Cryptomundo » The Notzuchitokage

The Notzuchitokage

Posted by: Loren Coleman on May 21st, 2009

The Notzuchitokage

By Brent Swancer

Japan seems to be a country with its fair share of zoological mysteries and perhaps the most well known example is a reptile that perhaps holds a deeper mystery than it may at first seem.

One of the most famous cryptids in Japan is the Tsuchinoko, a type of unknown snake recognized by its distinct fat body and strange methods of locomotion, such as making giant leaps or rolling end over end. It is also notable for its purported unusual vocalizations, which include chirps, grunts, howls, growls, and mimicry of various animal sounds or even human voices. This is the popular modern image of the Tsuchinoko, the one cryptozoologists are most likely to be familiar with, and the description given most commonly by eyewitnesses who have reportedly seen it.

The cases illustrated above are generally labeled as examples of Tsuchinoko. Nevertheless, you can observe that some merge into a different description, as seen here for the second example.

Some older stories often make references to Tsuchinoko having two front legs. Since this conflicts prominently with what is typically reported, is there a chance that these accounts of two legged Tsuchinoko perhaps refer to an altogether different animal?

In the rural mountainous areas of Japan, there have been occasional tales of a mysterious reptile known as the Notzuchitokage. The Notzuchitokage is said to be around 70cm in length, with light to dark reddish coloration. The upper body resembles a lizard’s, with two legs, while the lower body is long, lacks hind-limbs, and resembles a snake. The head is often described as looking like that of a crocodile or alligator, and the creature’s tongue is sometimes said to be dark or black in color.

Although rare, fairly recent reports of these creatures have been made on occasion and they are different enough from Tsuchinoko reports to warrant attention. For instance, in 1974, a Yuyama Minamishigara saw one on a narrow dirt road in Kanagawa prefecture. The animal was described as being around 1 meter long, and 25 to 30 cm around. It was dark red in color, with a black tongue lolling out of its mouth. The animal had two clearly visible front legs.

Another sighting was made in September of the same year, 1974, by a Mrs. Yamazaki of Aichi prefecture on an abandoned road on the Tokai Nature Trail. In this report, the two-legged creature was said to be a bright red color, with stripes and a black triangle on its head. It was described as having a mouth like a crocodile.

Old stories and folklore made no distinction between the legged and the more famous legless variety of Tsuchinoko, they were known as Tsuchinoko whether they had legs or not. However, there are several reasons to suppose that we are quite possibly dealing with two markedly different creatures that were for whatever reason lumped together in more ancient times. Besides being clearly differentiated in more modern accounts, there are differences in behavior and appearance that seem to suggest that if they exist, the Tsuchinoko and Notzuchitokage are quite different animals.

The most glaring difference is the presence of two clear front legs in Notzuchitokage, while the more well known Tsuchinoko is quite clearly described as snake-like. The Tsuchinoko is described as more like a viper than a lizard, and is not ever mentioned as having legs in modern day sightings. In addition, the two-legged Notzuchitokage is not known for moving in any particularly dynamic fashion. Whereas the Tsuchinoko is reported to do things such as roll in a hoop, leap several meters, or even tumble end over end, the Notzuchitokage is mostly said to just scurry or crawl along. It is also not particularly linked to water, unlike the water loving, more snake-like Tsuchinoko.

When trying to assess whether we are dealing with one or two types of unknown animal, it is helpful to try and assess just what it is that people could possibly be seeing in the first place.

One of the main proposed culprits for Notzuchitokage sightings is that people are misidentifying blue tongued skinks, of the genus Tiliqua. While these types of skink are not native to Japan, they have been popular as pets there, and could quite possibly have been somehow introduced into the wild. These skinks have relatively short legs on a long, thick body, so perhaps people are simply not seeing the hind-legs when they make a sighting, and are thus left with the impression that they have seen some sort of two legged lizard.

These skinks are also characterized by their blue tongues (hence their common name), which could be described the dark or black color mentioned in some Notzuchitokage reports. Blue tongued skinks have heads that could be seen as somewhat reminiscent of a crocodilian, also an attribute mentioned in some reports.

Interestingly, the blue tongued skink is also often used to explain the Tsuchinoko, the difference being that due to the small limbs of these skinks, witnesses in those cases are not noticing any legs at all. If this is true, then it could be seen as a basis on which there might be a common connection between the Tsuchinoko and Notzuchitokage. Perhaps the two cryptids really are one and the same, and are both just misidentifications of blue tongued skinks made under differing circumstances. Over the years these conflicting reports of the same creature could then have been erroneously separated into two separate kinds of cryptid. It seems possible to an extent, but what of the medieval accounts made long before the pet trade would have introduced blue tongued skinks to Japan’s shores?

