Kappa - The Kappapedia

5/06/2015

Hihi Baboon Yokai

source and more photos :　板原村のだんじり会館
岩見重太郎、狒々（ひひ）退治 - Iwami Jutaro fighting the Hihi

- quote -
APPEARANCE:
The hihi is a large, monkey-like beast which lives deep in the mountains. It has long, black hair and a wide mouth with long, flapping lips. Old legends say that a monkey which reaches a very old age will transform into a hihi.

BEHAVIOR:
Hihi can run very fast and primarily feed on wild animals such as boars, battering them down and snatching them up just as a bird of prey snatches up small animals. The hihi gets its name from the sound of its laugh. When it sees a human it can’t help but burst into laughter. letting out a loud, “Hihihihi!” When it laughs, its long lips curl upwards and completely cover its eyes.

INTERACTIONS:
While hihi primarily feed on wild beasts, they will also prey on humans if given the opportunity. They are known to catch and run off with human women in particular. If a hihi catches a human there is only one way to escape: by making it laugh. While it is laughing and blinded by its own lips, it can be taken down by striking it in the middle of the forehead with a sharp spike.
Hihi
are sometimes confused with other monkey-like yokai that live in the mountains, such as yamawaro and satori. The hihi is much bigger, more violent, and far more dangerous than these. Some stories say that, like satori, hihi have the ability to speak human words and read human hearts and thoughts. They are valued for their blood, which is a vivid, bright red. If used as a dye, the bright red color will never fade or run. If drunk, the imbiber is said to gain the ability to see demons and spirits.

ORIGIN:
The hihi’s origins lie in ancient Chinese mythology, where it was believed to be a supernatural monkey that lived in the mountains. It was brought over to Japan by folklorists during the middle ages. In modern Japanese, hihi is the word for baboon, which takes its name from its resemblance to this yokai.
- source : yokai.com/hihi

岩見重太郎 Iwami Jutaro is another legendary figure, fighting monsters.

井川洗厓/大河内翠山 - Iwami Jutaro

source :　www.npo-hiroshima.jp

宮乃木神楽団｢岩見重太郎｣ Kagura dance

. Kagura 神楽 Ritual Kagura Dance .

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- quote -
Hihi – No Laughing Matter (狒々, 狒狒 or比々)
Descriptions vary – the Wakansansaizue describes the hihi as being black, whereas most popular depictions in ukiyoe, drama and TV are of a white-haired beast, although the red face and long, flapping lips are almost universal. Some say that a snow monkey that reaches an extreme old age transforms into a hihi.
snip
Living in the deep mountains, they hunt wild boars but will also prey upon humans. Most descriptions agree that the hihi will laugh before devouring a human – the laugh being the reason behind the name. Stories of them catching and running off with women are staple fare of folk stories, kagura theatre and ukiyoe.
(Incidentally, the word hihi is also sometimes used as a pejorative for a lecherous old man.)

- painting by Masasumi

The two most famous stories involving the hihi are of the semi-historical Jutaro Iwami (often identified as the real-life Kanesuke Susukita) and Shippeitaro (or Hayataro, as he is also called, depending on the region).

- - - Both these stories are similar in plot.

In the former, the mighty warrior hears of a village that is forced by some mountain god to make a sacrifice of a maiden once every year. Not believing that a god would be so evil, Jutaro decides to take the place of the maiden and hides in the offering casket. Night falls and a hihi comes down from the mountains to collect his meal - - -

In the latter story, a maiden must be offered to a menacing mountain god. A wandering priest hears of this and decides to investigate. Hiding behind the shrine at night, he hears voices calling to each other.
“Is Shippeitaro near?”
“No, we have no need to fear tonight”
The priest goes off in search of Shippeitaro, envisaging him as a mighty warrior. Imagine his surprise when he finds that Shippeitaro is a dog!
He borrows the dog, who hides in the casket in which the offering is to be made (some versions have a shrine building instead). Night falls, shadows come down from the mountains and open the box. (One would think that villians in Japanese folklore would wise up to this trick . . .)
The next morning
the priest finds the bodies of dozens of monkeys and a giant hihi (some versions have three hihi). The wounded Shippeitaro makes his way back home, but dies from his injuries.

There is a temple in Komagane, Nagano Prefecture,
which claims to house the grave of Hayataro (as he is known in that region), and to also be his birthplace.

Curiously, this story was translated into English by one T. H. James in 1888, but she replaced the monkeys and hihi with phantom cats. (Perhaps she thought that hihi wouldn’t translate well, and replaced them with the dog’s enemy in Western folklore. In Japanese folklore, dogs and monkeys are antagonistic toward each other, and people who hate each other are said to have a monkey and dog relationship)

Just to tie all the folklore and nature back together again, the Shippeitaro/Hayataro legend claims the dog as being a “yamainu” (山犬). This is a very vague term, and has been used not only to describe domestic dogs which have gone wild, but also wolves. Some also suggest that it may be a separate creature altogether, possibly a domestic dog-wolf hybrid.

The wolf cult is a complex and fascinating topic, and I hope to write about it sometime.
- source : wildinjapan.wordpress.com

. Koozenji 光前寺 Kozen-Ji - Nagano .
霊犬早太郎伝説 - The legend of the spiritual dog Hayataro.
"A Heroic Dog of the Kozenji Temple" and the old monkey monster （老ヒヒ）.

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Susukida Kanesuke 薄田兼相 (Susukita) (? - 1615)

- quote -
Kanesuke was a retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Hideyori.
He joined Hideyori at Osaka castle and fought for him in the two campaigns there. A rather colorful character, Kanesuke was killed fighting the Tokugawa forces in 1615.
- source : samuraiWiki

His grave is at the temple 増福寺 Zofuku-Ji in Osaka.

