Okiku Japanese Haunted Doll

Okiku

Ghost Story of the Japanese Haunted Doll

The Haunted Japanese Doll Okiku is being told to be possessed by the Spirit of a 10 year old girl who took refuge inside the doll.  Sometime after the hair of the doll began to grow.  Although the doll's hair is regularly cut,  the hair will grow again! Again! Again!.  A mysterious by the spirit of the child has captured the curiosity of the people of Japan of decades.  The legend of the Okiku Doll , named after the girl who used to play with it.  The doll is a 16 inch tall kimono-clad figure with beady black eyes ~ and hair that grow creepy eh!. The Okiku Doll has resided at the Mannenji Temple, in the town of Iwamizawa since 1938. It is said according to the temple,  the traditional doll had short-cropped hair, but,over time it has grown about  10 inches long, down to the dolls knee's.  Although the hair of the Okiku Doll is trimmed regularly, it keeps growing back. It is said the doll was bought 1918 by a 17 year old by boy.  His name was Eikichi Suzuki, while visiting Sapporo for a marine exhibition.  He bought the doll on Tanuki-koji ~ Sapporo's famous shopping streets in 1918,  as a souvenir for his 2year old sister Okiku. Are you Cheeped out Yet! The young girl loved the doll that her brother had gotten for her and  she played with it everyday, but the following year the little girl suddenly  died of a simple cold. The family place the doll in the household altar and prayed  to it everyday in memory of their daughter Okiku. Sometime later.... The family notice the hair started to grow.  This was seen as a sign that the child's restless spirit had taken refuge in the doll. The doll was originally was purchased 1918 a Young man named Eikichi Suzuki  while visiting Sapporo at a marine exhibition shopping in the  famous shopping streets. He saw his beautiful Japanese Doll that he thought  is little sister would love named Okiku. So he bought the souvenir for his 2year old  sister and she did indeed love the doll and played with it every day. Till dread came to their family a year later.  The young girl just one year later at age 3years died of just a simply cold and fever.  At the funeral of the child they wanted to put the doll in the coffin, but somehow they forgot. So the girls family decided to put the doll  in the household altar and pray to the doll in memory of the child Okiku.  Then sometime later... the dolls hair started to grow! According to what they say in the story the child spirit took refuge in the doll. In 1938 the family moved Shakalin, Suzuki doll Okiku Mannenji finally in a temple  in Hokkaido According to the priest of the Temple, a traditional Japanese doll  is always short-crop hair... He also confirmed that the dolls hair  continues to grow on Okiku – although it is cut and hold on a regular basis,  but the hair still grows.  According to the temple in grows about 10 inches at a time which  is to the dolls knees. And it then is always cut again. This is just one Verizon of the haunted legend of the Japanese doll Okiku.  There are others but thought this was interesting... Happy Halloween.  Wendy  While  the Okiku within the doll legend, was purportedly given the doll in the  early 1900 's and then died of a simple cold,  The name Okiku  is seen in Japanese Ghost tales going much farther back in time.  Perhaps it is just a coincidence or perhaps it is just a woven tale using the famous  name Okiku' from the past tales to gain more attention? The ghost story of  Okiku, an unfortunate servant maid, is one of the best know  and was transformed into Kabuki play and numerous  novels. BANCHO SARAYASHIKI- In the Kabuki play, Bancho Sarayashiki,  Okiku is a maid at the mansion of the Japanese Samurai Tessan Aoyama.  The Samurai wants to seduce the cute girl but she rejects his advances.  Aoyama uses a trick. He hides one of ten valuable Dutch plates and  threatens OKIKU  to make public that she had stolen the plate unless she agrees  to become his mistress. The Samuri  wanted to sebecome his mistress.  In her desperation, OKIKU  throws herself into the well and drowns.  OKIKU'S GHOST comes out every night counting from one to nine and  then breaks out into a terrible howling and  sobbing . Finally Aoyama goes insane by the daily appartions at night.  The Himeji Castle One other version is that of the Himeji Castle- In this tale of the  Okiku, OKIKU WAS A SERVANT OF AOYAMA, A RETAINER WHO PLANNED A PLOT AGAINST HIS LORD. OKIKU OVERHEARD THE PLOT AND  REPORTED IT HER LOVER, A LOYAL WARRIOR. THE PLOT WAS AVERTED,  WHEN AOYAMA FOUND OUT THAT OKIKU HAD BEEN THE  CAUSE FOR HIS FAILURE, HE DECIDED TO KILL HER.  SO HE ACCUSED HER OF STOLEN ONE OF TEN VALUABLE DISHES. SHE WAS INNOCENCE BUT WAS TORTURED TO DEATH AND THROWN  INTO  THE WELL.  OKIKU'S WELL ON HIMEJI CASTLE IS IN COMPETITION WITH ANOTHER  LOCATION OF THE WELL, THE GARDEN OF THE CANADIAN EMBASSY  IN TOKYO- THIS ESTABLISHED ON LAND WHICH HELPED THE  AOYAMA FAMILY ESTABLISHED ON THE LAND  BOUGHT FROM THE FAMILY.  From reading this story its seems that are many different versions and locations  of  this haunting tale and after going thru a few of them it has come clear to me!  that many of the ghost stories of Okiku have been extremely  wrongful and cruel to the true one little girl named Okiku  who loved her  doll that her older brother gave to her as a gift .  And it was a tragedy  that the 2year old died  just year later. But you the readers I now give this  question to you. What do you think about the Okiku Doll?