Pathway to Japanese Literature

Human or Kappa?

A Monster Walking on the Seafloor

Even if one were to say there were kappa these days, likely none would believe it true.

Even during that era when kappa were still widely believed in—when they were depicted in paintings and transmitted as seemingly authentic tales—those with any modicum of knowledge laughed them off as fabrications without a second thought.
That such beings had now manifested in this modern age—and right at the heart of the Imperial Capital—the shock they delivered to society's senses surpassed all imagination.

The first incident occurred on May 12th.

On the waterfront of Kyōbashi Echizenbori stood a general store called Shimaya.
Around 10 PM, as a young clerk was about to close up shop, a customer approached the storefront.

“Hey you, got any canned goods?” he said.

Despite the fine weather since morning, the man was wearing a rubberized raincoat that was soaking wet. His long hair hung down over his forehead, and from between those strands, only his eyes glinted sharply. The clerk thought the man seemed creepy. "What kind of canned goods would you like?"

“Fruit. Hurry up.”

“But there are many kinds of fruit…”

When he said that, the customer suddenly raised both hands in a strange gesture.
It was said to be an unfathomable gesture—as if clawing at the air or perhaps tearing at something unseen in midair.
…in a terribly hoarse, strained voice—as if he were choking—

“Anything’s fine—just hurry.
“Peaches, apples—anything’s fine!”
“Hurry up!”

As he shouted roughly, the startled clerk began heading toward the display shelf when—

"Ah, it's no use.
'I won't make it!' he shouted, spinning around to run off.
As the clerk stood dumbstruck watching, the man dashed across the road toward the riverside unloading area.

—Ah!
He plunged into the river."

The clerk, thinking this, unconsciously rushed out of the store. ……And he saw something astonishing.

The man squelched into the river from the unloading area.
He submerged into the water as effortlessly as an aquatic creature diving beneath the surface, vanishing completely—in that final instant when only his head remained above water, the man reportedly turned back toward the clerk and grinned.

—A kappa!

With that thought, the clerk fainted.

This story quickly spread far and wide.
Some laughed it off from the start and refused to believe it; others went out of their way to visit the clerk and hear detailed accounts; while still others declared it an omen of an impending natural disaster.

And then the second incident occurred.

On the night of the third day after that, a certain famous politician took his student and went fishing offshore of Tsukishima.
It was a wonderfully calm evening at sea—the fish were biting voraciously—and until around midnight, they had been catching them in an almost amusingly steady stream.
However, just before 1 AM, what had been such a productive bite stopped abruptly, and now no matter what they tried, they couldn’t catch a single goby.

“Isn’t this strange, Genji—”

The politician called out to the boatman.
“Does this ever happen? For them to stop biting so suddenly like this?”
“I just thought the same thing myself.”

The boatman made a strange face,

“In marshes or rivers, you might get river otters or something causing this sort of thing… but out here in the open sea…”

“Should we change locations?”
Just as he was about to say that—

“—Sir!” the student cried out in a voice like he’d been struck.
When he turned around in surprise,

“Th-that! That thing?!”

He pointed, trembling.

The politician, wondering what was happening, looked—

"—Ah!" he exclaimed, his face changing color.

Over the gunwale, a slimy bluish-black hand glistening wetly reached into the boat.
It was about the size of a human hand, with webbing between its splayed fingers.
Extending snakelike from the gunwale, it groped around the boat's interior until a finger brushed against the politician's tissue pouch—then seized it and slid smoothly back into the sea.

“K-Kappa!”

Genji shouted while trembling.—In that instant, the student who peered over the gunwale clearly saw—in water made translucent by the boat’s lantern—a monster neither human nor ape walking slowly away.

Wet, large footprints—where had Keikichi been taken?

"So now we've understood the two incidents. What scene will the third one show?"

"I hate these kinds of stories—they're terrifying!"

"What's this? And you call yourself a swim team member!"

Laughter drifted on the refreshing sea breeze.

The Aoi Maru, which had departed Shibaura at 9 PM, was now quietly increasing its speed toward Izu Ōshima.
Were they already off Tsurumi? Far off the bow’s starboard side, Yokohama Port’s lights scorched the night sky.

On the upper deck, three young passengers had arranged chairs and were discussing the "Kappa Incident" that was now causing a stir in society.

