Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Centipede Wife
Category: Insect
The Myth
Mukade Nyōbō is a centipede bride from a short folktale recorded in Kōka District, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. She is described through the unusual appearance of the centipede she represents: a creature with a black body and red legs. Someone found this combination of colours so charming that he declared he wanted to marry a centipede.
His wish was granted, and he took the centipede as his wife. However, married life soon became troublesome. The centipede required an enormous number of sandals, forcing her husband to make pair after pair for her many feet.
Eventually, the burden of producing so many sandals became too much, and the marriage ended in divorce. The story offers a humorous explanation for why a man who wished to marry a centipede ultimately regretted his decision. Rather than presenting the creature as a terrifying monster, the folktale turns its many legs into the source of an impractical and ultimately unsuccessful marriage.
Sources
“Mukade Nyōbō.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1061416806.html