Himeji Castle - Okiku's Well
Himeji Castle is the largest castle in Japan and is allegedly the location for one of Japan’s most famous ghost stories.
A young, beautiful lady named Okiku was blamed for the loss of a plate - one from a set of ten, a valuable family treasure.
Okiku counted the plates again and again but could only find nine.
Okiku was suspended over a well on the castles grounds, beaten, lowered in and submerged to near drowning before being taken out again…. to have the torture repeated until she was eventually killed.
Her body was thrown into the well and then covered.
Okiku has since been seen to appear at the well, count to nine, then cry out in anger, fear and frustration before disappearing again.
It is said you can end Okiku’s suffering, but just for a while, if you say ‘ten’ after she counts to nine… the plates all accounted for she can rest peacefully… for a while until she next appears to repeat her task.
Okiku’s story has been turned into a number of famous plays and has formed the basis for many similar stories, as such you may hear a different telling at times but the poor girls fate is always the same, her life is ended at this well.
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Photos:
Left: Himeji Castle - By Corpse Reviver - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
Right: Okiku's Well - By I, KENPEI, CC BY-SA 3.0
