Shōkichi KappaShōkichi Kappa, the Sumo-Loving Kappa of Bungo

This version turns to the phenomenon of "kappa possession" that the Shōkichi tale conveys. Most kappa stories play out at the water’s edge, but here the river sumo is carried right into the home. Brought back by his family, Shōkichi went on raging as if locked in a grapple with an unseen opponent—exactly the work, people said, of a kappa that had possessed a human being. A water-spirit climbing onto dry land by borrowing a human body: there lies the spine-chilling fascination of this tale.

The means of quelling it, too, reflects the faith of the land. What first took effect was the power of Gō Yoshihiro’s signed blade. The belief that the kappa dreads a keen edge is found in many regions, and the detail that it raged again once the sword was removed shows that power plainly. What finally settled the disturbance was the prayer of a shugenja, an ascetic who trains secluded in the mountains. Quelling kappa possession with these two—the power of the blade and the ascetic’s spiritual force—is a hallmark of Kyushu kappa tales. Hita has gathered many kappa stories, the Hita Gunshi^[1] foremost among them, and together with the "Bungo Kawatarō" of the same Bungo, they attest to the depth of this region’s kappa beliefs.

Yokai with similar personality and characteristics to Shōkichi Kappa, the Sumo-Loving Kappa of Bungo

Umibōzu

Sea Monk of the Chugoku Region

91%

Compatibility

Kiri Ichibē

Traditional Lore Version

90%

Compatibility

Mujina

Traditional Tale Compliant – Trickster Mujina

90%

Compatibility

Yokai with opposite personality and characteristics to Shōkichi Kappa, the Sumo-Loving Kappa of Bungo

Sokushinbutsu

Sokushinbutsu, the Living Buddha Enshrined in the Earth

55%

Compatibility

Iso-onna

Iso-onna of Ojika, the Soul-Ferry Maid

58%

Compatibility

Yao-bikuni

Camellias, the Cave of Nyujo, and the Eternal Maiden: Yao-bikuni

60%

Compatibility