aoyama, one of her master’s samurai retainers, who repeatedly tried to seduce her. Okiku continually rejected him, angering the samurai. Determined to force her into becoming his lover, Aoyama devised a cruel trick involving a set of ten precious dishes belonging to the castle.
Aoyama secretly hid one of the dishes and accused Okiku of losing it. Terrified because the loss of such a valuable object could be punished by death, she counted the dishes again and again, but could find only nine. Aoyama offered to protect her from punishment if she agreed to become his mistress. When she refused once more, he ordered her beaten, tied her up, and suspended her over the castle well. He repeatedly plunged her into the water and tortured her, demanding that she submit to him. When she continued to refuse, he struck her with his sword and threw her body into the well.
After her death, Okiku returned as a vengeful ghost. Night after night, she rose from the well and entered the castle grounds, searching for the missing dish. She counted the plates aloud: “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.” After reaching nine, she let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed throughout the castle. Her haunting tormented Aoyama and robbed him of sleep. Those who heard her counting became gravely ill, while those who heard her count all the way to nine were said to die soon afterward.
Eventually, the lord of the castle summoned a priest to put an end to the haunting. The priest waited in the garden, chanting prayers until Okiku emerged from the well and began counting once more. When she reached nine, the priest shouted, “Ten!” Before she could scream, Okiku appeared relieved, believing that the missing dish had finally been found. From that night onward, her ghost no longer haunted the castle.
Sources
“Okiku.” Yokai.com: The Database of Japanese Folklore. https://yokai.com/okiku/