In the dark murky waters of Japan, lurks a mysterious and frighening creature, that is
said to wield terrifying magical powers, which it uses for mostly evil.
Reptilian and vampirelike, this strange creature is.
Intelligent, and even more mischeivous.
A creature, when berserk, drowns livestock, kidnap and eat children, and harasses women.
This creature, is called the Kappa.
In Japanese mythology and folklore, the Kappa, is a water deity, which inhabits the freshwater
areas of Japan.
A lecherous creature that is credited with having taught humans, the art of bonesetting
and the creation of medical salves.
The Kappa has the appearance of both a humanoid and
reptile.
In legend and art, they are depicted as being the size of a child, about 5 feet
tall, and green in colour.
They slightly resemble monkeys, but with fish scales or tortoise
shells instead of skin.
They posses a beak in place of a mouth, however this doesn’t interfere with their abilities
to speak human languages.
Kappas are called different names, the most common being kawappa, gawappa, and
kawaso.
Perhaps, the most notable feature of the Kappa, is the small bowl-like indentation on top
of their heads, that holds a small pool of water called the ‘sara.’
This water is though to be the source of the Kappa’s magical powers.
A Kappa must keep their sara full, whenever they venture onto land, else they lose all
their strength and magical powers.
If the sara is also spilled, they also lose their powers.
Without this sara water, a Kappa could possibly die.
Legends say, that if you encounter a Kappa on land, and refill the sara on top of its
head, it will be eternally grateful, and will withhold it mischeivous or malevolent nature
from you.
In addition, it will help you with whatever you require
for the rest of your lifetime.
The Kappa is fond of causing mischief, and sometimes harm to humans.
In their benign state, Kappas are pranksters that like to make offensive jokes that put
people in discomfort, like making sounds similar to flatulence, or looking up a woman’s kimono.
In their malevolent state, they tend to direct their anger towards humans and livestock,
and purposefully try to drown them, kill and drink the blood of victims, and sexually assault
women.
According to legend, the Kappa is obsessed with an object called shiri-kodama, a mysterious
jewel thought to contain a person’s lifeforce that is located in the shiri, the japanese
word for anus.
It is thought that the majority of attacks by the Kappa are made to obtain the shiri-kodama.
But the Kappa does not always kill in order to obtaining a shiri-kodama.
Many tales tell that the Kappa sometimes lurks in toilets, which were usually situated over
the river, waiting for an opportunity to to steal the shiri-kodama or sexually assault
women.
Some of the myths went on to say that these assaulted women, would later give birth to
Kappa children.
However, upon birth, these kappa children were cut into pieces and buried in jars because
of their hideous appearance.
The Kappa is also known to posses incredible strength and amazing swimming capabilities.
They are known for their love of fighting, especially sumo wrestling.
It is said that a Kappa’s greatest joy in life, is to engage in combat with its victims.
Now, despite their evil ways, Kappa are obsessed with human tradition.
This is considered to be its biggest weakness.
Those who tell of an encounter with the Kappa, claimed that they were able to escape, because
they used the Kappa's own obsession with human tradition against it.
They said, that if you encounter a Kappa, you should bow deeply to it.
The Kappa will feel obligated to return the bow, thus spilling the water in its sara in
the process, thereby rendering it powerless.
Unfortunately, some Kappa caught onto this practice, and then used a metal plate to protect
their sara when they came ashore.
Now how do you defeat these smarter Kappas?
When it comes to Kappas who protect their sara with a plate, there are other ways, although
risky, to ensure that they do not harm you.
It is said that a Kappa’s arms can be easily detached from their bodies.
If you can sneak up on a Kappa, or are fast enough to grab their arm during combat and
pull it off, a Kappa will promise you anything in order to have it returned.
But as mentioned before, this is a risky feat.
Other ways of dealing with Kappa can be found in their love of certain foods, especially
cucumbers.
Cucumbers maybe one of the few things the Kappa loves more than the internal organs
of young children.
And so, many people believed that writing the names and ages of everyone in their family
on pieces of sliced cucumber and throwing them into the water before bathing would ensure
that no one in their family would be harmed.
The last method used to ward off the Kappa, was by carrying iron, sesame, or ginger, whenever
one is crossing Kappa infested places.
Though a lot of people refuse to believe in the existence of the Kappa,
there are accoounts that still claim of many sightings today, especially in the countryside
of Japan.
Locals still hang warning signs close to bodies of water, thought to be frequented
by the Kappa.
Japanese indigenes used the legend of the Kappa to scare disobebedient children into
behaving.
It was thought that when disobedient children ventured too close to the water without their
parents, the Kappa would pull them into the water and drown them.
In conclusion, not all Kappas were evil.
There were a rare few who were good.
The early Kappas were known as friendly helpers who worked to teach humans important medical
practices, such as bone setting.