Japanese dragons (, ''Nihon no ryū'') are diverse

legendary creatures A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), but may be featured in historical account ...

Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of year ...

and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese dragon myths amalgamate native legends with imported stories about

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

s from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. The style and appearance of the dragon was heavily influenced by the

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...

, especially the three-clawed ''long'' (龍) dragons which were introduced in Japan from China in ancient times. Like these other

East Asian East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...

dragons, most Japanese ones are

water deities A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Anoth ...

associated with rainfall and bodies of water, and are typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet.

Indigenous Japanese dragons

The c. 680 AD ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' and the c. 720 AD '' Nihongi'' mytho-histories have the first Japanese textual references to dragons. "In the oldest annals the dragons are mentioned in various ways," explains de Visser, "but mostly as water-gods, serpent- or dragon-shaped." The ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihongi'' mention several ancient dragons: * ''

Yamata no Orochi , or simply , is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent. Mythology Yamata no Orochi legends are originally recorded in two ancient texts about Japanese mythology and history. The 712 AD transcribes this dragon name ...

'' 八岐大蛇 "8-branched giant snake" was an 8-headed and 8-tailed dragon slain by the god of wind and sea

Susanoo __FORCETOC__ Susanoo (; historical orthography: , ) is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory chara ...

, who discovered the ''

Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called , but its name was later changed to the more popular ("Grass-Cutting Sword"). In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor. Legends ...

'' (legendary sword of the

Imperial Regalia of Japan The are the imperial regalia of Japan and consist of the sword , the mirror , and the jewel . They represent the three primary virtues: valour (the sword), wisdom (the mirror), and benevolence (the jewel).

) in one of its tails. * ''

Watatsumi , also pronounced Wadatsumi, is a legendary ''kami'' (神, god; deity; spirit), Japanese dragon and tutelary water deity in Japanese mythology. is believed to be another name for the sea deity Ryūjin (龍神, Dragon God) and also for the , which ...

'' 海神 "sea god" or ''

Ryūjin Ryūjin ( 龍神), which in some traditions is equivalent to Ōwatatsumi, was the tutelary deity of the sea in Japanese mythology. In many versions Ryūjin had the ability to transform into a human shape. Many believed the god had knowledge on ...

'' 龍神 "dragon god" was the ruler of seas and oceans, and described as a dragon capable of changing into human form. He lived in the undersea ''

Ryūgū-jō or is the supernatural undersea palace of Ryūjin or Dragon God in Japanese tradition. It is best known as the place in fairytale where Urashima Tarō was invited after saving a turtle, where he was entertained by the Dragon God's princess Oto- ...

'' 龍宮城 "dragon palace castle", where he kept the magical

tide jewels In Japanese mythology, the two tide jewels, named and , were magical gems that the water deity, Sea God used to control the tides. The earliest pseudo-historical texts record an ancient myth that the presented the tide jewels to his son-in-law ...

. * ''

Toyotama-hime or Luxuriant-Jewel-Princess is a goddess in Japanese mythology in the episode of the "Luck of the Sea and the Luck of the Mountain" in the ''Kojiki'' as well as '' Nihon Shoki''. She is the daughter of the sea deity, Watatsumi. Toyotama marries t ...

'' 豊玉姫 "Luminous Pearl Princess" was

's daughter. She purportedly was an ancestress of

Emperor Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' and '' Kojiki''. His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"Wani Wani may refer to: *Vani (custom), a child marriage custom in tribal areas of Pakistan *Wani (dragon), a Japanese dragon translated as "sea monster", "crocodile", or "shark" *Wani (scholar), a legendary scholar, sent from Korea to Japan during the ...

'' 鰐 was a

sea monster Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are ofte ...

that is translated as both "shark" and "crocodile". ''Kuma-wani'' 熊鰐 "bear (i.e., giant or strong) shark/crocodile" are mentioned in two ancient legends. One says the sea god Kotoshiro-nushi-no-kami transformed into an "8-fathom ''kuma-wani''" and fathered Toyotama-hime, the other says a ''kuma-wani'' piloted the ships of

Emperor Chūai , also known as was the 14th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Chūai's alleged li ...

and his

Empress Jingū was a legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her husband's death in 200 AD. Both the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Jingū's alleged lifetime. Leg ...

. *''

Mizuchi The is a type of Japanese dragon or legendary serpent-like creature, either found in an aquatic habitat or otherwise connected to water. Some commentators perceived it to have been a water deity. It is described in the ancient pseudo-chronicle '' ...

'' 蛟 or 虯 was a river dragon and water deity. The ''Nihongi'' records legendary

Emperor Nintoku , also known as was the 16th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Due to his reputation for goodness derived from depictions in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, he is sometimes referred to as the . While his existence ...

offering human sacrifices to ''mizuchi'' angered by his

river engineering River engineering is a discipline of civil engineering which studies human intervention in the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined benefit. People have intervened in the natural course and b ...

projects. *''

Raijū Raijū ( 雷獣, "thunder animal" or "thunder beast") is a legendary creature from Japanese mythology. Mythology Its body is composed of lightning and with the form of a white and blue wolf or dog (or even a wolf or dog wrapped in lightning) b ...

'' is Raijin's animal companion and messenger that commonly take form of a dragon. * '' Kiyohime'' 清姫 "Purity Princess" was a teahouse waitress who fell in love with a young Buddhist priest. After he spurned her, she studied magic, transformed into a dragon, and killed him. * ''

Nure-onna is a Japanese yōkai which resembles a reptilian creature with the head of a woman and the body of a snake. They are also seen as a paranormal phenomenon at sea under the name of nureyomejo. In legends, they are often said to consume humans, b ...

'' 濡女 "Wet Woman" was a dragon with a woman's head and a snake's body. She was typically seen while washing her hair on a riverbank and would sometimes kill humans when angered. * '' Zennyo Ryūō'' 善如龍王 "goodness-like dragon king" was a rain-god depicted either as a dragon with a snake on its head or as a human with a snake's tail. * In the fairy tale "

My Lord Bag of Rice My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Mark ...

", the Ryūō "dragon king" of

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th ol ...

asks the hero Tawara Tōda 田原藤太 to kill a giant centipede. * ''

Urashima Tarō is the protagonist of a Japanese fairy tale (''otogi banashi''), who in a typical modern version is a fisherman rewarded for rescuing a turtle, and carried on its back to the Dragon Palace (Ryūgū-jō) beneath the sea. There he is entertained ...

'' rescued a

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

which took him to Ryūgū-jō and turned into the attractive daughter of the ocean god Ryūjin.

Chinese-Japanese dragons

mythology is central to Japanese dragons. Japanese words for "dragon" are written with ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

'' ("Chinese characters"), either simplified ''

shinjitai are the simplified forms of kanji used in Japan since the promulgation of the Tōyō Kanji List in 1946. Some of the new forms found in ''shinjitai'' are also found in Simplified Chinese characters, but ''shinjitai'' is generally not as extensiv ...

'' 竜 or traditional ''

kyūjitai ''Kyūjitai'' ( ja, 舊字體 / 旧字体, lit=old character forms) are the traditional forms of kanji, Chinese written characters used in Japanese. Their simplified counterparts are ''shinjitai'' ( ja, 新字体, lit=new character forms, lab ...

'' 龍 from Chinese ''long'' 龍. These ''kanji'' can be read ''tatsu'' in native Japanese ''

kun'yomi are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequent ...

'' and ''ryū'' or ''ryō'' in Sino-Japanese ''

on'yomi are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequent ...

''. Many Japanese dragon names are

loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because th ...

s from Chinese. For instance, the Japanese counterparts of the astrological

Four Symbols The Four Symbols (, literally meaning "four images"), are four mythological creatures appearing among the Chinese constellations along the ecliptic, and viewed as the guardians of the four cardinal directions. These four creatures are also refe ...

are: *''Seiryū'' < ''Qinglong'' 青龍 " Azure Dragon" *''Suzaku'' < ''Zhuque'' 朱雀 "

Vermilion Bird The Vermilion Bird ( zh, c=朱雀, p=Zhūquè) is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. According to Wu Xing, the Taoist five elemental system, it represents the Fire element, the direction south, and the season summer correspo ...

" *''Byakko'' < ''Baihu'' 白虎 "

White Tiger The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, in the Sunderbans region and ...

" *''Genbu'' < ''Xuanwu'' 玄武 "

Black Tortoise The Black Tortoise () is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. Despite its English name, it is usually depicted as a tortoise entwined together with a snake. The name used in East Asian languages does not mention either anima ...

" Japanese ''Shiryū'' 四竜 "4 dragon

ings ''Ings'' is an old word of Old English origin referring to water meadows and marshes. The term appears in place names in Yorkshire (such as Hall Ings, Bradford, Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve, Clifton Ings in York, Derwent Ings, Sutton Ings, A ...

are the legendary Chinese ''Longwang'' 龍王 "

Dragon King The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in Ch ...

s" who rule the four seas. *''Gōkō'' < ''Aoguang'' 敖廣 "

Dragon King of the East Sea Ao Guang (; or ) is the Dragon King of the East Sea in Chinese folklore. He featured prominently in different works including ''Fengshen Yanyi'' and ''Journey to the West''. ''Fengshen Yanyi'' According to the ''Fengshen Yanyi'', after the passa ...

" *''Gōkin'' < ''Aoqin'' 敖欽 "

Dragon King of the South Sea The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in C ...

" *''Gōjun'' < ''Aorun'' 敖閏 " Dragon King of the West Sea" *''Gōjun'' < ''Aoshun'' 敖順 "

Dragon King of the North Sea The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in C ...

" Some authors attempted to differentiate Japanese ''ryū'' and Chinese ''long'' dragons by the number of claws on their feet. In 1886, Charles Gould wrote that in Japan, the dragon is " invariably figured as possessing three claws, whereas in China it has four or five, according as it is an ordinary or an Imperial emblem". A common belief in Japan is that the Japanese dragon is native to Japan and is fond of travelling gaining claws as it walked further from Japan; e.g. when it arrived in Korea, it gained 4-claws; and when it finally arrived to China, it gained five-claws. However, contrary to the Japanese belief that the three-clawed dragons also originated from China and was introduced in Japan. The three-clawed dragons were the Chinese dragons used in China in the earlier times and were the principal form of dragons which were used on the robes of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. When the Chinese dragons were introduced in Japan, they still had three claws. Three-clawed dragons were seldom used after the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

and were later found in four or five claws in China; the three-clawed dragons were briefly revived in the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Japanese military named many armaments after Chinese dragons. The '' Kōryū'' 蛟竜 < ''

jiaolong ''Jiaolong'' () or ''jiao'' (''chiao'', ''kiao'') is a dragon in Chinese mythology, often defined as a "scaled dragon"; it is hornless according to certain scholars and said to be aquatic or river-dwelling. It may have referred to a species of c ...

'' 蛟龍 "flood dragon" was a

midget submarine A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...

and the '' Shinryū'' 神竜 < ''

shenlong Shenlong, (, literally "god dragon" or "divine dragon", Japanese: 神竜 Shinryū) is a spiritual dragon from Chinese mythology who is the master of storms and also a bringer of rain. He is of equal significance to other creatures such as Tianlon ...

'' 神龍 "spirit dragon" was a rocket

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

aircraft. An Imperial Japanese Army division, the 56th Division, was codenamed the Dragon Division. Coincidentally, the Dragon Division was annihilated in the Chinese town of

Longling Longling County () is a county in Baoshan City, in the west of Yunnan Province, China, bordering Burma's Shan State to the south. Its capital is the large community Longshan (). The site of the Songshan Battlefield () (1944 during the Second S ...

(龍陵), whose name means "Dragon's Tomb".

Indo-Japanese dragons

When

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monks from other parts of Asia brought their faith to

they transmitted dragon and snake legends from

and

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and reg ...

. The most notable examples are the ''nāga'' ナーガ or 龍 "

Nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

; rain deity; protector of Buddhism" and the ''nāgarāja'' ナーガラージャ or 龍王 ”

Nāgarāja Nagaraja ( sa, नागराज ', ) is a title used to refer to the nagas, the serpent-like figures that appear in Indian religions. It refers to the kings of the various races of the nāga, the divine or semi-divine, half-human, half-serpen ...

; snake king;

dragon king The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in Ch ...

". de Visser (1913:179) notes that many Japanese

nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

legends have

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

features. "This is quite clear, for it was via

that all the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n tales came to

. Moreover, many originally Japanese dragons, to which Chinese legends were applied, were afterwards identified with

, so that a blending of ideas was the result. Some additional examples of Buddhistic Japanese dragons are: *''Hachidai ryūō'' 八大龍王 "8 great naga kings" assembled to hear the Buddha expound on the ''

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

'', and are a common artistic motif. *''Mucharinda'' ムチャリンダ "

Mucalinda Mucalinda, Muchalinda or Mucilinda is the name of a nāga, a snake-like being, who protected the Gautama Buddha from the elements after his enlightenment. It is said that six weeks after Gautama Buddha began meditating under the Bodhi Tree, t ...

" was the Nāga king who protected the Buddha when he achieved

bodhi The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: ''bodhi''), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect ...

, and is frequently represented as a giant cobra. *

Benzaiten Benzaiten (''shinjitai'': 弁才天 or 弁財天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯才天, 辨才天, or 辨財天, lit. "goddess of eloquence"), also simply known as Benten (''shinjitai'': 弁天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯天 / 辨天), is a Japanese Buddhist god ...

弁才天 is the Japanese name of the goddess

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...

, who killed a 3-headed

Vritra Vritra () is a danava in Hinduism. He serves as the personification of drought, and is an adversary of the king of the devas, Indra. As a danava, he belongs to the race of the asuras. Vritra is also known in the Vedas as Ahi (Sanskrit: ', li ...

serpent or dragon in the ''

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

''. According to the ''

Enoshima Engi The ''Enoshima Engi'' (江嶋縁起) is a history of the temples and shrines on Enoshima Island in Sagami Bay. It was written in Chinese language, Chinese, the scholarly language of the time, by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kōkei (monk), Kōkei in 10 ...

'', Benzaiten created

Enoshima is a small offshore island, about in circumference, at the mouth of the Katase River which flows into the Sagami Bay of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Administratively, Enoshima is part of the mainland city of Fujisawa, and is linked to ...

Island in 552 CE in order to thwart a 5-headed dragon that had been harassing people. * Kuzuryū 九頭龍 "9-headed dragon", deriving from the multi-headed Naga king シェーシャ or 舍沙 "

Shesha Shesha (Sanskrit: शेष; ) , also known as Sheshanaga (Sanskrit: शेषनाग; ) or Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod (Naga) and Nagaraja (King of all serpents), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puran ...

", is worshipped at

Togakushi Shrine The is a Shinto shrine in Togakushi, Nagano (city), Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is at the base of Mount Togakushi () in Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park. Togakushi Shrine consists of five shrines, known as the lower, middle, ...

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

. * Gozuryū 五頭龍 "5-headed dragon" is worshipped at Ryuko Myojin Shrine in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

Dragon temples

Dragon lore is traditionally associated with

Buddhist temples A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represent ...

. Myths about dragons living in ponds and lakes near temples are widespread. De Visser lists accounts for

Shitennō-ji Shitennō-ji ( ja, 四天王寺, ''Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings'') is a Buddhist temple in Ōsaka, Japan. It is also known as Arahaka-ji, Nanba-ji, or Mitsu-ji. The temple is sometimes regarded as the first Buddhist and oldest officially-ad ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, Gogen Temple in

Hakone, Kanagawa is a town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had a population of 11,293 and a population density of 122 persons per km². The total area of the town is . The town is a popular tourist destination due to its many hot springs and views of ...

, and the shrine on

Mount Haku , or Mount Hakusan (commonly referred to as simply Hakusan), is a dormant stratovolcano in Japan. It is located on the borders of Gifu and Ishikawa, on the island of Honshu. Mount Haku is thought to have first been active 300,000 to 400,000 yea ...

where the ''

Genpei Jōsuiki The , is a 48-book extended version of the ''Heike Monogatari'' (''The Tale of the Heike''). References External links at University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research univ ...

'' records that a Zen priest saw a 9-headed dragon transform into the goddess

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

. In the present day, the Lake Saiko Dragon Shrine at

Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi is a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,782 in 19,806 households and a population density of 400 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Fujiyoshida lies at the northern ...

has an annual festival and fireworks show. Temple names, like Japanese

toponyms Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

, frequently involve dragons. For instance, the

Rinzai The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan E ...

sect has

Tenryū-ji , formally known as , is the head temple of the Tenryū-ji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, located in Susukinobaba-chō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339, primarily to venerate Gautama Buddh ...

天龍寺 "Heavenly Dragon Temple", Ryūtaku-ji 龍沢寺 "Dragon Swamp Temple",

Ryōan-ji Ryōan-ji ( ja, 竜安寺, label=Shinjitai, ja, 龍安寺, label=Kyūjitai, ''The Temple of the Dragon at Peace'') is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The ...

