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【English Name】Kappa Maki (Cucumber Roll)

Kappa is a name used at sushi restaurants to refer to a thin cucumber roll, formally called "kappa-maki." It is a kind of thin roll (hosomaki) in which vinegared rice and cucumber are rolled in nori.

There are several theories about the origin of the name. The most widely known is based on the legend that cucumber is the favorite food of the Japanese yokai (folk monster) "kappa." There is also a theory that the cross-section of a sliced cucumber resembles the dish on top of a kappa's head. Furthermore, a theory holds that because a sushi restaurant in Osaka had earlier registered the name "cucumber roll" as a trademark, "kappa roll" spread as an alternative name.

Rolled sushi itself is said to have originated in Kamigata (Osaka) in the mid-Edo period, but the idea of using cucumber as an ingredient is thought to have become established only after the Showa era. As for its origin, there is a theory that it began at the Osaka sushi restaurant "Jingoro" in 1929, and a theory that it was devised by Yasui Hiroshi, the fourth-generation owner of "Hachiman-zushi" in Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku, Tokyo, amid the food shortages just after the war's end.

The juicy texture and refreshing flavor of cucumber are suited to cleansing the palate, and it is said to have spread nationwide from around the 1960s. Its affordable price was also a factor in its spread. Even today it is loved as a standard menu item at sushi restaurants.