Departments
Intermediate Japanese - Free Online Course
KAPPA
河童
kappa
A kappa is a creature of Japanese folklore. This amphibious being may live either on land or in the water. The kappa’s appearance is strange but not necessarily frightening. A kappa is about the same size as the typical five-year-old child, with fins on its hands and feet, and a long snout resembling a beak.
Kappa can be dangerous. One of their favorite tricks is to pull a person underwater, and then pull out the liver through the victim’s anus. (Ouch!) Other stories depict kappa as friendly. Cuddly versions of the creature sometimes appear in cartoons for young children.
Whether friendly or not, all kappa have a vulnerable point. The creatures wear a dish of water on the top of their heads, and they lose their supernatural powers if this dish is spilt or otherwise emptied.
Kappa have some remarkably human tendencies. They are aficionados of sumo wrestling. They also love cucumbers. In fact, Japanese restaurants and sushi bars serve cucumber sushi rolls called kappa maki / 河童巻き.