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. Japanese Legends - 伝説　民話　昔話 – ABC-List .

................................................................................. Akita 秋田県　

. Hihi becomes 山の神 Yamanokami .

................................................................................. Gifu 岐阜県　

. Gero Onsen 下呂温泉 Gero Hot Spring Spa .
legend about a hihi

................................................................................. Hyogo 兵庫県　
氷上郡 Hikami district

. 六部　The Rokubu pilgrim .

................................................................................. Nagano 長野県　
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Nagano 飯田市 Iida

A similar story of the baboon
光前寺に迷い込んだ山犬が子犬を産み、住職はその一匹を引き取って早太郎と名付けた。その頃、遠州の府中という村では氏神に娘を人身御供に差し出していた。ある六部が氏神に泊まったところ、「光前寺のへえぼう太郎に知らせるな」という声を聞く。村人に頼まれて、六部はへえぼう太郎を捜しに信州に行き、和尚から早太郎を借りる。娘の代わりに差し出された早太郎はひひを退治し、傷ついた体で寺に戻ると息を引き取った。
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信州にたどり着いた六部は方々探して、光前寺にたどり着き、早太郎を借りることができた。氏神に娘が箱に入れられて運ばれる際、身代わりに早太郎が入れられた。翌朝宮に行ってみると、そこいら中血まみれで、血の跡をたどっていくと大きな銀色のひひが噛み殺されていて、早太郎はどこにもいなかった。血まみれの早太郎は寺にたどり着き、住職の顔を見て一声鳴くと息を引き取った。早太郎の墓は今でも光前寺にある。
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遠州の府中という村では、秋の祭には氏神様に人身御供として娘を差し出さねばならず、それは白羽の矢で決定されていた。あるとき、村にやってきた六部が氏神に泊まったところ、何者かが「信州信濃の光前寺、へえぼう太郎に知らせるな」と踊っているのに気づいた。翌朝村に立ち寄った六部は、村人から人身御供の話を聞き、化け物を退治するためにへえぼう太郎を探して信州へ向かった。

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Nahgano 松本市 Matsumoto

山犬から生まれた早太郎がいた。あるとき娘が人身御供となり、六部が身代わりに籠の中に入っていると、早太郎には知らせるなと怪物が出てきた。早太郎を呼んで身代わりになってもらうと、中で怪物を噛み殺した。その正体は狒々であった。

. rokubu 六部 Rokubu pilgrims in Nagano .

................................................................................. Shizuoka　
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磐田市 Iwata city 見付 Mitsuke

. 矢奈比売神社 the Shrine Yanahime Jinja .
and the origin of Shippeitaro.

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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -
16 legends to explore (01)

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- reference -

. Sake Legends and Shinto Shrines　酒と神社 .
- Introduction -

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. - - - Join my Kappa friends on facebook ! - - - .

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. Kappa densetsu　河童伝説, Kappa minwa 河童民話 - Legends - Introduction .

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

- #kappahihi #hihiyokai #hihiyōkai #baboon #hihibaboon #hayataro #shippeitaro -
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4/26/2015

Yamawaro and Kappa

Bronze Statue at the Mizuki Shigeru Road in Sakai Minato / Tottori 水木しげるロード

- - - - - Other names:
Sanso 山そ / さんそ / 山𤢖　
Yama warawa やまわらわ
Yamanmon やまんもん (Yama no mono)
Yamanto やまんと
Yamantaroo 山ん太郎 Yama no Taro
Yamanbo やまんぼ /山ん坊

Yamanwakkashi やまんわっかし
（山の若い衆 yama no wakai shu - young people of the mountains)
Yamanojiyan やまんおじやん
（山の伯父やん yama no ojisan - uncle of the mountains)

Maybe identical with
. yamaotoko, yama-otoko 山男 the "Mountain Man" monster .

Yamawaro is a popular Yokai in Kyushu and Western Japan. It is a one-eyed monster with a hairy body.
It is especially interesting because of its relation to, or rather, identity with the Kappa.

When entering a mountain forest for work the woodcutters of Kumamoto have to take some o-miki.
Sometimes, when after a lot of effort with the saw a tree would still not fall, it was said to be the bad influence of the "Mountain Child". So they had to offer him some o-miki and ask him to go away elsewhere. Sometimes he even helps with the work when offered food.
Also when other unforeseen things happened during the work in the mountain forest they would offer o-miki and ask for help.

The Yamawaro come down to the river during the spring Higan equinox 春の彼岸 and become the Garappa of the rivers.
During the autumn Higan 秋の彼岸 they climb back to the mountains in a long row, sometimes more than 1000 creatures.
People should not build their homes or kilns to make charcoal in their commuting way.

. sumigama 炭竈と伝説 Legends about charcoal kilns .
and the Yamawaro

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- quote -
やまわろ YAMAWARO - - - TRANSLATION: mountain child
ALTERNATE NAMES: yamawarawa
HABITAT: mountains; commonly found throughout Kyushu and West Japan
DIET: omnivorous

APPEARANCE:
Yamawaro are minor deities of the mountains, closely related to other nature spirits such as kappa, garappa, and hyōsube.
They are short creatures resembling boys of about 10 years of age. Their heads are covered in long brown hair and their bodies is covered in very fine, light hair. They have a short torso and two long legs, on which they walk upright. A yamawaro’s most distinguishing feature is the single eye in the middle of head. They are skillful mimics, copying the sound of falling rocks, wind, dynamite, tools, and can even learn to speak human languages and sing human songs.

