Okiku

Okiku was an ubume, a female mourning ghost.

Uncovering a plot
Okiku was a maidservant of the Asako. She heard a group of samurai led by the Rikugunshokan Aoyama to kill the Asako Daimyo and lord of Kyuden Asako. She informed her samurai lover who informed the Daimyo. But the plot was foiled without directly implicating Aoyama and he was merely demoted.

Death
Aoyama schemed for months, and eventually involved Okiku with stoling a porcelain dish under Okiku's responsibility. Okiku fled when she discovered it was gone, as a guilty. She was caught by Aoyama's cronies, tortured to death, and her body was thrown into one of the castle wells, fouling it and making it unfit to drink from. Her body was soon found, and Aoyama convicted of her murder.

After Death
Okiku's spirit was strong and his voice could be heard every night near the well, counting the plates and looking for the missing one. A small shrine was built to honor Okiku near the well. Most of the Asako think of her a brave woman who sacrificed her life for her lord, and for this reason her spirit has never been driven from the castle. Many of the servants throw an occasional offering into Okiku's well.