Sesshōseki

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sesshōseki with Shimenawa

Sesshōseki ( Japanese 殺生 石 ) is a lava rock in the volcanically active area of Nasu in Tochigi Prefecture , near the hot springs ( onsen ) that arise there . Since eruptive gases (hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide) also escape here due to volcanic activities, people are convinced that this rock is a rock that destroys all life ( 生 き 物 を 殺 す 石 , Ikimono o korosu ishi ), which with comes into contact with the rock. This idea gave the rock its name Sesshō rock, whereby the term Sesshō in Buddhism denotes the destruction of life and thus one of the worst offenses.

overview

Although other examples of such rocks have survived throughout Japan, which are always to be found in volcanically active areas, especially when they are called sesshōseki, the name usually refers to the rock in Nasu. The area around the Sesshō rock is considered a scenic place ( 名 所 , Meishō ) that is visited by tourists. Access is only restricted when large quantities of harmful gases escape.

According to legend, the rock is the transformed body of Tamamo no Mae , the legendary fox woman of Japanese mythology and favorite concubine of Toba Tennō. According to legend, Tamamo no Mae haunted the Sesshō rock when the monk Gennō Shinshō (1329-1400) passed by. He spoke incantations and banished the ghost.

Matsuo Bashō reports in his travel diary On Narrow Paths into the hinterland of a visit to the sesshōseki in Nasu. The rock is also the subject of a tale Tamamo no Mae by Kido Okamoto , based on a Nō play entitled Sesshōseki, which is attributed to Hiyoshi Saami.

gallery

  • Sesshōseki in Nasu

  • almost the Sesshōseki, to the right another rock called Mekurahebi-seki (about blind snake stone)

  • Sesshōseki

  • Mekurahebi-seki

  • Sai no kawara

  • “Sessho-seki” (Killing Stone), Nasu, Tochigi, Japan 20160817.jpg
  • Sassyouseki, nasu-town, japan.JPG

  • Sentai jizō ( 千 体 地 蔵 , 1000 Jizō )

  • Sesshōseki and Sentai jizō

  • Sesshōseki from Toriyama Sekien's work Konjaku Hyakki Shūi

  • Color woodcut of the sesshōseki in Nasu by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b 殺生 石 . In: デ ジ タ ル 版 日本人 名 大 辞典 + Plus at kotobank.jp. Retrieved August 24, 2019 (Japanese).
  2. ↑ 殺生 . In: デ ジ タ ル 版 日本人 名 大 辞典 + Plus at kotobank.jp. Retrieved August 24, 2019 (Japanese).
  3. ↑ Sesshōseki ( 殺生 石 ). In: Theater Nohgaku Blog. November 18, 2012, accessed on August 23, 2019 .

Remarks

  1. ↑ 賽 の 河 原 , "stony river bed in the underworld"
  2. ↑ 今昔 百 鬼 拾遺

Web links

Commons : Sesshōseki  - collection of images, videos and audio files