With the Kappa John is further exploring the mystical Yokai creatures of Japanese culture. And as usual - he NAILED it with this incredibly cool Kappa head! Contemporary Japanese people typically visualize kappa as having green, hairless bodies shaped like that of a human child. They have smooth, circular dishes on their heads (which you can see on top of the Kappa head here), with a kind of hair growing around it, and pointed beaks like birds, which are often yellow. On their backs, they have what looks like a turtle’s shell, and their hands and feet are webbed. Kappa live in rivers and ponds, where they catch hold of the feet of swimmers, dragging them to a watery death. Despite this monstrous activity, the kappa of today are often seen in cartoon form as cute and merely mischievous characters. This is a VERY special cultural piece from John, one sorely needed in all Kobuki collections, and if I didn't already have one in my collection I could never let this one go. Awesome opportunity here for a VERY rare piece! Signed with John's Kanji signature.