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Kamaji from Spirited Away

He operates the bathhouse boiler. He has 6 arms and 2 legs making him somewhat spider-like.

Kaonashi from Spirited Away

No-Face. He is a figure without face or voice of his own, and is a silent and lonely shadow. He seems to represent the human quality of loneliness and the search for companionship.

Kappa

A water spirit/monster with the body of a tortoise, and a hollow hole on the top of its head containing water or liquid it needs to keep its strength. If it bows, and the hole is emptied, the kappa loses its power. It is a polite creature, but fierce, and attacks those in the water, sucking their blood. Kappa appear in ep. 15 of Blue Seed. At the beginning of volume 3 Inu-Yasha tries to ask a group of kappa about the shards of the Shikon Jewel, but he finds the kappa are a bit scatterbrained and not much help.

In episode 4 of Tenchi Universe, Washu turns Ayeka and Ryoko into a pair of kappa. Three little kappa are Pelsia's observers in Magical Fairy Persia.

In ep. 17 of Fancy Lala, the kappa legend becomes synonymous with stories of Santa Claus or fairies for children. Miho believed she saw one three years ago and since then has believed in their existence. When she learns it was only a costume, it is like the shock of a child learning too soon something imaginary or wondrous doesn't exist. By the end of the episode, her sadness is alleviated by thinking one sighting is still unaccounted for and therefore that wonder in belief of the extraordinary in childhood is left intact. An interesting addition is that it was as Lala that she learned her sighting three years ago was a costume, but it is as Miho she gets her reassurance. This represents that part of adulthood that finds answers to the unexplained and dismisses fantasies. But the adults in the episode are given reasonable doubt on dismissing the legend, and so not just the child still in Miho, but in themselves as well is the part that holds to legends and magic.

From Joanna: A kappa makes an appearance in Akazuki Chacha.

Karura

Karura is the Japanese name for Garuda (man-bird deity of Hindu-Buddhist myth). In Buddhism, Garuda is a golden-bodied bird. Garuda's body is human, while his wings and beak are of an eagle. He can block the sun with his size and is thought to be oldest of the birds. He has been called the "Bird of Life", and the Celestial Eagle. He is also the gods' messenger. The flapping of his wings was the sound of a clap of thunder.

Karura is the protector deity of the Ohgi family in Karura Mau and the deity the two sisters will call upon. The title of the series is Karura Mau which means Karura Dances. In RG Veda, Karura is a queen and one of the six stars traveling with Ashura. Garuda is her bird.

Kasuga from Spirited Away

From Miyazaki notes with DVD: "The appearance of one of the gods in the film is derived from a paper mask of an old man that is used in a particular ceremony at the Kasuga Taisha Shrine." These are the masked spirits who exit the ferry in front of Chihiro. The mask is called zoumen.

Kasumi

From ep. 6 of Kakyuusei. From Dave Endresak: The bouqet that Tsuushi gives Mahoko-chan, they're kasumi... the title is "kasumi of gratitude" I believe. Tsuushi is allergic to flowers - that's why he wasn't too thrilled with Mayumi finding him a job in a flower shop, even with Mahoko-chan working there by coincidence. However, he bears with it and endures, checking out books about flowers and their language so as to understand Mahoko-chan and her feelings for the flowers. When she is so upset, he creates a bouquet of kasumi for her. She's very surprised... she asks him if he knows what the kasumi means in the language of flowers, and of course he tells her "no" (but he does... he read about it already, and he chose this flower very specifically for her.) Mahoko-chan thinks to herself that kasumi means "gratitude" in the language of flowers... Tsuushi chose this flower because he and all the flowers want to express their gratitude to Mahoko-chan for always taking care of them.

Kenmochi

From Karura Mau movie fansub endnote: Another Reinoh Ryokusha but of a different style. Called "Yami no Shiguruto" (Shiguruto of the Darkness/the Hidden/Other-Shiguruto). (Shiguruto=exorcist of black arts).

Key

Can be a symbol of liberation, or the threshold of the unconscious. In Japan, of happiness. In folk or fairy tales, it can be an erotic symbol or represent a difficult entry to mysteries. The key is a symbol in the Utena movie.

