Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 鬼土鼠, Demon Earth Rat
Category: Rat
The Myth
Onitsuchi Nezumi is a mysterious yokai depicted in a Japanese illustrated scroll of monstrous beings, examples of which are known as Bakemono-zukushi Emaki. One surviving depiction is held on deposit at the Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art.
According to the scroll’s accompanying account, a strange groaning sound emerged from beneath the earth in the mountains of Matsuzaki, in Chikugo Province. The ground trembled as the sound was heard, prompting local people to dig into the earth. There they discovered a bizarre creature, which an elderly man identified as an Onitsuchi Nezumi.
Despite its name, the creature’s identity is uncertain. Its illustrated appearance is identical to a yokai labelled Ushi-oni (牛鬼), or Ox Demon, in other monstrous-creature scrolls. This suggests that the same image may have circulated under different names in Japanese yokai traditions.
Sources
“Onitsuchi Nezumi.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1077118021.html