mukade centipede legends

- BACK to the Daruma Museum -
. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話 昔話 - Introduction .
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mukade 蜈蚣 と伝説 Legends about the centipede

red centipede, aka mukade 赤蜈蚣（あかむかで）
red-headed centipede, akazu mukade赤頭蜈蚣（あかずむかで）
blue-green headed centipede, aozu mukade 青頭蜈蚣（あおずむかで）
centipede with a bird-head, tobizu mukade 鳶頭蜈蚣（とびずむかで）
"one hundred legs" mukade 百足虫（むかで / ムカデ）

- - - yasude 馬陸 (やすで) millipede
. mukade, hyakusoku 百足虫（むかで）"one hundred legs" .
- Introduction -


Fujiwara no Hidesato 藤原 秀郷　- Tawara Tota 俵藤太
is shooting the centipede at the Dragon King’s Palace
近江国三上山の百足退治 Omi, Mount Mikamiyama
Print by Tsukioka (Taiso) Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) - 俵藤太絵巻


. Fujiwara no Hidesato 藤原秀郷 - 俵藤太 Tawara Tōda, "Lord Bag of Rice" .
and the Dragon King of Lake Biwa - the full legend.
田原藤太 Tawara Tota

Many legends center around Hidesato Tawara Tota and the centipede.
Read more below.

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. Bishamonten 毘沙門天 Tamonten (Vaishravana) .

The messenger (retainer) of Bishamon was thought of as a centipede (mukade, hyakusoku 百足 ), who also protected the gold mines. Centipedes are said to possess an ability to spot gold mines. Therefore people used to carry centipedes in bamboo tubes when they went to the mountains in search for gold.
The warlords Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin both used a centipede on their flags.
mukade 無加天、蜈蚣

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source : yasumi on facebook

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The following reveals the main legend about the huge centipede from Akagi and the snake of Nikko.
The legends from 日光 Nikko and 近江 Omi are very similar.

jatai no kami 蛇体の神 The Snake Deity
mukade no kami ムカデの神 The Centipede Deity



These two animal deities fought at Senjōgahara 戦場ヶ原 Senjogahara, the "Battlefield" marshland in Nikko.
They were the vassals of the deity of 男体山　Nantaisan in Chuzenji and the deity from 赤城山　Akagiyama.
Now there is an Akanuma　赤沼 "Red swamp" of the blood from the Mukade.
There are other place names relating to these mythological events in Nikko.

赤城と日光の戦い The fight of Akagi and Nikko
昔々のずっと昔、Once upon a very very VERY long time . . .



赤城の神さまと日光の神さまは絶えず争っていた。戦（いくさ）の原因は、日光の中禅寺湖が満々と水をたたえているのに対し、赤城の山は岩だらけで、水が無かったからであった。 ...
- source : nihon.syoukoukai.com/modules/stories -

- quote -
Senjogahara 戦場ヶ原 the "Battle Plain"
Legend has that the gods of two mountains, Mt Nantai and Mt Akagi, fought here over control of
Lake 中善寺湖　Chuzenji-ko.
Nantai was losing so he consulted another god, Kashima Daimyojin, who introduced him to an expert archer called Sarumaru (who was actually one of Nantai’s grandsons). Nantai transformed himself into a white deer to lure Sarumaru out onto the plateau. The gods fought on Senjogahara where Akagi transformed himself into a huge horned centipede and Nantai transformed into a snake.
Sarumaru then shot the centipede through the eye.
Thus the winner was Mt Nantai who now stands watch over the lake.
- source : travelsonasmallisland.wordpress.com -


At Akagi Jinja 赤城神社 Akagi Shrine there is an amulet with the centipede.


source : koinu2005.seesaa.net/article

Since the centipede has "many legs" it will help bring "many legs" to a shop and is thus an amulet for prosperous business.
The Snake Deity is venerated for bringing iron sand to the local river, thus promoting the local iron industry.
The Mukade Deity is venerated for digging underground, helping the mining industry, even finding gold.

