Ah Sh*t, Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit on the Loose in Japan

PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images

Well, shit.

A Sessho-seki was found cracked in Japan’s Nikko National Park this month, according to CNN.

What is a Sessho-seki, you ask? Well apparently it’s a “killing stone.” According to Japanese mythology it contained Tamamo-no-Mae, or a nine-tailed fox spirit that had been trapped inside for 900 years.

Now it’s allegedly out.

Nick Kapur, Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University, told CNN that could be unsettling news – at least according to legend:

Tamamo-no-Mae was known for her shape-shifting abilities, so she transformed herself into a beautiful woman and caught the eye of the emperor, Kapur said.

As she grew closer to the emperor, he fell gravely ill, Kapur said. A court astrologer used divination to determine Tamamo-no-Mae was the culprit, he said.

Once her plan was foiled, she fled into the wilderness, changing shapes to try and stay hidden, he said. However, samurai sent after her eventually caught up to the fox spirit, Kapur said.

When one of the warriors shot her with an arrow, her physical form was killed, so her spirit transformed into a stone, he said.

The myth says touching the stone means death. It is unclear why the stone cracked, but cold winter temperatures may be the cause.

For what it’s worth, American televangelist Pat Robertson has warned that spirits can sometimes be found in inanimate objects.

“Can demonic spirits attach themselves to inanimate objects?” he said in 2013. “The answer is yes.”

Anyway, watch out for those “Made in Japan” labels.

And in case you’re wondering, yes, it’s been a slow night around here.