For Sailor Pluto: Sailor Pluto's staff is a silver key. Silver keys are a symbol of temporal power. It was also a symbol for knowledge of the afterlife, or to unlock the gates of the underworld.

In CCS: Both the Clow Key and Star Key are the magical objects Sakura carries with her and uses to summon her wands or staffs to use her magic. They are used to activate her magic.

The Key in Yu-Gi-Oh is in the shape of an ankh. Shadi uses the Millenium Key to unlock minds. Shadi uses this on Yugi and on entering his mind finds two chambers. One of an innocent, a child's room (Yugi himself) and the second a dark, ancient, stale tomb like that of an Egyptian pharoah. Shadi asks the spirit he finds there (the Pharoah) to let him in to the unconscious. The Pharoah grants this and suddenly the room becomes a maze with endless passages filled with traps and deceptive paths. The set-up is just as an Egyptian tomb for a king where false passageways were built to confuse grave robbers and the way to the heart of the tomb was hidden deep within the tomb and the earth. There the Pharoah and what he held dear was hoped to be kept safe and protected as he entered the afterlife. At the heart of the recreated tomb Shadi has entered lies the Pharoah's memories, his secrets. Hidden so deep that not even the Pharoah himself has recalled them yet.

Spirit or life force. It is having harmony between the body and mind. Good ki comes from mental exercise, and in martial arts a person must be able to control their ki before they can be perfective in their skills. Ki is important in the series Dragonball.

From Karura Mau movie fansub endnote: [In the spiritual context] Senses, spiritual air, the extra power, a force of mind, a force within, a force of concentration. Unlike magic, which is very much disbelieved, ki is very deeply associated with Japanese religion and spiritual development.

Kimon

Demon's Gate. Spirits of the dead and demons were believed to be able to go through it. It was thought to face the northeast. The kimon is mentioned in ep. 24 of Vampire Princess Miyu.

King Yama

From Chinese mythology, King Yama judged souls arriving to Hell and then decided whether or not to pass punishment after judging the soul and their actions in life. If so, they might be sent on to one of the other Yama Kings. King Yama appears in Dragonball.

Kireki

In the Karura Mau film, Sukana's has "mother" written on it. One used in curse-murder of the assemblyman by the ghost fetuses. It calls the ghosts later after Maiko and Ikeda.

From movie fansub endnote: A sphere with one kanji written on it. The center of a jujutsu (curse).

Kiss

The most common symbol of a kiss is for love or a sexual expression. A kiss can be the culmination of feelings or the physical realization of feelings. A common example is a first kiss or two characters who've been denying or hiding or are unaware of their feelings, suddenly find themselves sharing a kiss. In Japanese culture an indirect kiss, touching one's lips to an object after another (such as a cup one has drunk out of) is a sexual symbol as it is an extension of a physical kiss.

But kisses can also have a magical quality to them, and are an extension of energy or sudden awareness. In fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty they are part of an awakening or transformation. In both cases, the kiss is again a symbol of love (true love/realization of love). In the first, the Beast is transformed after Beauty's kiss and the confession of her love for him. And in the second the heroine is awakened from her long sleep by the prince. This can be a symbol of sexual or conscious awakening. In series like Bastard and PQ Angels, the kiss falls under this same category. In Bastard a young boy's body carries the seal of a great wizard and to incur the transformation or unbreak the seal and let out the other, the maiden Yoko must kiss him and break the seal. In PQ Angels the two girls to transform back into a human form from that of small cockroaches, have to land on the lips of humans. In the second Inu-Yasha movie, it is the kiss which breaks Kaguya's spell over Inu-Yasha.

A kiss is sometimes also used to show the link of the psyche to one's physical shadow in anime. This type of motif shows up in both Utena and Rayearth. In the opening credits of the first, the almost kiss between Anthy and Utena represents the coming together of two sides. Utena and the shadow qualities of herself represented in Anthy. The kiss between Nova and Hikaru in the last opening credit sequence of the Rayearth TV series is another example. Nova is the shadow of Hikaru's heart, born at the moment Hikaru and the others killed the Princess and her guilt manifested itself in the form of Nova. By the end, Hikaru has to learn to love even this part of herself and take Nova back into heart and make herself complete. And all these ideas are embodied in the type of symbolic kiss discussed here.