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gokoo ゴコウ / 蜈蚣 a long-living centipede

Once a man was beginning to reform his home and when tearing down the entrance, they found a name plate with a nail going right through the body of a centipede. The animal was still alive.
But the name plate showed that it was put in place at least 20 years ago !
A similar story is told about a centipede nailed down with a 祈祷札 temple prayer plate.

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.................................................................................... Aichi 愛知県
幡豆郡 Hazu district

If ants and centipedes come into a house, it will rain soon.


.................................................................................... Akita 秋田県

. oomukade 大ムカデ huge centipede .
藤原喜平 Fujiwara Kihei, also called 悪食喜平 Akujiki Kihei, liked to eat centipedes and snakes




.................................................................................... Aomori 青森県
八戸市 Hachinohe

kaineko 怪猫 the monster cat
Once 老猫 an old cat wanted to do harm to the priest, but he was saved by the crawing of a 義鶏 cock and the cat was killed instead. The cat turned into a 怪猫 monster cat, placed some poisonous animals like centipedes in a water puddle below the roots of an old cedar tree and prepared a poisonous liquid. Then she tried to splash the poison into the soup of the priest, but got caught again. The old cat was burried again properly under the cedar tree and all came to rest. Many years later the buds of a Tsururigusa (of the Asarina family) came sprouting out, right of the eye holes of the cat's skull.



.................................................................................... Ehime 愛媛県
上浮穴郡 久万高原町 Kumakogen

Once an old grandpa heard the talk of his neighbours by eavesdropping and now knew where a box of gold was placed. So he went to dig it out. But when he opened it, it was full of snakes and centipedes. The grandpa got angry, went to his neighbours home and threw the contents of the box into the house. But as they dropped down, the snakes and centipedes all turned into golden money.

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富郷町 Tomisatomura

nananinzuka 七人塚 and oomukade 大百足 huge Mukade
昔、大内次郎左ェ門が上猿田を開拓した後、高橋兵庫守の子孫がやって来た。そのため高橋は大内氏に正月の挨拶に行かなければならず、快く思っていなかった高橋はある年、大内氏を名剣紫丸で斬った。このときに力余って茶釜も切ったが、以来、紫丸を抜くと必ず柄から大百足が出入りしていたという怪異が止んだ。この大内氏を祭ったのが七人塚だという。


source : nichibun.ac.jp
大百足。全身が茶色い、巨大な百足が山野を這っている。頭部は水際の村落に近づき、下半身は山に巻きついている。頭は家1軒よりも大きい。
CLICK photo for more details !


.................................................................................... Fukushima 福島県
白河市 Shirakawa

According to an old medicine book from around the year 1720:
If bitten by a centipede, it is best to scratch some 歯くそ plaque from a tooth and put it on the bite.

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田人村 Tabitomura

Once Sarumaru Daiyu was hunting a white deer and came down all the way to Nikko. The Huge Mukade 大ムカデ from Nikko eats the children of the white deer, this deer mother had called the famous arrow shooter Sarumaru to help.
He put some spittle on his arrow and shot the centipede dead.
Even now if people want to kill a centipede, they use spittle.

. Sarumaru Daiyu 猿丸大夫 a waka poet .


.................................................................................... Gunma 群馬県　

. Mount Akagisan 赤城山 . *
The 赤城山の神 deity of Akagisan is a mukade ムカデ centipede.

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桐生市 Kiryu town 新里町 Niisatomura

Once Hidesato came to a bridge near 粕川村室沢 Kasugawa Machimurozawa. He walked over the bridge,
but it was in fact a huge centipede.
In memory of this tale there is now the


mukade torii ムカデ鳥居 Shrine gate with a centipede.

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邑楽郡 Ora district 大泉町 Oizumi

At 赤堀 Akahori every year there was a home where an arrow with white feathers stuck in the front door. This family had to offer the daughter to 小沼 Lake Kono, a volcanic lake.
Then one day Hidesato came by and killed the centipede in the lake. Thus the village was saved.

