Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime horror anthology television series produced by Toei Animation.
The series is made up of three stories: "Yotsuya Ghost Story" (Yotsuya Kaidan), an adaptation of the classic Yotsuya Ghost Story kabuki play by Nanboku Tsuruya IV; "Goddess of the Dark Tower (Tenshu Monogatari)", based on the play by Kyōka Izumi; and "Goblin Cat (Bake Neko)", an original story by Kenji Nakamura and Michiko Yokote.
Plot
Yotsuya Kaidan
The story comprises four episodes, 1-4 (U.S. DVD release episodes 5-8). "Yotsuya Ghost Story" is a retelling of the Yotsuya Kaidan, written by the 18th century kabuki playwright Nanboku Tsuruya IV. In the anime, Nanboku himself becomes the narrator.
Iemon Tamiya is a callous ronin samurai who desires a beautiful woman named Oiwa but is denied permission by her father. One dark night, Iemon kills her father. By coincidence, it is the same night that a servant, Naosuke, who is in love with Oiwa's sister-in-law Osode, kills and disfigures who he believes is Satou Yomoshichi, Osode's fiancee. Iemon and Naosuke pose the bodies as if killed by bandits to allay suspicion. When the two bodies are discovered by Oiwa and Osode, the two men pretend to be surprised, and urge the two women that Oiwa should marry Iemon, while Osode should marry Naosuke, and convince them that the two men will take responsibility in exacting revenge on the "killers". Oiwa marries Iemon happily as they are in love while Osode is hesitant, but Naosuke suggests they be married in name only, and swears he will not consummate their marriage without her consent, to which she obliges.
Iemon marries Oiwa, but following the birth of their child, Oiwa takes ill and Iemon becomes tired of her and the burden of their poverty. In return for the promise of wealth and status, Iemon promises to marry Oume Ito, the granddaughter of the wealthy Kihei Ito, who is in love with Iemon. Because of her feelings for Iemon, she sends a medicine to Iemon's house claiming it is for Oiwa to help treat post-partum depression, when it is actually a toxin to permanently disfigure her face. Iemon, upon finding this out, is surprised but goes along with the scheme.
Iemon then orders his servant Takuetsu to rape Oiwa, so that they may divorce with his honor intact, and even goes so far as to suggest Takuetsu kills her if she becomes a problem, but when Oiwa discovers her husband's scheming plan, she dies accidentally from impalement while distraught. Iemon then kills a hapless servant and has his corpse, along with the dead Oiwa, nailed to a wooden panel which is tossed into the river to suggest they had been lovers attempting to elope. Iemon marries Oume as promised, but he is plagued by visions of Oiwa's vengeful spirit and kills his newlywed bride Oume on their wedding night. It is suggested that Oiwa laid a curse on the houses of Ito and Tamiya.
Meanwhile Oiwa’s sister-in-law Osode learns of Oiwa's death and agrees to consummate her marriage with Naosuke if he will take revenge for her. However, it is discovered that Satou Yomoshichi is still alive, and the one that Naosuke had killed was a body double (unknown to anyone since Naosuke had disfigured the corpse). Yomoshichi stumbles in on the couple whereupon Osode tricks the two men into killing her. Naosuke is given a note by the dying Osode, which reveals they share the same mother, meaning they are half-siblings by blood. Naosuke commits suicide in shame and as his dying wish, asks Yomoshichi to carry out Osode's wish for revenge on Iemon.
Iemon, up until this point, continues to see visions of Oiwa in her disfigured state, while those who caused Oiwa's misfortune die horrible deaths, including Kihei Ito and Iemon's parents. Iemon flees in desperation and is confronted by Satou Yomoshichi who finally kills him.
Nanboku Tsuruya then tells of misfortunes which have fallen on those who have staged the play, but maintains that is still just a story.
Characters and cast
Iemon Tamiya: An ambitious ronin samurai who desires Oiwa, but desires wealth and prestige even more. Oiwa Tamiya: A beautiful woman who is spurned and killed by her husband Iemon Tamiya. Osode Yotsuya: Oiwa's sister-in-law. Gonbei Naosuke: A servant who desires Osode and forces her to marry him, but later discovers she is his sister. Oume Ito: Beautiful and spoiled granddaughter of the wealthy and powerful Kihei Ito. Yomoshichi Sato: Suitor of Osode who thought that he had been killed by bandits.