Bancho Sarayashiki
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese ghost story
Kaidan
Kaidan is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 meaning “strange, mysterious, rare or bewitching apparition" and 談 meaning “talk” or “recited narrative.”-Overall meaning and usage:...

 of love separated by social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...

, broken trust and broken promises, leading to a dismal fate.

The story of Okiku and the Nine Plates is one of the most famous in Japanese folklore
Japanese folklore
The folklore of Japan is heavily influenced by both Shinto and Buddhism, the two primary religions in the country. It often involves humorous or bizarre characters and situations and also includes an assortment of supernatural beings, such as bodhisattva, kami , yōkai , yūrei ,...

, and continues to resonate with audiences today.

History

The story of Okiku is an old one, whose true origins are unknown; however, it first appeared under the title Bancho Sarayashiki in July 1741 at the Toyotakeza theater. The familiar ghost legend
Kaidan
Kaidan is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 meaning “strange, mysterious, rare or bewitching apparition" and 談 meaning “talk” or “recited narrative.”-Overall meaning and usage:...

 had been adapted into a ningyō jōruri
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...

production by Asada Iccho and Tamenaga Tarobei I. Like many successful puppet shows, a Kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

 version followed and in September 1824, Banchō Sarayashiki was staged at the Naka no Shibai
Naka no Shibai
Naka no Shibai , also known as Naka-za , was one of the major kabuki theatres in Osaka, Japan.-History:It was first built in 1652, in Osaka's Dotonbori entertainment district, and saw the premieres of many famous plays; closely related to the nearby jōruri theatres, Naka would often be the first to...

 theater starring Otani Tomoemon II and Arashi Koroku IV in the roles of Aoyama Daihachi and Okiku.

A one-act Kabuki version was created in 1850 by Segawa Joko III, under the title Minoriyoshi Kogane no Kikuzuki, which debuted at the Nakamura-za theater and starred Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII
Ichikawa Danjuro VIII
Ichikawa Danjuro VIII was a Japanese actor in the 19th century. He is known for his role as Prince Mitsuuji in the play Genji Moyo Furisode Hinagata. He played the role of Prince Mitsuuji in the first production in 1852...

 and Ichikawa Kodanji IV in the roles of Tetsuzan and Okiku. This one-act adaptation was not popular, and quickly folded, until it was revived in June 1971 at the Shimbashi Embujō theater, starring the popular combination of Kataoka Takao and Bando Tamasaburō V
Bando Tamasaburo V
is a Kabuki actor, and the most popular and celebrated onnagata currently on stage. He has also acted in a handful of films....

 in the roles of Tetsuzan and Okiku.

The most familiar and popular adaptation of Banchō Sarayashiki, written by Okamoto Kido, debuted in February 1916 at the Hongō-za theater, starring Ichikawa Sadanji II and Ichikawa Shōchō II in the roles of Lord Harima and Okiku. It was a modern version of the classic ghost story in which the horror tale was replaced by a deep psychological study of the two characters' motivations.

Another adaptation was made in 2002, in Story 4 of the Japanese television drama
Japanese television drama
, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...

 Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu .

Folk version

Once there was a beautiful servant named Okiku. She worked for the samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

 Aoyama Tessan. Okiku often refused his amorous advances, so he tricked her into believing that she had carelessly lost one of the family's ten precious delft
Delftware
Delftware, or Delft pottery, denotes blue and white pottery made in and around Delft in the Netherlands and the tin-glazed pottery made in the Netherlands from the 16th century....

  plates. Such a crime would normally result in her death. In a frenzy, she counted and recounted the nine plates many times. However, she could not find the tenth and went to Aoyama in guilty tears. The samurai offered to overlook the matter if she finally became his lover, but again she refused. Enraged, Aoyama threw her down a well to her death.

It is said that Okiku became a vengeful spirit who tormented her murderer by counting to nine and then making a terrible shriek to represent the missing tenth plate – or perhaps she was tormented herself and still trying to find the tenth plate but crying out in agony when she never could. In some versions of the story, this torment continued until an exorcist
Exorcist
In some religions an exorcist is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or other demons. A priest, a nun, a monk, a healer, a shaman or other specially prepared or instructed person can be an exorcist...

 or neighbor shouted "ten" in a loud voice at the end of her count. Her ghost, finally relieved that someone had found the plate for her, haunted the samurai no more.

Ningyō Jōruri version

Hosokawa Katsumoto, the lord of Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle
When the han feudal system was abolished in 1871, Himeji Castle was put up for auction. The castle was purchased by a Himeji resident for 23 Japanese yen...