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邑楽郡 千代田町 Chiyoda

Hidesato was born in the hamlet of 舞木 Mogi. Since he later killed the centipede from Akagi, the villagers are not allowed to go to Mount Akagi. If they do, they will have great misfortune.

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勢多郡 富士見 Fujimi

At Akagiyama there is the valley 九十九谷 Kujukudani (99 valleys). If there would be one more valley, it would be like the 100 valleys of 高野山 Koyasan in Wakayama. Then the fight between Akagi the Mukade and Nikko the Snake started.
The Mukade from Akagi was bound with オカボの藁 the leaves of okabo, Kabocha pumpkin.
Since that time the believers in 赤城様 the Akagi deity do not grow pumpkin.

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沼田市 Numata town 利根町 Tone

The ancestor of the 赤堀家 Akahori family is Hidesato.
After fighting the centipeda at 三上山 Mikamiyama and saving the huge snake, he was married to the daughter of the snake. (Some legends say it was a dragon.)




.................................................................................... Kochi 高知県　
仁淀川町 Niyodogawa

enkoo 猿猴 the local Kappa
Once a Kappa from 吾川郡 the Agawa district was stealing gourds from a field, but one evening he spilled the water from his head plate and could not move any more. A local farmer helped him and poured some water in his plate. To show his gratitude, the Kappa promised that in his home there would never be any 赤百足虫 red centipedes. This came true to our day.




.................................................................................... Miyagi 宮城県
仙台市 Sendai 太白区 Taihaku

二荒山の神 Futarasan no Kami，万二万三郎 Banjibanzaburo, Banji Banzaburo
The brothers Banji and Banzaburo and the matagi マタギ hunters of Nikko.
The brothers were once hunting for a 白鹿 white deer, but lost the track in the middle of the mountain forest. But there was a small shrine and the Deity of 二荒山 Futaarayama appeared. The Deity asked them to do something about the dangerous centipede from Mount Akagi. The God had taken the shape of a white deer to lead the two hunters. When they saw the centipede, each one of them shot one arrow in one eye of the animal and thus killed it.
For their brave deed they got permission to hunt in any forest of Japan - at least that is the legend told by 日光派のマタギ the special Matagi hunters of Nikko.

- quote -
According to legend, the first matagi were the brothers Banji and Banzaburo, who were famous for their archery skills. In a dispute between the goddess of Mount Nikko and the god of Mount Akagi, Banzaburo helped the goddess by shooting out the eye of the Akagi god, who was incarnated as a huge snake (or a huge centipede in some versions of the story).
In return for his meritorious deed, the goddess gave him a scroll granting him the right to hunt in all mountains of the land.
- source : abiroh.com/en/senses-and-suki -

Berggottheit und Banjibanzaburo, Banji-Banzaburo
- reference german : nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp -

- a bit more about Banji and Banzaburo :

. Jikaku Daishi Ennin 慈覚大師仁円 (793-864) .

He made Banji and Banzaburo his disciples.
At 二口峠 Futakuchi Pass
二口峠の頂上で今の山寺の方を眺め、万二の持ち山であると知り、杖を地面に立てて衣をかけ、衣の影だけ借りることになった。陰は見る見る拡がって山寺の所は全部入ってしまう。これを十年借りる約束で証文を渡すとき、大師は手早く十の字の上にノの字を書き込んだ。それを万二がのちに知り、千年貸してしまった。
- and
名取川水源の二口渓谷の左岸に屹立する大絶壁の山、これを陽（ひなた）磐司、背面の大行（なめ）沢右岸を陰（ひかげ）磐司という。万二万三郎兄弟の万二の棲家で岩窟がある。慈覚大師の杖にかけた衣の影が広がっていく話、二荒山の神が二人に助けを請う話、木伐り坊の話などが伝わる。
- and a legend with 弘法大師 Kobo Daishi
もとの名取・宮城の郡境にまたがる根張りの広い山。弘法大師は山容を蓮葉にたとえ、霊場にするため九十九谷まで開いたが (Kujukutani)、天狗に妨げられ一谷を残して紀州に去り、高野山を開いた。
and the Zen priest priest 雲居希膺 Ungo Kiyo (1582 - 1659) 大悲円満国師 Daihi Enman Kokushi　－ 慈光不昧禅師
慶安3年（1650）慈光不昧禅師雲居和尚が瑞巌寺 Zuigan-Ji を引退してここに隠居したときも、天狗どもが和尚の法力をためそうといって和尚の障碍をしたが、この山を根城とした万二万三郎兄弟が和尚のために天狗を追い払った。和尚はこれを徳として、山上に坐禅堂を建てたときに二王護国大権現の号を贈って一山の鎮護とした。

