Hey there, Side Doorables. This Valentine's Day, we're bringing you a different take on love.

If you have a blanket handy, you might want to snuggle up under it. Not to get all cozy and

romantical, but because this episode gets a little scary with gory scenes and adult themes.

So if you're listening with children, you might want to save this one for later.

This is Side Door, a podcast from the Smithsonian with support from PRX.

I'm Lizzy Peabody. A long time ago, in Edo Japan, there lived a young woman called Okiku.

She's a maidservant in the household of a wealthy samurai.

Telling this story is Kit Brooks, the Japan Foundation assistant curator of Japanese art at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art.

And this samurai is enamined of her and very much wants to sleep with her.

She does not reciprocate this in any way whatsoever.

But the samurai doesn't take no for an answer.

He puts more and more pressure on her,

but Okeaku still refuses him.

And in his household, there is a family air loom,

which is this set of 10 blue and white Dutch plates,

which is a very, very valuable item in the household. and he takes one of the plates and hides it and he

says that he will blame Okeku for it and says if you don't sleep with me I'm going to tell

everybody that you stole this plate.

For Okeku, this means her reputation would be completely destroyed.

She'd be fired and no one would want to hire her again.

So Okeku is just so distraught she doesn't know what to do.

So in her despair she throws herself down a well on the property and dies.

...