No. 4 of 15 · Yokai Personalities

My Deepest Bow

Pictures by Masazumi Ryusai

A blue, spotted kappa from an Edo-period scroll of twelve kinds of kappa stands above the line "Bow to a kappa and it bows back," with a woodblock kappa by Masazumi Ryusai inside beside the words "So here's my deepest bow: thank you for your kindness." In Japanese folklore the kappa is a river imp with a dish of water on its head, so polite that it returns every bow just as deeply. For someone whose kindness meant the world.

Add four of your own photos and your own words; we print the card in the US and post it for you.

Inside, it says

the one with perfect manners So here's my deepest bow: thank you for your kindness. It meant the world to me.

On the back

河童 / KAPPA / the one with perfect manners / The kappa is a river imp of Japanese folklore with a dish of water on its head. It is famously polite: bow to a kappa and it bows back just as deeply. It also loves cucumbers.

A card for

• Thank you