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tori no haka 鶏の墓 the grave of a rooster
Similar to the one told in Aomori, Hachinohe, about a monster cat.
寛文年間（1661～1673），宗禅時住職が次のような夢を見た。
「自分は檀家の某家で飼われていた鶏である。某家の飼っている古猫が一族を毒殺しようとしていたので，私は毎夜鳴いて警告したが，主人は夜鳴きをする鶏は縁起が悪いといって私を殺して川に捨ててしまった。私は今六郷堰の杭の間を漂っている。主人にこのことを知らせてほしい。」住職が翌朝六郷堰に行ってみると，確かに杭の間に鶏の亡骸が浮いている。住職は急いで某家を訪れ，夢の告げを話した。その時大きな黒猫が駆け込んできて汁鍋の上を飛び越えていったが，その拍子に尻尾の先を鍋の中に漬けていった。これに気付いた和尚が家人に猫のあとをつけさせると，猫は竹薮の中で竹の切り株に尻尾を漬けていた。切り株の中ではトカゲ・ムカデ・ハンミョウ・毒蛾などが腐っていた。毒汁を溜めた場所は，一説では愛宕神社下の断崖の中腹，古杉の根元の洞の中だとも言う。主人は鶏に恩を仇で返してしまった事を悔い，供養碑を建てた。



.................................................................................... Nara　奈良県　


source : xxx
信貴山 ムカデの欄間 Centipede ranma transom
朝護孫子寺 . 信貴山 Temple Chogosonshi-Ji, Shigisan

. 信貴山 Shigisan and Bishamonten .



.................................................................................... Niigata 新潟県

Since centipedes are the messengers of Bishamonten, you are not allowed to kill them.
They are seen as 福神様 Deities bringing good luck.

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越後 Echigo

People say that centipedes and 蜘蛛 spiders are killed by putting spittle on them.

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両津市 Ryotsu town

The families of 脇坂甚六郎家 Wakisaka and 三浦甚吉家 Miura venerate Bishamonten.
Therefore they are not allowed to kill any centipedes in their home.
12月31日の晩から正月2日の晩まで、脇坂甚六郎家と三浦甚吉家の当主は脇坂甚六郎家の地神としてまつられている毘沙門堂にお籠りをし、正月3日にはムラの人びとが集まって、毘沙門堂の堂押しが行われる。昔、脇坂家の先祖甚六郎の昼寝の夢に毘沙門天が現れて月布施に連れて行くように告げたので、毘沙門天を船に乗せて二度ヶ浜へ上陸し、屋敷内に堂を建てて安置した。商売繁盛のご利益で参拝する人は多い。また、当家では百足を殺すことは禁忌とされている。

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佐渡郡 Sado district 畑野町 Hatano

Hidesato killed the huge centipede from ニガミ山 Nigamiyama by putting spittle on it.

Fishermen on the boat are now allowed to pronounce the words for 蛇や百足 snake and centipede. If they have to say something about a snake, they use the word naga ナガ "the long thing".



.................................................................................... Osaka 大阪府

. mukade killed by kaburaya 鏑矢 a whistling arrow .

無家賃でも借り手のつかない屋敷に女が一人で住む事になった。ある夜、目が覚めて障子を見遣ると、その外側を幅約１尺、長さ約１丈余りもある大百足が音を立てて移動しているのを見た。その後、家を取り壊して百足稲荷を祀る事が決まった。
...
...
Once there was a huge centipede of almost 6 meters long (長さ３間余り) and a diameter of about 3 cm (直径約１寸).
It was shown as misemono 見世物 a great rarity to the people


.................................................................................... Shiga 滋賀県　
大津市 Otsu

The legend of Tawara Tota, Fujiwara no Hidesato, killing the Mukade, see link above.

