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?
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