Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Plate Counter, Sara-kazoe
Category: Ghost
The Myth
Sara-kazoe is a ghostly yokai depicted as a woman emerging halfway from an old well, with flames issuing from her body as three plates rise into the air around her. Her terrifying appearance is associated with the tragic tale of a maid who was murdered after accidentally dropping one plate from a set of ten into a well. The woman had been entrusted with the precious plates, and the loss of even one brought terrible consequences upon her.
After her death, the maid’s ghost returned to the well every night. There, she counted the plates aloud, slowly numbering them from one to nine before breaking into a sorrowful cry, unable to reach the missing tenth plate. Her nightly lament became an eerie reminder of the injustice done to her, and her spirit remained bound to the well where her life had ended.
The legend of Sara-kazoe is associated with the famous Japanese ghost story of Okiku from Banshū Sarayashiki, the tale of the Plate Mansion of Banshu. The old well in Banshu is identified as the place connected with the haunting, where the murdered maid’s spirit continues to count the plates. Through her repeated cries and fiery apparition, Sara-kazoe embodies the suffering of a wronged woman whose death left her trapped in an endless cycle of grief.
Sources
“皿数え (Counting Plates).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1067140521.html