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Frog Teaching Kappa

Artist
KODO, Okuda

Artist Dates
1940 -

Nationality
Japan

Materials
Ivory, Lac.

Dimensions
2.0 in.

Commentary

In this netsuke the artist portrays a lotus-leaf boat in which a frog is reading from the Book of Knowledge to a group of rather inattentive young kappa clinging to the sides of the boat.

A kappa is an imaginary water sprite resembling a young boy with the carapace of a tortoise, limbs of a frog, and head of a monkey with a snout. Its hair is bobbed and a saucer-like depression on the top of its head is filled with water which spills when the creature bows, causing it to lose its supernatural strength. In some areas of Japan it is a vicious little animal that preys on humans by drowning them, especially children who swim in rivers without their parents' permission. In other areas kappa have amiable and engaging personalities and have artistic talents in the fields of music, dance, and painting. Kappa are also fond of cucumbers.

	Artist	KODO, Okuda
	Artist Dates	1940 -
	Nationality	Japan
	Materials	Ivory, Lac.
	Dimensions	2.0 in.
	Commentary	In this netsuke the artist portrays a lotus-leaf boat in which a frog is reading from the Book of Knowledge to a group of rather inattentive young kappa clinging to the sides of the boat. A kappa is an imaginary water sprite resembling a young boy with the carapace of a tortoise, limbs of a frog, and head of a monkey with a snout. Its hair is bobbed and a saucer-like depression on the top of its head is filled with water which spills when the creature bows, causing it to lose its supernatural strength. In some areas of Japan it is a vicious little animal that preys on humans by drowning them, especially children who swim in rivers without their parents' permission. In other areas kappa have amiable and engaging personalities and have artistic talents in the fields of music, dance, and painting. Kappa are also fond of cucumbers.