INTERACTIONS:
Like their cousins the kappa, yamawaro despise horses and cows, and often attack them on sight. They love the sport of sumo, which they are better at than any human. They also enjoy sneaking into homes to nap and take baths, leaving a thick film of grease and hair in the tub when they are done.
Yamawaro
are frequently encountered in the mountains by woodcutters, and are known to help with work. If properly thanked, and offered food for their services, a yamawaro is likely to return to help again. However, care must be taken when feeding a yamawaro. If the amount of food is less than what was promised, the it will grow extremely angry and never return. If the food is offered before the work is performed, it will simply take the food and run away.

ORIGIN:
One theory from Kumamoto says that yamawaro and garappa (Kappa) are actually different forms of the same yokai.
During the cold months, these creatures live in the mountains as yamawarawa, while during the warm months, they live in lakes and rivers as garappa. Every year on the fall equinox, all of the country’s garappa transform into yamawaro and travel from the rivers to the mountains in a mass migration. They return on the spring equinox and transform back into garappa. Villagers who build their houses in the pathway of these massive yokai migrations are prone to find holes, gashes, and other damage caused by yamawaro angry at having their path blocked by a house.
People who witness the springtime return of the yamawaro often catch deadly fevers.
This theory
is supported by the fact that these creatures share so many traits in common with one another, and because it is extremely rare to see garappa in the winter. However, it is also possible that these aquatic yokai simply go into hibernation during the colder months, and that the similarities between garappa and yamawaro are simply coincidences.
- source : yokai.com/yamawaro

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source : Christopher on facebook

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. ta no kami - yama no kami 田の神山の神　Deity of the Fields and Mountains .
Before the spring sowing the statue of the deity is carried from the woods above the village to the house, where it is set up to preside over a festive spring banquet. Then it is carried to a particular place in the fields, from where it will protect the growing rice.
In autumn the festival procedure is reversed and the deity returns to the mountain forest.

. Kappa Legends from Kumamoto　熊本県　 .

. Yamawaroo 山童 from Bungo no Kuni Hita 豊後国日田 . - Oita

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source :　明子さんのギャラリー

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- - - - - Yamawaro from Kumamoto 　熊本県のヤマワロ

. Yama no Kami 山の神 God of the Mountain
and Legends from Kumamoto　熊本県 .

ヤマワロ Yamawaro - with one eye

The first to spot a Yamawaro is usually not the hunter, but his dog.
When the dog suddenly stops in fear and can not move any more, the hunter has to offer some o-miki　お神酒 ritual sake to the Yamawaro and ask for his support.

And they are always hungry, so as long as you give them food, they will do no harm. During a festival farmers but a box with delicious festival food out for the Yamawaro to keep them happy too. They also get a tokkuri bottle of sake.

They like to drink sake quite a lot.
Once a farmer lost his tobacco pouch in the forest, but the Yamawaro found it and brought it back. As a thank-you gift he got some sake to drink.

A Yamawaro has two hands of pink color like a baby.
Once a farmer found one arm on the road and in his home was another one his grandfather had won in a bout of sumo wrestling with a Yamawaro.
If someone in the home got a high fever (malaria) they would cut a bit from the arm and prepare a medicine out of it. Therefore only a little bit of the fingers is now left of this precious hand.

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Once upon a time
four or five Yamawaro followed a farmer in the evening on his way home when he walked down a river valley. They were small as children and he was not afraid of them. So he sat down at the bottom of the valley to take a rest, when suddenly the Yamawaro extinguished the light of his lantern and jumped at him. Aaaah, they were after the rice in his food box hanging from his waist. So he threw his box away as far as he could - and in no time they began to eat the rice.
Then there was the sound of a dog howling and in a swhish they were all gone.

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七滝村 Nanataki

The Yamawaro of this village like to eat 筍 bamboo shoots.
They start to bite in it from the side, so it is easy to see who had been biting.
Once a farmer was preparing the narrow paths between his rice paddies when he saw a lot of footprints from small children. He could not see anyone and thought it must be the Yamawaro. So he swung his hoe high into the air to hit the invisible foe and then there was the sound of the hoe hitting something.
But later back home this farmer became very ill and had to stay in bed.

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大島郡 Oshima gun 竜郷村 Tatsugo

Once upon a time
a 継子 stepchild was asked to go and break a branch of the ritual Sakaki tree, but it did not know what kind of tree that was and broke a branch from the wrong tree. His stepfather got very angry and scolded him so much, in the end, the poor child committed suicide.
And this child later became the Yamawaro.
Therefor the Yamawaro looks so similar to a human and can make sounds like a human voice. Once a farmer went to the cedar tree forest to collect firewood and when he came home in the evening, all the threads of his robe had been torn and fallen on the path.

. sakaki 榊 the ritual Sakaki tree .
Cleyera japonica

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八代郡 Yatsushiro gun 東陽村 Toyomura

In some hamlets the woodcutters use the Yamawaro to help with their work.
When they sing a special song during the dayitime, the Yamawaro will remember it soon and then sing it in the evening when he is alone in the mountains.
If someone takes a mid-day nap in the forest on a slope where Yamawaro wants to climb, he will develop a high fever that night.
Sometimes four or five Yamawaro will come to a home and enjoy a hot bath. When people inspect the 風呂桶 bathtub later, it is full of oil and smells terribly.

ヤマワロ Kappa
He sometimes comes to help lumberjacks with their work. To thank him, they give him オコゼと酒 Okoze and Sake rice wine.

. okoze 虎魚 / 鰧魚 / オコゼ / ヲコゼ stonefish legends .

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- source -

yokai database : ヤマワロ (76 - 10)
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

- reference -

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. - - - Join my Kappa friends on facebook ! - - - .

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. Yamabiko (Yamahiko) 山彦 / やまびこ Mountain Deity and Yokai .

- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - Yokai 妖怪 Monsters -

. Kappa densetsu　河童伝説, Kappa minwa 河童民話 - Legends - Introduction .

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

- #kappayamawaro #yamawaro -
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4/25/2015

Gaappa legends Kyushu

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- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - Legends from Kyushu 九州 -
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- Gaappa ガーッパ The Kappa of Nagasaki 長崎県 -

. - suijin 水神 water deity - .
Gaappa is seen as the God of Water 水神.

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In spring the Gaappa moves to 雞知 Kechi and in Autumn to 佐須 Sasu (対馬 Tsushima ).

The Gaappa has the size of a child with red hair, others say he looks like a large frog with a dent on his head. He likes to eat the nuts of the shuro 棕櫚 hemp palm.

Sometimes he throws sand at a person walking on the beach.

To be possessed by the Gaappa is said of people who like to carry around a lot of fish and sweets on a lonely road at night.
It is almost the same as being possessed by a fox.

Some people with a special medial vision can even see the Gaappa.

If people wrestle with a Kappa, the thread of their robes comes off. To win against a Gaappa best have him stand on his head. Then the magic water from his plate will be spilled.

Before swimming in a river you have to fix some cucumbers to your arms and neck.

People who meet a Gaappa usually become ill very soon afterwards.

On the day of the River Festival カワマツリ people float bamboo shoots and dumplings on the river.
Some rivers have special bewitched places where the Gappa live, ガーッパドコ gaappadoko. These places are dangerous for horses

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Kappa and Monkey 猿

The wild monkeys usually do no harm to humans. But if a human is possessed by a Gaappa the monkey will jump on it and bite it.

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西海市 Saikai town, 西彼町 Seihi

. Gaappa ガーッパ Kappa and Sake .

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商い（秋無い）ますます（二升）繁盛（半升＝五合）
aki nai masumasu hanjo - a pun with Chinese characters

対馬市 Tsushima town and Tsushima Island

There are many deep and dangerous river pools on the island, where Gaappa live and bring harm to humans. These pools have water even in the most waterless times of summer.

In one river pool of 佐護川 Sasugawa lives the "Boss of the Gaappa" 大将ガーツパ.
For the New Year all the Gaappa come here to celebrate and exchange stories of their own river pools.
He lives in 千馬ケ原 in Kechi village 美津島町難知,

In some very rural areas there are some kind of 祈祷師 exorcists for the Gaappa, ガーッパおとしの神さん Gaappa otoshi no kami san. They can remove a Gaappa if he possesses a human by beating the Shaman drum, swinging the ritual wand 御幣 and chanting exorcist sutras.

There are so many stories about the Gaappa of Tsushima, so they are sometimes called

対州ガーッバ Taishu Gaappa (Taishu is an old name for the island).
There is a Gaappa well ガーッパ井戸 in the village of 対馬厳原町 Izuharamachi.

At the shrine 壱岐郡芦辺町八幡浦の津緑川（つべらごう）神社 Tsuberago Jinja there is a Kawappa Sumo wrestling ガワッパ相撲 on the 16th day of the O-Bon festival for the ancestors.

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At the end of the Edo period
a samurai on his way home late at night saw a Gaappa in the river. The samurai noticed that his eyes stuck out like that of a crab or lobster but could not remember anything else about the creature he had seen. Oh yes, he also said this creature did not have a plate on its head.

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This happened about 25 years ago.
There was a rumor that this man had been deceived by a Gaappa.
The man called out "There comes a Gaappa!", fell into the river and could not get up by himself. When they finally brought him home to bed, he realize that the whale meat he had in his breast pocket was gone.

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- reference -

yokai database ガーッパ
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp -

- source : www.eonet.ne.jp/~nagasaki/kappa

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. - - - Join my Kappa friends on facebook ! - - - .

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. Kappa densetsu　河童伝説, Kappa minwa 河童民話 - Legends - Introduction .

- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - Legends from Kyushu 九州 -

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

- #gaappalegendskyushu -
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4/19/2015

Shiga prefecture

- quote
prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region in the western part of Honshu island. It encircles Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan. The capital is Ōtsu.
Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established.[3] Omi was a neighbor of Nara and Kyoto, at the junction of western and eastern Japan. During the period 667 to 672, Emperor Tenji founded a palace in Otsu. In 742, Emperor Shōmu founded a palace in Shigaraki. In the early Heian Period.
Since ancient times, Shigans have eaten fish from Lake Biwa.
近江国 Ōmi no kuni
- source : wikipedia

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滋賀県内の河童の様々な呼称。ガタロウ・守山市森川原、中主町、朽木村栃生。ガタロ・余呉町針川。ガワタ・余呉町小原、朽木村。カワタロウ、伊吹町。など。

Various names of Kappa in Shiga prefecture, all related to the "River Child" Kawataro.

gataro ガタロ Gataro
gataroo ガタロウ Gataro
gawata ガワタ Gawata
kawataroo カワタロウ Kawataro

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東浅井郡 Higashi Azai district
虎姫町 Torahime town

ガワタロウ Kawataro
夏に子供達が水遊びに夢中になっている時、突然大きな水音がした。みんなは驚いて「そーら、ガワタロウが来たぞ」と言いながら逃げ帰った。この水音は土提で寝ていたガワタロウが渕に飛びこんだ音だという。

東浅井郡 Higashi Azai gun びわ町 Biwa
Grandpa Umekichi
梅吉という爺さんが住んでいた。ある日お坊さんが「この玉をあずかってください」といって出した5つの白い玉を預かった。しばらくすると子供がやってきて、その玉を欲しいといった。お爺さんは断ったが聞かない。河童が化けていることに気付き、「相撲をして勝ったらあげる」といって相手になり、その玉を隠そうと益田川の大井のところに行くと相撲をしていた子供が先に来ていた。うろうろしている間に玉は無くなっていた。子供は河童が化けていた。

東浅井郡 Higashi Azai gun びわ町 Biwa town
ガワトロ Kawataro
川道のごぼやという地名の畑に、五郎兵衛渕という堀があり、ガワトロがいた。ある日五郎兵衛が畑仕事に行くとガワトロが相撲をとろうといった。ここで取ると負けるので、「ちょっと待ってくれ、腹が減っているので家にササギ飯を作っておいたからそれを食べておまえにも持ってくるから食べなさい」というと、それは許してくださいといったが、食べるとどろどろになって消えてしまった。

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伊香郡 Ika district 余呉町 Yogo town

. Child imitating a Gawata ガワタ .

