The Tsuchinoko is a cryptid from Japan that resembles a snake. In Japan, it means “dirty child.” It has been reported to measure between 30 and 80 cm in length. The Tsuchinoko has a thin head and tail, and a wide circumference in the middle. It is said to have fangs and venom, similar to some snakes. Some accounts also describe the Tsuchinoko as capable of jumping up to a meter away, followed immediately by a second jump while still in the air.
The name Tsuchinoko, which is mainly used in western Japan, including Kansai and Shikoku, translates as “hammer spawn,” “son of the hammer,” “gravel child,” “earth child,” or “mallet child” depending on the source.
But these snake-like mythical beings are also known by many other regional names such as bachi-hebi or nozuchi in northeastern Japan or tsuchi-hebi in Osaka, and many others.
The earliest records of Tsuchinoko date back to the seventh century, but reports of sightings in recent years have led to its promotion to a full-fledged cryptid.
1. Origins
The Tsuchinoko is a creature with origins in Japanese mythology, legend, and folklore. The earliest records of these serpentine creatures appear in the Kojiki, Japan’s oldest book. These records date back to the 7th century.
It is a species of snake, although not as impressive as other elusive creatures found in Japanese mythology. According to legend, the Tsuchinoko inhabits the remote and deep mountains and forests of the islands of Shikoku, Honshu, and Kyushu and parts of the Korean peninsula.
When we think of Japan, we usually remember bustling cities with skyscrapers and bright neon lights, full of cars and people, and of course bullet trains. In short, a modern and highly industrialized country.
But Japan is also a very mountainous country where 90% of the population occupies only about 10% of the land area. Therefore, there could be countless new species waiting to be discovered in the deep and remote forests of Japan.
Tsuchinoko can be found in remote places such as mountains and forests, specifically those near Shikoku, Honshu, the Kyushu islands, and the Korean peninsula.
2. Appearance
Cryptozoology describes the Tsuchinoko as resembling a normal snake in appearance but with a central circumference that is much wider than its head or tail, a neck with black, gray, or brown scaly skin, and fangs and venom similar to that of a viper. It is often described as being between 30 and 80 centimeters long.
These creatures are somewhat similar in appearance to a small but very bulky snake. Their most prominent feature is their central circumference, which is much wider than their head or tail.
The Tsuchinoko looks almost like a short snake at the beginning of the process of digesting a meal that is quite large for its size. It is usually covered with a rusty or mottled black coloration. In most cases, the belly is bright orange. They have scaly skin.
Other Tsuchinoko are described as brown, mixed with a forest floor covered in leaves. Tsuchinoko of all colors are often described as having a bright orange belly.
Sightings of Tsuchinoko date back 1,400 years.
3. Behavior
When threatened by enemies, the Tsuchinoko bites its tail and rolls like a hoop, similar to the Hoop Snake. They enjoy alcohol.
4.
Apart from its natural venom, Tsuchinoko can jump up to a meter to attack its prey. Some Tsuchinoko can speak, although they have a tendency to lie when they do.
They are believed to be poisonous, with a venom similar to that of snakes and viper fangs to inject it. Some reports claim that these legendary “poisonous snakes” can jump up to 3 feet (1 m) away. Now think about this, what could be more terrifying than a poisonous snake that can jump at you.
Tsuchinoko are dangerous if you encounter one. They are well camouflaged, poisonous, and adept at hunting. Tsuchinoko are said to be poisonous, with fangs filled with venom in their mouths.
A distinctive feature of a Tsuchinoko is its ability to jump three feet high. It can also perform a second jump while already in the air, or use its jumping ability to leap forward and strike unsuspecting prey.
5. Legends
Legends claim that Tsuchinoko can squeak or chirp and can even speak, although they are notorious liars. These creatures are also said to have a taste for alcohol.
According to legend, the Tsuchinoko can sometimes swallow its own tail, allowing it to roll like a wheel. This behavior is similar to that of the Greek Ouroboros or the ringed snake, the legendary creature of the United States, Canada, and Australia.
The discovery of a supposed Tsuchinoko snake skeleton in Yoshii in 2000 cemented the Tsuchinoko’s presence in Japanese popular culture. At the time, Okayama Prefecture offered a reward of 20 million yen (approximately $205,000) to hunt down the elusive creature.
But like many other cryptids, sightings of Tsuchinoko may simply be misidentifications of other animals found in the wild. Such animals may include the poisonous Yamakagashi (Rhabdophis tigrinus), or the deadly Mamushi (Gloydius blomhoffi), a venomous viper found in China, Japan, and Korea, which is known to have caused human deaths.
A legend says that the Tsuchinoko can bite its own tail to form a hoop. It does this to descend a hill at high speeds when chasing its prey. This is similar to the Ouroboros in Greek mythology and the hoop snake legend in urban myths in the United States and Canada.
Hoop Snake was documented in a pamphlet about a tour of the United States in 1784. The author wrote: “While other snakes crawl on their bellies, this one can also do so; but it has another method of moving peculiar to its own species, which it always adopts when eagerly pursuing its prey.
It throws itself into a circle, running rapidly, advancing like a hoop, with its tail raised and pointing forward in the circle, so that it is always in a position ready to strike. It is observed that they only use this method to attack; because when they flee from their enemy, they go on their belly, like other snakes. From the above circumstance, peculiar to themselves, they have also derived the name hoop snakes.”
Some people claim that Tsuchinoko have the ability to speak, but even if you encounter a talking Tsuchinoko, it is not to be trusted. Apparently, Tsuchinoko are known to lie. Unlike other animals, Tsuchinoko like the taste of alcohol.
