Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 5.djvu/232

 atmospheric continuity, a whirlwind, or other aerial disturbance, and if a country bumpkin finds that he has unconsciously received a hurt, he has no hesitation in attributing it to the demoniacal sickle-carrier.

The kappa (river-urchin) is another fabulous monster, malevolent like the sickle-bearer, but more deadly in its doings. It dwells in rivers and lakes, and its favourite haunts are catalogued with solemn accuracy. No one has attempted to describe the kama-itachi, but the kappa's appearance is minutely depicted. It has the body of a ten-year-old child; is hairy like a monkey; possesses eyes of piercing brilliancy; has in its skull a cup-like cavity; speaks the language of human beings; lives in the water, but emerges at nightfall and steals melons and egg-fruit, its favourite food. Wrestling is the pastime affected by it. It invites men to try a bout, and, despite its puny proportions, comes off violently victorious; unless, indeed, the water contained in its skull-cup be spilled, when its strength vanishes. To defeat it, however, is as bad as to be defeated, for the result is loss of reason and gradual wasting away. This river-urchin, in common with the snapping-turtle, is credited with vampire propensities: it attacks people in the water and sucks their blood. In the Uma district of lyo province there is a lake where country-folk often bathe in the dog days. There the river-urchin or the snapping-turtle is said to claim two victims yearly.