Japan's "Killing Stone" DEMON gets loose

Donny Meacham (popcrush.com, 3/9/22); CC Liu and Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

You thought Fukushima was bad? Ha! You ain't seen nothing yet, you dumb humans.

The kami are so bad, Shinto had to be invented.

Some Western legends are infamous, such as Bigfoot (Native American sasquatch) and the Loch Ness Monster (Scottish Nessy).

In Japan, one such legend is the "Killing Stone." The ancient rock, officially known as the Sesshoseki, has reportedly been split open, supposedly releasing an evil demon that has been trapped inside for almost 1,000 years, reports The Guardian.

According to Japanese folklore, the volcanic rock is home to a nine-tailed fox spirit (kami) said to have once taken the form of a beautiful woman named Tamamo-No-Mae as part of a "secret plot hatched by a feudal warlord to kill Emperor Toba, who reigned from 1107-1123."

After she was defeated, her spirit was sealed in the Sesshoseki — according to legend, of course.

Wisdom Quarterly on the kami of Japan and the indigenous Shinto priests who deal with them

Kitsune: nine-tailed fox spirit (Wikipedia)

A tourist hot spot, the rock is located in the mountains of Tochigi, near the capital Tokyo, which is infamous for its hot springs.

The giant hunk of cold lava is said to have split into two pieces in recent days, sparking concern for believers in the legend.

Some believe the rock [or the demon once sealed in it] will "kill anyone who comes into contact with it," while others believe the stone spews poisonous gas.

Lillian on Twitter: "九尾の狐の伝説が残る..." (t.co/wwkb0lGOM9/Twitter)

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After someone snapped a photo of the broken rock and shared it on social media, some users became worried about the damage the cursed rock might now cause.

"I feel like I've seen something that shouldn't be seen," one user commented on Twitter alongside a photo of the broken stone, while another commented:

"I thought 2022 couldn't get worse. Now a furious Japanese spirit is freed from its killing stone." More