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Kappa (河童) are mythical creatures, water imps found in Japanese folklore.1 Appearance
Most depictions show kappa as child-sized humanoids, though their bodies are often more like those of monkeys or frogs than human beings. Some descriptions say their faces are apelike while others show them with beaked visages more like those of tortoises. Pictures usually show kappa with thick shells and scaly skin that ranges in color from green to yellow or blue.
Kappa inhabit the ponds and rivers of Japan and have various features to aid them in this environment, such as webbed hands and feet. They are sometimes even said to smell like fish, and they can certainly swim like them. The expression kappa no kawa nagare ("a drowning kappa") means that even the experts make mistakes.
The kappa's most notable feature, however, is the water-filled depressions atop their heads. These cavities are surrounded by scraggly hair, and this type of bobbed hair style is named okappa atama for the creatures. The kappa derives their incredible strength from these liquid-filled holes, and anyone confronted with one may exploit this weakness by simply getting the kappa to spill the water from its head. One trusted method to do this is to appeal to the kappa's deep sense of etiquette, for a kappa cannot help but return a deep bow, even if it means losing its head-water in the process. Once depleted, the kappa is seriously weakened and may even die. Other tales say that this water allows kappa to move about on land, and once emptied, the creatures are immobilized. The Japanese custom of bowingBowing is the act of lowering the head, or sometimes the entire upper body from the waist, as a social gesture. Bowing exists now and has existed in various cultures at various periods in history. Different cultures have placed varying degrees of importan is traditionally imposed on stubborn children on the grounds that it is a defense against kappa.
Today, kappa are popular figures in Japanese animation, children's toys, and literatureJapanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia of writing. Early work was heavily influenced by Chinese literature, but Japan quickly developed a style and quality of its own. When Japan was re-opened suddenly in the 19th century, Western Lite. Modern depictions make them much less monstrous, showing them instead as cute, cartoonish figures. A notable literary appearance is the short story "Kappa" by Akutagawa RyunosukeAkutagawa, Ryunosuke ( or , March 1, 1892 July 24, 1927) was a Japanese writer. Akutagawa wrote no full-length novels, focusing instead on the short story as his main medium of expression. During his short life, he wrote over 150 short stories, including. The kappa were also the inspiration for the creature in the film RinguRingu (, the Ring is best known as the 1998 Japanese horror film by Hideo Nakata, adapted from a book by Koji Suzuki of the same name. The film was later remade in the United States by director Gore Verbinski as The Ring in 2002. Both films retain the bas; Kappas have recently been introduced in Western literature, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third book in the Harry Potter series of children's books by J. A film based on the book was released on May 31st, 2004, in the United Kingdom (released early due to popular demand) and June 4th in the Unite and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is both a fictional book described in the Harry Potter series of children's novels by the British author J. Rowling, and a real book by that author. The real book purports to be a reproduction of a copy of the ficti. The creatures have been featured in several Final FantasyFinal Fantasy ( Japanese: Fainaru Fantajii is a very popular series of role-playing video games produced by Square (aka Squaresoft), now Square Enix. The Final Fantasy video game franchise originated in Japan in 1987 (with Final Fantasy I and was brought games (though renamed " imps" in the English translation), and were the inspiration for the " Koopas" in the Super Mario Bros. series of video games.
