Tsuchinoko/Gigi-Hebi/Bachi-Hebi/Koro/Koro-Hebi/Tsuchi-Korobi

The Tsuchinoko is a Cryptid, or UMA, and Yokai from Japan. The name Tsuchinoko has been translated as “child of the earth,” “small mallet,” or “mallet child.” This name references a Japanese mallet called a tsuchi similar in shape to the creature’s body. They’re described as short, thick, snake-like creatures. Some describe them as incredibly poisonous and believe they can survive even when their heads are cut off. They’re known to be incredibly rare with many trying hard to prove their existence. There is an urban legend from Kanazawa stating that there is a slope where one night a man saw something tumbling down it. When he approached he saw something resembling a pitch-black pestle which began laughing loudly before disappearing in a loud burst of light. Due to an abundance of sightings, the term Tsuchinoko became very popular and acts as a blanket term for all snake-like yokai. In more recent years a mysterious snake was sighted and determined to be an abnormal tiger keelback snake.

Citations:

Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. United States, University of California Press, 2015.