Thursday, April 18, 2013

Japanese Legend, Banchō Sarayashiki, Okiku and the Plates

English


Banchō Sarayashiki, Okiku and the Plates
There once was a beautiful girl by the name of Okiku. Okiku worked as a servant girl, either in Himeji Castle or in the household of a samurai. Her lord was a rather hotheaded man, prone to violent tendencies. 
He was also deeply in love with her. Often, he would make lewd advances on Okiku, but she did not return his feelings at all. Time after time, she would brush aside his propositions, and refused to marry him, let alone sleep with him. It was then that he came up with a plan to force Okiku to be with him.
One day, Okiku was left in charge of the residence's ten precious plates. Each one was a priceless treasure, and treated with the utmost care. It was Okiku's job to carefully count and wrap each plate, placing them one by one in a lacquered box, and to carefully transport the set back for safekeeping. After Okiku finished this, she went back into the main house to continue her work.
It was then that the lord stole into the room, and opened up one of the boxes containing the ten treasured plates. He slipped one out from the center, closed and tied the box back carefully, and took the plate back into his bedchamber, where he hid it there. Several days later, when the plates were to be brought back out, it was discovered that one was missing. Okiku, as the last serving girl to have handled them, was called forth. A serving maid told her the situation, one of the plates was gone.
To break or lose one of these plates was no trivial matter. If held responsible, Okiku's punishment would be death. Hysterical, Okiku ran into the storage room and opened the boxes wide, running her hands over each plate.
"One... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight... nine...  Nine! One, two, three, four, five six, seven, eight, nine... it can't be!" Okiku cried, counting them over and over again.  Just nine plates were found. Okiku had no choice but to go to her lord. Still crying, and almost unable to hold herself upright, she told him that one of the plates was missing, and she was to blame as the last girl to put them away.
The lord explained the grave situation to her. The punishment was death. Okiku faltered, nodding in terrified silence. It was then that the lord spoke to her reassuringly. He would make the entire nasty situation go away, without another word. She only had to become his lover.
While Okiku was shocked, she remained as calm as she could. Once more, she refused. The lord flew into a rage. He killed Okiku himself with his sword, and had her body thrown down a well.
Now it was that something strange happened at the bottom of that well. As he wiped the blood off of his sword, he heard a very odd thing. Water dripping, gently moving far away, and an echoing voice that rose from the depths, at once beautifully soft yet also full of malice.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three..."
"Four..."
"Five..."
"Six..."
"Seven..."
"Eight..."
"Nine..."
There was a pause. Silence. Suddenly! Was it from the bottom of the well? It pierced through his ribcage, it bounced around his head, and it resonated throughout his entire being. A terrifying shriek sounded out in place of "Ten." There was no ten, just the screaming.
He turned. Rising from the well, a wraith, an onryō. Yes, the vengeful spirit of a woman, passive and helpless in life, violent in death, turning herself into a ghost seeking revenge. Okiku rose from the darkness, and she looked into his eyes, which were full of fear. 
"One... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight... nine..." The End.

