Japanese Horror Stories
Okiku-san
Bancho Version: A Story of Jealousy, Cruelty, and Revenge (continued)
After crying in the darkness, Okiku went to wash Nanjing's treasure dishes one by one, but even so, she remembered the night that Mr. Shusen hugged her tightly. In that brief moment, a big cat slipped into the room and attempted to escape with the rest of the fish on the plate, jumping onto the plate itself. Panicked, Okiku tried to chase the cat away, but she dropped the plate she was holding onto the floor, breaking it into pieces.
the sound of broken plates
Okiku's face turned pale with fear. Worse, the incident was seen by the only person he did not want to see this incident.
"Kiku ... what have you done .. You fool!"
"Let'sah!"
Shusen beat Okiku as she spoke.
"Mr Shusen, please, I beg your forgiveness!"
The madam who was with him gave Okiku a cold look then spoke,
“He did a terrible thing. I think just taking this woman's life is not enough. You may have to cut yourself off as a form of apology, or this may be the cause of our household ties to the top-”
“I don't care about it! Right now, .. I can't stand this woman anymore. I told you how important the plates are, and yet you still broke your vows. How dare you! ”
more fist sounds
Shusen keeps hitting Okiku.
"Please.. Forgive me. I apologize. I have no reason.."
Okiku tried her best to speak while being beaten by Shusen.
"You terrible demon!" Shusen unsheathed his sword and waved it around Okiku's face. Okiku fell back while trying to protect her face with both hands. The sword injured Okiku's right wrist and cut off her middle finger.
"Yeahaaaaaa!"
"out! I don't want to see your face again!”
“A ha ha ha ha, Ah hahahahahaa” the mistress’ sinister daughter continued
Suddenly, Okiku felt sad, lonely, in pain and fear. He lost his sense of what was happening around him.
After Shusen left, Okiku did not treat her injured hand, and collected the pieces of the broken disk. All the other servants did not even lend a hand or help him, during and after the incident.
“It was very satisfying. Just go to hell like that. ”
Okiku started counting the remaining plates with her hand that had just lost her middle finger. And with that, the night is over
"One plate.. Two plates.. Three plates.. Four plates.. Five plates.."
"Oh well, he's lost his mind."
But Okiku kept counting the plates, dyeing the aspirin dishes with her blood.
"Six plates... seven, *crying* eight plates, nine.. My lord, there's one plate missing.. Lord Shusen!"
“I don't want it that way. Oume-san is terrible, and now even Okiku has become like that. I don't want to be in this house anymore! "
And just like that, at night, one of the servants gathered his belongings and slipped out of the residence. Then without anyone realizing it, Okiku also disappeared from her usual place near the plate.
A voice came from the well.
"What's that sound?"
Shusen woke up and walked towards the well. There, a faded blue spirit ball was seen.
"You're a demon."
Shusen took his sword and went to the well again, but the spirit ball disappeared.
"I see strange things? My wife! Where are you? ”
"I'm here, my lord."
"Can you check on Kiku?"
The hostess told her maid to look for Okiku. But wherever they searched, Okiku could not be found.
"We searched every nook and cranny in this manor, but we couldn't find it."
Hearing that, Shusen thinks that Okiku may have left the house, and feels relieved.
But the strange things have not stopped there.
Every night after he disappeared, the unnatural voice of a woman could be heard from the well.
"One plate ... two plates ... three plates ... four plates …"
"ah! The devil! I heard the voice of the devil! Somebody help me!"
"My lord! What makes you sick?”
“Hold! Look wells! There's someone in there!"
"... five plates ..."
"Ohhhhh!"
"... six plates .. seven plates .. eight plates .. nine plates"
“Uraaaaaaagh!”
"Sir, there's no one there!"
“That's impossible! Can't you see .. it ... A kiku? It's Kiku!”
"This is missing one plate ... Milord ... Tuanq ... MY MASTER!
“Argh! A fucking woman! The devil! ”
"What happened to you?" ask wife.
