Great, so now we have to worry about a demon too
A magical Japanese boulder that has been supposedly been holding a demon for 1,000 years has suddenly cracked open, presumably releasing said demon into the world.
Sessho-seki – or ‘Killing Stone’ as its often called – is believed to contain a powerful demoness called Tamamo-no-Mae – but on March 5, the boulder cracked opened.
九尾の狐の伝説が残る、殺生石にひとりでやってきました。
縄でぐるっと巻かれた真ん中の大きな岩がそれ…
のはずなのですが、なんと岩は真っ二つに割れて、縄も外れていました。
漫画だったらまさに封印が解かれて九尾の狐に取り憑かれるパターンで、見てはいけないものを見てしまった気がします。 pic.twitter.com/wwkb0lGOM9
— Lillian (@Lily0727K) March 5, 2022
While the prevailing theory is “natural weathering”, Japanese mythology points to another conclusion.
Legend dictates that the stone is actually the corpse of Tamamo-no-Mae fashioned into a holding cell for her spirit. During Japan’s Edo period, which ran from 1603 to 1867, Tamamo-no-Mae is said to have possessed the concubine of King Zhou and bewitched him to create a reign of terror.
This led to the eventual rebellion that decimated the Shang Dynasty. She is then said to have journeyed to ancient India, where she repeated the process with crown prince Banzoku. Tamamo-no-Mae would repeat her pattern for some time until eventually arriving in Japan.
Here are some traditional depictions of the nine-tailed fox demoness Tamamo-no-Mae: pic.twitter.com/0L5qifniHu
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) March 6, 2022
Her next victim, Emperor Toba, found a lucky escape thanks to an astrologer who identified his mistress as a fox spirit, often referred to as Kitsune. Mythology suggests that Tamamo-no-Mae embedded herself in the rock as she attempted to flee the Emperor’s assassins Kazusa-no-suke and Miura-no-suke.
The stone was later nicknamed the ‘Killing Stone’ under the belief it continuously let out poison gas. Rumours say touching the stone is enough to kill you.
With the stone now open, many believe that Tamamo-no-Mae is now free.
Another theory suggests that the breaking of Sessho-seki is a bad omen for impending destruction. Great.
Related links:
- Mystery surrounding Tutankhamun’s ‘space dagger’ made of metal from a meteorite finally solved
- Giant’ killer’ crocodile discovered with baby dinosaur still in its stomach
- 2,000 year old skull held together by metal offers evidence of ancient surgery
