River Doll Answers

I had thought that the river doll would remain a mystery until my final farewell to Japan when all the planets would align and the answer would descend upon me from the firmament.  In a similar scenario, our dear personnel manager called after me as I left the office and invited me back in.  Inside, on a shelf near the communal laptops and printer sat a little carton with a picture of a little character.  A little character that she identified as the doll by the river.  A little character called, "Hanakappa," which she explained, is a children's cartoon show.    Below is a comparison of the character and the picture I took at the river.

Sugoi!  I was very grateful for this information.  But why did this woman leave it by the river???

"Hana" means flower (in reference to the cartoon's top), and the "kappa" is a mythical Japanese sprite....one of the river!  They can be very mischievous and evil or helpful if befriended.  People may try to appease them when swimming in order to keep from drowning.  You can find out a lot of interesting things about the kappa (including their favorite sushi roll!) in this wikipedia article.

Was this a shrine of sorts to the kappa of this river?  Or perhaps this woman comes from the Saga Prefecture of the far south, where most kappa are said to live, and was homesick.  Perhaps she erected this little doll as a reminder, or perhaps to lure some of her southern river friends up to Hyogo.  I don't think there's any way for me to learn more about the reasons for its apparence or her feelings about it.  I'm content to leave those with her.  

Many questions were answered today, though many mysteries remain.  I still haven't figured out what happened to the wasabi seaweed.  But can't get too greedy–all in time.  Perhaps they'll serve it on the flight home.