Most people would agree that dolls are creepy. They are intended to be nothing more than a child’s plaything, and yet, they terrify adults. Perhaps that’s because of dolls like Okiku, who grows human hair.
In the year 1918, seventeen year old Eikichi Suzuki from Hokkaido bought a doll for his two year old little sister, Okiku, while visiting Sapporo. The doll was porcelain, about 16 inches tall and wore a traditional Japanese kimono. She had black eyes and black hair, cut in the traditional “okappa head” style, with bangs that were straight down and cut above the eyebrows, and the back and sides cut in a blunt line about neck-length. Okiku loved the doll so very much that she named it Okiku, after herself. She took it everywhere with her, and slept with it every night.
A year later, at the age of three, Okiku became very ill as an influenza outbreak swept through the area. Unfortunately, she succumbed to her illness quickly, leaving her family behind.
Overcome with grief, the family took Okiku’s doll and placed her in a small shrine for remembrance. They started praying to the doll, and that’s when things took an unexpected turn. They noticed that the dolls hair, which had been cropped at about the jawline, was now noticeably longer, and somewhat unkempt around the ends. They believed the spirit of their daughter had possessed the doll.
As the dolls hair grew longer and longer, they would have to cut it.
In 1938, the family decided it was time to leave Hokkaido, however they did not feel they should take their daughter’s doll with them. They approached the monks at Mannenji Temple in the town of Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, Japan. They explained the special circumstances that surrounded Okiku to the priest of the temple, and despite the unusual qualities the doll possessed, he agreed to accept it.
A strand of hair was taken from the doll and taken for scientific examination. The test showed that the doll’s hair is in fact, that of a human child. Since then, Okiku has been housed in a modest wooden box where she remains to this day. Her hair still grows, and haircuts have become a regular task at the temple. A shrine has grown up around her, with pictures of her with differing lengths of hair on display.
Okiku has become famous throughout Japan, with her story being adapted into books, movies, and even traditional Kabuki plays. For anyone who wishes to visit Okiku, you can travel to the Mannenji temple, where she stands in her box, staring out at all who come to see her.
Looking for another story from Japan? Check this one out.
