Jawnomicon

Kappa

Also called Kawatarō, Kawappa, Gatarō.

In Japanese yokai folklore, the Kappa is a river-dwelling trickster spirit famed for its water-filled head-dish, whose spilling is the key to defeating it.

At a glance

Tradition
Japanese folklore
Region
Japan (place of origin)
Trait family
The Still-Water Lurkers
Symbols
Turtle

Near this figure

Symbols

Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.

Traits

Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.

Form

Behaviour

  • Drowns riders
    why

    In folklore the Kappa is a dangerous trickster that lurks in rivers and ponds, pulling children, livestock, and unwary swimmers underwater to drown them, and in some tellings it extracts a mythical organ called the shirikodama from its victim's anus.

  • Weakness to specific animal or object
    why

    The Kappa's power is bound entirely to the water in its head-dish: if the dish spills or dries out, the Kappa becomes weak, immobile, or even dies, and travelers exploit this by tricking a Kappa into bowing, since its rigid politeness compels it to return any bow it receives and so spill its own water.

  • Lies in wait in stagnant water
    why

    In folklore the Kappa is a dangerous trickster that lurks in rivers and ponds, pulling children, livestock, and unwary swimmers underwater to drown them, and in some tellings it extracts a mythical organ called the shirikodama from its victim's anus.

  • Can be placated by specific ritual or trick
    why

    having been defeated or having had a limb severed and returned, it may swear an oath of good behavior, teach a household the secret of bone-setting medicine, or help farmers by ensuring good irrigation, and in some tellings a captured Kappa's arm can be reattached with the right medicine as thanks for its release.

Utility powers

  • Knowledge bestowal
    why

    it may swear an oath of good behavior, teach a household the secret of bone-setting medicine, or help farmers by ensuring good irrigation, and in some tellings a captured Kappa's arm can be reattached with the right medicine as thanks for its release.

Curses

  • Drowning lure
    why

    In folklore the Kappa is a dangerous trickster that lurks in rivers and ponds, pulling children, livestock, and unwary swimmers underwater to drown them, and in some tellings it extracts a mythical organ called the shirikodama from its victim's anus.

Roles

Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.