◀ Back to the Yokaipedia PIXEL YOKAI

No.047

Omukade

THE GIANT CENTIPEDE

Omukade
Pixel artOriginal art by Pixel Yokai
"Fujiwara no Hidesato Slaying the Giant Centipede" (triptych, Library of Congress)
For reference: old artKatsukawa Shuntei
"Fujiwara no Hidesato Slaying the Giant Centipede" (triptych, Library of Congress)
Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
Japanese name
大百足（OMUKADE）
Type
Insect spirit
Found in
Mount Mikami in old Omi Province
Where the legend lives
  • Shiga — Mount Mikami (the Fuji of Omi), where the giant centipede slain by Tawara Toda is said to have lived
  • Shiga — Seta no Karahashi bridge, where Tawara Toda is said to have stepped over a great serpent, which led the dragon god to ask for his help

◆ The legend

A centipede yokai that grew so old and so huge it could coil all the way around a mountain. The most famous one lived on Mount Mikami in Omi Province (today's Shiga Prefecture). It is said to have tormented the family of the dragon god who lived in Lake Biwa, and when it came down the mountain at night, it looked like a long line of burning torches on the move.

The one who defeated it was the Heian-period warrior Fujiwara no Hidesato, also known as Tawara Toda. Famous too for defeating the rebel Taira no Masakado, he is said to have shot the centipede with his bow at the dragon god's request, a tale long loved in stories and picture scrolls. The centipede was also said to be a messenger of Bishamonten, a god of war, so it was seen not only as frightening but as a symbol of strength.

◆ Stories about this yokai

Tawara Toda and the Giant Centipede: From the Serpent on Seta Bridge to Mount MikamiLegend says a centipede big enough to wrap around Mount Mikami in Shiga seven and a half times once lived there. A gentle walk through the tale of Tawara Toda, who stepped over a serpent on Seta Bridge, was asked by a dragon god to slay the centipede, and was rewarded with gifts from the Dragon Palace.