Japanese · No. 047
Kawatarō, Lord of the Kappa
Inspired by: Kawatarō, "river boy", one of the kappa's many regional names, and legends of kappa chiefs who make pacts with humans.
One cucumber a year and the river takes no one.
- Rarity
- Rare
- Category
- Monster
- ATK
- 2250
- DEF
- 2100
- Level
- 6
- Type
- Beast-Warrior
- Element
- Water
- Constellations
- Moon · Leviathan
The myth
Kawatarō is not a lord of the kappa in folklore: it is one of the kappa's own regional names, used mostly in western Japan. The title of king is a MYTHENOR creation. But folklore does have kappa chiefs. In Kyushu, legends tell of great kappa bands whose leaders, defeated or pardoned by a human, swore never to drown anyone again, sometimes leaving a letter of apology or teaching secret remedies. The offering of cucumbers to rivers in early summer, made in several regions, asks precisely that the water spirits spare the children.
Why it has this power
A Rare level-6 Water Beast-Warrior with 2250 ATK and 2100 DEF, fusion only: a Shallow-River Kappa with any Insect-Plant, the cucumber, so to speak. It is the grown, respected kappa, strong on both sides. Water, Moon and Leviathan are the common kappa's, now with a chief's authority.
Did you know
Some temples and families in Kyushu keep objects presented as a kappa's hand or a kappa's written pledge, relics that draw curious visitors.
Connections
- Born from the fusion of: Shallow-River Kappa + Insect-Plant
Where to get it
- Campaign drop: Kaguya, Guardian of the Torii (Archipelago of the Kami) — grade D: 9.3%
- Born from the fusion of: Shallow-River Kappa + Insect-Plant
Sources
- Kappa — World History Encyclopedia — Matthew Allison
- Kappa — Encyclopaedia Britannica — The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Suijin — Encyclopedia of Shinto — Kokugakuin University