The history of Okiku has all those elements that make up the stories we always like to hear.Tradition, charm, tragedy and much of urban legend .a well-known story in that mystical Japan that we like to learn so much and that sometimes plays with the double face of terror and fantasy.
The story of the doll Okiku has all these ingredients in one same potion, on the same canvas that we invite you to meet next.
The haunted doll that does not stop growing hair
We are in the Japan of 1932. This is where this sad story begins: Kikuko is a girl suffering from a serious terminal illness.She spends much of the day in her room and in bed, watching the days pass between fevers and hopelessness.
Her brother, seeing her suffer, decides to go to Sapporo to give her a gift.He buys her the most beautiful doll she finds, she is dressed in a tr additional and his look has almost the same charm as his sister's.It's perfect. Kikuko is fascinated by the gift , takes the doll in her arms and no longer separates from it.Decide to call her Okiku.
In January 1933, the girl finally dies, leaving a family disconsolate that, even knowing that the little girl was not going to last for a long time, they cannot help suffering greatly her sad loss .Kikuko was cremated.Her parents decided to store their ashes in a glass urn and place them in a Shelf of the room next to her inseparable doll Okiku.Together in life and together after death.
Who knows if it was the parents themselves who induced this unique transfer.Since, as they say, the dolls are empty containers that, from time to time, house the soul of the deceased.Of people who after their death, still remain among us.And this is what apparently happened according to the family.Since a few months later they began to notice how Okiku doll's hair began to grow in an excessive way.
So they accepted that their child's soul was in the inside her and as such they acquired the ritual of cutting Okiku's hair every month.But World War II arrived and the family had to leave the house abruptly.They decided that the doll-and the soul of their daughter-should stay in a safe and holy place at the same time, a stage where her figure was respected. She was taken to the Mannenji temple in Japan .
Since then, the doll has gone from temple to temple until that today it is possible to visit it in the town of Hokkaido .There are thousands of tourists who visit it every year eager to see it in person, waiting to see with their own eyes as the doll's hair grows month by month, it is also said that sometimes it is possible to see some moisture in Okiku's eyes, as if he were crying.
The temple where Okiku is located is a a place of pilgrimage where a miracle works for many.For others it is nothing more than a montage.Be that as it may, it is impressive to see that hair grow from time to time, even reaching its waist.In turn, it is also curious name that the girl gave her doll: Okiku.
Okiku is a character from a traditional Japanese ghost story. In "The house of the plate in Bansho" we are told the story of a young maid who one day breaks one of the dishes of the dishes of his lord.Frightened, he decides to hide it.But finally he cannot with his conscience and explains what happened to his master's wife.
This one, full of anger over that plate of shattered porcelain, punishes Okiku by beating her and cutting her finger every day.In the end, the girl, dying, decides to throw herself into a well, where she dies.There where her ghost remains, her spirit filled with rage and I regret that it emerges every night to sing the following words: «One dish, two plates, three plates, four plates...», to then burst into tears.
Incredible legends that, as you can see, weave their fantastic mantle in these Japanese stories that we like to discover every day.
If you liked this story, also discover the woman who collects haunted dolls.
Image: ymonster
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