A kappa also goes on a journey!? The story of the "Three Kappas Visiting Ise Shrine" handed down in Kawagoe

The May holidays are over, and summer is slowly approaching.
Preparations are now in full swing for the "Kawagoe Yokai Walk" on July 5th.

This time, we will be focusing on the kappa, a super-popular yokai that is closely related to the event and is known to all Japanese people.

He gets weak when the plates dry out, he loves cucumbers, he likes sumo...
There are many different images of kappa, but their faces actually vary greatly depending on the region.

And here in Kawagoe, there is something interesting and unusual.
There is a legend that three kappa went on a pilgrimage to Ise Shrine.

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Kappa who lived on the waterfront of Kawagoe

The story features three kappa that are said to live in the rivers and swamps of Kawagoe, Kawashima, and Sakado.

• Kojiro - He lived in Koazegawa, Naho, Kawagoe City.
• Kesabou - A man who lived around Ikusa in Kawashima Town
• Kajibou - He came from Konuma in Sakado City.

The three mischievous animals end up going on a pilgrimage to Ise Shrine together.

Photo: Kojiro of Kobegawa (L4 Corporation)

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Wherever you go, you're generous

These kappas have set out on a journey, but they are living quite comfortably.

At tea shops I order the most expensive things, at souvenir shops I buy only the finest things,
It was like a procession of feudal lords, and they were generous everywhere.

Naturally, the people at the store were like, "Who are you?"
Rumors began to spread: "Beware of a group of three travelers!"

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I've been tricked!

So the suspicious shopkeeper checked the money again and...

It turned out to be the lid of a snake in a rice field!

In short, it's a fake currency.
Naturally, the three were chased and captured by the townspeople.
You will be severely scolded.

However, his disguise was discovered and his true identity was revealed to be a kappa.

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After that, I never traveled again.

Thus, the three kappas became completely docile.
It is said that he never traveled again after that.

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The message in this story

It's a funny story, but I wonder if there's a moral to it.

• If you try too hard, you'll get caught out.
• Lies will come out someday
• Whether you are a human or a kappa, it is important to behave in a way that is appropriate to your status.

And what shocked me the most was that "even kappa go on journeys." I had the image of kappa staying in the same place all the time.
I thought maybe kappas, like humans, wanted to go on an adventure somewhere.

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Finally

This story is a rather rare type of folklore that has been passed down across the areas of Kawagoe City, Kawajima Town, and Sakado City.

When you read the book while imagining the local waterfront and town scenery, you can feel like you are getting a taste of the atmosphere of that time.

On the day of the Kawagoe Yokai Walk, if you sense the presence of "kappas who are reluctant to leave on their journey" coming from the water's edge...
Please watch over them kindly.

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📚 Source

• "Legends of Kawagoe" Saitama Prefectural Kawagoe Library Collection
• Saitama Legends Series: Kawagoe City and Surroundings (Editing assistance: Kawagoe Local History Research Association)
• Local folklore research materials (Kawashima Town and Sakado City Board of Education Cultural Properties Division)