Banchō Sarayashiki

Tragic Japanese ghost story

Banchō Sarayashiki (番町皿屋敷) is a Japanese ghost story (kaidan) of broken trust and broken promises, leading to a dismal fate. Alternatively referred to as the Manor of the Dishes; 皿屋敷; sarayashiki tradition, all versions of the tale revolve around a servant, who dies unjustly and returns to haunt the living. Some versions take place in Harima Province (播磨国) or Banshū (播州), others in the Banchō (番町) area in Edo.

The story of the death of Okiku first appeared as a bunraku play called Banchō Sarayashiki in July 1741 at the Toyotakeza theater. The familiar ghost legend had been adapted into a ningyō jōruri production by Asada Iccho and Tamenaga Tarobei I. Like many successful bunraku shows, a kabuki version followed and in September 1824, Banchō Sarayashiki was staged at the Naka no Shibai 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 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 Shinbashi Enbujō theater, starring the popular combination of Kataoka Takao and Bando Tamasaburō V 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 psychological study of the two characters' motivations.

There was a beautiful dishwashing servant named Okiku who worked at Himeji Castle. Her master attempted to make her his lover but she rejected him each time. He grew impatient and wanted to trick her into becoming his, so he hid one of ten precious dishes that she was responsible for. When he called for her, he told her one of the plates was missing. In a frenzy, she counted and recounted the nine plates many times. The samurai offers to overlook the matter if she finally becomes his lover, but she rejects him again. Enraged, Aoyama has his servants beat her, tie her up and suspend her above a well. He tortures Okiku before again demanding that she marry him. Aoyama then slashes her with his sword and drops her body into the well.

Hosokawa Katsumoto, the lord of Himeji Castle, has fallen seriously ill. Katsumoto's heir, Tomonosuke, plans to give a set of 10 precious plates to the shōgun 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, 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. 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.

Set in Edo in 1655, a vassal of the Shogun, Harima Aoyama, has fallen in love with a young servant girl, Okiku. They have promised to marry, but Aoyama receives a marriage proposal through an aunt. In order to test Aoyama's intentions, Okiku breaks one of ten heirloom plates that passed through generations of his household. The traditional punishment for breaking such an heirloom was beheading. When Aoyama hears of the incident and is told that Okiku broke it on accident, he pardons her, and reaffirms his love for her. However, when she later confesses, Aoyama is enraged and breaks the remaining plates, kills her, and throws her down a well. From then after, Okiku's yūrei (ghost) 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 and joins her in death. Okamoto's version premiered in February 1916 at the in Bunkyō, Tokyo, starring and Shōchō Ichikawa II. The noted fiction writer Yūko Tsushima refers to the legend in her novel The Chrysanthemum Beetle (菊虫), where the main character, engaged in a romantic relationship coloured by jealousy, helps her friend clean insects from her flat. Her friend's daughter takes one to show to her father, but the insect disappears and her father tells her that it was probably a Chrysanthemum beetle that turned into a white butterfly. He then tells her of Okiku, a maid who put a needle on her master's (her lover) plate and was murdered as punishment, and whose vengeance lives on in the form of the beetle. Another adaptation was made in 2002, in Story 4 of the Japanese television drama Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu. Okiku and her legend also appear in Rin Chupeco's 2014 horror novel The Girl From the Well and its sequel, The Suffering. In this adaptation, Okiku is a vengeful spirit who punishes child murderers. The Ring is a horror film franchise featuring Sadako (or Samara). Sadako is a girl that died in a well and seeks revenge by making a haunted videotape and killing whoever views it. Her appearance and traits are based on the Okiku legend. Sadako is depicted as meeting Okiku in the manga series Sadako at the End of the World.