Kappa

The kappa is about the size of a child, green-skinned, with a turtle shell on its back and a beak-like mouth. Its most important feature is the sara, a shallow dish on the crown of its head filled with water. The water is the source of its strength. If the dish empties, the kappa cannot move.

The Drownings

Kappa pull swimmers, horses, and cattle into rivers and ponds. They are blamed for drowning deaths, especially of children. The mechanism varies by region: some versions say kappa extract a mythical organ called the shirikodama from the victim’s anus. Warning signs reading “Beware of Kappa” stood near dangerous rivers in the Edo period. Some still do.

The Bow

The kappa’s fatal weakness is courtesy. If a person bows, the kappa, bound by social obligation, must bow in return. The water in the sara spills. The kappa freezes. A polite human can walk away unharmed. The story works as a lesson for children about manners and as a piece of practical advice about dangerous water: show respect to things that can kill you.

Cucumbers

Kappa love cucumbers above all other food. The cucumber sushi roll in Japanese cuisine is called kappamaki. The practice of writing one’s name on a cucumber and throwing it into a river before the first swim of summer is a gift to the local kappa, payment for safe passage through its territory.