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ガワタ Gawata from Omi
お爺さんが1人で暮らしていた。小さい子供が障子の穴から入ってきて「相撲を取ろう」といった。相撲を取ると子供は尻に手をかけてくるので不思議に思った。しばらくしてまた相撲を取ろうというので今度は尻に鍋を当てておいた。子供はまた尻に手を当ててきたが、「お爺さんの尻は金尻じゃ」といって逃げていった。

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Kappa and the Spider
川原の畑で百姓が日暮れ時に一服していると、どこからか1匹の蜘蛛が来て足に糸を巻いて川の中に下りていった。これはおかしいと思った百姓が糸をそばの柳の木の根に巻いた。しばらくしてその木は川の中に引きこまれた。ガワタが百姓を川の中に引きこんでシリノコを抜いて食べようとしたが、人間の方が賢かったという話。

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守山市 Moriyama
森川原町 Morikawara

ガタロー Gataroo
切り通しの所に田を作りに行った時のこと。烏丸に船の通る道があって、船に2人乗って行っていた。陸から見ていると3人乗っているのでびっくりして声をかけると1人が飛び込んだ。そうすると船の上の影は１つになった。あくる日死人が上がったという。
.
川辺町 Kawabe，幸津川町 Sazukawa
ガットロ Gattaro
Swimming in the river before the 祇園前 Gion shrine, Gattaro catches the humans and kills them. He is the messenger of the deity 祇園さん Gion San.

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長浜市 Nagahama city

. Tokobo no hashi トコボの橋 "The bridge of Tokobo, the Kappa". .

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坂田郡 Sakata gun

伊吹町 Ibuki
河太郎 Kawataro
河太郎渕では河童が大きな泡を浮かせる。その時に渕に行くと、河太郎はだっこ（尻）が好きなのでそれを抜かれる。川に流れた人を上げると、だっこの穴が開いている。これは河太郎にだっこをとられた跡だ。

kappa and the spider クモ蜘蛛
河戸へ柴を取りに行った人が池の渕で休んでいると、蜘蛛が上がってきてその人の足の親指に糸を巻いては水に入ることを繰り返した。おかしいと思いそばの木の株に糸を引っ掛けておくと、だんだん糸が太くなってきて最後に木の株は池の中に引きずり込まれた。それからそこを蜘蛛が渕と言うようになった。

Kappa sumo
河童が出てきて、「相撲取ろ」といって「金相撲しよか、張り相撲しよか」という。金相撲は金玉を張ること、張り相撲というのは張り倒すことだ。「金相撲しよ」というと金玉を握られて尻のだっこを抜かれるので、「張り相撲しよ」といって頭を叩く。そうするとかっぱは皿が割れて弱る。

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高島郡 Takashima gun
今津町 Imazu
Kawatara
河童をガワタラという。マキノ町知内の、川裾祭の7日前から祭礼の日までの間に川に行くとガワタラがお尻を抜くといって誰も川に行かない。

高島郡 Takashima gun

朽木村 Kutsuki
ガタロ Gataro
2人の若者がもぐりをやっていて、1人が大岩の先から深みに飛びこんだ。渕の底におかっぱ頭の上に皿があるガタロが一匹いて相撲を挑んできた。上で待っていたものがいくら待っても上がってこないのでもぐっていくと、河童が先の男の尻に吸いついてずるずると渕の奥へ引きずって行った。肛門から肝を抜いたのだ。
.
ガワタ Gawata
安曇川の思小淵さんさんという筏師を守る神様が、息子と共に筏を流していると、広瀬の中野という所で息子が川にはまり、ガワタに取られた。思小淵さんは怒って、「川を干してしまう」というと、ガワタは「許してくれ、もう取らないので」と言った。

高島郡マキノ村 Makino
Kappa
昔庄内川の下出と落合の間に１本の柳が生えていた。夏になると子供が遊んでいたが、ある日男の子が死んで浮かび上がった。渕にいる河童が子供を引っ張りこんでお尻から血を吸うのだという。これを聞いた下出の忠栄寺の坊さんが21日間渕で経を唱えてからは河童は出なくなったという。
.
マキノ町 Makino
竹生島の奥に住んでいるガワタローが来て浜で若い衆と相撲を取っていたが、いつも若衆が尻を抜かれて負けていた。これを聞いた知恵者の五平は、尻に薬缶のふたをあてて浜に出てガワタローの来るのを待ち、相撲を取った。ガワタローはどうしてもどうしても五平の尻を抜くことができず、「おまえのケツはカナケツや」といって逃げ帰り、以後来なくなった。

新旭町 Shinasahi
Kappa
盆に水浴びをすると、川の中からガワタロが手を伸ばして、けつの穴から肝を抜くという。それが恐ろしいので盆には水泳しなかった。
.
川裾さんの日に水浴びをすると、ガワタロがけつ抜きをする。けつを抜かれるとはらわたがずるずると出て死んでしまう。
.
Kawataro
On the day of Gion san
7月の祇園さんの日に川に入ると、ガワタロが来て肝を取るので、入ってはいけないと親に言われた。

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- reference -

yokai database (24)
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp

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Gataro ガタロ Kappa
If people went swimming in the river during the Gion San 祇園さん（天王さん Gion Festival, the Gataro would pull them in the water, so swimming was not allowed during that time.
The Shrine crest of the Gion shrine was a cucumber cut in slices, a favorite food of the Kappa. So during that festival people were not allowed to eat cucumbers.

