What's a Kappa?

In Shinto mythology, suijin (水神) are deities that live in lakes, ponds, rivers, springs, irrigation canals, and even wells. One of these is the kappa (河童), a tortoise-like imp the size of a child that smells like fish, has the face of an ape, sometimes a duck beak, webbed hands and feet, and a shell on its back. Their slimy, scaly limbs can be yellow, green, gray, or blue, and some people even report that they can change colors like a chameleon.
The most distinctive feature of the kappa is their long hair, much like Portuguese monks in the 1600's, that circles the bowl-shaped depression on the top of their heads. The bowl is said to harden with age and it holds essential, strength-giving water which may let them move about on land. If a kappa loses this water, it can be immobilized, weakened, forced to return to its kingdom, or even die.

Although kappa are only the size of a six to ten year old child, they are very strong. Kappa pull people, cattle, and horses into the water, where they sometimes drown their victims or pull their livers or entrails out through the anus. Kappa feed by sucking out the blood or life force of their victims. The only food they enjoy more than this is cucumbers.

Kappa are mostly evil, but can sometimes be benevolent, too. They are skilled pranksters and their gags can range from innocent (passing gas loudly) to troublesome (kidnapping) to severe (raping women). Despite this, kappa are always trustworthy and very polite, and they are expert teachers in the art of medicine and bone setting, which is why there are shrines dedicated to them. They also understand and speak Japanese, as well as their own kappa language.