The one reading through the incident memos was Hirabayashi Bungo—a Tokyo Imperial University graduate in science and currently a rising star at the Kashima Water Pressure Industrial Research Institute.
The listeners were Kashima Keikichi and his sister—children of the research institute's director—where Keikichi remained a literature university student, while his younger sister Ryoko served as a swim team member at a prefectural girls' school.

“And as for the third incident,” said Bungo, flipping through the memo, “this one resembles the first.”
“The initial case was the grocery store in Echizenbori.”
“The third occurred at a butcher shop on the riverside in Reiganjima.”
“This too happened around ten o’clock on the evening of the eighteenth—again, a man in a raincoat came to buy salted pork and sausages.”

“And without purchasing anything, he slipped back into the water.”

Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind the three of them.

Ryoko, who had been slightly frightened for a while now, let out a cry and clung to her brother's neck with both hands.
When Bungo and Keikichi turned around, a young man in work clothes with a pale complexion was standing there.
And, with a sarcastic sneer playing on his thin lips,

“You seem awfully interested in the Kappa Incident, don’t you?”

he said mockingly.

“You’d better be careful.
“They say kappa have a habit of showing up where people are talking about them.”

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

The young Keikichi said irritably.

“Me? I—”
The young man smirked.

“Well, you’ll find out soon enough.”

With that remark, he spun on his heel and walked away.—Keikichi and Bungo watched him go with nothing but displeasure, but as soon as the young man disappeared from view—

“I know that person.”

Ryoko said, her voice trembling.

“That person has been at our factory before.”
“Yes, he was definitely there.”

“Now that you mention it, he does seem somewhat familiar to me too.”

Bungo glared into space,

“He was definitely from the drafting department… I believe he was driven out last year due to some blunder…”

“But he was wearing work clothes, wasn’t he?”

“I’m going to the cabin.”

Ryoko suddenly stood up.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“I hate this! Didn’t he say if we keep gossiping about them, a kappa will appear? It’s too creepy—I’m going inside.”

“You’re surprisingly timid.”

Bungo said that and stood up.

“I’ll escort you to the cabin then.”

Bungo took Ryoko's arm and entered the cabin.
—It was the special cabin on the upper deck.
After shaking hands and saying goodnight, as Bungo turned from the door to return to the deck, Ryoko—who had just entered the cabin—

“—Mr. Hirabayashi!”

she came rushing out while shouting.

“What’s wrong?”

“Someone... someone came into this cabin…”

Seeing Ryoko turn pale and tremble, Bungo hurried into the cabin.

The porthole was open. And from the bed to the floor, wet, large footprints lay scattered about. They were not human. Between the long fingers, the presence of webbing was clearly visible—to put it simply, it resembled a frog’s foot enlarged to human size. In other words, if there were a frog as large as a human, it would leave footprints like these.

“...It came from the window.”

Ryoko said, trembling.

“But the door was properly locked!”

“But outside the window is the sea.”

"It came in from the sea and returned to the sea."

Bungo understood perfectly well what Ryoko was trying to say.

“Let’s go call Kei.”

Bungo took Ryoko's arm and returned to the deck.

However, there was no longer any sign of Keikichi.
Not only that.
The chair lay overturned, and a notebook and fountain pen that appeared to have fallen from Keikichi's pocket were scattered about.

“Mr. Hirabayashi, look! Those footprints!”

Looking where Ryoko pointed, between the overturned chair and the ship’s side, large wet footprints were clearly imprinted.
The same footprints as those in the cabin...

There was no doubt—the one who had sneaked into the cabin had abducted Keikichi into the sea.
—Shuddering, Ryoko involuntarily clung to Bungo.

“A kappa! Oh, how terrifying!”

They had come at last!

The Crimson Envelope Threatening Letter

Due to Bungo’s urgent report, the *Aoi Maru* came to a stop while blaring its emergency siren shrilly.

On one hand, they searched the ship’s interior; on the other, they lowered a launch to search the sea surface.

Because they were near Yokohama’s offshore waters, a launch also came from the Water Police Station.
However, over two hours of effort ultimately proved fruitless.
During the search, Bungo—wondering if this might be that bastard’s doing—kept a discreet eye on the young man in work clothes. Yet from start to finish, he merely watched the commotion coolly from a corner of the deck, smoking his cigarette.

