Okiku and the Nine Plates is a story about the tragic suffering of a plate-counting, well-dwelling ghost called Okiku. It is a famous Japanese folktale that can be traced back to the Kabuki play, Banchō Sarayashiki (Broken Dishes at Banchō Mansion). There are many variants to the story of how Okiku’s tortured soul came to inhabit the bottom of a well. Following is the folklore version.
Yoshitoshi's The Ghost of Okiku at the Dish Mansion
As the tale goes, Okiku was a beautiful servant maid who worked for the samurai Tessan Aoyama. Aoyama attempted to seduce Okiku making amorous advances, which she rejected. In anger, he hid a precious ceramic plate that belonged to a treasured collection of ten heirloom plates. He then ordered Okiku to fetch the plates and count them in front of him. She counted only nine plates. Aoyama blamed the loss of the plate on Okiku however, as a concession, he offered to overlook the small matter of the missing heirloom if she relented and became his mistress. Okiku again refused and so an enraged Aoyama killed her, disposing her body down a well.
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