One visitor to Japan’s mythical “Sessho-Seki” stone found that the famous landmark had split in two, sparking an international conversation about the stone’s history and lore on social media.
The Sessho-Seki or “Killing Stone” as it’s translated in English, is a mythical stone which legend says will kill anyone who touches it. The stone is allegedly the transmuted corpse of Tamamo-no-Mae, an imperial courtesan from the 10th century who was rumored to be a nine-tailed fox in human guise.
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
Legend says that Tamamo-no-Mae was the cause of Emperor Toba’s failing health. When an astrologer divined the creature’s two identity, the Emperor sent two warriors to destroy her.
After the two warriors defeated Tamamo-no-Mae, it’s said that her body transformed into the Sessho-Seki and her curse would kill anyone who dared to lay their hands upon it.
More scientific methods have discerned that the area around the Sessho-Seki is prone to clouds of hydrogen sulfide gas settling low to the ground thanks to subterranean volcanic activity. These fatalities may have lent credibility to rumors of the cursed Sessho-Seki.
