Fox on the loose

As if there wasn’t enough to worry about, news comes from Japan concerning the famous Sessho-seki, a volcanic boulder on the slopes of Mount Neso, in Tochigi prefecture near Tokyo. Entombed within the rock, legend insists, lies the spirit of the notorious yokai Tamamo-no-Mae, an evil nine-tailed fox, who could also appear in the guise of a beautiful young woman.

Or entombed within lay the spirit of Tamamo-no-Mae, for witnesses report that in the last few days the stone has split asunder, freeing the kitsune to resume her nefarious reign. Last time around it took an army of 80,000 men, led by Emperor Toba’s finest warriors, Kazusanosuke and Miuranosuke, to hunt her down and kill her, so we may be in for some trouble…