Japan: The servant girl Okiku is tied up and sropped in a well by a retainer of the samurai Aoyama, from the Himeji Castle version of the 'Ghost Story of Okiku', Utagawa Yoshitaki (1841-1899), 1871

One of the curiosities at Himeji Castle is Okiku's well. In the Himeji version, Okiku was a servant of Aoyama, a retainer who planned a plot against his lord. Okiku overheard the plot and reported it to her lover, a loyal warrior. The plot was averted.

When Aoyama found out that Okiku had been the cause for his failure, he decided to kill her. So he accused her of having stolen one of ten valuable dishes. She was tortured to death and thrown into the well.

All the variations of the ghost story of Okiku feature wrongful and cruel treatment of a poor servant girl. Her ghost is said still to haunt 'Okiku's Well' at Himeji Castle in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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