Kappa

The kappa is a water creature from Japanese folklore, and its name means "river-child". It is one of the three best-known yokai, or spirits, of Japan. Stories say kappa live in ponds and rivers all around the country, and they go by other local names such as kawataro, or "river-boy".

Kappa are usually shown as green, slimy, human-like beings with webbed hands and feet and a turtle-like shell on the back. On top of the head is a dish that holds water, and if it spills, the kappa becomes weak. They love cucumbers and like to wrestle in sumo. These are legends, and no real kappa has been found.

From dangerous to mischievous

Long ago, kappa were feared as river monsters that drowned people and dragged horses and cattle into the water. Later stories made them more mischievous. A caught kappa might have its arm cut off, and in return for being forgiven it would work for the people or share the recipe for a wonder medicine. In some places kappa were even thought to be forms of the water god.

Kappa today

The kappa is famous across Japan. The 1927 novel Kappa by Akutagawa Ryunosuke helped make it better known. In the town of Tono, in Iwate, the tourism association sells a joke "kappa capture permit", and at Kappa-buchi visitors dangle cucumbers from fishing rods to lure one. Local shrines and mounds in several places also remember kappa. A kappa is usually taken to be a mischievous spirit of rivers and ponds.

On the globe

The toy globe marks the kappa at Tono in Iwate, Japan, a place full of kappa stories. Zoom in to look for the river creature.