6. In popular media
It appears in video games: Metal Gear Solid 3, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops. In these games, it is edible, and you can also save it for some unlockables.
It has also appeared as an enemy in the Castlevania series, which is known to include several popular crypts.
It is also a yokai in Yo-Kai Watch, known as “Noko” in the English dub. In the Space Dandy episode “Nobody knows the Chameleon alien, Baby,” QT discovers his love for fishing for Tsuchinoko, which leads him to catch an extremely rare alien that has transformed into a Tsuchinoko.
It even appears on a website featuring fake Japanese creature corpses. In the book After Man, a creature called a fatsnake resembles a Tsuchinoko. The Monster Hunter World update added a captureable Tsuchinoko that could be added as a pet to the player’s room.
A Tsuchinoko also appeared in episode 4 of Kemono Friends titled “Desert Area,” which has a more human appearance and is a character in the episode. The Pokémon Dunsparce is based on the Tsuchinoko, and its Japanese name Nokocchi is an anagram of Tsuchinoko. In the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game, Tsuchinoko appears as one of the monsters of the “Danger” archetype.
Tsuchinoko have recently become popular after appearing in many video games, including games such as Pokémon Metal Gear Solid 3, Metal Gear Solid V, The Phantom Pain, and Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops, in which Tsuchinoko is edible. Tsuchinoko also appears in the role-playing series Yo-Kai Watch and is an endemic creature in Monster Hunter World.
These adorable Tsuchinoko have also recently become a Tumblr meme. So some people may be playing their “experiences” with one of these creatures just for its popularity. Here is the post that started the new “real Tsuchinoko” craze. This led to a lot of joke Tsuchinoko content like this “I want to believe” poster featuring a Tsuchinoko.
7. Difference between a Tsuchinoko and a snake
There is a big difference between common snakes and Tsuchinoko. While Tsuchinoko slither on their bellies and are often compared to snakes, you will never confuse the two. Tsuchinoko have very wide bellies and are larger in the middle than any snake.
However, their head and tail are the size of a normal snake’s head and tail. Tsuchinoko can make a chirping or squeaking sound as they move through their environment. They do not make the hissing noise typical of snakes. One legend says that Tsuchinoko snore while they sleep.
8. Are Tsuchinoko real?
The government of Yoshii, Okayama, once offered a reward of 20 million yen (over $200,000) for the successful capture of a Tsuchinoko. Another reward of 100 million yen, which is one million US dollars, was offered.
You can travel to Japan and hunt Tsuchinoko on your own. There is a lookout point located in Kurosawa, Akaiwa, Okayama Prefecture, where a dead Tsuchinoko was once buried. You are asked to leave 100 yen for the maintenance of the surrounding area if you choose to use that location to go Tsuchinoko hunting.
Real Tsuchinoko sightings
- “I was surprised. I just pointed at it and asked, ‘Who are you? Who are you?’ It didn’t answer me, it just stared. It had a round face and wouldn’t take its eyes off me. I can still see the eyes now. They were big and round and looked like they were floating in water. I’ve lived over 80 years, but I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.” A Japanese woman.
- “A farmer thought he saw one while mowing his lawn. He described what he saw as a snake-like creature with a face like Doraemon (he says it was creepy). The farmer hit the beast with his weed beater, but the cunning thing managed to escape.”
- “An elderly woman saw what she believed to be a Tsuchinoko near a stream. Instead of showing it to someone to find out more or investigate further, she simply buried the thing. Eventually, word got out about what the woman had done, so the local government sent a team to dig up the creature and send its remains to the local university for examination.
- The professor who analyzed the thing said it may have been a Tsuchinoko, but ‘scientifically speaking, it was some kind of snake.’
- “I was shocked. I just pointed at it and asked, ‘Who are you? Who are you?’ It didn’t answer me, it just stared at me. It had a round face and wouldn’t take its eyes off me. I can still see the eyes. They were big and round and seemed to be floating in water,” Arima says. “I’ve lived for over 80 years, but I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”
Alleged current sightings
In 2001, the city of Mikata claimed to have captured a Tsuchinoko. They put the animal on display but refused to conduct scientific tests to confirm its identity as a Tsuchinoko, saying that “it needed to rest.” The captured Tsuchinoko is one meter long with a black body and a black tongue.
In 2000, Yoshii, Okayama, Japan was back in the news as people flocked to the region in search of Tsuchinoko, a cryptic reptile-like creature that was said to resemble at least something like a long, thick snake or lizard. A 20 million yen reward from the Yoshii Municipal Government was the source of all the excitement.
Tsuchinoko fever struck Yoshii on May 21 after a farmer cutting grass swore he saw a snake-like creature with a face resembling the cartoon cat Doraemon slithering across his field.
The farmer cut the creature with his grass cutter, but it fled to a nearby stream and escaped. Four days later, Hideko Takashima, 72, was chatting with a couple of friends in Yoshii when she discovered what she believed to be one of the creatures lying dead beside the stream where a Tsuchinoko had dived to escape the farmer. She picked it up and buried it.
Yoshii municipal government officials heard rumors of a Tsuchinoko and went to check out the local woman’s find. They exhumed the body and sent it to KawasakiUniversity of Medical Welfarefor examination. Kuniyasu Sato, the professor who analyzed the reptile, said the animal could have been the Tsuchinoko, but “scientifically speaking, it was a species of snake.” No one collected the reward in 2000.
