Do not mistakenly think that Katakana is only used for imported words. Even though this is typically the case. There are many spiders in Japan, and the country has long had a word for them: KUMO
The Chinese equivalent is quite difficult to write when Kaji are adopted from China. 蜘蛛. Japanese people frequently raise the same topic, even on Japanese language discussion forums: why do we use katakana for “spider” when there is a kanji? One of the responses was that writing kanji is simply
There are currently just a small number of kanji, around 2000 characters, that are taught in schools and are thought to be the minimum. Additionally, the character of the spider is not present. But individuals need to understand much more than that to be educated and read newspapers, magazines, and books. The spider does not, however, appear all that frequently. Most people don’t have many opportunities to worry about or read about spiders unless they are entomologists!
Additionally, considering how little kanji is used in primary school, I believe kids learn about insects during this time. When teaching the bug names, as elementary school students only learn a small number of kanji—a few hundred in six years—they would instead use katakana or hiragana, depending on the situation.
Spiders Native to Japan
Some spiders are native to japan. The most common one is joro.
The enormous spider known as Trich Nephila clavata, often known as the Joro spider or the golden orb weaver, is renowned for creating helical, wheel-shaped webs. It belongs to the genus of creatures that weave golden orbs. Despite having been spotted for the first time in Georgia in 2013 or 2014, the Joro spider is often observed in China, Taiwan, North and South Korea, and Japan.
A Little Overview of Joro
The species, which comes in shades of yellow, blue, and red, can grow to a size similar to a human hand’s palm. The terrifying Japanese folklore figure Jorgumo, who changes into a beautiful lady before killing its prey, served as the model for the name of the poisonous spider.
When the spiders migrate via “ballooning,” the delicate silk thread of their webs acts as a parachute to carry newly born spiders to a far-off location. Since it is a fairly quick form of transportation, it is anticipated that the animals would go to other places around the United States.
According to a University of Georgia study, they may begin moving up the East Coast as early as May. The creatures are found in Japan, which has the exact latitude and climate of America.
TSUCHIGUMO
The topic of common Japanese legend is the Yatsukahagi or Ogumo, sometimes described as spider-like monsters. In Japan, these species may be found in islands, mountains, forests, and caves. These animals can transform into yokai and grow to enormous proportions, allowing them to eat greater prey. They’ll eat whatever they can get their hands on, including people and animal
The Tsuchigumo wait for unknowing prey to pass by before constructing their nests out of silken tubes. They often live in forested and mountainous locations. They use spreading misleading information and spreading lies to sway others. Tsuchigumo has a variety of external expressions in addition to a variety of goals. Several Japanese folktales include Tscuhigumo.
Joro Spider vs Golden Orb Spider
The Golden Orb spider and the Joro spider both spin the same kind of orb-shaped web, and their respective nets are made of gold silk. The primary distinction between these spiders, though, is how they look. The Golden Orb spider is often brown or black with a silvery or plum-colored abdomen, in contrast to the Joro spider, which has gray and dark blue stripes and a red belly.
The Joro spider is also indigenous to Southeast Asia. With populations in Australia, Asia, Africa, North America, and South America, the Golden Orb spider is far more common. Both species favor warm settings.
What’s the Big Deal About Joro Spiders?
Although the Joro spider (tricho cinephilia clavata) is a generally beneficial organism, many people are terrified of it because it is an invasive species. After all, if you haven’t seen one in person, they are quite enormous and terrifying. They primarily originate in Southeast Asia, however, since 2013, Georgia has seen them.
Normally solitary, these spiders are lately grabbing attention due to their large populations in 25 different Georgian regions. With their ballooning technique, they can go up to 100 miles, gliding on the air currents to their destination. When they congregate in bunches near houses and the woods, they can be rather frightening.
Joro Spider Scientific Name
Trichonephila clavate is the scientific name for the Joro spider. There are no other known names for it. But the Joro spider got its name from a spider demon in Japanese mythology. It belongs to the Araneidae family of arthropods. They currently don’t have any other subspecies.
Friedrich Dahl first used the term Trichonephila to refer to the arachnid in the early 20th century to describe spiders that make weaved orbs for their webs. “Clavata” is derived from the English word “club,” which is contemporary.
Conclusion
Nope. You’ve probably noticed that the bulk of Japanese animal terms, including 99.99% of those pronounced in native Japanese, is written in katakana since the actual kanji are seen as being too challenging or cryptic.
Even on the plaques at zoo exhibits, it is uncommon to see kanji for animals. They will, at most, be mentioned in passing as intriguing trivia.
For what it’s worth, Kumo is written in kanji.
Faqs
It’s fun to discover a spider in the morning. In Japanese culture, spiders are viewed as a link between this world and the afterlife, and they have long been associated with health. The observation that spiders appear to construct their webs when the weather is favorable may help to explain this.
Along with the Latin alphabet occasionally, hiragana, kanji, and other Japanese syllabaries are employed in writing (also known as rmaji).
