Kappa doesn't wear a hat, it's head is a bowl full of water. If it loses the water, it dies. Bow to it, and it bows back and is dead.
pulling from my only experience with these is from Nioh - two types: the wee'uns that granted a boon at the shrine (which would bow to you), and the little fuckers that you could assail for goods, which i assumed were amassed illegally.
just checked it out - edit: the Kappa in Nioh pretty much follows what we're all saying and they have the Moe from 3-stooges jew bowl cut. the wee'uns are called Kodama and wear an upside-down bowl on their heads. No idea how much of the games legend follows traditional mythos, but, there we are.
Lawful Evil.
But when they go on land they wear a helmet
Yes, they do. Primarily to keep the sun from drying out the water.
They're still some serious jew turtles
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