Speculation abounds on what what the Tsuchinoko could be. From misidentified blue tongued skinks to overfed snakes, to a new type of viper, the search for answers has focused mostly on what would look snake-like. But is there any possibility of the presence of distinct, two legged reptiles in Japan that could explain Notzuchitokage reports, as well as the old tales of two legged Tsuchinoko?

In fact, there are known animals of this kind that do exist. One possibility is that we are dealing with some type of undiscovered species of the family Bipedidae, commonly known as the two legged worm lizards. The general appearance of these creatures certainly seems to fit the bill.

Two legged worm lizards are quite unusual looking, with a long, serpentine body lacking hind limbs, and just two forelimbs used for digging. They are also pinkish in color, which could account for descriptions of a reddish hue in Notzuchitokage reports. Bipedidae are found only in Mexico, and are rarely seen by humans due to their burrowing nature, however it is intriguing to think that a similarly adapted creature might be found in Japan whether they are directly related or not.

Another more bizarre possibility is that Notzuchitokage could be a sort of surviving transitory species between snakes and lizards. Although extremely rare, fossils of this type have been found before. In Lebanon, a fossil was found of a creature known as Eupodophis descovensi, from the Late Cretaceous around 92 million years ago. The fossil is a rare glimpse of what is believed to be a transitory stage between lizards and snakes, with two hind legs clearly intact. Although the legs on the fossil are located far down the body rather than in the front, it illustrates the possibilities.

Even modern snakes such as boas and pythons possess tiny spurs on their lower bodies, the remnants of legs, that are now used primarily as “grippers” during mating. Is the Notzuchitokage perhaps some sort of surviving transitory animal that is an amalgram of certain lizard and snake features? It seems unlikely, but interesting to speculate on nevertheless.

It seems worth keeping in mind that it is possible that looking at explanations for two legged lizards may not be necessary. A snake could perhaps be mistaken as having two legs under certain conditions just as a skink could be mistaken for having none, but the questions remain. Are the Tsuchinoko and Notzuchitokage one and the same animal, or are they different? Could the same culprit be behind stories for both of them? Are we dealing with one cryptid or two? Are they misidentified known animals or something new?

Whatever the Nodzuchitokage and Tsuchinoko are, it seems worth considering the possibility that there could be more than one undocumented type of reptile lurking in the remote forests of Japan.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at 12:05 am and is filed under CryptoZoo News, Cryptomundo Exclusive, Cryptotourism, Cryptozoologists, Cryptozoology, Eyewitness Accounts, Folklore, Giant Cryptid Reptiles, Guest Blog. You can follow responses via our RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is not allowed.

Spread the Word!

del.icio.us Digg Furl Reddit StumbleUpon Help

Similar Phenomena:

8 Responses to “The Notzuchitokage”

raisinsofwrath responds: May 21st, 2009 at 8:56 am
Maybe it’s just Mothra…..
cryptidsrus responds: May 21st, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Great post as always, Brent.

It actually might be a skink indeed, although a giant one.

It is interesting to consider that the skink might have been brought to Dai Nippon by medieval traders.
I didn’t know skinks were “tradeable” stuff back then

Whatever it is, it is certainly thought-provoking. It would be wonderful if it turned out to be a survivor from prehistoric times.

Would certainly “turn a lot of heads.” Yes, indeed.

Keep up the good work.
flame821 responds: May 21st, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Brent,

Thank you so much for taking the time to write these articles. I truly enjoy learning about cryptids from other areas and I am especially fascinated with Japanese Folklore.

Besides the Kappa, are there any other cryptids that resemble the ‘demons’ of the old folktales?
Ceroill responds: May 21st, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Another excellent piece. When I read about these accounts I keep thinking about two other folkloric creatures from other parts of the world. With the leaping and the two front legs I keep thinking about the Tatzelwurm, and wonder about connections there. Then the rolling makes me think of the long traditions of the Hoop Snake.

I didn’t know skinks had been kept as pets for that long in Japan. Another very interesting tidbit.

