Kappa

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Kappa

Kappa (or "river-child" in Japanese) are legendary creature often found in Japanese folklore and fairy tales. They inhabit places around rivers, swamps, and lakes of Japan. Their appearance is usually described as child-like humanoid with green scaly skin, with a thick turtle-like shell on their back. They have paddles between their fingers, and live both on land and in water. They also possess a water-filled plate on their head, and it is said that if the plate dries out, the kappa weakens or dies out.

Kappa is both the singular and plural form of the word.

Historical Picture of Kappa (pic.1)

 

Background

In Japanese mythology, bad Kappa are known to feed and suck out an imaginary human organ called "shirikodama", located around the stomach (In the days of the mythology, it was not known that no such organ existed). Kappa either consume this, or gives it to the "Ryuuou" (God of Seas in Buddhism) as tax. In other cases Kappa kidnap small children nearby water, dragging them into water, drowning them, or sucking their blood out before they consume them. ^[1]

Different regions of Japan perceive Kappa differently. In Shinto religion, Kappa are seen as the "God of Water", while some believe they are demons living in water. In most cases, Kappa are playful and kind, but troublesome creature. They like to sumo-wrestle and play Japanese chess games with children. They can be very loyal to whoever they owe a favor to, and give fishes or recipes for medicines to them. In modern days, they often appear in cartoons because of their child-like lovable image (pic .2).^[1] Because many regions of Japan perceive Kappa differently, how stories of Kappa is told are different as well.

Kappa drawn in Cartoon (pic .2)

 

Kappa in Fairy Tales

Kappa plays a huge role in fairy tales as way of lessons for small children. Some stories act as method of alerting the dangers of playing around water. In other cases, some stories teach kids the consequences of being and acting "troublesome" like how the kappa does. Even in modern days, a scary image of Kappa can be placed around rivers to discourage kids from swimming in it without supervision (pic.3). The Kappa within the stories and fairy tales are different by region of Japan, and the Kappa can be either 'good' or 'bad' depending on different places.

 

The "Plate"

It is said that the Kappa gains their strength by keeping water on top of the dish-like plate on top of their head. Once it is depleted, they would be weakened or could even die. In stories where a bad Kappa appears, they are usually defeated by having their plate dried up. ^[2] In any case, whether the Kappa that appears in the stories is good or bad, the presence of the plate is persistent and universal.

Notes

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Kappa-(Japanese-folklore) Kappa (Japanese folklore), retrieved on 2/15/2009
2. ↑ http://www.ushikunuma.com/minwa/kappa.htm] Legends of Kappa, retrieved on 2/15/2009