Kappa (Ha Dong), is a water yokai in Japanese legend. Kappa is an abbreviated reading of Kawa wappa, also derived from the word Kawa warawa, sometimes also called Gataro, both referring to a child living in a river or lake, or Suiko (Water tiger), because of its face. The front has a round shape, almost like a tiger's face. A hairy kappa is called a Hyōsube. There are over 8 other names for kappa in different regions of Japan including kawappa, gawappa, kōgo, mizushi, mizuchi, enkō, kawaso, suitengu, and dagame.
They are also known to inhabit man-made structures such as water tanks or ponds in gardens. They are sometimes caught on land in the mountains in winter, when their aquatic habitat is frozen. They leave a mark by a strong body odor, which is said to make people think of... rotting compost
Kappa is described as a small demon, a monster the size of a four or five-year-old child weighing about 20 kg, with a shape similar to that of a monkey, with a shaggy head, long hooked nose, and a mouth like a crow's beak. round face and eyes, brown hairs under the chin, bluish-gray skin that can change color depending on the environment, limbs with 5 toes and webbed, belly with a bag containing objects, body with a fishy odor fish. There are also many versions that they also have turtle shells on their backs, skin like frogs, can peel and possess arms and claws that can be stretched. Kappa can live both in water and on land. On the top of the head is an oval dish of water, when on land, if this dish is full of water, Kappa still has strength. Kappa loves to eat cucumbers, eggs, fruit and human liver.
The habitat of the kappa is mainly in rivers and canals, so the Kappa is a very good swimmer, but also very agile when on land. Kappa is a very violent monster and tends to live on food associated with human blood. If it encroaches on the river and lake areas that are its territory, it will drag them into the water and drain their livers through the anus. They often call each other with the "quack, quack" sound. If you tease them, they will cry like a baby. If you make them happy they will return the favor. Although kappa sometimes harm people, there are also stories of kappa helping people.
The Kappa is one of the most popular yokai in Japan. There is a story that the Kappa, originally a Chinese youkai, migrated in herds of about 9,000 individuals to Japan in the fifth century. However, according to Japanese oral tradition: in the past, poor families who could not take care of them threw their children into the river, they turned into Kappa to kidnap the children getting close to the rivers to play with them.
However, they also circulate a real horror story about this yokai:
The story goes that, in the past, Kappa was just an ordinary child, his mother found out that his father was having an affair, so he got angry and killed her and buried her body at the lakeside. Because of the poor family, the child was hungry, so he went to the lakeside to find red lobsters to eat, but his cruel fate made him eat the shrimp that had eaten the mother's corpse, so he was cursed and turned into a Kappa yokai. First, the half-human, half-shrimp type, the resentment is sky-high.
It planted Gu worms into his father's body, causing his body to be eaten to the point where it was left with only a hollow skin. After his death, it moved to live in the nearby rivers and lakes, specializing in searching for lovers to drag into the water to kill. It has also cast a curse on the nearby rivers and lakes, that any abandoned child who holds grudges before death will turn into a Kappa, and their family will suffer disaster.
Therefore, there are also many theories that Kappa will save children who are drowning, because they remember their pain when they were once human.
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