According to local legend in Wakayama and Mie prefectures, the kappa water imps
have two forms. During the summer months they are called gōrai or gorambo and
live in rivers, but in the autumn they begin climbing into the mountains for the winter and
become kashambo. The kashambo are odd little characters the size of a six or
seven-year-old child, with heads like poppy buds and bodies clad in blue travelling robes.
They are said to leave footprints like waterfowl and sometimes toss pebbles into houses along
their route - thus the locals know the imps are migrating and winter is on its way.

Sometimes a kashambo will wander into a person’s home and stay there, and while at first it seems to
cause no harm, it often winds up spiriting away horses and making cows sick with its saliva.