Remember December 2021? We sat there and said 2022 has to be better! Well seems like destiny had other plans. An ancient rock in Japan rumored to hold an evil spirit split in half all of a sudden. But what if the news that covered the incident had the wrong spin? What if this was not a bad omen but rather… a potential anti-hero?
The Famous Killing Stone
The legend of this ancient rock known as the Sessho-seki or “Killing Stone” goes back a long time. Legend says the stone will kill anyone who comes in contact with it. In fact, many believe the stone regularly spewed a poisonous gas that earned it it’s name.
Sessho- seki is rumored to house the spirit of an evil nine-tailed fox, who took the form of a beautiful woman named Tamamo-no-Mae.
Who was Tamano-no-Mae?
She became involved in a plot to overthrow Emperor Toba, who ruled as the 76th emperor of Japan. A warrior by the name of Miura-nosuke caught wind of the plan; however, and killed her before she could execute it. After Tamamo-no-Mae was defeated, her spirit is believed to have been trapped inside the Sessho-seki.
There are many versions of the legend behind Tamamo-no-Mae. In fact, she was rumored to have been the concubine of several emperors across Asia. From King Zhou and King You from China and King Kalmashapada from India she was described as having manipulated several kings into committing depraved acts.
Released After 1000 Years?
On March 5, a photo of the broken killing stone was shared by a Twitter user named “Lillian”. Lillian described arriving at the site alone before noticing the “rock was split in half and the rope was also detached.” She added: “I feel like I’ve seen something that shouldn’t be seen.”
The image created a buzz across social media on whether the spirit had actually escaped from the stone after being trapped for over 1,000 years.
Logical Explanations?
Many found reasonable explanations as to why the rock could have split in half. Local media explained cracks had appeared in the rock several years ago, possibly allowing rainwater to seep inside and weaken its structure. Moreover, each winter, water could have seeped into the crack, frozen, then expanded.
A Supernatural Theory?
Our preferred supernatural theory? What if this spirit, said to be behind so many atrocities wasn’t so black and white. In ancient Japan women were often depicted as the evil character set to destroy strong powerful men. What if Tamono-no-Mae was not an evil spirit set to destroy emperors and cause pain but rather a spirit set to bring back balance when men got too power hungry? Rather than chucking every evil act these emperors committed to the evil schemes of a women; what if this woman came to stop them rather than control them?
We couldn’t help but wonder on the timing. The rock broke on March 5th and the war between Ukraine and Russia started on February 24th, less than 10 days apart. We get coincidence but when thinking of this spirit as an entity focused on stopping power hungry men committing terrible acts, we can’t help but wonder. Who knows… perhaps Russia might be receiving an incredibly old, powerful tourist.
Lets us know… justice seeking spirit or bad omen?
