Ōmukade, the Centipede of Mount Mikami

The myth

Ōmukade, the "great centipede", is the monster of the legend of Tawara Tōda, popular name of the tenth-century warrior Fujiwara no Hidesato. Crossing the Seta bridge at Lake Biwa, he steps fearlessly over a huge serpent. That night the serpent returns as a man, the dragon king of the lake, and asks for help against a giant centipede of Mount Mikami, which coils its body seven times around the mountain, or seven and a half in some versions. Two arrows glance off; the third, tipped with saliva, poison to centipedes, kills the monster. The dragon king rewards him with a bag of rice that never empties.

Why it has this power

An Epic level-8 Darkness Insect-Plant with 2750 ATK and 2600 DEF, a ritual monster: it emerges through the Rite of Mount Mikami, with the Young Jorōgumo, the Tsuchigumo and the Kodama, creatures of forest and earth. Darkness, Moon and Scarab make it queen of crawling things. A natural enemy of the archipelago's dragons.

Did you know

Tawara Tōda means something like "Tōda of the rice bag", after the magical gift, and Yei Ozaki retold the legend as My Lord Bag of Rice.

Connections

Where to get it

• Ritual: Summoned by the ritual Rite of Mount Mikami, with the materials Young Jorōgumo of the Hidden Web, Tsuchigumo, the Earth Spider, Kodama, Tree Spirit.
• It never joins the collection: you summon it mid-duel, by fusion or ritual.

Sources

1. Japanese Fairy Tales (Project Gutenberg) — Yei Theodora Ozaki
2. Myths & Legends of Japan (Project Gutenberg) — F. Hadland Davis