祇園さんの神紋 Gion Shrine Crest

. kamon 家紋 family crests .

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. - - - Join my Kappa friends on facebook ! - - - .

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. Kappa densetsu　河童伝説, Kappa minwa 河童民話 - Legends - Introduction .

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

- #kappa #gawata #gataro -
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4/15/2015

Kappa Legends Tohoku

source :　Koriyama Mazasse

Akita / Aomori / Fukushima / Iwate / Miyagi / Yamagata

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Akita　秋田県　　

. Akita　秋田県 Kappa Legends 河童伝説　 .

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. Aomori 青森県 Kappa Legends 河童伝説 .

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. Fukushima 福島県 Kappa Legends 河童伝説 .

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Iwate 岩手県　　

. Tono Monogatari 遠野物語 Legends of Tono, Iwate .
The mascot of Tono - the Kappa Karin-chan and his pink wife Kururin-chan
カリンちゃん＆くるりんちゃん

. Kappa at 閉伊川 Heigawa and 宮古川 Miyakogawa .

. makuragaeshi 枕返し pillow turner .
下閉井郡 Shimohei district

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東磐井郡 Higashiiwai gun 大東村 Daito

Once a horse driver rested at the river, when a young Kappa came out and tried to pull the horse into the water. But the Kappa was caught and he wanted to kill him. But then the father of the Kappa came along and apologized.
Since then it is customary to float green kusamochi 草餅 mugwort rice cakes in the river on the first day of the sixth lunar month.
And the Kappa did no more harm to animals or humans.

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盛岡市 Morioka

. Kappa at 青物町 Aomonocho "vegetable" district .
and 角力 Sumo wrestler 七つ瀧 Nanatsu Taki

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. Miyagi 宮城県 Kappa Legends 河童伝説 .

- quote
In the town of Shikama 色麻町　in Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan,
there is a shrine devoted to a water god. In the Heian period (794-1192), a shogun named Sakanoue no Tamuramaro arrived in this area. A man called Touemon swam like a kappa across the swiftly flowing river and worked hard for the shogun. The shogun was so pleased that he gave Touemon the surname kappa, which has been handed down by generations of chief priests at the shrine ever since.

The kappa's favorite food is the cucumber. In ancient times, some houses had streams running through their grounds for washing vegetables and other things. People would take the first cucumbers harvested and throw them into these streams as offerings to the water god.
- source : web-japan.org/kidsweb

. Sakanoue no Tamuramaro 坂上田村麻呂 .
(758 - 811)
conquering the Emishi (蝦夷征伐 Emishi Seibatsu) in Tohoku.

. Kappagami カッパ神，O-Tenno Sama お天王様 / Gion Kappa 祇園かっぱ .

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Yamagata 山形県　

. The Kappa from Mogamigawa 最上川河童 .

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東田川郡 Higashitagawa 余目町 Amarume

Once upon a time
an old grandpa prepared some mochi 餅 rice cakes with beans for the first day of the New Year 元日. But a Kappa came along and swindled him out of the pot. Grandpa ran after the Kappa and found the pot swimming under a bridge. He took the pot out of the water and carried it home. And then - he became a rich man.
From this day on, the family of the man alsways prepare prepare Mochi with beans on the first day of the New Year.

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最上郡 Mogami gun 金山町 Kaneyama

The river in the back of the estate of Shibata san there once was a Fudo Myo-O in the form of a horse with a dragon head 龍馬 washing himself in the water.
A Kappa hang on to the tail of this heavenly horse and pulled it. But of course Fudo got hold of the Kappa.
"If you promise not to harm humans any more, I will let you go."
And after that there were no more water accidents in the river.

. Legends about Fudo Myo-O 不動明王 .

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- - - - - reference - - - - -

nichibun Yokai Database

search for - かっぱ - 114

search for - 河童 - 　1202

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- KAPPA 河童 / 合羽　/ かっぱ / カッパ - Legends -
- Introduction -

. mukashibanashi 昔話 folktales - Introduction .
the distinction to legends is sometimes blurred.

. Kappa ishi 河童石 Kappa stone legends
Kappa iwa かっぱ岩 Kappa boulder, Kappa rock .

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .
- #kappalegendstohoku #legendstohoku #kappatohoku #tohokukappalegends -
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. Japanese Legends - 伝説　民話　昔話 – ABC-List .
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4/14/2015

Kappa Legends Kyushu

CLICK for more photos from Kappa in Kyushu.

Fukuoka / Kagoshima / Kumamoto / Miyazaki / Nagasaki / Oita / Saga

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....................................................................... Fukuoka 　福岡県　

九千坊河童　Kyusenbo kappa　- Kusenbo Kappa, a warrior clan coming all the way from China to Kyushu to become a deity in
. - Tanushimaru 田主丸 - Fukuoka 福岡県 - .

Chikugo 筑後 and Kurume　久留米 / うきは市吉井町 Ukiha

. Chikugo no kuni 筑後国 Chikugo Province .
and Kappa Legends

. Sumo with 大つか庄右衛門 Otsuka Shoemon .

. Legends from the Temple 玉泉寺 Gyokusen-Ji .

