Tamamo-no-Mae

Tamamo-no-Mae (玉藻の前) is a legendary figure in Japanese mythology. In the Otogizoshi, a collection of Japanese prose written in the Muromachi period, Tamamo-no-Mae was a courtesan under the Japanese Emperor Konoe. She was said to be the most beautiful and intelligent woman in Japan. Tamamo-no-Mae's body mysteriously always smelled wonderful, and her clothes never became wrinkled or dirty. Tamamo-no-Mae was not only beautiful, but she was infinitely knowledgeable in all subjects. Although she appeared to be only twenty years old, there was no question that she could not answer. She answered every question posed to her, whether about music, religion, or astronomy. Because of her beauty and intelligence, everyone in the Imperial Court adored her, and Emperor Konoe fell deeply in love with her.

After some time had passed, with Konoe all the while lavishing all his affection on the beautiful Tamamo-no-mae, the Emperor suddenly and mysteriously fell ill. He went to many priests and fortune-tellers for answers, but they had none to offer. Finally, an astrologer, Abe no Yasuchika, told the Emperor that Tamamo-no-Mae was the cause of his illness. The astrologer explained that the beautiful young woman was in fact an evil nine-tailed fox (kitsune), who was making the Emperor ill in a devious plot to take the throne. Following this, Tamamo-no-Mae disappeared from the court.

The Emperor ordered Kazusa-no-suke and Miura-no-suke, the most powerful warriors of the day, to hunt and kill the fox. After eluding the hunters for some time, the fox appeared to Miura-no-suke in a dream. Once again in the form of the beautiful Tamamo-no-Mae, the fox prophesied that Miura-no-suke would kill it the next day, and begged for its life. Miura-no-suke refused.

Early the next day, the hunters found the fox on the Plain of Nasu, and Miura-no-suke shot and killed the magical creature with an arrow. The body of the fox became the Sessho-seki, or Killing Stone, which kills anyone that comes in contact with it. Tamamo-no-Mae's spirit became Hoji and haunted the stone.

Hoji is said to have haunted this stone in the Japanese prefecture of Nasu until a Buddhist priest called Genno stopped for a rest near the stone and was threatened by Hoji. Genno performed certain spiritual rituals, and begged the spirit to consider her spiritual salvation, until finally Hoji relented and swore to never haunt the stone again.

In Matsuo Bashō's famous book, The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Oku no Hosomichi), Bashō tells of visiting the stone in the Japanese prefecture of Nasu.

Tamamo-no-Mae's legend forms the basis of both the noh drama "Sesshoseki" ("The Killing Stone") and the kabuki play "Tamamonomae" (or "The Beautiful Fox Witch").

References

*cite web | title=Tamamo-no-mae (Synopsis) | work=Enjoying Otogi Zoshi with the Help of Synopsis and Illustrations| url=http://ddb.libnet.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/exhibit-e/otogi/tamamo/tamamo.html | accessdate=February 22 | accessyear=2006
*cite web | title=Japanese Dakini | url=http://www.khandro.net/dakini_Japan.htm| accessdate=February 22 | accessyear=2006
*cite web | title=Hoji - Spiritual Being | work=Japanese Mythology - The Gods of Japan | url=http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/japanese-mythology.php?deity=HOJI | accessdate=February 27 | accessyear=2006
*cite web | title=The Death Stone | url=http://kitsune.org/stories/The%20Death%20Stone.htm | accessdate=February 27 | accessyear=2006
*cite web | title=Station 9 - Sesshoseki | work=Basho's World| url=http://www.uoregon.edu/~kohl/basho/9-sesshoseki/trans-britton.html | accessdate=February 23 | accessyear=2006
*Mailahn, Klaus: Der Fuchs in Glaube und Mythos, Münster 2006, 190-194, ISBN 3-8258-9483-5