Okiku is the tragic heroine from Bancho Sarayashiki, or The Dish Mansion at Bancho. In this well-known folktale, Okiku worked for a samurai. When she refused his advances, he plotted her downfall. He hid one of ten valuable family plates and tricked her into believing she had carelessly lost it. This act would usually result in the death of the servant, but the samurai offered her forgiveness if she gave into him. When Okiku refused again, he threw her down a well and to her death. Okiku's tragic ghost haunted the well and could be heard counting to nine and making a terrible shriek, representing the missing tenth plate.
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