Kanibōzu are giant crabs that disguise themselves as priests and haunt temples. Kanibōzu moves into old, empty temples that have no head priest maintaining them. From there, they harass people living in the vicinity. When a traveling priest visits such a temple, or when a new priest is dispatched to lead such a temple, the kanibōzu appears before them and demands they answer a riddle. If the priest cannot answer correctly, they are eaten.