20+ Yokai Kappa Japanese Folklore

Transformation from folklore to folklorism in japan asian folklore studies 57 fall 1998.

Yokai kappa japanese folklore. Japanese monsters and the culture of yōkai. Prefers cucumbers and human entrails. The kappa s favorite foods are cucumbers and children. Kappa 河童 kappa known also as kawatarô 川太郎 komahiki or kawako 川子 is a yôkai from the japanese mythology. The mysterious disappearance or death of people is a theme that can be found abundantly in japanese folklore. University of california press 2015. Konaki jiji this yokai disguises itself as an abandoned baby then cries until someone picks it up.

Kappa are a bit of an odd one. Koromodako an octopus like yokai that lives in the waters bordering kyoto and fukui. Some of them have never appeared in english before while others will be intimately familiar to fans of japanese folklore. The kappa the lives in ponds and rivers and has a turtle like shell. One prime example of this would be the yokai kappa who kidnaps children residing near rivers and then eating them whole. A kappa 河童 river child also known as kawatarō 川太郎 river boy komahiki 駒引 horse puller kawatora 川虎 river tiger or suiko 水虎 water tiger is an amphibious yōkai demon or imp found in traditional japanese folklore they are typically depicted as green human like beings with webbed hands and feet and a turtle like carapace on their backs. The name is a combination of the word kawa river and wappa an inflection of warabe child.

If you spend any time at all in japan you ll almost certainly see them as masks on restaurant walls or statues at temples and even train stations. Konoha tengu a bird like tengu. Within these pages you ll find an ever growing collection of yokai and legends from all parts of japan and all periods of japanese history. River child alternate names. Today we take a look at another strange and unique creature from japanese folklore. Of all the yokai in japanese folklore the tengu are for sure my personal favourites. They re river dwelling reptilian humanoids with flat.

Rivers lakes ponds waterways cisterns wells. The book of yōkai. Found throughout japan diet. There are more than eighty other names associated with the kappa in different regions including kawappa gawappa kōgo mizushi mizuchi enkō kawaso suitengu. Here are 6 if japan s greatest yokai. Kappa are aquatic reptilian humanoids who inhabit the rivers and streams flowing over japan clumsy on land they are at home in the water and thrive during the warm. Mysterious creatures of japanese folklore.

The metamorphosis of the kappa. Kosenjōbi fireballs that float over former battlefields.