item details
NamePuppet, Kappa
ProductionBurton Theatre of Puppets; maker/artist; 1974; New Zealand
Classificationrod puppets
Materialspapier-mâché, paint, wood, metal, foam rubber, lamb's wool
Materials SummaryPapier-mache rod puppet made out of textile, paint, paper, plastic, metal, adhesive, wool attached to skin and wood
DimensionsOverall: 480mm (width), 880mm (height), 260mm (depth)
Registration NumberGH020805
Credit lineGift of Upper Hutt City Library on behalf of Edna Burton, 2010
Overview
This rod puppet was made by the Burton Theatre of Puppets for a show called The Samurai which toured New Zealand Schools in 1974. This play was based on two Japanese folk tales.
The puppet is calledKappa which isa Japanese water sprite with a frog-like appearance wearing a tortoise shell on its back. In this play Kappa is extremely mischievous but not bad and teaches humans healing and wrestling.
In Japanese mythology their pranks range from the relatively innocent, such as loudly passing gasor looking up women's kimonos, to the malevolent, such as drowning people and animals, andkidnapping children.