Thanks again for keeping us informed.
Alligator responds: May 21st, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Excellent report Brent. Very concise, logical examination of what these animals could be. Good point about the Bipedidae - not many people know they even exist.
mystery_man responds: May 22nd, 2009 at 6:43 am
Hey all, thank you for your kind words. I’m always happy when people here enjoy these articles. I’ll certainly try to keep it up. A few little thoughts on what has been said so far.

Flame821- If you mean creatures or yokai(Japanese folkloric entities) that are considered to be possibly real creatures, then I can certainly think of one that might resemble a “devil.” The winged Tengu could possibly be seen as possessing attributes that could be considered devil-like, or similar in some respects to the oni of Japanese lore. “Oni” directly translates to “devil” or “demon,” although they are variously described as being sort of the Japanese equivalent of trolls, ogres, or goblins.

Ceroill- Yes, I was actually going to mention the Tatzelwurm in this article. The Notzuchitokage is very similar in many respects to the European Tatzelwurm. It makes me wonder if a similarly evolved animal could be behind both of these far flung cryptids. I know, for example, that Loren has put up an article on the Tatzelwurm here on Cryptomundo that also mentioned the possibility of something like two legged worm lizards, the Bipedidae being at the core of those stories. Similar traditions to the Hoop snakes are definitely present in Tsuchinoko reports as well. I agree that it is fascinating to consider the similarities between creatures from completely separate cultures across the globe.

Alligator- Thank you for your kind words. It means a lot coming from another commenter who I also to be very logical and rational in their approach to these things, in your case especially reptile related ones.

A general comment to no one in particular I’d like to make in order to clarify what I meant about the skinks I mentioned here. I am not sure if these animals were ever traded here in Japan in medieval times. As a matter of fact, I find it perhaps unlikely and actually meant my mention of it in this article as a reason I find the skink explanation questionable. I find it somewhat hard to swallow that blue tongued skinks would have been traded and managed to find their way into the wild in those ancient times. Since tales of the Tsuchinoko are present in even Japan’s oldest written texts, it seems doubtful that any sort of pet trade could have started this folklore to begin with.

I think more likely is that modern day witnesses have maybe seen these skinks and likened the strange (to them) sight to a well known fantastic animal that most resembles it, the Tsuchinoko. This cryptid is so well known in Japanese society that it is entirely plausible for someone to make that jump. However, those ancient stories of Tsuchinoko had to have started from something, and I think that blue tongued skinks were perhaps not it.

Maybe the skinks were traded back in those days, but not that I am aware of. I suppose that it could have be a type of native lizard similar to a skink that is either now extinct or is still out there undiscovered.
Terrell H King responds: May 22nd, 2009 at 10:59 am
Thanks for the article.

Doesn’t it bug you that in so many cryptid encounters no one is carrying a gun or a camera, and if they are by chance carrying said gun or camera they are usually a lousey shot with both (apart form the Shunka Warak’in!)?

It could be an unidentified snake or lizard, but I think that the reports throughout the ages cannot all be put down to misidentification or imagination. Too many times we presume observers ignorant or stupid because what they relay seems to fantastical. Not sure about a metre long skink though!

I am of the mind that the claws on the back end of boas and pythons have always been used for mating, and were never co-opted from legs. What mechansim would turn back legs into ‘gripping’ claws could only be described out of the bounds of empirical science. That would seem to me to require some sort of reasoning or intelligence beyond chance driven by environment, mutations or punctuated equilibria nonsense.
Alligator responds: May 23rd, 2009 at 2:26 am
You know, there seems to be a great deal of similarity between these creatures and the Tatzelwurm reports of mountainous areas of central Europe.

Leave your comments

You must be logged in to post a comment.

|Top | Content|

Cryptomundo
for Bigfoot, Loch Ness, and More

The Notzuchitokage

Spread the Word!

8 Responses to “The Notzuchitokage”

Leave your comments

Main Page

Join The Search

Mystery Pages

Login

Advertisement

Syndication

Donate Today

The Beyond

Advertisement

T 84 Viagra

taking viagra after the expiration date

cheap gerneric viagra

generic viagra levitra and cialis pills!

cheap gerneric viagra

cheap gerneric viagra

cheap gerneric viagra

Non Prescription Viagra

Viagra Illegal Phillipines

Side Affects Of Viagra

Buy Viagra Online At

taking viagra woman

Viagra And Cannabis

generic viagra levitra and cialis pills!

Viagra Bon Marche

taking viagra woman

Impotence Viagra

cheap gerneric viagra