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. Kappa Jizoo かっぱ地蔵 Kappa and Jizo Bosatsu .
legend from Fukuoka 福岡の若松の高塔山

. Bamboo shoots - takenoko bamboo shoot legends - 筍 / 竹の子伝説 .
and Kappa

. Kappa as 川の神 the Deity of the River. .
久留米市 Kurume city 荒木町 Arakicho

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Yamano no Gaku 山野の楽 "Ritual Music from Yamano"
“河童祭り”a very special Kappa Matsuri at the shrine
in the local dialect : Yamanongaku 山野ん楽
山野若八幡神社 Yamano Waka Hachiman Jinja, Yamanowakahachiman

嘉麻市山野地区 Kama town Yamano hamlet　

- quote -
Yamano no Gaku is a festival which is held every year on September 23 at Yamano Wakahachiman Shrine.
Emperor Ojin was deified as Hachiman-jin (the tutelary god of warriors), and is said to be enshrined in all the sites dedicated to him. In the year 1244 (Kangen 2), in order to share the tutelary deity of the 宇佐八幡宮 Usahachiman Shrine in Oita Prefecture, the tutelary god of warriors was also enshrined in the Yamano Wakahachiman Shrine. This is the beginning of the Yamano no Gaku Festival.

During this festival, which has a history of more than 750 years, the shrine parishioners pray for the well-being of their families as well as a bumper harvest. Visitors to this festival will also be able to see the Gaku Uchi. The Gaku Uchi is a drum dance performed in order to ward off disasters. There are 2 versions of the Gaku Uchi. The Fue Gaku is a performance with flutes in order to pray to the repose of souls. The Uta Gaku is a traditional Japanese prayer song. The performers of the dance are referred to as Gaku Kata. The costumes of the Gaku Kata make the performers look like Kappa, a mythical water-dwelling creature.
Hence, this festival is also known as the Kappa Festival.
- source : www.crossroadfukuoka.jp

河童楽 Kappa Gaku, see below

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....................................................................... Kagoshima 　鹿児島県　

. Garappa ガラッパ Garappa Don ガラッパドン .

. Gataro ガタロ Kappa and the Gion crest 祇園さん .

. Kapa and Suijin Sama 水神様, the Water Deity .

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Once upon a time there lives a huge serpent in the pond near the mountain.
She came down to the village to get a girl age 18 every year. But the villagers finally talked her into accepting 18 mochi 餅 rice cakes instead, which they threw into the pond.
This is the origin of offering mochi in the local Shinto shrine, they say.
Other versions say it was a Kappa in the pond.

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....................................................................... Kumamoto　熊本県　

. Kapa and Suijin Sama 水神様, the Water Deity .

. Hidari Jingoro 左甚五郎 master carpenter .
- and the origin of Kappa eating shirikodama.

球磨郡 Kuma district
. yama no mono ヤマンモン，kawa n hito カワンヒト河童 Kappa .

六郷村 Rokugomura Village
. The Kappa from 龍ヶ淵 Dragon Riverside .

Yatsushiro region 八代地方 Kumamoto
. Hikoichi 彦一 Hiko-Ichi Sumo Legends . *
彦一と河童の相撲 - ガラッパ Hiko-Ichi and the Kappa (Garappa) doing Sumo
彦一と河童と殿様
河童とすみくらんぼ

. kane 鉄漿 black color for teeth, Ohaguro .

. Kappa as Uminokami　海の神 God of the Sea .

. sekiri 赤痢 making a medicine for bloody diarrhea .

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廻りサカマの河童伝説 from Kumamoto 　熊本県

- source : www.pu-kumamoto.ac.jp ー team KUMAGATARI　

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....................................................................... Miyazaki 　宮崎県　

. Kappa Legends from Miyazaki 　河童伝説　- 宮崎県 .

. Kapa and Suijin Sama 水神様, the Water Deity .

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....................................................................... Nagasaki 長崎県　

. Gaappa ガーッパ The Kappa of Nagasaki 長崎県 - Legends .

. Gaappa ガーッパ Kappa and Sake .
西海市 Saikai city, 西彼町 Seihi town

. Kappa Jizoo かっぱ地蔵 / 河童地蔵 Kappa and Jizo Bosatsu in Nagasaki .

. Fishing for Abalone in Fukue 福江市とあわび　 .

. donku ishi どんく石 Kappa Stone and more .

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....................................................................... Oita 大分県　

三隈川（筑後川）River Mikumagawa (Chikugogawa)

In former times Kappa were believed to bring harm to the crops of the fields near the river. So in Summer cucumbers and aubergines, prefered food of the Kappa, were consecrated at the local shrine and then floated in the river with the prayer to protect the crops.

People who were bewitched by the Kappa and had lost their good sense had to sleep in a room with a window toward the river and not use the exit on the road where a Kappa might walk along. When emptying a bucket of water outside, you had to make a loud call to the Kappa first and ask for his permisison.
Women had to behave near the river, lest the Kappa might want to seduce them. Women and girls were also not permitted to go to the river at night and expose their body in the water, because they could get pregnant that way and give birth to a Kappa Baby.

Here is one story of a boy who got bewitched by the Kappa:

Shookichi Kappa 正吉河童 Shokichi Kappa
from Bungo, Oita

Once upon a time
in the village of 日田郡竹田村 Hita Takeda there lived a 12 year old boy named Shokichi. His father was a strong sumo wrestler and Shokichi, still a child, was practicing hard too.

Then one day Shokichi was swimming in the nearby river when someone began to play sumo tricks on him. Shokichi dove down into the water and got hold of something, giving it a good punishment and then went home.

