Tsuchigumo are monstrous creatures with the body of a tiger; limbs of a spider; and the face of a demon. They capture; bind and eat unwary travelers. When Minamoto no Yorimitsu killed a Tsuchigumo; 1;990 human skulls fell out of its belly.

The Tsuchigumo no Zoshi Emaki (Narrative picture scroll of the story of the earth spider is a picture scroll depicting a story of a battle between Tsuchigumo and Minamoto no Yorimitsu; a general in the mid-Heian period. The story is well known as an episode in Taiheiki (a warrior tale) and the Noh song 'Tsuchigumo'. Pictures From History