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|
 Depiction from the Shinano Kishōroku | |
| Creature information | |
|---|---|
| Other name | Bachi-hebi (North Japan) |
| Grouping | Yokai |
| Sub grouping | Reptile |
| Origin | |
| Country | Japan |
InJapanese folklore, thetsuchinoko (ツチノコor 槌の子), literally translating to "child of hammer", is asnake-like being. The nametsuchinoko is prevalent in Western Japan, includingKansai andShikoku; the creature is known asbachi hebi (バチヘビ) in Northeastern Japan.
Tsuchinoko are described as being between 30 and 80 centimetres (12 and 31 inches) in length, similar in appearance to a snake, but with a central girth that is much wider than its head or tail, and as having fangs and venom similar to that of aviper.[1] Some accounts also describe the tsuchinoko as being able to jump up to 1 metre (3.3 feet) in distance followed immediately by a second jump while still in the air.[2][failed verification]
According to legend, some tsuchinoko have the ability to speak and a propensity for lying, and they are also said to have a taste for alcohol. Legend records that it will sometimes swallow its own tail so that it canroll like a wheel, similarly to the "hoop snake" of American legend.[3]
In the late 1980s, a wave of purported sightings of the tsuchinoko was reported across Japan, primarily in the village ofShimokitayama inNara Prefecture. In 1988, Kazuo Nozaki, a member of Shimokitayama's village council, launched a "Tsuchinoko Expedition" to find the creature, which offered 1 million yen ($7,800 at the time) for its live capture and 300,000 yen for a sample of its skin. The expedition was joined by around 200 people from across the country and lasted until the beginning of theJapanese asset price bubble collapse in 1990 without finding evidence of its existence. To commemorate the event, the Shimokitayama Tsuchinoko Park was established in 2023.[4]
In a mountain close toLake Towada, a sighting of a 30cm creature with similar shape to Tsuchinoko was reported.[5] In 1 April, 2007, a Tsuchinoko-shaped dead body of a snake from a dried grass in a farm located inŌkura was found.[6]
This is a list of municipalities and companies offering rewards for capturing Tsuchinoko, including those who ended the bounties.