What is a tsuchinoko?
The tsuchinoko is described as a snake whose body is very thick in the middle, so that it looks like a short hammer handle. It is said to jump very long distances and to bite its own tail and roll down slopes like a wheel. In some stories it can talk and lie, and it likes to drink sake.
Origins
Similar ideas go back a long way in Japan. The tsuchinoko is often linked to the nozuchi, a spirit of fields and mountains that is mentioned in old texts. The current name became widely known in the 1970s, when magazines, manga and television shows popularized the creature. Since then, several towns in western Japan have offered rewards for a tsuchinoko caught alive, and some hold their own festivals.
Possible explanations
Many sightings can be explained by snakes that have just swallowed large prey, or by pregnant vipers. Escaped blue-tongued skinks from Australia, which are kept as pets in Japan, also look surprisingly like a tsuchinoko.
Episode on this topic
- Tsuchinoko: Japanese Cryptid or Rare Animal? (in German)