Before Hollywood gave us the seven-day death countdown, Japan had already been haunted for centuries by the story of Bancho Sarayashiki - a tragic ghost tale of betrayal, broken porcelain, and full-blown vengeful rage from the afterlife.

And it was all allegedly based on a real murder.
One that ended in a well.
With a woman who refused to stay dead.

👘 The Legend (with Bloodstains of Truth)

Her name was Okiku.
A servant girl in feudal Japan - young, beautiful, obedient, the usual tragic heroine starter pack.

She worked for a samurai named Aoyama Tessan, a man who was - surprise! - a manipulative, entitled bastard.
He wanted Okiku to be his mistress.
She said “hard pass, you crusty samurai” (okay not in those words, but spiritually, yes).
So, he did what all fragile men do when rejected:

He gaslit the sh*t out of her. 🔥

He blamed her for losing one of ten priceless heirloom plates in his household - a crime punishable by death.
She swore she didn’t break it.
He “gave her a choice”:

“Sleep with me... or die.”

Okiku chose her dignity.
And so, like the coward he was, Aoyama tortured her and threw her down a well.
She died at the bottom - bruised, broken, and betrayed.

But She Didn’t Stay Gone...

After her death, Aoyama started hearing things.
At night.
From the well.

A woman’s voice, counting plates.

“Ichi... ni... san... shi... go...”
(One... two... three... four... five...)

She’d count up to nine... and then SHRIEK in rage.
Because ten? The missing plate? It was never broken.
It was hidden - by HIM.
He set her up, and her ghost was gonna make damn sure he never slept again.

Locals swore they heard the voice too.
People said they saw her spirit crawling out of the well at night, soaking wet, hair covering her face.
And guess what?

The well STILL EXISTS.
At Himeji Castle.
You can visit it.
People still claim to hear the counting.
And if you don’t finish her count for her?

She’ll finish you. 🥀

🎥 So Where’s The Ring Connection?

Fast forward to the 1990s.
Japanese horror film “Ringu” becomes a smash hit.
Based on the novel by Koji Suzuki - which took heavy inspiration from the Okiku legend.
A wronged woman. A tragic death. A cursed videotape.
A well.

Hollywood adapts it as The Ring in 2002.
Enter Samara: The pale girl in white with long black hair, rage issues, and full possession of every CRT TV in America.

Okiku walked so Samara could crawl.
Literally.

🖤 Moral of this vengeful bedtime story?
Never mess with women.
Never gaslight a servant girl.
And for the love of all things sacred - don’t ignore the well in your yard if it starts counting.

Would you spend a night next to Okiku’s well?
Or would you fake your own death and move to another continent like a normal person?

Let’s hear it, you brave little plate-breakers.