, has fallen seriously ill. Katsumoto's heir, Tomonosuke, plans to give a set of 10 precious plates to the Shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

 to ensure his succession. However, chief retainer Asayama Tetsuzan plots to take over. Tomonosuke's retainer, Funase Sampei Taketsune is engaged to marry a lady in waiting
Lady in Waiting
Lady in Waiting is the 2nd album by American southern rock band Outlaws, released in 1976. -Track listing:#"Breaker-Breaker" – 2:59#"South Carolina" – 3:05#"Ain't So Bad" – 3:48...

, Okiku. Tetsuzan plans to force Okiku to help him murder Tomonosuke.

Tetsuzan, through the help of a spy, steals one of the 10 plates and summons Okiku to bring the box containing the plates to his chamber. There, he attempts to seduce Okiku. She refuses due to her love for Taketsune. Rejected, Tetsuzan then has Okiku count the plates to find only nine. He blames her for the theft and offers to lie for her if she will be his mistress. Okiku again refuses and Tetsuzan has her beaten with a wooden sword
Bokken
A bokken , "wood", and ken, "sword") , is a Japanese wooden sword used for training. It is usually the size and shape of a katana, but is sometimes shaped like other swords, such as the wakizashi and tantō...

.

Tetsuzan then has her suspended over a well and, erotically enjoying her torture, has her lowered into the well several times, beating her himself when she is raised. He demands that she become his lover and assist in the murder of Tomonosuke. She refuses again, whereupon Tetsuzan strikes her with his sword, sending her body into the well.

While wiping clean his sword, the sound of a voice counting plates comes from the well. Tetsuzan realizes that it is the ghost of Okiku but is entirely unmoved. The play ends with the ghost of Okiku rising from the well, Tetsuzan staring at her contemptuously.

Okamoto Kido version

In 1655, in Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

, a vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...

 of the Shogun Aoyama Harima has fallen in love with a young servant girl Okiku. Aoyama has promised to marry her, but has recently received an auspicious marriage proposal from an Aunt. Aoyama promises Okiku that he will honor their love, and refuse the proposal.

Okiku doubts, and tests him by breaking one of the 10 heirloom plates that are the treasure of the Aoyama household. The traditional punishment for breaking one of the plates is death, which is demanded by Aoyama's family.

At first, Aoyama is convinced that Okiku broke the plate by accident, and pardons her, but when Okiku reveals that she broke the plate as a love-test, Aoyama is enraged and kills her. He then throws her body down a well.

From then after, Okiku’s ghost
Yurei
are figures in Japanese folklore, analogous to Western legends of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, 幽 , meaning "faint" or "dim" and 霊 , meaning "soul" or "spirit." Alternative names include 亡霊 meaning ruined or departed spirit, 死霊 meaning dead spirit, or the more encompassing 妖怪 or お化け...

 is seen to enter the house and count the plates, one through nine. Encountering her in the garden, Aoyama sees that her ghostly face is not one of vengeance, but beauty and calm. Taking strength from this, he commits seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...

 and joins her in death.

Romantic Influence

Okamoto's version is notable for being a much more romantic adaptation of the story, similar to the Kabuki version of Botan Doro
Botan Doro
Botan Dōrō is a Japanese ghost story that is both romantic and horrific. It involves sex with the dead and the consequences of loving a ghost.It is sometimes known as Kaidan Botan Dōrō, based on the kabuki version of the story...

. This was an influence of the Meiji restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, which brought Western plays to Japan for the first time. Western plays were much more noticeable for romantic elements, and this was adapted into a style of theater known as Shin Kabuki. Shin Kabuki was ultimately an unsuccessful merger of East and West, although Okamoto's Bancho Sarayashiki remains as one of the few classics.

Okiku and Ukiyo-e

Like many Kabuki plays, Okiku was a popular subject matter for ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...

 artists. In 1830, Katsushika Hokusai included her as one of the kaidan
Kaidan
Kaidan is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 meaning “strange, mysterious, rare or bewitching apparition" and 談 meaning “talk” or “recited narrative.”-Overall meaning and usage:...

 in his One Hundred Tales (Hyaku monogatari) series. Ekin, a somewhat notorious artist who had troubles with the law, painted a Byobu-e of Okiku being accused by Tetsuzan Aoyama and his brother Chuta.

Most notably, she appeared as one of the New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. His portrayal of Okiku is unusually sympathetic, particularly as ghosts were viewed as fearsome apparitions by nineteenth-century Japanese, reflecting a general trend in his later work.

