Kappa Quirky River Demons

Legends

For the light-hearted side of this Halloween edition, we would like to present you the quirky river demons as found in Japanese folklore. A culture rich in supernatural tales of ghosts and fantastic creatures, no list would be complete without the “Kappa”. Spirits of the natural world and ghosts are deeply imbedded in Japanese religion, history, and culture. And for this last offering for our Halloween edition there is even a sushi roll named after it — the kappa-maki, or cucumber roll. Kappas love cucumbers. What strange little things they are. They are said to be roughly humanoid in form and about the size of a child. They have a shell like a turtle, green scaly skin, and a plate on top of their heads that must always be brimming with water to stay alive. These uniquely Japanese supernatural beings live in Japan’s lakes, streams and rivers. In Shintoism, Kappas are respected as gods of water and statues of them can sometimes be seen at shrines around Japan. Kappa quirks include having a huge appetite for cucumbers (hence the kappa-maki) and for never being able to break a promise. Of the more gruesome legends about them, it is also said that they love to pull lost children and animals into the water to drown and eat…perhaps with a side dish of fresh crunchy cucumber.