Water Spirits Codexery

Kappa (folklore)

A water yōkai known for its dish-topped head and love of cucumbers.

A depression on their head, called a "dish," retains water that gives them strength, and they favor cucumbers and sumo-wrestling.[1][2]

Quick Facts

Other names
  • kawatarō
  • gawara
  • garappa
  • kawara
  • kawakoboshi
  • kawawarō
  • hyōsubo
  • enkō
  • Kusenbō
Notable early work
Butsurui Shōko (1775)
Notable early dictionary
Nippo Jisho (1603)
Notable encyclopedia
Wakan sansai zue (1712)
Notable early collection
Kagakushū (prefaced 1444)

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

The name kappa derives from kawawappa, a contraction of kawa ("river") and wappa ("child").[3] Later depictions shifted to mischievous beings that could be punished and then gratefully perform labor or reveal secret medicine recipes.[4] Kappa are said to extract a mythical organ called the shirikodama from victims' anuses.[2] They abhor iron and deer antler, and hemp stalks can pierce them when swords cannot.[5][6]

Cucumbers are their traditional favorite food, and offerings are frequently made to them at festivals.[7] In some regions, kappa are considered seasonal, wintering in mountains and returning to rivers in spring.[8] Historically, kappa were perilous beings that caused drownings and pulled horses and cattle into water.[4]

What the cited sources add

The same source notes that kappa are obsessed with politeness, so a deep bow makes them spill their head-dish water and become vulnerable.[9][10] Kyōgoku's 2008 work divides Edo-period kappa depictions into three categories: ape-like, suiko (scaly), and terrapin or turtle types.[11][12] The ape-like type had dense fur and long hair, while the terrapin type had a pointed mouth and turtle shell.[11][12][13] The "Handbook of Japanese Mythology" (published in 2003) notes that kappa can be either threatening or friendly, with conduct that includes peering up women's kimono, drowning people, and consuming human flesh.[9][14]

The suiko type was without hair but had a covering of scales.[11][12] Aramata's 1987 publication mentions that in certain accounts, a kappa's arms are linked through its body, so that pulling one arm causes the other to shorten.[15][16]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ;; ; ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Foster 2015, p. 157; Foster 2015, p. 157 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dejitaru daijisen", Shogakukan, 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: De Garis, "We Japanese", Routledge, 2009, p. 13; ; Foster 2024, p. 195 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gunji, "Rokkaku-sei gijō no yōto ni tsuite: Mizuchi ni kansuru densetsu wo tegakari ni", Kokugakuin Daigaku kiyō, October 1995, p. 363 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mozume 1916, p. 310; "Koji ruien", Koji ruien kankō-kai, 1910, p. 480 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ashkenazi, "Handbook of Japanese Mythology", ABC-CLIO, 2003, p. 195–196; Foster 2024, p. 195; Takeda 1988, p. 12; Foster 1998, p. 2; also gives nattō ( , fermented soybeans), citing , but the latter does not list it and has adzuki ( ) and maize(tōmorokoshi) instead. There follows a list of wh; Shiina 2013, p. 77; "Koji ruien", Koji ruien kankō-kai, 1910, p. 481–482 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Konno 1981, p. 52; Konno 1981, p. 52; Konno 1981, p. 52 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Open Library record, ISBN 9781576074671 ("Handbook of Japanese Mythology (World Mythology)"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ashkenazi, "Handbook of Japanese Mythology", ABC-CLIO, 2003, p. 195–196 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Open Library record, ISBN 9784336050557 ("Yōkai gahon Kyōka hyaku monogatari"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kyōgoku, "Yōkai gahon・kyōka hyakumonogatari", Kokusho kankōkai, 2008, p. 72–73 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kyōgoku, "Yōkai gahon・kyōka hyakumonogatari", Kokusho kankōkai, 2008, p. 72–73; Kagawa, "Kappa: Mizu no kyōfu wo taigen shita ozomashiki yōkai", nippon.com, 30 May 2022 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  14. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Frédéric, "kappa", President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2002, p. 480; Ashkenazi, "Handbook of Japanese Mythology", ABC-CLIO, 2003, p. 195–196 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  15. Open Library record, ISBN 9784582518221 ("Sekai dai hakubutsu zukan ="). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  16. Wikipedia, "Kappa (folklore)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Aramata, "Sekai dai-hakubutsu zukan", 平凡社, 1988, p. 385–386; Kyōgoku, "Yōkai gahon・kyōka hyakumonogatari", Kokusho kankōkai, 2008, p. 72–73 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Kappa (folklore) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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