"Water Ghost", commonly known as "Water Monkey", is a kind of monster lurking in the water in Chinese folklore. It is covered with hair, has red eyes and a black face. It is said that it is the soul of a person who drowned in the water and resembles a ghost. The ghosts and ghosts must be replaced by drowning a person. They have great power when entering the water, but they have no power to bind a chicken when they get ashore. They often change various objects in the water to attract people, and take the opportunity to drag people into the water and drown them.
In addition, there are water ghosts called "kappa" in Japan:
It is said that "kappa" live in rivers or ponds across Japan. According to the research data of folklorist Junichiro Ishikawa , the kappa legend is widely distributed, including Japan's Tohoku region, Chubu region, Kinki region, Kansai's Ishikawa and Toyama Prefecture, Chugoku region, Shikoku region, Kitakyushu region, Kyushu's Saga and Miyazaki Prefecture, as well as the Amami Islands and Okinawa County, depending on the local dialect, the name of kappa is also different. ***The common point is "children living in rivers", so they are called "Kappa" (Kappa). Originally, kappa were spirits in the water and were worshiped as river gods by the people. There is also a saying that kappas are messengers of the water god, transformed from the frost dropped by the water god.
1. Kappa Crossing
The legend of kappa originated from the upper reaches of the Yellow River Basin in China. In ancient times, it was called "Water Tiger", also known as "He Bo". In the early Warring States Period, in Ye County, Wei State. Every year when the rainy season comes, the river surges and floods, often claiming many lives and property. The local witches use the excuse of "He Bo to marry a wife" to collude with officials to make money, and must sacrifice young women to please He Bo. It wasn't until a new magistrate named Ximen Bao came to Ye County that the superstition of "He Bo marrying a wife" was eradicated. The later mention of "He Bo marrying a wife" naturally reminds people of the story of resisting tyranny by outsmarting them. typical.
After "Kappa" spread to Japan, it became a well-known "kappa". It is said that a leader named Kuzenbo led the kappa clan from China to live in the Kuma River Unzen Hot Spring area in Kyushu. He often appears in the village with his men and causes a lot of trouble. Because he has the power to pull the horse to the river, no one in the village can resist him. Kato Kiyomasa, the lord of Kumamoto Castle, was extremely angry when he learned about this. He used the kappa's most hated ape to teach the kappa a lesson for harming the people. From then on, the kappa had to live obediently in the Chikugo River in Kumamoto Prefecture. Later, he became the envoy of Suitengu Shrine, and its branch was located at Arima's residence on the bank of the Akabane River in Edo. (His Royal Highness Kurume) later moved to near Nihonbashi.
It is said that in order to defeat Kuzenbo, Kato Kiyomasa led the kappa to Hell Valley, which spewed sulfur gas. He not only poisoned the river, but also threw hot stones into the pool, and finally gathered them. He captured the mountain ape that the kappa hated most, and attacked him in groups. Because of the heat of sulfur, the water in the plate above Jiuqianfang gradually disappeared. With his magical power, he was finally able to capture him. He had to ask the city lord to let him go and promised not to harm him again. place, this is one of the legends of Kappa. (Note: Kato Kiyomasa was a Japanese military commander in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. He followed Toyotomi Hideyoshi when he was young. During the desperate battle with Shibata Katsuie, he showed his superb martial arts skills. He defected to Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Battle of Hara and became the leader after the war. The city of Kumamoto Castle is famous for its bravery and castle architecture)
2. The theory of kappa humanoidization
Legends of Sajingoro in the Edo period and Banjo Yue of ancient Takeda. When these craftsmen built shrines, temples or cities, they spread a spell to write people's names on slips of paper and then stuff the slips into the paper. This action is called "soul-calling" in the cracks of wood or grass-cut human figures (i.e. dolls). It is said that the building will be stronger and more reliable. After completion, the unused humanoids will be thrown into the river. Later, these cursed humanoids will transform into kappas, causing chaos everywhere and posing a threat to humans and animals. In addition, Abe Seimei, who is famous as an onmyoji, used paper dolls (Shikigami) attached to the gods to help him perform his work. Later, some people were afraid of the Shikigami, so Abe Seimei had to seal the Shikigami in a monastery in Kyoto. Under the bridge, it is said that kappa are the descendants of these shikigami.
Similar to the way an onmyoji uses shikigami, sorcerers can cause illness or even death if they do something to the victim's name, hair or clothing. And he can also steal his soul essence and make it serve himself.
In the Qing Dynasty of China, there was also a "soul-calling" sorcery incident: In order to build a bridge in Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, wooden piles needed to be driven into the bottom of the river, so the masons borrowed the names of living people and wrote them on pieces of paper and pasted them on the prepared paper. The tops of the wooden piles that are to be the base of the bridge are then hammered down hard with a mallet, which will add a certain spiritual force to the impact of the sledgehammer. Since it was difficult to drive wooden piles to the bottom of the river, rumors spread that the bridge piers could be stabilized and lasting if the soul-calling technique was used, causing great panic among the people in the south of the Yangtze River. Everyone was in danger and vowed to kill those who spread sorcery. The local officials during Emperor Long's era spent a lot of effort to suppress the panic incidents that disturbed people's hearts. (Please refer to "Calling the Soul" published by Shiying)
Characteristics of Kappa
Full body: Height is about 60 cm to 1 meter tall, weight is only about 45 kg, he is thin The body shape looks like that of a child between 3 and 10 years old, looking both human and ape-like. Their bodies smell bad and are covered in mucus, making them difficult to catch. The kappa seen in some places are said to be covered in hair.
