Kappa

Origin and tradition

Japanese folklore places Kappa in rivers and ponds, where they may drown people unless appeased or outwitted.

Illustration in this atlas

A child-sized turtle-like being with a beak, webbed limbs, a shell, and a water-filled dish on its head.

References and further reading

1. britannica.com — kappa-Japanese-mythology

These references offer further reading. Accounts and depictions vary; the atlas illustration is interpretive artwork, rather than historical or scientific evidence.