When it became clear they weren’t on board, the *Aoi Maru* had to set sail.
Therefore, Bungo transferred to the Yokohama Water Police launch with Ryoko, who was quietly weeping.—The Water Police Station would continue searching the nearby waters.

However, even that ultimately proved futile.

—The Kappa’s Fourth Victim!

With only this tragic outcome, Bungo and Ryoko returned to Tokyo at eight o'clock the next morning.

The home of Kashima Ginzō, president of Kashima Water Pressure Industrial Company, stood adjacent to the factory in Kyōbashi Akashichō.
When the two returned, the early-rising President Kashima had already left for the factory-affiliated research institute, so Bungo urged Ryoko to rest and went alone toward the institute.

“What? Did you cancel the Ōshima trip?”

Seeing Bungo’s face, President Kashima looked startled.

“I went out, but…”

“What happened? Is something wrong?”

“Keikichi has disappeared.”
“No—please wait.”
“I will now explain in detail.”

Bungo sat down in a chair facing President Kashima.

That President Kashima was shocked goes without saying.
As Bungo gave his detailed explanation, greasy beads of sweat formed like pearls on President Kashima’s corpulent forehead.

“The Kappa is a lie!”

President Kashima struck the table and shouted.

“I think so too, but there have already been three instances...”

“It’s a lie! They’re all lies!”

“———”

“This is undoubtedly that bastard Tsukawa’s doing.”

“When you say Tsukawa… Ah, that one.”

“He’s the man you met on the *Aoi Maru*. That’s the man I expelled from the factory. I’d heard the Kappa rumors myself up until today. And I hadn’t even considered what kind of trickery was behind it. But now it’s clear. This is that bastard Tsukawa’s doing.”

“There must be some reason behind this.”

“I haven’t told anyone until now,”

The President said in a hushed voice,

“For several years now, I have been working on inventing an underwater cannon."
“This is for coastal defense—to put it simply, a submarine fortress. As you know, underwater, due to water resistance and pressure, even if you fire a bullet, it only travels an extremely short distance, and moreover, its power is negligible.”
“Up until now, floating mines and mechanical mines have been used for defense, while for offensive purposes, there was only the fish-shaped torpedo.”
“However, the former two are useless unless enemy ships make contact, and the fish-shaped torpedo carries significant risks when launched.”
"...If projectiles could be fired from underwater with precise targeting and sufficient force, they would undoubtedly constitute the ultimate weapon for both offense and defense."
“I—in secret from everyone—had been researching that underwater cannon.”
“It has now nearly reached completion.”
“However, it seems that bastard Tsukawa somehow uncovered this research, for one night last October, he sneaked into the institute and attempted to steal those blueprints.”

“So that’s why he was expelled from here, then.”

“I was the one who expelled him.”

“I understand completely.”
Bungo nodded thoughtfully,

“Tsukawa probably kidnapped Keikichi to steal those blueprints from you, President.”
“But even so—what exactly is the mystery of the ‘Kappa’?”
“The Echizenbori incident, the Tsukishima Offshore incident, and then the Reiganjima butcher shop incident—could these three be unrelated to Keikichi’s case?”

The door opened, and an attendant entered.

“—An express delivery.”

With that, he held out a single garishly crimson envelope.
President Kashima dismissed the attendant and immediately sliced open the seal. After scanning its contents, he declared in a quivering voice,

“Just as I thought—it’s a threatening letter.”

With that, he handed it to Bungo.

Upon receiving it, he found red paper on which the following text had been typed in Japanese.

The life of Kashima Keikichi is secure; however, the following conditions must be fulfilled:

1. Wrap the underwater cannon blueprints in oilpaper and place them in an empty can.
2. Arrive by lit boat at Tsukishima 5th District Offshore by 9 PM on May 22nd.

1. Release the empty can containing the blueprints into the aforementioned sea area and immediately depart without delay.
Upon execution of the above, Keikichi shall be safely returned to your residence at dawn the following day.
Kappa No.1

On the dark sea, the adventure—the empty can was thrown.

Hirabayashi Bungo dashed out of the research institute.

Since it read "Kappa No.1," there could be no doubt Keikichi's kidnapping too was the work of the now-notorious "Kappa." This time, while no one had witnessed its form, those wet footprints remaining on the ship's cabin and deck stood as irrefutable proof.

