KAPPA

Kappa (Japanese: 河童: "river child") is a Japanese species of mermen. Kappa is a child drowned by an oversight of adults, a child doomed to stay in the dusk of lakes, without love, care, a child offended by everyone and everything, therefore in Japanese mythology all Kappa are very evil and harmful creatures, if Kappa is given the opportunity drag someone to the bottom, it will be so. Kappa has a recess on his head with liquid, if Kappa bends down, the life-giving water will pour out and Kappa will lose his strength - this is the only way to defeat Kappa - bow to him, then Kappa will bow back, Kappa is very polite. I had already cut out the plot with Kappa on my Ryusa netsuke , and this time I wanted to create a Kappa with a ghost on the shell - an interesting idea in my opinion, I have never seen this idea anywhere. Kappa tries to see what is on his shell, and the ghost in horror has grown into the shell, now they are friends forever! The Kappa is carved from a piece of fossil mammoth tusk, tinted by Yashabushi and inked from walnuts, burned with a needle and Japanese lacquer - Urushi. Triple inlay Kappa eyes (mother of pearl, black buffalo horn and amber) and double inlay ghost eye (mother of pearl and black buffalo horn). Kappa height 6.3 cm. Ojimi is made in the form of an empty turtle shell, the cord is hand-woven. 2023. Russia, a private collection.