Kaiyodo Kappa Museum, Folklore museum in Shimanto, Japan.
The Kaiyodo Kappa Museum is a museum in Shimanto that displays more than 500 artworks showing kappa, mythological water creatures, through different artistic styles and figurines. The collection uses various materials and approaches to demonstrate how these beings appear across Japanese cultural traditions.
The museum was founded in 2012 in a building near the Shimanto River to preserve and celebrate local legends about water creatures. Its creation reflects the region's ongoing connection to these mythological figures and their role in local traditions.
The displays show hundreds of wooden kappa figures in everyday scenes, representing these water creatures as both mischievous and protective beings. Through these objects, visitors can see how local people have connected these mythological creatures to their own lives and beliefs over many generations.
The museum sits about 6 kilometers from Utsuigawa Station and is reachable by local transport. It welcomes visitors most days of the week, though it closes on Tuesdays, giving you time to walk through the collection at your own pace.
Next to the museum building stands a small shrine filled with handmade wooden figures shown in various everyday and imaginary poses. This shrine offers another perspective on how people connect these creatures to spiritual practice and daily life.
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