Okiku
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Okiku is a character in Japanese folklore. She is perhaps best known now for the kabuki play Bancho Sarayashiki, though there are several different versions of the story (which is sometimes called Kwaidan Okiku).
There are few themes that are universal to all the different variants of the story that are told in various parts of Japan, but they all involve the maid Okiku being abused (usually, other than in the kabuki version, killed) by her master, the samurai Tessan Aoyama, and her body being cast into a well.
The Ghost of Okiku at the Dish Mansion is one of the ukiyo-e woodblock prints in Yoshitoshi's series 36 Ghosts.
One of the tourist attractions at Himeji Castle is "Okiku's Well", believed by some to be the well depicted in the tale.
Okiku in modern popular culture
- It has been noted that the Okiku story may have provided inspiration for Koji Suzuki for the character of Sadako in his novel Ring, and so also for Hideo Nakata's film of the same name.
See also
External links
- [The Japanese Ghost Story of Okiku at Artelino Art Auctions] - contains details of many different versions of the story.
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