1987 (pub): Kyuusenbou

A tale from Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan:

        In the ancient past, near Unzen-onsen on the island of Kyushu, there lived the boss of all kappa, a creature called Kyuusenbou. Kyuusenbou and his followers appeared at a town with a hot spring, where they proceeded to perform all sorts of mischievious and cruel acts. Kyuusenbou's superhuman strength was such that he could easily drag a horse into a river by its tail; no one was his equal.
        Having heard all of this, a buddhist priest by the name of Sekihou from the Manmyouji temple decided to, with the aid of Buddha, put an end to Kyuusenbou's carreer.
        Sekihou challenged Kyuusenbou to a match and, in three days time, they met at the appointed place near a volcanic valley. At this place, the priest pretended to give up and ran away... Kyuusenbou, pressing the advantage, chased after him. But the wily priest ran into the volcanic valley, full of such hot air and gas that it resembled the landscape of Jigoku -- Hell -- itself. Because of the intense heat, the precious water in the bowl on Kyuusenbou's head quickly evaporated, along with his unnatural powers... and so the beast was beaten.
        Sekihou took one of the kappa boss' hands as proof of the victory; this hand has been passed down through the years and is now said to be in the keeping of the Unzen temple's buddhist hall.