The Kappa had initially intended to kidnap Ryoko and entered the cabin, but since she wasn't there yet…… it must have snatched Keikichi, who had been alone on the deck.
……Of course, that was to take him hostage for seizing the underwater cannon blueprints.

The three incidents that began at the Echizenbori grocery store had no purpose.
In the first incident, they tried to buy canned goods but stopped and sank into the river; in the second, they stole a completely useless packet of tissues.
At the third butcher shop too, while ordering salted pork and sausages, they once again bought nothing and leapt into the water.
It could be said they appeared all three times without any purpose.

They wanted people to witness their existence.

Bungo thought.

When they appeared at the grocery store, they reportedly made bizarre gestures as if flailing wildly in midair—undoubtedly movements intended to leave a strong impression on the clerk. He had appeared all three times in this manner solely to astonish people’s eyes and to establish the reputation of being a kappa.—And when that reputation had spread, he kidnapped Keikichi.

He had clarified his purpose.

By centering my investigation around that purpose, I might be able to uncover the kappa’s true identity.

No—I will definitely uncover it.

Upon leaving the research institute, Bungo immediately headed to the factory’s drafting department.
There should be colleagues from when Tsukawa had been employed there.
Sure enough, Bungo found a young technician named Yoshioka Saburō who was said to have worked at the same desk.

“You worked with Tsukawa, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Did you get along well with Tsukawa?”

Leading with that opening, he asked whether Tsukawa had been secretly working on something hidden from others or if anyone had seen anything unusual.
However, Technician Yoshioka knew nothing.

“He just used to say things like this sometimes,” the young technician Yoshioka Saburō said finally.

“My name will surely become world-famous,” he said. “And that I’d become a millionaire—he didn’t explain why—but I heard him say things like that two or three times.”

“—That’s all then.”

Bungo left the factory disappointed.

He searched for anyone else who might know Tsukawa, but it appeared Tsukawa was an exceedingly cautious man—there was no one else who had been close to him. In other words, the only clue was:

—I will soon become a millionaire.

It consisted solely of those spoken words.

For two full days until the afternoon of the 22nd, Bungo rushed about in all directions.
But in the end, he gained nothing.

And the time commanded by "Kappa No.1" was drawing ever closer.

"I will protect the blueprints!"

President Kashima declared with pained resolve.

“I feel sorry for Keikichi, but if these blueprints were to fall into foreign hands, I would be no better than a traitor.—I gave up on Keikichi.”
“Keikichi will dutifully meet his end for us.”

“President, have you truly resolved yourself to this?”

When Bungo said that,

“No! Save Big Brother!”

Crying, Ryoko came rushing in.

“Don’t let my brother die, Mr. Hirabayashi—please save him, save my brother!”

“Miss Ryoko, please calm down now.”

While gently pulling Ryoko closer by the shoulder, Bungo turned toward President Kashima and said.

“President, you said you would give up on Keikichi.”
“If you truly have that resolve, then it’s do or die—I’ll take my chances.”
“Is there some method?”

“Please comply with what’s written in the threatening letter.”
“No—counterfeit blueprints will suffice.”
“Scrap paper will do; wrap it in oilpaper and put it in an empty can.—I’ll prepare the launch in the meantime.”

With those words, Bungo stood up.

“Miss Ryoko, you’re coming too.”

One hour later—

The launch carrying President Kashima and his children, Bungo, and two burly employees had left Akashicho Wharf and was quietly making its way off Tsukishima 5th District by the appointed nine o'clock. They swept the searchlight mounted on the bow across the waters, but not a single boat could be seen nearby. The dark sea lay oil-slick calm and ominously still, as if a monster might surface at any moment from its pitch-black depths.

I wonder if this is about the right spot...

Bungo muttered those words as he threw the empty can into the water.

The empty can swayed gently as it drifted away.
The launch began quietly moving away from there, keeping its searchlight trained on the empty can.

Ah! A Kappa!

Unexpected Resolution

Bungo stood up at the bow of the launch.

He held several bottles containing transparent liquid in his hands and stared fixedly at the empty can.—President Kashima and Ryoko watched Bungo with pained expressions, waiting to see what he would do.

The empty can swayed under the searchlight’s beam for a while, but then abruptly, from beneath the waves emerged a bluish-black hand—that webbed hand.

“Ah! A kappa’s hand!” came a shout as the hand seized the empty can.

In a flash!

"Now!" Bungo shouted as he smashed one of the bottles onto the sea surface with all his might.

Kaboom!

A ferocious wave explosion!
It was nitro glycerin.
Bungo continued smashing the bottles he held one after another.
This triggered massive explosions one after another in a circular pattern around the sea surface where the empty can had been.
The waves raged and seethed; the entire vicinity churned with seawater, frothing madly as if soap had been dissolved and splashed about.

“Ram the launch in!”

At Bungo's command, the launch charged into the foaming sea.

“Ah! A kappa—there’s a kappa over there!”

“There’s one over here too!”
“It’s a kappa! A kappa!”

The people aboard the launch let out terrified screams.

Look! Grotesque monsters surfaced one after another into the searchlight-illuminated sea. Their bluish-black bodies glistened slickly, with pointed heads bearing fin-like appendages and limbs webbed between the digits... Robbed of mobility by the explosion's force, they struggled painfully while floating on the surface.

"Haul them onto the launch!" Bungo shouted at the top of his voice.

The two young employees, perhaps encouraged by those words, worked together to haul up the kappas as the launch drew near. There were four in total.

When they hauled it up, the bluish-black slimy material proved to be sturdy rubber-coated cloth. The backs of their heads, their backs, and parts of their limbs had fin-like attachments. Their fingers had webbing between them. And beneath that cloth, the pointed head wore a light metal helmet.

Bungo swiftly drew a small knife and pressed it against the chest of one man clutching an empty can in his right hand, slicing through the bluish-black cloth in one sharp motion. Then he forced him to remove the helmet.

“Oh! It’s him!”
Ryoko shouted.

“It’s Tsukawa.”
President Kashima said in a breathless tone.
That was the young man in work clothes who had spoken to them on the deck of the Aoi Maru.
He suddenly opened his eyes,

“Ah! Please help me!!” he cried out in terror.

“I will return Keikichi.”

“Please help me! Don’t kill me!”
“Please forgive me.”

“Tell me, where is Keikichi?”

“I’ll be honest.”
“He’s at my house on Nishinaka Street in Tsukishima.”
“It’s true.”
“Please help me.”

Bungo thrust Tsukawa's body away,

"Turn the launch toward the Sumida River," he ordered.

One week later, on a certain morning.

On the terrace of the Kashima family’s Western-style house, before President Kashima, Keikichi and his sister, Bungo, and others, Tsukawa Jūzō spoke in a completely calm and composed tone.

“You must have already realized—that is my invention, the ‘Free Diving Suit’.”

“As you know, diving suits were primitive until very recently. Thick clothing, large heavy helmets, lead shoes, lead weights—and furthermore, the air pipes were connected to the ship, limiting activity to a fixed range and depth. It was Lübke and Dora Gerueruk of Germany who improved upon that.”

“The diving suit these two created compressed the gas required for breathing into tanks, equipped them in backpacks on both sides, and made it possible to breathe by automatically mixing this gas.”

"I discovered that President Kashima had invented an underwater cannon, and suddenly realized that a Free Diving Suit would be needed to operate it... Current diving suits with their sluggish movements would never suffice."
"It must swim through the sea with fish-like agility and complete freedom."
"—I grappled with this challenge."
"So first I adopted Lübke's air supply method and began researching how to combine it with a fish's hydrodynamic form."
"The results lay before you."
"I've finally succeeded in creating 'Kappa No.1'."

"When I completed this, I suddenly conceived an evil thought. 'I once committed the crime of attempting to steal the blueprints.' 'I had already committed a crime anyway.' 'I thought I might as well acquire President Kashima’s underwater cannon blueprints there and sell them along with my invention to some military branch to become wealthy...'"

“You’ve confessed thoroughly. That’s enough.”

President Kashima nodded quietly and said.

“Your crimes remain crimes, but your invention is a remarkable one.
From now on, to make full use of that invention, reform yourself and apply yourself diligently. I’ll lend you the factory’s research laboratory.”

“I’ll lend a hand too.”

Bungo said with a laugh from beside them. ……Outside was a clear May sky.