俵藤太秀郷が瀬田の橋で三上山の百足を撃ったというが、瀬田と三上山は距離が遠い。このことを近江の人に尋ねると、百足の住んでいた山は、瀬田から1里ほど離れた所の小山であると伝えられているという。
.
Hidesato eventually killed the huge centipede that was threatening the female dragons at the 竜宮 Dragon Palace.
As a reward the servant of the Dragon, a Kappa わっぱ（童）delivered to him a special bale of rice (くびり俵 kubire tawara) and some shakudoo 赤銅 copper




The huge centipede had wrapped its body seven times around 三上山 Mount Mikamiyama.
But Hidesato eventually killed it.
Then he cut its body in three parts. The head fell at the village of 浮気 Fuke, the body at 勝部 Katsube and the tail at 瀬田 Seta. Each village burned the part. But the centipede also put a curse on these villages. So they made huge torches in the form of its head, body and tail and burned them again during the yearly festival. This custom has been cut off in Seta, but is still going on in Fuke and Katsube.


CLICK for more photos of the festival !

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tamukadebagen 多百足馬蚿 / タムカデバゲン
Tamukade Bagen (the local name for the centipede) did a lot of harm to the snake of the 勢多橋 Seta bridge,
but Hidesato killed it to help the large snake.


.................................................................................... Shizuoka 静岡県　
庵原郡 Ihara district 両河内村 Ryogochi

Once a samurai fell asleep at the 中沢峠 Nakazawa pass. A snake came down from the tree and wanted to drink his blood. Suddenly his sword turned into a centipede and drove the snake away.

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source : mag.japaaan.com/archives
Mukadeyama むかでやま
歌川国芳「ほふづきづくし」Utagawa Kuniyoshi - all about Hozuki lantern plants


.................................................................................... Tochigi 栃木県　
鹿沼市 Kanuma, 粟野町 Awano

When Hidesato tried to kill the huge centipede that had wrapped its body around Mount Akagi for seven rounds, he used 99 arrows and could not kill it. On the last arrowhead he put some spittle and now - the centipede was killed.

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宇都宮市 Utsunomiya

国幣中社下野一の宮、二荒山神社の使姫は蛇であった。使いの帰りに百足虫のために片目を潰されて以来、宇都宮に生まれる人は目が小さいと伝えられている。

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mukademushi 百足蟲 / 百足虫 centipede
If a centipede comes into the room of an ill person, this person will die.


.................................................................................... Tokyo 東京

Since a snake and a centipede will double its body when cut to kill it, it is of no use to do so.


.................................................................................... Toyama 富山県　
福野町 Fukuno

Hidesato killed the huge centipede with the spittle of a woman on his last arrow. As a thank-you present he got one snake baby from the Huge Snake. This snake now lives in 縄ケ池 Nawagaike pond.
(Other versions say it was a dragon, not a snake.)


source : geocities.jp/numada777

神島には、俵藤太（藤原秀郷）が放したという蛇の伝説がある。
城端町縄ケ池にある、俵藤太の竜の子の伝説とも関連性があり興味深い.


.................................................................................... Yamanashi 山梨県
富士吉田市 Fuji Yoshida

Snakes like to live in holes so young girls are not allowed to pee against a stone wall. If they do and hit a snake by mistake, they have to chant this spell:
「ヘビもムカデも出てくるな。俺は鍛冶屋の聟殿だ。も刀もまっ赤に焼いてまってるぞ。」
Snakes and centipedes, do not dare to come out.
I am a skilled blacksmith.
I am waiting here with a red-hot sword!

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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -


source : yasumi on facebook

Mukade from Kusatsu　草津

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. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -


source : lazy13.exblog.jp/page
Fujiwara Tota 俵藤太 百足退治

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- #mukade #centipede #millipede -
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