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Japan: Repelling Kappa by breaking wind. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), 1881

Japan: Repelling Kappa by breaking wind. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), 1881

A Kappa ('river-child'), alternatively called kawataro ('river-boy'), is a yokai (supernatural monster) found in Japanese folklore. The name is a combination of the word kawa (river) and wappa, an inflection of warabe (child). In Shintō they are considered to be one of many suijin ('water deities').

A hairy kappa is called a Hyōsube.There are more than eighty other names associated with the kappa in different regions. Along with the oni and the tengu, the kappa is among the best-known yokai in Japan.

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