Himeji Castle, Japan (folk tale)

Okiku's Well

Folklore — not a documented case

An old well inside Himeji Castle is said to belong to the ghost of Okiku, a servant who counts plates at night. It is presented as the setting of Banshū Sarayashiki, one of Japan's best-known ghost stories.

Sarayashiki ('The Plate Mansion') is one of Japan's most famous ghost stories and exists in several regional versions. The Banshū version from western Japan places the events at Himeji Castle in Hyōgo Prefecture, where a well still shown to visitors as 'Okiku's Well' (Okiku-ido) stands inside the grounds.

The stories in this section are folk tales and legends; they are not verified, real events and should not be confused with the rest of the archive.

From the same region