Tale of Gejigeji

Posted on April 17, 2007 by Brenton S.

A majority of the population has some phobia about insects. When in a foreign land a traveler can expect to see organisms that may look strange and somewhat peculiar in comparison to that of his native town or homeland. Being an island chain, Japan is home to many indigenous species of bugs, spiders, and insects that can never be seen elsewhere. What qualities amongst insects do you fear the most? Is it their ability to jump at you? Is it their ability to move stealthily and quickly, covering large distances? Is it their sting or bites that scare you? How about their long menacing limbs that scamper and tickle you skin? Well travelers if you are looking for that absolutely menacing creature I have found it for you and it's called the Gejigeji or long legged centipede.

The Gejigeji lives a majority of it's life in the Japanese countryside but has been known to inhabit anyplace where there are rotting leaves, logs, and branches in which to breed and hide in. Not to be confused with it's much slower cousin the familiar Centipede known as "Mukade" in Japan, the Gejigeji has long spider like limbs, which allow it to move and jump with remarkable efficiency and speed! The Gejigeji will bite but does not have venom such as its cousin the Mukade.

I had first arrived to stay with my friend "Tomodachi" in the countryside of Beppu in Oita. My friend has a huge country home nestled in the mountains about 15 minutes from what is considered town. Being tired from a grueling flight schedule I settled into a large king sized bed with accommodations that could have matched any Hyatt hotel. I awoke some hours later to a small sharp burning sensation situated on my left forearm. While I tried to gain my bearings in my new surroundings, I felt something crawl across my neck and shoulders! Yikes! Well maybe that wasn't the exact word I used but I was out of the sheets and bed faster than you can say GaijinJapanese word meaning "outsider" commonly used to describe foreigners. Considered somewhat impolite. ! Turning on all the lights I inspected the King sized sheets for about 20 minutes till I found a small 1.5-inch Mukade, which appeared to still be a baby, but not without bite. I thoroughly ground the annoyance to ensure that it could not survive another day.

The next morning I lamented to my friend about the stunning ordeal the previous night with the Mukade. Being a native nihonjin my friend just laughed saying that country houses have country bugs all over and that there would be no way to eradicate them. While I complained about my bad luck and huge summer mosquitoes he laughed and said that I must learn to share my home with all the surrounding wildlife. Having just had my first rude cultural shock awakening, I licked my wounds and thought about the whole situation as ominous but logical.

Later that night as we watched some program about three fat guys who liked to eat, out of the corner of my eye I saw something skitter next to the couch where I was sitting. I told my friend that something could smell the "fresh" meat in the house and was coming for me. My friend laughed as told me I was paranoid from last nights Mukade encounter, making me extra precautious. I swore I saw something and continued to look for it amongst his mangas and magazines. My friend was just about to utter how I was rudely interrupting the show when "it" appeared from somewhere. Let me tell you I have seen centipedes before but nothing can prepare you for your first Gejigeji encounter. It was fast and agile with long legs and it can jump! Shouting some explicatives, I grabbed a manga and tried to hit it with no avail. My friend being quite amused with my reaction told me "eeey man that's a GejiGeji… and it bites too". Wtf! As I tried to corner that thing, it moved as if some Japanese master had trained it to know my every move. Evading all my swats and swings, the Gejigeji escaped into a pile of clutter somewhere in his large room. Needless to say my friend thought it was hilarious that such a creature could provoke such a panicked reaction. We never caught the sucker and I had never seen another one since. However, every time a gaijin goes to Japan I always instill the fear of the tale of the Gejigeji!