Tsuchigumo, the Earth Spider

The myth

Tsuchigumo, "earth spider", has two faces. In ancient chronicles such as the Kojiki, Nihon Shoki and the fudoki, it is a disparaging name given to local groups who resisted Yamato power and lived in caves or pit dwellings. In the Middle Ages the term became a monster: a giant spider that hides in caves and attacks heroes. In the illustrated scroll Tsuchigumo Sōshi and the Noh play Tsuchigumo, the warrior Minamoto no Raikō, sick and bewitched, wounds the creature, follows its trail of blood to its lair and kills it with his companions.

Why it has this power

An Uncommon level-5 Earth Insect-Plant with 1800 ATK and 1600 DEF: strong and hidden, like one who lives under the ground. Earth is the cave; Feather and Scarab, the light threads and the underworld. It is one of the materials of the Rite of Mount Mikami, which calls the giant centipede.

Did you know

In the Noh Tsuchigumo, the spider hurls paper webs across the stage, an effect that makes it one of the most spectacular plays in the repertoire.

Connections

Where to get it

• Daily Offering: 0.45% per pack (Uncommon 33% per card)
• Welcome Pack: 1.1% per pack (Uncommon 30% per card)
• Traveler's Pack: 0.96% per pack · 5.6% in the themed pack (Uncommon 29% per card)
• Bronze Reliquary: 0.94% per pack · 5.5% in the themed pack (Uncommon 29% per card)
• Silver Reliquary: 0.96% per pack · 5.6% in the themed pack (Uncommon 33% per card)
• Golden Reliquary: 0.94% per pack · 5.5% in the themed pack (Uncommon 35% per card)
• Daily Showcase: Shows up on about 0.98% of days · 400 gold
• Craft with card dust: 100 dust
• Crossing of Myths: Can be offered as a reward during a crossing (the card stays in the crossing deck).

Sources

1. Warriors of Old Japan, and Other Stories (Project Gutenberg) — Yei Theodora Ozaki
2. Fudoki — Encyclopaedia Britannica — The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
3. Noh theatre — Encyclopaedia Britannica — The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica