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  • (host) What looks like a reptile amphibian hybrid,

  • has a dish shaped skull, smells like fish, is childlike,

  • and out to steal your crops and drown your livestock?

  • The Japanese water yokai, kappa.

  • Kappa translates to "river child,"

  • but there are more than 100 variations of the name,

  • and while described as childlike in appearance,

  • their behavior certainly is not.

  • Kappa is a truly Japanese yokai.

  • While some yokai originate in China

  • or are inspired by Chinese folklore,

  • the kappa is Japan through and through.

  • And kappas are obsessed with butts, so hang on to yours.

  • I'm Dr. Emily Zarka, and this is "Monstrum."

  • With so many different stories of kappa out there,

  • I knew I would need some extra help

  • digging into the lore of this yokai.

  • My name is Yoshiko Okuyama.

  • I'm a full professor of Japanese studies

  • at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

  • And I'm also the author of "Japanese Mythology in Film."

  • Personality-wise, the kappa is like the class clown,

  • with a penchant for pranks.

  • Sometimes, a really bad one.

  • According to legend, living in rivers, ponds, and lakes.

  • Kappa are commonly portrayed as green in color

  • with a turtle shell on their back,

  • partially hollowed-out heads, and beak-like mouths.

  • A popular kappa story is based on

  • a real Japanese feudal lord, Kato Kiyomasa.

  • After a kappa drowns one of his favorite pages,

  • he orders the execution of all the kappas in his province.

  • Buddhist priests chanted to keep the creatures in the area,

  • monkeys were brought in to frighten the kappa,

  • and all the streams were poisoned

  • and filled with hot rocks.

  • Scared and sick, the leader of the kappa promised his kind

  • would never harm anyone in the region again.

  • They were forgiven and kept their word.

  • This is a common trope in kappa tales.

  • Oftentimes, kappa must promise to stop harassing people,

  • and they must offer help to people when needed

  • or share their secret medical remedies.

  • The kappas were especially adept at

  • bone setting, oddly enough.

  • Their medical knowledge may connect back to other

  • water deities associated with fertility,

  • or agricultural deities,

  • especially in more positive legends,

  • since they were also given offerings in the hopes

  • of securing good health in children.

  • Outside of making threats,

  • there are a few other ways to survive an attack.

  • Sometimes, a kappa attack on a human or livestock

  • is foiled when the yokai's arm

  • is pulled out of their bodies.

  • Luckily for kappa, it can be reattached.

  • But they have a critical weakness.

  • If they spill any of the liquid from their unique head dish,

  • it's going to be a problem.

  • Let's talk about that for a second.

  • The kappa's head has a divot that holds a liquid

  • directly related to the kappa's life force.

  • You can defend against a kappa attack by wrestling the kappa

  • or just by showing some manners.

  • If you bow before your opponent, it will bow back,

  • spilling the contents of its head dish

  • and losing its strength, and maybe even its own life.

  • Another bizarre attribute of the kappa, it loves cucumbers,

  • which is also the reason why

  • a cucumber sushi roll is called kappamaki,

  • a fun little reference to this mischievous yokai.

  • Less fun fact, if the kappa pulls you underwater,

  • it will steal your liver or blood.

  • They will often do so by a rather

  • non-traditional backdoor method.

  • Why? Well, they must remove the shirikodama first.

  • The shirikodama is a mythical ball-like organ

  • or jewel that people have inside their derrieres.

  • (Yoshiko) That's the source of your vitality,

  • like your life's battery pack.

  • And Mr. Kappa wants it.

  • Once it snatches your shirikodama, you are out.

  • Your body becomes like a noodle,

  • all weak and floppy in the water.

  • Ah, talk about a bizarre way to lose your mojo, right?

  • And a way to make it easier for kappa to drown you.

  • Apparently, this is a tasty snack for kappa,

  • who will consume it or take it to their king as tribute.

  • And yes, some read earlier kappa lore

  • as symbolic of male-male sexual relationships.

  • There are a lot of kappa stories involving butts,

  • but let's save that for the comments.

  • The kappa is often associated not just with violence

  • and thievery, but sexual harassment and assault.

  • Kappa are almost always male,

  • especially in the earlier lore.

  • According to author Kunio Yanagita's

  • folklore collection, "The Legends of Tono,"

  • the kappa will attack and impregnate human women.

  • The offspring of these attacks are mercilessly killed,

  • chopped into pieces, and buried in wine casks.

  • There are a lot of regional variations of kappa

  • given its large geographic range.

  • They're often depicted as an amphibious creature.

  • Japan is home to over 30 species of frogs

  • and 17 types of turtles,

  • so an amphibious water yokai makes sense.

  • In Eastern Japan, kappa commonly

  • had a turtle shell on their back,

  • while in Western Japan, variations were more likely

  • to be covered in hair and walk upright.

  • I think these kappa might be more heavily inspired

  • by the Japanese macaque or snow monkey,

  • who just so happens to like to take

  • hot spring baths in the winter.

  • The association with kappa

  • to drowning humans seems straightforward.

  • They might've been used to warn children

  • to be careful around water.

  • (Yoshiko) Think of the kappa legend

  • as ancient Japan's version of a no swimming sign.

  • Back in the day, a written warning wouldn't cut it, right?

  • Since most folks couldn't read.

  • But a chilling tale of a life snatching water creature

  • would stick in your head.

  • And they're a reminder to protect livestock.

  • Those are valuable resources you wouldn't want to lose.

  • Makes sense, but there's a bit more to it.

  • In Northern and Eastern Japan,

  • the kappa more commonly pulled horses into the water.

  • In these regions, horse populations

  • were much higher than cows.

