The river boy (kappa)

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Literally "river boy," these creatures resemble turtles with webbed (and somewhat human-like) feet and hands

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Literally "river boy," these creatures resemble turtles with webbed (and somewhat human-like) feet and hands. They're about the size of small children, and they're able to stand, walk on land and swim. The key characteristic of their appearance, however, is a small bowl or plate-like area on their head that must be kept wet or filled with water.

They inhabit water, usually staying in ponds or rivers. If the plate-like area dries out, the 河童 is said to lose its powers or even die. Some stories tell of how the plate can be covered to protect the 河童 from drying out, which allows them to travel farther away from their watery domain.

Primarily, the 河童 is used as a cautionary tale to children to be careful while swimming. 河童 are tricksters that, depending on the story, are mischievous or downright malevolent. The more sinister stories have 河童 luring people or animals, usually horses, into deep water so that all the 河童 can drag them down and drown them. A strange off-shoot of the 河童 stories is that these creatures love cucumbers. Perhaps they're the real inventors of the 河童巻き (かっぱ まき) sushi.

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