Sushi fans will probably know that cucumber rolls are known as kappamaki in Japanese. This is in honor of what is surely one of Japan¡¯s strangest mythical creatures ¡ª the kappa.
Although reptilian in appearance with webbed hands and feet, and shells on their backs, kappa can walk on two legs and use their bird-like beaks to communicate with humans.
The creatures are sometimes called ¡°water sprites¡± in English, but possess some rather unpleasant characteristics that are more in line with the carnivorous troll under the bridge in the Norwegian fairy tale ¡°Three Billy Goats Gruff.¡±
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