Indonesia 

Bancho Sarayashiki, Okiku dan Piring Berharga
Dulu ada seorang gadis cantik bernama Okiku. Okiku bekerja sebagai seorang pelayan di Kastil Himeji dan di rumah seorang samurai. Majikannya seorang yang agak pemarah, dan cenderung bertindak dengan kekerasan.
Majikannya juga sangat mencintai Okiku. Seringkali, ia mendekati Okiku, tapi Okiku tidak membalas perasaannya sama sekali. Berulang kali, Okiku mengabaikkan kehadirannya, serta menolak untuk menikahinya, apalagi tidur bersamanya. Demikianlah majikannya merancang sebuah rencana agar Okiku mau mengawininya.
Suatu hari, Okiku ditugasi untuk menjaga sepuluh piring berharga milik warga. Piring-piring itu tak ternilai harganya, dan harus dirawat dengan hati-hati. Merupakan pekerjaan Okiku untuk menghitung dengan hati-hati dan membungkus setiap piring, menempatkannya satu per satu di dalam kotak pernis, dan dengan hati-hati mengangkut tumpukan itu untuk diamankan. Setelah Okiku selesai, ia kembali ke rumah utama untuk melanjutkan pekerjaannya.
Saat itulah majikkannya diam-diam masuk ke dalam ruangan penyimpanan piring, dan membuka salah satu kotak yang berisi sepuluh piring berharga. Dia mengambil satu piring dari dalam kotak, lalu menutup dan mengikat kembali kotak itu dengan perlahan, lalu piring itu dibawa ke dalam kamar tidurnya untuk disembunyikan. Beberapa hari kemudian, ketika piring-piring  itu hendak dikeluarkan kembali, disadarilah bahwa ada satu yang hilang. Okiku, sebagai pelayan yang mengurusi piring-piring tersebut lalu dipanggil. Salah seorang pelayan menceritakan Okiku tentang situasi tersebut bahwa salah satu piring sudah hilang.
Memecahkan atau mehilangkan salah satu piring bukanlah masalah sepele. Jika harus bertanggung jawab, hukuman bagi Okiku adalah kematian. Karena ketakutan, Okiku berlari ke ruang penyimpanan dan membuka kotak piring dengan lebar, lalu memeriksa jumlah piring.
"Satu ... dua ... tiga ... empat ... lima ... enam ... tujuh ... delapan ... sembilan ... Sembilan Satu, dua, tiga, empat, lima, enam!, tujuh, delapan, sembilan ... tidak mungkin!" Okiku menangis, menghitung piring-piring itu berulang-ulang. Hanya sembilan piring yang ditemukan. Okiku tidak punya pilihan selain meminta bantuan pada majikannya. Dengan tangisan, dan tak sanggup menegakkan tubuhnya, ia menceritakan majikannya bahwa salah satu piring hilang, dan dia disalahkan karena dia pelayan terakhir yang mengurus piring-piring tersebut.
Majikannya menjelaskan situasi yang gawat kepadanya. Hukumannya adalah kematian. Okiku tersendat, mengangguk dalam diam ketakutannya. Saat itulah sang majikkan mencoba meyakinkannya. Dia akan membalikkan situasi tersebut, tanpa berbasa-basi. Okiku hanya harus menjadi kekasihnya. Sementara Okiku terkejut, dia masih diam seperti tadi. Namun sekali lagi, dia menolak. Sang majikan menjadi murka. Dia membunuh Okiku dengan pedangnya sendiri, lalu melemparkan tubuhnya ke dalam sumur. Demikianlah sesuatu yang aneh terjadi di dasar sumur itu. Saat sang majikan menyeka darah dari pedangnya, dia mendengar hal yang sangat aneh. Air menetes, lembut mengalir jauh, dan suara bergema terdengar dari kedalaman sumur, suara yang merdu namun penuh kedengkian.
"Satu..."
"Dua..."
"Tiga..."
"Empat..."
"Lima..."
"Enam..."
"Tujuh..."
"Delapan..."
"Sembilan..."
Ada jeda. Keheningan. Tiba-tiba! Apakah itu dari dasar sumur? Suara itu menembus tulang rusuk, terpental sekitar kepala, dan bergaung sepanjang seluruh tubuh sang majikan. Sebuah jeritan mengerikan terdengar di tempat itu "Sepuluh." Tak ada sepuluh, hanya teriakan. Sang majikan menengok kebelakang. Muncullah dari dalam sumur, sesosok hantu, hantu onryō. Ya, arwah pendendam seorang wanita, pasif dan tak berdaya dalam hidupnya, mati dengan kekerasan, Okiku berubah menjadi hantu penuh dendam. Okiku bangkit dari kegelapan, dan dia menatap mata majikannya, yang penuh dengan ketakutan.
"Satu ... dua ... tiga ... empat ... lima ... enam ... tujuh ... delapan ... sembilan ..." Tamat.
 

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