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Japanese folklore creature

Tsuchigumo (土蜘蛛) is a historical Japanese derogatory term for renegade local clans, and also the name for a race of spider like yōkai in Japanese folklore. Alternative names for the mythological Tsuchigumo include yatsukahagi (八握脛) and ōgumo (大蜘蛛). In the Kojiki and in Nihon Shoki, the name was phonetically spelled with the four kanji 都知久母 (for the four morae tsu chi gu mo), and these words were frequently used in the Fudoki of Mutsu, Echigo, Hitachi, Settsu, Bungo and Hizen as well as others. The name Tsuchigumo is believed to be derived from 土隠; tuchigomori. 土; tuchi means "earth" and 隠; gomori means "hiding". The word is thought to have referred to a local clan of powerful people who did not obey the imperial court and lived in caves. As a local clan, the Tsuchigumo were described as short in stature but long in limbs, with the temperament of a wolf and the heart of an owl, and living an uncivilized life. Historian Sōkichi Tsuda (ja) points out that unlike Kumaso and Emishi, Tsuchigumo is not treated as a group in the Fudoki, but as an individual name. The historian Yoshiyuki Takioto (ja) also deduces that the Tsuchigumo were local chieftains with shamanism as their power background from the fact that the Tsuchigumo in the Fudoki of Kyushu appear as sorcerers related to agriculture who appease angry kami. The giant spider like figure of the tsuchigumo as a oni like yōkai first appeared in medieval literary works. The most representative work among these tales is The Tale of the Heike, compiled in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) in the first half of the 13th century, in which it appears under the name "mountain spider"; 山蜘蛛; yamagumo. As the tsuchigumo passed through the ages, it became a more bizarre looking yōkai. In the 14th century emakimono Tsuchigumo Sōshi, the tsuchigumo is depicted as a giant yōkai 60 meters long, and when it was exterminated, 1990 heads of the dead came out of its belly. Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Watanabe no Tsuna, who participated in the extermination of the tsuchigumo in these stories, are legendary heroes in Japan; they also appear in the legend of the powerful oni Shuten dōji. The tsuchigumo as a yōkai also appeared as the subject of Noh, Jōruri and Kabuki plays. In historic Yamato Province, the unique physical characteristics of the tsuchigumo were that they were tailed people. In the Nihon Shoki, the founder of the Yoshino no Futo (吉野首) were written to be "with a glowing tail," the founder of Yoshino no Kuzu (国樔) were stated to "have tails and come along pushing rocks (磐石, iwa)," presenting the indigenous people of Yamato as non humans. Even in the Kojiki, they shared a common trait with the people of Osaka (忍坂) (now Sakurai city) in that they were "tsuchigumo (土雲) who have grown tails."

In the Hizen no Kuni Fudoki, there is an article writing that when Emperor Keiko made an imperial visit to Shiki island (志式島, Hirado island) (year 72 in the legends), the expedition encountered a pair of islands in the middle of sea. Seeing smoke rising from inland, the Emperor ordered an investigation of the islands, and discovered that the tsuchigumo Oomimi (大耳) lived on the smaller island, and Taremimi (垂耳) lived on the larger island. When both were captured and about to be killed, Oomimi and Taremimi lowered their foreheads to the ground and fell prostrate, and pleaded, "we will from now on make offerings to the emperor" and presented fish products and begged for pardon. Also, in the Bungo no Kuni Fudoki, there appeared many tsuchigumo, such as the Itsuma hime (五馬姫) of Itsuma mountain (五馬山), the Uchisaru (打猴), Unasaru (頸猴), Yata (八田), Kunimaro (國摩侶), and Amashino (網磯野), of Negi field (禰宜野), the Shinokaomi (小竹鹿臣) of Shinokaosa (小竹鹿奥), and the Ao (青) and Shiro (白) of Nezumi cavern (鼠の磐窟). Other than these, there is also the story of Tsuchigumo Yasome (土蜘蛛八十女), who made preparations in the mountains to resist against the imperial court, but was utterly defeated. This word "Yaso" (八十), literally "eighty," is a figurative term for "many," so this story is interpreted to mean that many of the female chief class opposed the Yamato imperial court, and met a heroic end, choosing to die alongside their men. In the story, Yaso, one local female chief, was greatly popular among the people, and she separated her allies from those resisting the imperial forces. Tsuchigumo Yasome's whereabouts were reported to the emperor, and for her efforts she was spared. According to writings in the Nihon Shoki, in the 12th year of emperor Keiko (year 82 in the legends), in winter, October, emperor Keiko arrived in Hayami town, Ookita (now Ooita), and heard from the queen of the land, Hayatsuhime (速津媛) that there was a big cave in the mountain, called the Nezumi cave, where two tsuchigumo, Shiro and Ao, lived. In Negino (禰疑野), Naoiri, they were informed of three more tsuchigumo named Uchizaru (打猿), Yata (八田), and Kunimaro (国摩侶, 国麻呂). These five had great amount of allies, and would not follow the emperor's commands.

From the Japanese middle ages (Kamakura/Muromachi/Azuchi Momoyama periods, or the late 12th to the early 17th centuries) onward, tsuchigumo began to be depicted as giant, monstrous spiders. A commonly cited early text depicting the yōkai tsuchigumo is The Tale of the Heike, or rather some variant texts of the Heike. This work, which was passed down orally among biwa lute players, has a complicated textual history and numerous variants, including the massively expanded Genpei Jōsuiki, and some versions include an extended passage on swords, known as the "Sword Scroll", or tsurugi no maki. This is regarded as one of the most important and influential texts that depict the conflict between Yorimitsu and the tsuchigumo, and is the source for many later artistic representations. It describes Yorimitsu's using the sword to defeat a yamagumo, which led to his renaming it 'Kumokiri' (蜘蛛切, "Spider Cutter"). At present, Daikaku ji Temple, Hakone Shrine and an individual, have tachi that have been handed down as Hizamaru, which are also called by other names such as 'Kumokiri', 'Hoemaru' and 'Usumidori' based on various legends. Works such as the 14th century picture scroll Tsuchigumo Sōshi and the 15th century Noh drama Tsuchigumo envision various versions of a legend in which Minamoto no Yorimitsu, also known as Raikō, a famous 10th century general and ancestor of the Minamoto clan defeat an enormous spider yōkai referred to as a tsuchigumo or yamagumo ("earth spider" or "mountain spider", respectively). In some versions, Yorimitsu and his retainer Watanabe no Tsuna pursue the spider, which takes various forms such as a beautiful woman, and when they defeat it they cut it open and skulls pour out of its torso, while in others, Yorimitsu is incapacitated and a young retainer hunts the spider down in his stead. Tsuchigumo Sōshi (see scrolling image below) interestingly contains a visual depiction that doesn't appear to match the accompanying text, as the text has Yorimitsu and Tsuna take down an enormous, 60 foot monster that they later realize is a giant spider, but the imagery shows them doing battle with two oni, or ogre demons, resembling Gozu and Mezu, which perhaps represent another of the tsuchigumos transformations.