In that night when all were asleep, Shokichi woke up and felt the urge to take a bath. So he went to the river. And surprize - many children came out of the river and challenged him for a bout of sumo wrestling. Shokichi soon realized that this were the local Kappa and begun to wrestle with them.
Soon he had won against two of them. But then more than ten begun to attack him at once. and Shokichi, eager to win, wrestled with all his might.

Back home his father woke up and realized that his son was gone, so he went to the river too. He saw Shokichi on the river bank moving back and forth in a strange manner, as if he was crazy. So his father carried him home by force.

From that time on Shokichi had lost all his good senses and seemed only to wrestle with invisible adversaries. His father realized that he was bewitched and possesed by a Kappa.
Then a priest who knew about the curses of Kappa placed a sword 脇差 by the famous sword maker
郷義弘 Go no Yoshihiro beside the boy.
Shokichi begun to tremble and hid under the bed covers. When they tried to sharpen the sword, Shokichi begun to run wild again.
In the end they called a special mountain priest 修験者 to do some exorcism and the boy was finally healed.

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Saiki 佐伯市

Kappa are seen often, from the river entry into the see up to the mountains. But most often between 宮野浦 Miyanoura and 色利浦 Irori-ura.
Other locations are かんじんの森 Kanjin no Mori,
the back of the main hall of temple 大願寺 Hongan-Ji,
橋の欄干 the railing of a bridge.

An old saying knows
河童に取り憑かれるから酒を飲んで返るな

Be careful of a Kappa when drunk, you might be swindled out of something.

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Buzen 豊前

At the shrine Kumo Hachimangu there is an old ritual and festival called
Kappa Gaku 河童楽 "Music for the Kappa",
also called Kappa Matsuri 河童まつり.

With Kappa in the middle people walk around him with great hand fans 唐団扇 and fan him to appease the wild soul of the Kappa. After that through the 神通力 super-naural power of the Kappa the village will live in peace for another year. This festival dated back at least to the middle of the Edo period and is now the main summer festival of the shrine.

Chikugo is the origin of this kind of Kappa Gaku, which is now an important intangible folk culture asset in Oita 大分県無形民俗文化財.

Kumo Hachimangu, Kumohachimangu, Kumohachiman 雲八幡宮
363 Yabakeimachi Oaza Miyazono, Nakatsu, Oita / 中津市耶馬溪町

- quote -
Kumohachiman Shrine
located at Yabakei Town in Nakatsu City, Oita Pref. enshrines Kumo no Yahata no Okami and Myoken Okami. In the precinct stand a huge cedar tree, which is called “sennen Sugi (The 1000-year-old cedar).
The origin of the shrine dates back to the 3rd century, when legendary Empress Jingu, who was on her way back from the Korean invasion, took a rest on a huge stone at the foot of a mountain. Since then miraculous events including a white cloud rising up out of it had happened around this stone. In 703, a lot more clouds suddenly rose up from the stone and the light like arrows of lightening flashed and it took the shape of a small child-like god, which then disappeared. Having the feeling of awe at this miracle, the village people built a small purple shrine beside the stone and worshipped it respectfully. This is the origin of Kumohachiman Shrine and the Kumoishi Stone.
The main building was relocated to the present place by Masataka Kiyohara (the lord of the province) later in 983.
The shrine is famous for “Kappa Festival,” or formally named “Miyazonogaku, Miyazono Gaku 宮園楽 ,” in which traditional music is played to dedicate to the gods.
The legend has it that Heike refugees, who had been defeated in the battle with Genji clan, transformed into a Kappa and brought harm to people, so the villagers began to play music to appease their spirits.
- source : nippon-kichi.jp

耶馬溪河童太鼓 - the Kappa Drummers of the festival

Before the festival, ritual cleansing. The great fans with the Kappa face are on the right.

- More photos about the Kappa Festival - かっぱ楽（宮園楽）
- source : kumohachiman.j-air.net/omaturi

buji sugiru 無事杉る守　branches of the cedar tree, an amulet to pass through difficulties in life
a pun with sugi　杉 the cedar tree　and sugiru 過ぎる to pass

taorezu kappa omamori　倒れず勝破　お守
an amulet to win against the misfortunes of life, another pun with the kanji characters 勝破.
This is a three-dimensional amulet.

More amulets here:
- - - - - HP of the shrine
- source : kumohachiman.j-air.net

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buji sugiru - 無事杉る
an amulet to ward off evil influence 魔除けのお守り

Also sold at other shrines in Japan, for example the 廣田神社 Hirota Shrine in Aomori.
Aomori 青森市長島2丁目13-5

source :　ameblo.jp/takimotoyumi

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. Kitchomu, Kicchomu 吉四六 - Hirota Kichiemon 廣田吉右衛門 .
(? - 1715) - Kitchomu is a hero in many parts of Southern Oita.

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....................................................................... Saga 佐賀県　

. Genta and the Kappa 源太様と河童 .
龍石の伝説
and
Hyoosube 兵主部 Hyosube,
. Matsubara Kappa Sha 松原河童社 Matsubara Kappa Shrine .

. Kappa at the terakoya 寺子屋 temple school .

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- - - - - reference - - - - -

nichibun Yokai Database

search for - かっぱ - かっぱ 114 - 008

search for - 河童 - 　河童 1202 - 0000

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. - - - Join my Kappa friends on facebook ! - - - .

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- KAPPA 河童 / 合羽　/ かっぱ / カッパ - Legends -
- Introduction -

. mukashibanashi 昔話 folktales - Introduction .
the distinction to legends is sometimes blurred.

. Kappa ishi 河童石 Kappa stone legends
Kappa iwa かっぱ岩 Kappa boulder, Kappa rock .

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

- #kappakyushu #kyushulegends #fukuoka -
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