Netsuke - Kappa And Toad

3D Model

‘Kappa and toad hand-wrestling on a leaf’ by Suzuki Mansano.

From the netsuke’s description on artsmia.org:

“In this whimsical example from the late nineteenth century, the mythological kappa or “boy of the river” engages a toad in hand wrestling. The kappa is a type of water sprite who despite its small size, can cause serious harm to humans, but is usually just mischievous. They possess a body of a turtle, limbs of a frog, and the head of a monkey or bird. A cup or depression on their heads holds a small amount of water, which allows the kappa to briefly leave the rivers they inhabit. If the water spills, the kappa will lose its power.”

More information abou the object here: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/2357/kappa-and-toad-hand-wrestling-on-a-leaf-suzuki-masanao

Scanned with an Artec Spider, cleaned up in Blender. The object is less than 4cm long; it’s scaled in VR to about 40cm.