Japan's Sesshoseki stone breaks into 2 parts, triggers speculations over nine-tailed fox

A volcanic rock in Japan believed to kill anyone who comes into contact with it, has split into two. Local and national government officials have decided to meet to discuss the fate of stone, The Guardian reported citing Shimotsuke Shimbun. According to the mythology related to the 'Sesshoseki' or 'killing stone,' the rock contains transformed remains of Tamamo-no-Mae, a beautiful woman who was involved in a plot to kill the Japanese emperor Toba. 

Reportedly, the real identity of the woman was a nine-tailed fox, whose spirit was contained in the hunk of lava which is located in Tochigi prefecture near the Japanese capital, Tokyo. The stone has reportedly split into two equal parts in the past few days and the incident has captured the attention of netizens, reported The Guardian. The locals who visited the spot raised concern as some of them even shared pictures of the stone on their social media handles. One Twitter user who visited Sesshoseki revealed that the rock was split in half and rope had also been detached. 

Stone split into two parts

The Twitter user who goes by the user name @Lily0727K tweeted, "I came alone to Sesshoseki, where the legend of the nine-tailed fox remains. The big rock in the middle wrapped around with a rope is that ...It was supposed to be, but the rock was split in half and the rope was also detached. If it's a manga, it's a pattern that the seal is broken and it's possessed by the nine-tailed fox, and I feel like I've seen something that shouldn't be seen." As per the news report, other people have expressed that the spirit of Tamamo-no-Mae had been resurrected after around 1000 years. Local media has reported that the cracks in the stone were visible several years back and it might have resulted in rainwater getting inside the rock which led to weakening the stone's structure. One of the tourism officials mentioned that he wanted the government to restore the Sessho-seki back to its original form.

Image: Twitter/@Lily0727K