Kappa in Literature

In Oba Minako's "The Marsh," there are two kinds of creatures that live in the water, the kappa and the spirit of the marsh. However, I do not believe that these are one and the same. Kappa in this story are described as a grotesque monster that the main character uses to scare her children into being good. "Mr. Kappa over there, do you want a little girl?" While certainly frightening and forboding, the image of kappa as child eaters is not congruent with the spirit of the marsh. The spirit is a lonely creature that longs for a man to complete it, much like the main character, but perhaps the need for children and the viciousness of the kappa is also an aspect of her personality that can be described by the marsh, "a creature without human form, like an evil spirit that inhabits the mountains and rivers.



More folk tails and descriptions of kappa can be sought from Kunio Yanagida's "Tono-monogatari." Also, be sure to check out Hiromi Goto's "The Kappa Child," a kappa story in Canada.