Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Yamagumo, Ōgumo, Yatsukahagi
Category: Spider
The Myth
The Tsuchigumo is a colossal spider yōkai that dwells in mountains, caves, abandoned mansions, and underground lairs. It is a master of illusion, capable of taking human form, disguising itself as monks, women, or other beings to lure victims into its webs before revealing its monstrous true form.
Although later folklore depicts it as a supernatural spider, the name originally referred to rebellious clans that resisted the early Yamato court. During the medieval period these figures gradually transformed into the giant spider monsters of Japanese legend.
The most famous legend tells of the warrior Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who was suffering from a mysterious illness when a towering monk entered his room at night and attempted to bind him with ropes. Yorimitsu slashed the stranger with his sword, causing the figure to flee while leaving behind a trail of blood. Following the trail with his retainers, he discovered a gigantic spider hidden inside a cave and killed it. His sword thereafter became known as Spider-Cutter.
Another famous version tells how Yorimitsu and his companion entered a ruined mansion after following a floating human skull. There they were attacked by strange monsters before a beautiful woman appeared to deceive them. When Yorimitsu wounded her, she fled, leaving a trail of white blood that led into a mountain cave. Inside they found the Tsuchigumo in its true form—a gigantic spider said to be nearly sixty meters long. After a fierce battle they slew the monster, and when its swollen body was cut open, nearly two thousand human skulls spilled from its abdomen, along with countless smaller spiders.
The Tsuchigumo became one of Japan’s most famous spider yōkai, remembered as a monstrous cave-dwelling predator whose greatest weapon was deception, using illusions and shapeshifting before trapping its victims in its immense webs.
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Tsuchigumo. In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 28, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuchigumo