7. Kappa

     If you’ve heard of any one yokai, it’s probably the kappa. Early the single most famous yokai in Japan, this amphibious creature has long been feared as vicious scourge of Japan’s rivers, swamps, coastlines, and other bodies of water. They are also known to take refuge in man-made structures such as cisterns and garden ponds. They are occasionally encountered on land in mountainous areas during the winter, when their watery homes freeze over. They can be tracked by their pungent body odor, said to be reminiscent of rotting compost. Kappa are traditional “bogeymen” invoked by Japanese parents to frighten young children away from playing near lakes and rivers unattended. According to one story, some nine thousands of the creatures swam en masse from China to Japan around the fifth century. Whatever their true origin, they have become the signature yokai of the Japanese folk pantheon.