Tsuchigumo

Tsuchigumo woman (Jorōgumo)(top right), depicted in an 1887 woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.^{[citation needed]}

Tsuchigumo (土蜘蛛) is not a presently existent kind of spider. It has the meanings listed below:

1. The name of a local clan who, in ancient times, did not swear allegiance to the emperor of Japan
2. A yōkai in Japan, as a large spider, had alternate names yatsukahagi (八握脛) and ōgumo (大蜘蛛)
3. The name of a noh.

Tsuchigumo (local clan)

In ancient Japan, it was used as a derogatory term against the heros of aboriginals who did not show allegiance to the emperor of Japan. In the Kojiki and in Nihon Shoki, they were seen as 土蜘蛛 and as 都知久母.

Tsuchigumo (yōkai)

In accordance to the elapse of eras, Tsuchigumo has been have been established as yōkai.

Suggested Reading

Asiatic Society of Japan. Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan: Volume 7. The Society. (1879)

Aston, William George. Shinto: the way of the gods. Longmans, Green, and Co. (1905)

Brinkley, Frank and Dairoku Kikuchi. A history of the Japanese people from the earliest times to the end of the Meiji era. The Encyclopædia Britannica Co. (1915)

Horne, Charles Francis. The Sacred books and early literature of the East. Parke, Austin, and Lipscomb: (1917)

Oriental Institute (Woking, England), East India Association (London, England). The Imperial and asiatic quarterly review and oriental and colonial record. Oriental Institute. (1892)

Studio international, Volume 18. Studio Trust. (1900)

Trench, K. Paul. Nihongi: chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697: Volume 1. The Society. Trübner. (1896)