Hands and feet: The arms can move flexibly left and right. If they are cut off, they will grow back. They have strong regeneration ability. (The amputated arms can be made into special medicine for bruises.) The hands and feet grow like It's like a human, but it's very slender. It can be used for paddling, but it only has four fingers, and its hands and feet can be retracted into the turtle shell.
Head: disheveled hair. There is a disc-shaped depression in the center of the head. When filled with water, it becomes extremely powerful. If the water is poured out, the magic power will disappear. Some people say that his head is red. Others say it is dark blue.
Eyes: The eyes are round, glowing, and have sharp eyes.
Nose: The nose is as prominent as a dog and has a keen sense of smell.
Mouth: It looks like a human mouth, or some looks like a bird's beak. There are four fangs on the top and bottom of the mouth, which can tear food apart very quickly.
Turtle Shell: A carapace like a turtle's back is carried on its back.
Butt: It is said that there are three buttholes. I wonder what they are used for?
The image of the water god is accepted by beliefs in many places. Later, when people no longer believed in the water god, it gradually evolved into the image of the monster kappa we know today. Although kappas distributed throughout Japan have slightly different appearances, their most common feature is that they have a plate filled with water on their heads. If the water in the plate is gone, their magic power will disappear. I heard that kappas also like He is a youkai who likes to play sumo wrestling with others or touch their butts. He is a monster who likes to play pranks. The kappa is about one meter tall, about the same height as a child. It has a beak on its face and a carapace on its back. It is a dark green protective color. It is very hard and can be said to be invulnerable. They have webbed fingers and can swim at amazing speeds in the water. It is said that older kappas have supernatural powers and can use telepathy to understand people's inner thoughts.
Kappa in ancient Chinese books
To the Chinese, kappa is like a water ghost-like creature. According to the ancient book "Youming Lu", this creature is called " "Water bug", also known as "bug boy" or "water spirit", has a naked body with different sizes, eyes, ears, nose, tongue and lips. It wears a basin on its head and receives three to five feet of water. If it gets water, it will be strong. If it loses water, it will be strong. No courage. According to the research results of Japanese folklorists, this creature should be the Japanese kappa. Japanese folklorist Kunio Yanagida also wrote a study of "Kappa Komahiki" (the legend of a kappa pulling a horse into the river) in "Yamashima Folk Tales Collection", saying that its body is like a blue-black monkey, and its hands and feet are It looks like a duck's paw, and the depression on the top of the head is like holding a saucer. Whether in water or on land, as long as the water in the saucer does not dry up, it is so powerful that it can compete with humans or horses. Therefore, there is a saying in Japan that describes the sky. The disaster is called "The Kappa is wiped out."
Kappa in Japanese Literature
Through the brilliant writing of Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa, kappa (published in 1927) are no longer scary water ghosts. The image, in turn, becomes a humorous character that can lead people into a magical utopian world. This story is about a madman recalling what he saw and heard in the kappa country. It uses the eyes of a madman to pull the reader away from reality and review the world we live in from a third-party perspective, thereby forcing the reader to We reflect on our current lives. The novel describes the appearance of kappas in great detail: they have a saucer on their head, and they often make leaping frog postures, or climb trees to watch people. The body is slightly transparent and can change color according to the environment (it feels like a tree frog or tree frog).
In the Kappa Kingdom, all concepts are mocking people in real society. They even understand humans better than they understand themselves. Once you master their unique language and accept their weird thoughts, after leaving this utopia, you will immediately fall into the trouble of extremely disgusting human beings. In the last chapter of the novel, the protagonist finally returns to the human world. Because he can no longer adapt to human life, he is treated as a madman. If coming to the Kappa symbolizes human consciousness and spiritual strength, then returning to the human world is tantamount to an act of self-will and depravity, which will ultimately lead to tragedy, because such people are destined to be unable to continue to survive in the real world. Perhaps this is the main reason why the author Ryunosuke Akutagawa finally chose to commit suicide.
The discovery of kappa mummies
The places where kappa mummies are found are mostly concentrated in Kyushu. The kappa mummy collected by Matsuura Shuzo in Imari, Saga Prefecture is the most famous. It is about 40 centimeters in length and is exactly the same as the kappa described by Mr. Yanagida Kunio. It looks like an ape with a saucer-shaped depression on the top of its head. There is a kappa that looks like a monster. However, after verification by the TV station, the mummy specimen is probably fake. In addition, Zuiryuji Temple in Osaka also has photos of the kappa mummy specimen, but it refuses to be interviewed by the outside world. In addition, Yellow Sakura Shuzo located in Fushimi, Kyoto, claims to be committed to promoting kappa culture, but it is actually a publicity stunt. They use kappa patterns as their trademarks. There is a local kappa museum near the Okura Okura Memorial Hall, but there is no such thing in it. Kappa specimens, what a pity! Are kappas a variant of some kind of creature? It remains an unsolved mystery in the biological world.