Who is Tamamo-no-Mae? The true identity of the beauty loved by the Emperor was a nine-tailed fox that lived for a thousand years

Tamamo-no-Mae | Otogizoshi, Noh play 'Sessho-seki', and the Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox

Late Heian period, shortly before the Hogen Rebellion (1156). There was a beautiful court lady in the court of the Retired Emperor Toba.

She was deeply learned and captivated everyone who saw her. The Retired Emperor Toba eventually came to love her deeply.

However, from that time on, a strange change came over the Retired Emperor. His complexion turned pale, his eyes became vacant, and he stopped responding to anyone. None of the court physicians could determine the cause.

It was an Onmyoji who saw through her true identity.

First, enter the world of the story with background music

This article is intended to be read along with moona's dark ambient background music. The music captures the duality of the nine-tailed fox lurking behind the elegance of the court. Please listen while you read.

1. Who is Tamamo-no-Mae? | The true identity hidden in the name of a court lady

According to legend, she was originally called 'Mikuzume' and was raised by a childless couple. She entered the court at the age of 18 and later became a court lady serving the Retired Emperor Toba, where she came to be known as 'Tamamo-no-Mae'.

Her beauty and erudition were acknowledged by all.

2. Favor and Illness | The true identity revealed by the Onmyoji Abe no Yasunari

Ever since Tamamo-no-Mae appeared, the Retired Emperor Toba gradually began to fall ill. He could no longer hear the voices of his subjects and became unable to even rise from his bed.

The one who saw through her true identity was the Onmyoji Abe no Yasunari. He was not Abe no Seimei himself, but an Onmyoji considered to be a descendant of Seimei. He declared that Tamamo-no-Mae was the root cause and chanted a mantra called the 'Dharma of Taizan Fukun'.

Tormented by the spell, Tamamo-no-Mae's transformation was undone, and she changed from the form of a beautiful young woman into a white-faced, golden-furred nine-tailed fox. She then fled the court and vanished.

3. Flight to Nasuno | The punitive force and the final battle

After that, incidents of women and children being abducted occurred one after another in Nasuno (the area around present-day Nasu District, Tochigi Prefecture), and word reached the court that it was the work of Tamamo-no-Mae.

The Retired Emperor Toba organized a punitive force, sending Miura-no-suke Yoshiaki, Chiba-no-suke Tsunetane, and Kazusa-no-suke Hirotsune as generals, with the Onmyoji Abe no Yasunari as the military strategist, into Nasuno.

It is said that the punitive force was initially repelled by the nine-tailed fox's sorcery, but they regrouped and launched another attack. In the end, an arrow shot by Miura-no-suke pierced her flank and neck, and after being struck by Kazusa-no-suke's blade, the nine-tailed fox finally breathed its last.

4. Sessho-seki (The Killing Stone) | The stone that cursed people even after death

The nine-tailed fox that had breathed its last did not disappear immediately. It is said that its soul transformed into a massive poisonous stone, continuing to take the lives of humans and animals that approached it. The villagers named this poisonous stone the 'Sessho-seki' (Killing Stone).

Even after the death of Retired Emperor Toba, the Killing Stone continued to exist, and it is said that even the high-ranking monks who visited to perform memorial services succumbed to its poisonous aura.

The stone was finally shattered in the second year of the Shitoku era (1385) during the Northern and Southern Courts period. A monk from Aizu named Gennō Oshō shouted at the Killing Stone and shattered it with a mallet. The stone split into three pieces, one of which remains in Nasu Town, Tochigi Prefecture, to this day. It is said that the name of the carpenter's tool 'Gennō' (hammer) is derived from the name of this monk.

5. Theories on the model for Tamamo-no-Mae | Bifukumon-in and the Hōgen Rebellion

The story of Tamamo-no-Mae appears in records from before the early Muromachi period. Her name can be found in historical texts such as the 'Shinmeikyō', the Otogizōshi 'Tamamo no Sōshi', the Noh play 'Sessho-seki', and the 'Kagakushū' (1444).

The model for the story is said to be Empress Bifukumon-in (Fujiwara no Nariko), who was deeply cherished by Retired Emperor Toba. It is said that her rise from a non-noble background to Empress, and her efforts to place her own child on the throne, became the spark for the later Hōgen Rebellion.

If there was a face greedy for power behind the beautiful court lady loved by the palace, perhaps the story of Tamamo-no-Mae was born from such an imagination.

Places associated with Tamamo-no-Mae

Sessho-seki (Nasu Town, Tochigi Prefecture) Located in an area north of Nasu Onsen Shrine where the scent of sulfur drifts. It is a desolate landscape just like the legend, where volcanic gas still erupts today. A wooden path has been built, with the stone placed at the end of it, and warning signs about birds and small animals stand in the vicinity. Every year in May, the 'Goshinka-sai' (Sacred Fire Festival) is held, where a torchlight procession of people in white robes wearing fox masks walks from the Onsen Shrine to the Killing Stone. In 2022, an incident occurred where the stone split in two, which became a hot topic on social media with people wondering if the nine-tailed fox had moved.

Tamamo Inari Shrine (Otawara City, Tochigi Prefecture) This is a shrine where the legend remains that Tamamo-no-Mae, chased by the subjugation army, had her true form reflected in the 'Kagami-ga-ike' (Mirror Pond) within the grounds and was defeated. It is now a quiet, small shrine, and nine stripes are carved into the tails of the guardian fox statues. The 'Kyūbi Inari Shrine' is also enshrined within the grounds, and it is said that Minamoto no Yoritomo also visited this place.

moona and Tamamo-no-Mae

The beauty of the court and the fox's true nature lurking behind it. This duality was exactly the 'unease beneath the beauty' that moona wanted to depict.

Thank you for reading this far. If you liked it, please let me know with a like or a comment.

References and Citations

• Wikipedia 'Tamamo-no-Mae' https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/玉藻前

• Wikipedia 'Sessho-seki' https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/殺生石

• Nasu Town Administrative Page 'Sessho-seki' https://www.town.nasu.lg.jp/0000/info-0000003817-1.html

• Original sources: Otogizōshi 'Tamamo no Sōshi' (Muromachi period), Noh play 'Sessho-seki', 'Kagakushū' (1444)

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