According to one version of the popular story, a samurai named Tessan (or Aoyama, in other versions) used to live in Himeji Castle, where he pined after his servant Okiku. Unfortunately for both parties, Okiku did not feel the same way. However, this did not deter Tessan, who soon conceived a plan to win Okiku’s love using the age-old trick of extortion. Specifically, Tessan aimed to steal a golden plate from the castle and then blame Okiku; however, he would return it if Okiku responded to his overtures.
Okiku, for her part, was having none of this, and preferred to be fatally thrown down the castle’s well rather than spend any time with Tessan. And just in case Tessan couldn’t take the hint, Okiku also continued to haunt Tessan from the afterlife and make his life a waking nightmare. As Tessan and other visitors later recounted, Okiku would often crawl out of the castle’s well and creep out castle-dwellers with her pale face and long, wet hair. Sound familiar?
Sure enough, Okiku’s well rests outside of Himeji Castle to this day. And while Okiku can still allegedly be heard at the bottom, counting her gold plates, she can no longer escape: The well has been sealed shut.
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