Once upon a time in a certain village in Japan, there lived a woman named Okiku. She used to wash dishes at Himeji Castle. One of her master’s retainers, a samurai named Aoyama tried to seduce Okiku many times, but every time she rejected him. After some time, Aoyama became impatient and decided to trick her. Now, everyone knew that in the castle there were ten expensive dishes. Aoyama hid one of them, and then called for Okiku. He blamed Okiku for stealing the dish and asked her where it was. Okiku was scared. She counted the dishes, “One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine…” She counted them again and again. Each time, there were only nine dishes. She got worried. Thereupon, Aoyama said to her, “I will overlook your mistake and not tell the master about the missing dish only on one condition. You will have to become my mistress.” But still, Okiku refused him.
Okiku’s Ghost
Aoyama was very angry. He called his servant and ordered him to beat Okiku with a wooden sword. At last, Aoyama struck her with his sword and killed her. He, then, dropped her into the well. After a few days, people saw Okiku’s ghost wandering in the castle grounds. Every night, she rose from the well and entered into the castle to search for the missing dish. She counted the plates and made a lot of noise. This tormented Aoyama and he could not sleep. Finally, the master of the castle called a priest, and asked him to pray for her and release her spirit. That night, the priest sat in the garden and chanted sutras. Okiku’s ghost rose out of the well and started counting the dishes. The moment Okiku counted the ninth dish, the priest shouted out, “Ten!” Okiku’s ghost was calmed that someone had found the tenth dish. She never haunted the castle ever again.