Influences on Japanese culture

In 1795, old wells in Japan suffered from an infestation of a type of worm that became known as the "Okiku bug" (Okiku mushi). This worm, covered with thin threads making it look as though it had been bound, was widely believed to be a reincarnation of Okiku.

The Ningyo Joruri version is set in Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle
When the han feudal system was abolished in 1871, Himeji Castle was put up for auction. The castle was purchased by a Himeji resident for 23 Japanese yen...

, a popular tourist attraction at the castle is Okiku-Ido, or Okiku's Well. Traditionally, this is where the hapless maid's body was thrown after being killed by Tetsuzan. Although the castle is closed at night, it is said that her ghost still rises nightly from the well, and counts to nine before shrieking and returning.

The NES
Nes
-Localities:In Norway:* Nes, Akershus, a municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway* Nes, Buskerud, a municipality in the county of Buskerud in Norway* Nes, Hedmark, a former municipality in the county of Hedmark in Norway...

 game Monster Party
Monster Party
is a video game for the NES, released in the U.S. in 1989 by Bandai. It was and remains a relatively obscure platform game for the console, having a small following among some players. The game follows a boy named Mark who is asked by a gargoyle/dragon-like alien named Bert to help rid his world,...

 features a boss named "The haunted well", a well who attacks by throwing plates at the player, a reference to the tale. But since the game was only released in the USA, many players did not understand the concept.

Manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 artist Rumiko Takahashi
Rumiko Takahashi
is a Japanese manga artist.Takahashi is one of the wealthiest individuals, and the most affluent manga artists in Japan. The manga she creates are popular worldwide, where they have been translated into a variety of languages...

 included a parody of the legend of Okiku in her romantic comedy Maison Ikkoku
Maison Ikkoku
is a Japanese seinen manga written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi and serialized in the manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from 1980 through 1987. Maison Ikkoku is a bitter-sweet comedic romance involving a group of madcap people who live in a boarding house in 1980s Tokyo...

, published in Big Comic Spirits magazine from 1980 to 1987; the series was later animated for Japanese television. It's the story of Godai, a hapless college student who woos and eventually wins his beautiful widowed landlady, Kyoko, often despite the antics of the other wacky residents of Ikkoku-kan, the boarding house run by Kyoko. As part of an Obon
Obón
Obón is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 75 inhabitants....

 event, the residents of Ikkoku-kan take part in a summer festival; Kyoko dresses up as Okiku and is supposed to hide in a shallow well. However, this being a romantic comedy, nothing goes as planned.

In the manga Gintama
Gintama
, also known as Gintama, is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi and serialized, beginning on December 8, 2003, in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump...

, there is a parody of this story when the Yorozuya trio assist a man in organizing a "test of courage."

In the Video Game We Love Katamari, there is a female ghost that occasionally pops up from a well in the town level.

See also

  • Botan Doro
    Botan Doro
    Botan Dōrō is a Japanese ghost story that is both romantic and horrific. It involves sex with the dead and the consequences of loving a ghost.It is sometimes known as Kaidan Botan Dōrō, based on the kabuki version of the story...

  • Yotsuya Kaidan
    Yotsuya Kaidan
    Yotsuya Kaidan , the story of Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon, is a tale of betrayal, murder and ghostly revenge. Arguably the most famous Japanese ghost story of all time, it has been adapted for film over 30 times, and continues to be an influence on Japanese horror today.Written in 1825 by Tsuruya Nanboku...

  • Kaidan
    Kaidan
    Kaidan is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 meaning “strange, mysterious, rare or bewitching apparition" and 談 meaning “talk” or “recited narrative.”-Overall meaning and usage:...

  • Onryō
  • Obake
    Obake
    and are a class of yōkai, preternatural creatures in Japanese folklore. Literally, the terms mean a thing that changes, referring to a state of transformation or shapeshifting....

  • Yurei
    Yurei
    are figures in Japanese folklore, analogous to Western legends of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, 幽 , meaning "faint" or "dim" and 霊 , meaning "soul" or "spirit." Alternative names include 亡霊 meaning ruined or departed spirit, 死霊 meaning dead spirit, or the more encompassing 妖怪 or お化け...

  • Japanese mythology
    Japanese mythology
    Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon comprises innumerable kami...

  • J-Horror
    J-Horror
    Japanese horror, or J-Horror, is Japanese horror fiction in popular culture, noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre in light of western treatments...


External links

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