The actors Onoe Kikugorō V as the ghost of Okiku (above), Ichikawa Danjūrō IX as Aoyama Onoe, with Onoe Kikujirō V and Onoe Matsusuke as retainers (below) from the play The mansion of plates at Banchō (Banchō sarayashiki)

This image relates to the play 'The mansion of plates at Banchō' as it was performed in Tokyo in 1892. Printed on three sheets of paper, it depicts a ghost appearing before the samurai Aoyama Tessan and his attendants. There are many versions of the story in which, having had his advances rejected by the housemaid Okiku, Aoyama hides an imported Dutch plate and blames her for its loss. Shamed by the accusation, Okiku drowns herself and her distraught ghost returns each night to haunt Aoyama. He is eventually driven mad by her visits. Kunichika has dramatically captured the horror expressed by the men and the serpentine movement of the ghost.