Japan Anime

Ayakashi (Anime Review)

“Yotsuya Kaidan” is a retelling of the classic Japanese ghost story, written by the 18th century kabuki playwright Tsuruya Nanboku.

In the anime, Nanboku himself becomes the narrator. Tamiya Iemon is a ronin samurai who marries a beautiful woman named Oiwa. Oiwa is happy with her married life and the birth of their child, but Iemon feels the burden of their poverty.

In return for the promise of a job by a rich man, Iemon promises to marry the man’s daughter and conspires to murder his own wife. A servant is ordered by the rich man’s daughter to poison Oiwa’s food; the toxin permanently disfigures Oiwa’s face.

Iemon then orders his servant to kill her after having his way with her. Oiwa commits suicide after coming to know of Iemon’s treachery. The servant is also killed, and along with the dead Oiwa, is nailed to a piece of wooden board and tossed into the river.
Oiwa
Oiwa

After Oiwa’s death, Iemon marries the rich man’s daughter, as promised.

But Oiwa’s vengeful spirit could not rest in peace, and she lays a curse on everyone involved with her demise. One by one, Oiwa’s enemies die a horrible death, including the rich man and his daughter, and Iemon is plagued by visions of Oiwa’s ghost. The character designs for this arc were done by Yoshitaka Amano.

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