The Killing Stone of Nasu: Tamamo-no-Mae's Deadly Legacy
- Re.JapBook
- Feb 3
- 1 min read
From Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's "New Forms of Thirty-six Ghosts" Series
The Beautiful Deceiver
This haunting print depicts the legend of Tamamo-no-Mae, a nine-tailed fox who took the form of a breathtakingly beautiful woman to infiltrate the imperial court of Retired Emperor Toba. Her true nature was eventually exposed by court diviners, forcing her to flee the capital.
The Fatal Transformation
Pursued by imperial forces to the Nasu Plains (in present-day Tochigi Prefecture), the fox spirit was finally cornered and defeated. In her final act, she transformed herself into a stone—the infamous Sessho-seki (Killing Stone)—which continued to emit deadly poisonous vapors, killing any living creature that approached too closely.
The Spiritual Resolution
A century later, as depicted in Yoshitoshi's print, Tamamo-no-Mae's spirit emerged from the stone. The deadly stone would eventually be destroyed in 1385 by the Buddhist priest Genno, though legend holds that its fragments scattered across Japan, spawning similar tales of supernatural stones at various temples including Kesho-ji and Jozai-in.
The Enduring Legacy
This print captures the moment when Tamamo-no-Mae's ghost manifests from the stone, serving as a powerful reminder of the consequences of deception and the enduring nature of supernatural karma in Japanese folklore.
Artistic Interpretation
Yoshitoshi masterfully renders this scene, combining the natural menace of the poisonous rock with the ethereal beauty of the fox spirit's manifestation, creating a powerful commentary on the relationship between beauty, deception, and supernatural retribution.
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