Fun with Japanese: Kaichi Edition

When it comes to odd mythological creatures, no one can top the Japanese for sheer inventiveness and practicality.

I've become utterly convinced of this since I began reading about the handscroll sets known as "The Night Parade of the Hundred Demons" (Hyakki yagyô emaki) for a seminar paper. The latest edition to the pantheon of magical creatures that I know about is the kaichi 獬豸 (also read kaitai). It is defined as follows:

An imaginary beast resembling a cow. When the kaichi sees a fight it will gore with its horns the person who is evil; when it hears an argument it will bite the person who is wrong.

Can you imagine political debate in this country if we had one of these? A great many folks wouldn't sit down for a week.