Sometimes the negative side of the kiss is brought forth to counter the pure or positive side of the above. One example is in the Ninja Scroll movie, the female protagonist has blood and skin so saturated by poison that to kiss or touch her means death.

Knight

From Chris: Episode 18 (Princess Tutu) which is entitled Wandering Knight: Egmont Overture starts with the story of a knight who always did his duty no matter the cost. He even killed his lover to fulfill his duty. When the war ended he was exiled and became a wandering ghost. The Egmont Overture is a piece by Beethoven. Also, Fakir has a dream of an encounter with a ghost knight before even meeting him or hearing about the play where he is asked to play the part of the ghost knight.

Kodama

The spirit of the trees. Kodama are a type of tama or "entity which resides in some host, to which it imparts life and vitality" (Blacker, 43). Some trees in Japan are said to be occupied by a spirit which can show itself or speak. Kodama appear in Princess Mononoke.

Kokeshi

Sometimes made from dogwood or sometimes from another tree, kokeshi dolls began as a children's toy but have found their way as an ornament of souvenir as well in hot spring locations.

These dolls painted as of a woman or girl appear in the Karura Mau OVA. Mihuyu originally was given a kokeshi doll by her sister it seems as a child, and with the death of her family kept the doll close to her. When Mihuyu appears in someone's dream either to kill or toy with, her kokeshi appears as well. In the first OVA episode, when Shii and Maiko fight the doll it releases the spirit of the girl Mihuyu is after. As kokeshi are made from the wood of the tree it is possible Mihuyu's may have a link to the tree under which her sister died. She is also able to perform illusions through the use of the dolls as in ep. 2 the spirit-children Shii encountered earlier take form of kokeshi dolls and Mihuyu leaves the doll behind her though her presence remains through the wood dolls.

Mihuyu's kokeshi has a red flower on it. This may be a hint back to the tree near the temple, or it could possibly be a poppy flower.

Kokkuri-San

A game in Japan. From The Allegory of Whatever:** "A spirit that answers questions when you contact it in a fortune-telling game very like Ouija. You contact Kokkuri-san using a piece of paper with letters and numbers drawn on it, and use a coin as the marker. If you try to cheat, Kokkuri-san will possess you."

The game is mentioned in episode 23 of Great Teacher Onizuka.

**http://www.chthonian.net/persona/tsumi/faqs/personaeindex.html

Kotodama

The soul of words, or the power thought to be naturally infused in some words. Both Lotis and Maram are words infused with power in the Alice 19th manga.

Kujaku

Kujaku-Myoo had the features of a Bodhisattva, and was seated on a peacock. He was called to for rain during drought and to protect against calamity. Kujaku is a character in CLAMP's RG Veda.

Kuji-Goshin-Hoh

From Karura Mau movie fansub endnote: The 9-word protection technique. 9 words that are chanted gather one's concentration and ki. Usually combined with finger signs. Thought to originate in the ninjutsu.

Kenmochi uses kuji in both the movie and OVA.

Kumo

Spider. In Japanese legend, they are said to be larger than a human, and have sharp teeth. Their webs are said to be only undone by magic. A kumo appears in ep. 11 of Blue Seed.

K'un-lun

Abode of the gods according to Chinese myth. In the anime 3x3 Eyes, this is the holy land where the Sanjiyan are from. When the treasure hunter, Macdonald, says he wants to find treasure and the secret of immortality, he may be referencing not only the myth but also the idea that there was a fountain of immortality located there.

Kyudo

"Way of the bow." It is more a meditation or spiritual exercise than a defense in Japan. Kyudo practicioners rely on concentration and growth of their skills and harmony with the bow and target. It is also used in Shinto ceremonies. For these reasons Mars' Flame Sniper attack in BSSM is fitting to the Shinto priestess. Fuu from Rayearth also uses a bow and relies not on her physical strength but the strength of her mind. Towards the end of the 2nd season of CCS, Yukito participates in an archery tournament with Ms. Mizuki. He calls it a "holy ritual" and when it comes down to only the two of them at the competition's end, the one who lets their concentration flinch first loses. Note that both these characters and Fuu have quiet, gentle personalities, fitting with the more focused sport of kyudo. A last example is the character Kyou Wakamiya from Alice 19th, a member of the Archery Club.