According to mythology, the famous piece of volcanic rock, called the Sessho-seki, contains the transformed corpse of Tamamo-no-Mae, a beautiful woman whose true identity was said to have been an evil nine-tailed fox.
In what has sent superstitious believers into a state of panic, an ancient Japanese stone, which is said to house an evil demon that comes into contact with it, has split into two. Visitors at Tokyo's Tochigi region were set for a shock over the weekend when they found the 'killing stone' separated into two roughly similar sized parts.
According to Japanese mythology, the popular piece of volcanic rock, known as the Sessho-seki, reportedly houses the spirit of a nine-tailed fox, who took the form of a beautiful woman named Tamamo-no-Mae. Legend has it that Tamamo-no-Mae was part of a plot to kill Emperor Toba, who ruled Japan from 1107 to 1123.
The spirit was then believed to have been trapped into the stone, where it would kill anyone who came into contact with it. Located near volcanic mountains in Nasu, the stone was registered as a historical site in 1957, according to The Guardian.
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
Local media reported that the stone is likely to have split in half after rainwater seeped into cracks that first appeared several years ago, causing it to break.
The Shimotsuke Shimbun newspaper reported that local and national government officials will now decide what happens to the stone. One official says he would like it returned to its original form.
However, after tourists found the 'killing stone' split in two, it has sent a wave of horror and panic among netizens, with several believers stating that the evil spirit may have been resurrected, releasing poisonous gas.
"I feel like I've seen something that shouldn't be seen," said one tourist who tweeted about the same.
Another feared the release of an evil demon was just the latest horror of 2022, while one user joked that the spirit would want to spend another millennium stuck inside the rock after looking at the current state of the world.
Here's a look at some of the reactions:
So the Sessho-seki shattered, huh? pic.twitter.com/RrNl3BZ8lJ
— Shio (@RenShioZone)tamamo-no-mae escaping from the sessho-seki and seeing the world for the first time in a thousand years only to discover that everyone thinks shes hot now pic.twitter.com/xX37MsfR0H
— Flamin' Hot Thin Mints (@mistiwyshak)My friend: How’s 2022 going?
Me: Oh, the Sessho-seki, or “Killing Stone,” that houses the evil nine-tailed fox demoness known as Tamamo-no-Mae has split in half, so it’s on the loose now. https://t.co/xtw1fwSdte
Everyone's talking about how sesshō seki split yesterday, and wondering it that means Tamamo no Mae is back. But let's not forget it was smashed once long ago, scattering pieces of her all across Japan, giving rise to osaki → https://t.co/AF1cAFAB1n pic.twitter.com/QHAijDLuzC
— The Yokai Guy (@matthewmeyerart)"Sessho-seki" means the "killing stone."
Supposedly, the evil power of the fox demoness Tamamo-no-Mae was so strong that the stone would kill anyone who touched it.
leaked footage of Tamamo escaping the sessho-seki pic.twitter.com/8KNZqmtUIi
— Meemoo ミームー (@TamamoNoMemoo)The "transformed" rock of Tamamo No Mae's corpse, Sessho-seki, got shattered...
Does that mean Tamamo has been revivedー https://t.co/myCZU5wEsQ
Shoutout to the universe for writing the first 10 min of my fox spirits lecture. Ominous kitsune-mask shaped cloud over Mt. Fuji immediately preceding the recent discovery that the Sessho-seki 殺生石 containing a 1000 yr old demonic nine-tailed fox had mysteriously split in half. pic.twitter.com/E4Bua6cc9z
— chris elford (@siegeweather)Supposedly this rock, Sessho-seki, imprisoned Tanamo-no-Mae, a 9-tailed fox demon, for 1000 years. She goes after evil kings & emperors (or installed presidents & dictators?), destroying them & their legacies. Maybe she broke free to take care of our Putin & TFG problem. LMAO! https://t.co/Xeyjj00Qfz
— Yennefer Astartiel of Vengerberg✵🩸🍷🍫🌿🌻🇺🇦☮🌊 (@Astartiel)So apparently the Sessho-seki, the stone that was the corpse of Tamamo-no-Mae the nine-tailed fox, is now completely shattered. 2022 curses off to a HOT start and it's just march LET'S GOOOO pic.twitter.com/7kZecPqGov
— Zartemis (@Zartislost)People thinking it’s a good thing the Sessho-Seki broke and now there’s a fox waifu need to remember that Tamamo-no-Mae wasn’t just a pretty face; she was the baddest bitch in legendary Japan. She is a warmongering manipulator and the last thing we need is one of those.
— Voyd (@Voyd_the_Cat)Noooooo! Sesshoseki (殺生石), aka “Killing stone” in Nasu, Tochigi, Japan is broken! Ominous! Very ominous! There is a legend of “Tamamo-no-Mae (玉藻前)” in Japan, and it is said that “A terrible calamity that we’ve never experienced is coming when Sesshoseki is broken”. 😱 https://t.co/KNBoUAxquW
— 真緒りん(Maorin) (@maorinlemon789)apparently the sessho-seki killing stone has cracked which can only mean two things
-theres an evil fox spirit out to destroy humanity
-fox girls will be real this year
the sessho-seki cracking open and releasing the nine-tailed demoness within mere hours of all elite wrestling's ppv revolution can mean only one thing. pic.twitter.com/1swBTd26KC
— dio brando's head blood (@suspiciouslyjo)Like half a dozen people have all DMed or pinged me about the sessho-seki breaking and the fox demon being freed, and I am laughing a lot. Good to know my brand has become this well-known.
Also, the return of a vengeful ghost fox girl can only be an improvement for 2022.
A visitor to the Sessho-seki, in Nasu, Japan, famously a rock that imprisoned Tamamo-no-Mae, the most famous 9-tailed fox demon, found it broken in half. When she checked recent photos it was still sealed.
I played with the myth in my first novel, Edinburgh, but not like this. https://t.co/TBMiRIr24c
First a structure is found inside the moon, now Sessho-seki broke and Tamamo might be out.
We really are in the Fate/Extraverse. pic.twitter.com/ywe370eqNq
Of course the Sessho-seki fucking breaks a couple of months before I can visit it....... pic.twitter.com/TSjBLkkxIJ
— ネウロ⏳🐙⚖️🦇🐏🦋 (@KanekiNeuro)