  • Even going as far back as the 13th century,

  • there's evidence of horse veterinarian clinics in temples,

  • a clear sign of the equine's importance.

  • But over in Western Japan,

  • the stories center around kappa attacking cows.

  • This region's leather trade

  • was largely dominated by cow skins,

  • and boasted the epicenter of the Japanese leather trade.

  • Whether cows or horses, the kappa's threat is significant.

  • In the 17th century, an unparalleled

  • set of laws existed to protect these

  • and other animals from maltreatment.

  • It was illegal to abandon a sick cow or horse,

  • and certain rules existed around

  • how to dispose of their corpses.

  • In the late 18th century, reports emerged of peasants

  • in rural communities being charged additional fees

  • for corpse removal if the animal dies in fires

  • or from drowning.

  • A kappa pulling a horse or cow

  • to a watery grave would be significant.

  • It meant a loss of a valuable asset and a potential fine.

  • In the early 18th century,

  • written folklore of the kappa developed,

  • and it gave us the first recorded images of the monster.

  • Around 1713, Terajima Ryoan

  • compiled a truly extensive encyclopedia.

  • At a whopping 105 volumes,

  • the entries are accompanied by illustrations,

  • including his take on a creature labeled kawataro,

  • which is widely considered to be

  • the first illustration of a kappa.

  • This important entry into yokai lore is very detailed.

  • Described by Ryoan as about the size of a 10-year-old child,

  • it speaks in a human voice, walks upright,

  • and has a partially concave head that can hold water.

  • While they favor a watery habitat,

  • they are not above making their way onto land

  • to steal crops or enjoy a little sumo wrestling,

  • a sport they excel in,

  • as long as the top of their head is holding water.

  • Ryoan also mentions the butt stuff,

  • as in sucking blood from cows

  • and humans through their butts.

  • That might sound ridiculous to us now,

  • but keep in mind that yokai were presented in

  • academic texts alongside real world animals.

  • This blurred the lines between folklore and fact.

  • That tradition would change slightly in 1776

  • with the publication of the first

  • yokai-exclusive bestiary in Japanese history,

  • and you better believe the kappa is in there.

  • Author and artist, Toriyama Sekien, also added

  • another detail to existing kappa lore: webbed feet.

  • With the publication of this text,

  • the kappa became more rooted in folklore

  • rather than real history,

  • and less associated with danger and deviance,

  • serving more as symbols of Japan's rural history.

  • And that symbolism carried into modern times.

  • For example, the 1923 novella, "Kappa,"

  • written by Ryunosuke Akutagawa,

  • uses the fantastical land of the kappa

  • as an intentional caricature

  • of post-World War I Japanese culture.

  • Other 20th century creatives

  • also depict the creatures walking upright

  • and acting in more human-like activities,

  • a trend that dominated the kappa of popular culture

  • after Shimizu Kon's "Kappa Tengoku"

  • introduced the kappa into manga in the 1950s.

  • The series centers around a family of kappa

  • engaging in everyday human behaviors.

  • They eat, shop, and go to work.

  • It was in this decade that Shimizu,

  • along with artist, Kojima Ko,

  • standardized the female kappa.

  • Making kappa more human pushes them

  • further away from being a monster to fear.

  • Lighthearted versions continued

  • to appear throughout the 1970s,

  • where they recalled a nostalgia for rural life

  • and traditional Japanese folklore.

  • Rural regions of Japan publicized kappa legends

  • to encourage appreciation of traditional

  • Japanese communities and boost their economies.

  • One of the most popular kappa tourist destinations is Tono,

  • which just so happens to be an important site

  • for the historic Japanese horse trade back in the day.

  • Kappa continued to appear everywhere.

  • Anime, manga, books, and live action and animated films.

  • They appear in advertisements and logos

  • for everything from sake to credit cards.

  • Their more nefarious origins

  • have turned into a nostalgic nod to the past.

  • And they sometimes move beyond Japan's borders.

  • In 1993, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III"

  • takes the anthropomorphic turtle brothers

  • through a time traveling plot,

  • where they are constantly mistaken as kappa.

  • Kappa even popped up in everyone's favorite

  • cozy escapism game, "Animal Crossing."

  • We also see evidence of the kappa's popularity

  • in a form of modern day encyclopedia, the database.

  • If there's a fandom out there,

  • you can be sure there's a fan base website describing

  • and categorizing the minutia of its universe.

  • The Pokemon wiki, monster wiki, or the D&D wiki,

  • the kappa appears in all of those.

  • These collections of fan knowledge aren't just about

  • modernizing the bestiary or encyclopedia,

  • they're part of a global desire for connection.

  • The appreciation for the folklore

  • and its evolution can be shared around the world.

  • And kappa in particular holds

  • special meaning in Japanese history.

  • (Yoshiko) As I stated in my book,

  • "Japanese Mythology in Film," we have this innate desire

  • to preserve our cultural traditions,

  • our ancestors' beliefs, customs,

  • and even spiritual practices.

  • These are like the tapestry of ancestral wisdom,

  • woven with newly enriched thread,

  • as they are passed down from generation to generation.

  • I don't know, something tells me

  • Terajima Ryoan would be proud.

  • I just said boasted, not boosted.

  • It is boasted!

  • 'Cause it would've boosted the leather trade,

  • but it boasted.

  • David, you sound so positive.

  • -We gotta go back to the top. -We got it, we got it!

(host) What looks like a reptile amphibian hybrid,

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Who Is This Japanese Yōkai That Is Obsessed With Your Butt?(Who Is This Japanese Yōkai That Is Obsessed With Your Butt?)

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    林宜悉 に公開 2024 年 02 月 24 日
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