Magical Japanese Boulder That’s Imprisoned A Demon For 1,000 Years Has Mysteriously Cracked Open And People Are Spooked

A huge Japanese boulder that, according to superstition, contains a powerful demon has cracked in half. Not now, boulder demon - we’ve all got enough on our plates as it is. 

Japan’s Sessho-seki rock was found split in half on 5 March and - if the legends are true - it likely means a 1,000-year-old female demon is now on the loose. Perfect. 

In Japanese mythology Sessho-seki is also known as the Killing Stone, because it's believed to be so powerful that anyone who comes into contact with it dies. 

According to legend, the stone is actually the transformed dead body of a beautiful woman who was found to be a nine-tailed fox and was plotting to kill Emperor Konoe and claim the throne. 

The woman/fox demon was slayed by a warrior and the corpse became the Sessho-seki.

The legend goes that the stone was later exorcised by a Buddhist monk - but fast forward to last weekend and the stone was discovered to have a split in two, most likely due to natural weathering and age. 

Now, as you can imagine, some people are feeling a bit nervous about the whole thing. 

Posting on Twitter, one bloke wrote: “The Sessho-seki, a famous rock in Nasu, Japan that was said to have imprisoned the evil nine-tailed fox demoness Tamamo-no-Mae, was found broken in half.

“After nearly 1,000 years, the demon vixen is presumably once again on the loose.” 

But not everyone was concerned, with another Twitter user commenting: “tbh this version of end times sounds more interesting than the bulls**t we’ve actually been going through lately.” Yeah, fair point.

Another agreed: “You know what? I, for one, welcome our new fluffy tailed doom.”

Another eager doom-monger wrote: “Man, imagine of all mythologies and religion Japan was right all along. I'm unironically all for this and want to see where this goes cause I am tired of mundane life and want magical/supernatural stuff to happen.” Bring it on, I say. 

Masaharu Sugawara, from a local volunteer group, said it was a ‘shame’ the stone had broken in two as it was a symbol of the area, but put minds at rest by saying that nature had simply taken its course.