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Shibaten (シバテン Shibaten) is a Kappa and leader of the Kappas from Kappa Pond that appears in the 2007 anime.[1]
Appearance[]
Shibaten is a kappa with a heavy build, green skin, green shell on his back, and webbed feet and hands. He has dark-green hair, and a light-green plate sitting atop his head. He wears a small orange vest and a grass skirt tied by a white string.
Personality[]
History[]
2007 Anime[]
Shibaten appears in episode 19 of the fifth anime adaptation.[1]
The Great Yōkai War[]
The Great Yōkai War: Guardians[]
Shibaten was an attendant of the Yōkai Yammit, an international gathering of yōkai in Beijing. He sat below Zashiki-Warashi and to the left of Kago-Otoko.
Legend[]
Illustration of Shibaten by Shigeru Mizuki.
Shibaten, also known as Shiba-Tengu, is the name of a type of Kappa known from the Shikoku region.
Shibaten has a tendency to challenge people to sumo wrestling, with the Shibaten usually winning, as he's capable of defeating even a professional sumo wrestler to the point of knocking them out. When they regain consciousness, they discover they've been wrestling against an inanimate object. However, Shibaten will never wrestle against a person should they have a talisman on them.
One story tells of a Shibaten who challenged a professional sumo wrestler named Ichinoseki to a sumo match. Ichinoseki accepted the challenge with ease, but Shibaten was stronger than he expected, and his leg was hurting, so Ichinoseki decided to go home, saying they'll have a rematch tomorrow night.
When he returned home, Ichinoseki found that he was covered in blood, and deduced that he must have been tricked by the Shibaten, but Ichinoseki refused to accept defeat and against the wishes of his neighbors, returned to the area where he fought Shibaten for a rematch. There, Ichinoseki captured the Shibaten. but when a neighbor saw Ichinoseki returning home in triumph, he was only dragging two pairs of broken straw sandals. After being brought back to his senses by having water poured on his head, Ichinoseki accepted defeat against Shibaten.
In the Tosayama Village of the Tōsa District, it's said that Shibaten that enter the river on June 7, or Gion Day, will transform into Enkō.
Trivia[]
- In August 16, 2015, to celebrate the ten year anniversary of The Great Yōkai War, a screening of the film was held at the Tenshin Memorial Museum of Art, Ibaraki. There was also an exhibit showcasing some of the masks from the film, and one of them was Shibaten's.[2]
- The mold of Shibaten's mask in The Great Yōkai War was also used for Konoha-Tengu, Ao-Tengu, Nishakubō, Iso-Tengu, Jūnibō, Aka-Garasu, and Tsuchi-Tengu.