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Banch Sarayashiki
Banch Sarayashiki ( The Dish Mansion at Banch) is a Japanese ghost story of love separated by social class, broken trust and broken promises, leading to a dismal fate. The story of Okiku and the Nine Plates is one of the most famous in Japanese folklore, and continues to resonate with audiences today.
History
The story of Okiku is an old one, whose true origins are unknown; however, it first appeared under the title Bancho Sarayashiki in July 1741 at the Toyotakeza theater. The familiar ghost legend had been adapted into a ningy jruri production by Asada Iccho and Tamenaga Tarobei I. Like many successful puppet shows, a Kabuki version followed and in September 1824, Banch Sarayashiki was staged at the Naka no Shibai theater starring Otani Tomoemon II and Arashi Koroku IV in the roles of Aoyama Daihachi and Okiku. A one-act Kabuki version was created in 1850 by Segawa Joko III, under the title Minoriyoshi Kogane no Yoshitoshi Tsukioka's portrait of Okiku. Kikuzuki, which debuted at the Nakamura-za theater and starred Ichikawa Danjr VIII and Ichikawa Kodanji IV in the roles of Tetsuzan and Okiku. This one-act adaptation was not popular, and quickly folded, until it was revived in June 1971 at the Shimbashi Embuj theater, starring the popular combination of Kataoka Takao and Bando Tamasabur V in the roles of Tetsuzan and Okiku. The most familiar and popular adaptation of Banch Sarayashiki, written by Okamoto Kido, debuted in February 1916 at the Hong-za theater, starring Ichikawa Sadanji II and Ichikawa Shch II in the roles of Lord Harima and Okiku. It was a modern version of the classic ghost story in which the horror tale was replaced by a deep psychological study of the two characters' motivations. Another adaptation was made in 2002, in Story 4 of the Japanese television drama Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu [1] .
Plot summary
Folk version
Once there was a beautiful servant named Okiku. She worked for the samurai Aoyama Tessan. Okiku often refused his amorous advances, so he tricked her into believing that she had carelessly lost one of the family's ten precious delft plates. Such a crime would normally result in her death. In a frenzy, she counted and recounted the nine plates many times. However, she could not find the tenth and went to Aoyama in guilty tears. The samurai offered to overlook the matter if she finally became his lover, but again she refused. Enraged, Aoyama threw her down a well to her death.
Banch Sarayashiki It is said that Okiku became a vengeful spirit who tormented her murderer by counting to nine and then making a terrible shriek to represent the missing tenth plate or perhaps she was tormented herself and still trying to find the tenth plate but crying out in agony when she never could. In some versions of the story, this torment continued until an exorcist or neighbor shouted "ten" in a loud voice at the end of her count. Her ghost, finally relieved that someone had found the plate for her, haunted the samurai no more.
Banch Sarayashiki
Romantic Influence Okamoto's version is notable for being a much more romantic adaptation of the story, similar to the Kabuki version of Botan Doro. This was an influence of the Meiji restoration, which brought Western plays to Japan for the first time. Western plays were much more noticeable for romantic elements, and this was adapted into a style of theater known as Shin Kabuki. Shin Kabuki was ultimately an unsuccessful merger of East and West, although Okamoto's Bancho Sarayashiki remains as one of the few classics.
Most notably, she appeared as one of the New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. His portrayal of Okiku is unusually sympathetic, particularly as ghosts were viewed as fearsome apparitions by nineteenth-century Japanese, reflecting a general trend in his later work.
Banch Sarayashiki
Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4]
References
Addiss, Steven, Japanese Ghosts and Demons, USA, GeorgeBraziller, Inc., 1986, ISBN 0-8076-1126-3 Araki, James T., Traditional Japanese Theater: An Anthology of Plays, USA, Columbia University Press, 1998 Iwasaka, Michiko, Ghosts and the Japanese: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends, USA, Utah State University Press 1994, ISBN 0-87421-179-4 Ross, Catrien, Supernatural and Mysterious Japan, Tokyo, Japan,Tuttle Publishing, 1996, ISBN 4-900737-37-2 "Banch Sarayashiki" (http://www.kabuki21.com/bancho.php). Kabuki21. Retrieved July 14, 2006. "Okiku" (http://www.angelfire.com/sk3/asianhorror/o.html). Asian Horror Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
External links
Kaidan Bancho sara yashiki (1957) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202946/) at the Internet Movie Database Bancho sara yashiki: okiku to harima (1954) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046747/) at the Internet Movie Database Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu (Story 4) (2002) (http://jdorama.com/drama.683.htm) at JDorama (http://www. jdorama.com/) The Japanese Ghost Story of Okiku at Artelino Art Auctions (http://www.artelino.com/articles/ ghost_story_okiku.asp) - contains details of many different versions of the story.
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported http:/ / creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by-sa/ 3. 0/