Sessho-seki

Sessho-seki in 2016

Sessho-seki in 2022

Sessho-seki in 2022

The Sessho-seki (殺生石, Sesshōseki), or "Killing Stone", is a stone in the volcanic mountains of Nasu in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, an area famous for sulphurous hot springs. In Japanese mythology the stone is said to kill anyone who comes into contact with it.

It was reported on March 5, 2022 that the stone had split into two roughly equal parts, likely as a result of natural weathering.

Legend

The stone is believed to be the transformed corpse of Tamamo-no-Mae, a beautiful woman who was exposed as a nine-tailed fox working for an evil daimyō plotting to kill Emperor Konoe and take his throne. According to the otogi-zōshi, when the nine-tailed fox was killed by the famous warrior Miura-no-suke, its body became the Sessho-seki. Later, a Buddhist priest called Genno stopped for a rest near the stone and was threatened by the spirit of Tamamo-no-Mae. Genno performed exorcism rituals and begged the spirit to consider her salvation. Tamamo-no-Mae relented and swore never to haunt the stone again.

In literature

There is a Noh play about the stone, attributed to Hiyoshi Sa'ami.

Matsuo Bashō visited the stone in the 17th century and tells of his visit in his book Oku no Hosomichi (Narrow Road to the Deep North).

Kido Okamoto's novel Tamamo-no-Mae (玉藻の前), which is based on the legend of the stone, was adapted as an anime film, Kyuubi no Kitsune to Tobimaru (Sesshouseki) (九尾の狐と飛丸(殺生石, 1967)).

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  Entrance of the area
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  Thousand Jizōs (stone statues of Kshitigarbha)
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  Picture by Toriyama Sekien
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  Picture by Yoshitoshi

References

• "Station 9 - Sesshoseki". Basho's World. Archived from the original on December 26, 2004. Retrieved February 23, 2006.
• "Tamamo-no-mae (Synopsis)". Enjoying Otogi Zoshi with the Help of Synopsis and Illustrations. Archived from the original on July 10, 2006. Retrieved February 22, 2006.