Sesshō-seki — the killing stone (殺生石) 殺生石
The stone from the legend of the nine-tailed fox split in two on 5 March 2022.
The area around the stone is part of an active volcanic zone of Mount Nasu, and the sulphurous gases that really do rise from the ground (the real basis of the legend) have made the place toxic to birds and small animals over the centuries, feeding its reputation. The rock garden (殺生石園地) now also holds a stone marker with a haiku by Matsuo Bashō, who passed through here on the journey told in ‘Oku no Hosomichi’.
Tochigi
湯本旭町, 那須高原ビジターセンター入口, 湯本二丁目