Shusen unsheathed his sword, "The horrible demonic woman!"
Woosh
"That's very dangerous, my lord!"
Woosh
"My lord, please calm down."
Woosh
"Argh, what a horrible woman!"
"It ... very .. dangerous ..."
Woosh
"Mrs ... Milord ... Shusen ..."
"How dare you!"
Shusen started swinging the sword wildly, intending to kill the apparition he saw.
But there is no Okiku, there is only his wife.
“Aaahhh!”
“Aah my wife!”
"Sir. ugh.. I'll haunt you.."
His wife falls into Shusen's arms, his vengeful gaze towards Shusen as his life fades. Shusen hurriedly pulled the sword out of his wife and started swinging it wildly. One by one, the servants and maids began packing up and quietly left the house, except for one. Oine goes to Shusen to speak his mind.
"Mr Shusen, Okiku is not in this world anymore, the mistress has just left us. I'm here willing to take care of your heart."
"Oine slowly approached Shusen, her face appearing before him."
“Ah, Milord, Milord! I love you! Lord Shusen! "
But when Shusen took a closer look at his right hand, he noticed the blood on his middle finger was gone. When he saw her face, it was Okiku with blood dripping from her mouth.
“Ahh! Help u! Stop this!"
"Sir .. I .. love ... you ... Mr. Shusen ..."
"Stop! Stay away from me!"
"Sir ... one plate ... There is one plate missing! Mr. Shusen.. ”.
"You! Kiku! The devil! Go!"
sound cuts
“Aaaagh! My lord! I will continue to haunt you! ”
“Wah! Aaaahhh! Uuuuh ... Okiku .. I'm sorry! Please forgive me ... It's my fault .. hahaha! Ahaha! Uhhuhuhuhaha! "
Shusen admitted his mistake and then started laughing madly. Whether it worked, or not, no one knows, but a council member Sakai Tadakuni happened to be passing Aoyama Manor. The Councilman entered the manor, then looked at the horrifying sight and spoke, saying,
“Officially, it is appropriate to establish this person as a criminal and send him to court. But it's too soft. It was better to let him live and be tormented by his own awareness of the crimes he committed than to end his suffering now. ”
After saying so, Sakai went to look into the well. There, Okiku looked back at Sakai, and nodded her head in silence.
Cover
According to Hatamoto, who worked under Sakai's Advisor, Aoyama "Harima no Kami" Shusen was fired from his job by the council and placed under house arrest at his relatives' residence. Aoyama's house, which has a long-term relationship with the upper classes, is cut off from all ties. Finally, Counselor Sakai begged for a meeting with a monk, Ryoyo Jonin, and asked, asking,
"I have a request for you, my friend."
"What's that?"
“Can you go to Aoyma Residence for me? Once you are there, of course you will know for yourself what to do.”
Ryoyo then went to Aoyama House immediately. There, he found two lifeless corpses of women, a garden full of cocoons on dry foliage, and a sad voice from a well.
"I can't find the right word..."
Ryoyo Jonin puts the two lifeless bodies in the correct position and begins to pray that they find peace in the afterlife. Then, Okiku emerged from the well and started counting the slabs with a sad and painful voice.
“"Huu.. one plate .. two plates... three pairings ... four piiiring …"
Blood flowed out from her injured lips, Okiku continued counting while looking at Ryoyo Jonin with a face moaning in pain. Once he reached the 'nine plates', he would say there was one missing, start crying, then start counting again from one. Observing him, Ryoyo Jonin collected the broken tenth plate, handed it over to the well and began to pray.
“Okiku-san, the tenth plate is here. This is right here. Please, find peace and rest.”
As she did so, Okiku smiled kindly and said.
"Oh... I'm happy!”
And then, the sighting of Okiku disappeared. Suddenly, the smell of musk surrounded the garden, and many cocoons turned into black butterflies and flew away together.
And that's how Okiku's ghost story ends.
To appease the spirits of all the other slain servants, Ryoyo Jonin built himself a temple somewhere. And he said that he would wait for their spirits ...
