feminism

Girl-Boss Demon Resurrected During Women’s History Month

Tamamo-no-Mae, supposed ancient demon and she-ro. Photo: John Stevenson/Corbis via Getty Images

Ancient spirits are making her-story! This week, a famous volcanic rock near Tokyo split in two. What does that have to do with female empowerment, you ask? Ha, how about … everything.

According to Japanese mythology, the rock, known as the Sessho-seki, or “killing stone,” contains the spirit of Tamamo-no-Mae, a woman who was part of a secret plot to kill Japan’s Emperor Toba, who reigned during the 12th century. Slay, queen!

However, some believe Tamamo-no-Mae was no ordinary female assassin but an evil demon called the Nine-Tailed Fox, which took the form of a beautiful woman. (Must we bring her looks into this?) As the legend has it, the Sessho-seki spews poisonous gas, and anyone who comes into contact with it will die. (Sounds like me during that time of the month!!!)

On Monday, rumors that the ancient demon had been released started circulating on Twitter alongside pictures of the broken rock, which is a popular tourist spot in the Tochigi prefecture of Japan. Of course, the internet lost its freakin’ shit, with people tweeting about how scared they were and how they felt they saw “something that shouldn’t be seen.” Hmmm, why are we so afraid of powerful women?

Some local officials say cracks appeared in the rock years ago, and rain seeped into those cracks and weakened it. I say this sounds like people once again trying to erase a woman’s legacy. On International Women’s Day, no less!

Tamamo-no-Mae will live in infamy alongside fellow girl-boss icons like the moon, the T. rex from Jurassic Park, and pizza rat (all canonically female). Well-behaved demons rarely make history <3

Girl-Boss Demon Resurrected During Women’s History Month