kappa maki

I made sushi.
Originally uploaded by Phil Dragash.

Dropped by the Field Museum's Mythic Creatures exhibit over the weekend, which was all good and a lot of fun except for the gal who was reading the placards to her children in a tinny not conducive to reading outloud voice (I can only imagine what bedtime is like around that house) (& a request: SUMMARIZE the key points for the kids. in your natural voice. we'll all appreciate it.).

The creature who won my heart was the Japanese Kappa, whose love for cucumbers is the reason we call cucumber rolls kappa maki.

The Kappa lives in water, which gives him his power, and when he emerges from the water in search of the small children whom he loves to eat as much as cucumbers he carries his power with him -- in a small depression on the top of his head.

This curious circumstance means that a small child under threat need only bow to him and he will bow in return, spilling the water, and his power, subsequently losing his strength.

Disarmed by politeness.