竜安寺 "Dragon Peace Temple". According to legend, when the Hōkō-ji 法興寺 or

Asuka-dera , also known as , is a Buddhist temple in Asuka, Nara. Asuka-dera is regarded as one of the oldest temples in Japan. Temple complex A number of records refer to the origin of the temple, such as the '' Nihongi'' and ''Fusō-ryakuki''. The o ...

飛鳥寺 Buddhist temple was dedicated at

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

in 596, "a purple cloud descended from the sky and covered the pagoda as well as the Buddha hall; then the cloud became five-coloured and assumed the shape of a dragon or phoenix". The ''Kinryū-no-Mai'' "Golden Dragon Dance" is an annual Japanese

dragon dance Dragon dance () is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance, it is most often seen during festive celebrations. The dance is performed by a team of experienced dancers who manipulate a long flexible ...

performed at

Sensō-ji is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest temple, and one of its most significant. Formerly associated with the Tendai sect of Buddhism, it became independent after World War II. It is dedicated to Kann ...

, a Buddhist temple in

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History The ...

. The dragon dancers twist and turn within the temple grounds and outside on the streets. According to legend, the Sensō Temple was founded in 628 after two fishermen found a gold statuette of

in the

Sumida River The is a river that flows through central Tokyo, Japan. It branches from the Arakawa River at Iwabuchi (in Kita-ku) and flows into Tokyo Bay. Its tributaries include the Kanda and Shakujii rivers. It passes through the Kita, Adachi, Arakaw ...

, at which time golden dragons purportedly ascended into heaven. The Golden Dragon Dance was produced to celebrate the reconstruction of the Main Hall of the temple in 1958 and is performed twice yearly. 2hoox07jieh31

Images

Image:Kuniteru Gozu dragon.jpg,

slaying the

, by Kuniteru Image:Kunisada II The Dragon.jpg, The Buddha riding a sea-dragon, by Kunisada. File:Miyata Nobukiyo - Dragon Teapot - Walters 571162 - Profile.jpg, Dragon

teapot A teapot is a vessel used for steeping tea leaves or a herbal mix in boiling or near-boiling water, and for serving the resulting infusion which is called tea. It is one of the core components of teaware. Dry tea is available either in tea ba ...

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...

Dragon shrines

Japanese dragons are mostly associated with

Shinto shrines A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

as well as some Buddhist temples.

Itsukushima Shrine is a Shinto jinja (shrine), shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima, Hiroshima, Miyajima), best known for its "floating" ''torii'' gate.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005)"''Itsukushima-jinja''"in ''Japa ...

on Miyajima or

Itsukushima is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay. It is popularly known as , which in Japanese means "Shrine Island". The island is one of Hayashi Gahō's Three Views of Japan specified in ...

Island in Japan's

Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland se ...

was believed to be the abode of the sea-god Ryūjin's daughter. According to the '' Gukanshō'' and ''

The Tale of Heike is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike () refers to the Taira (), ''hei'' being the ''on' ...

'' (Heinrich 1997:74–75), the sea-dragon empowered

Emperor Antoku was the 81st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1180 through 1185. During this time, the Imperial family was involved in a bitter struggle between warring clans. Minamoto no Yo ...

to ascend the throne because his father

Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader and ''kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first so ...

offered prayers at Itsukushima and declared it his ancestral shrine. When Antoku drowned himself after being defeated in the 1185 Battle of Dan-no-ura, he lost the imperial

Kusanagi is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called , but its name was later changed to the more popular ("Grass-Cutting Sword"). In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor. Legend ...

sword (which legendarily came from the tail of the ''Yamata no Orochi]'' dragon) back into the sea. In another version, divers found the sword, and it is said to be preserved at

Atsuta Shrine is a Shinto shrine traditionally believed to have been established during the reign of Emperor Keikō (71-130) located in Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in Japan. The shrine is familiarly known as ''Atsuta-Sama'' (Venerable Atsuta) or simpl ...

. The great earthquake of 1185 was attributed to vengeful Heike spirits, specifically the dragon powers of Antoku. ''Ryūjin shinkō'' 竜神信仰 "dragon god faith" is a form of Shinto religious belief that worships dragons as water ''

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

''. It is connected with agricultural rituals, rain prayers, and the success of fisherman.

Dragons in modern Japanese culture

*The

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ja, 大日本帝國陸軍航空部隊, Dainippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūbutai, lit=Greater Japan Empire Army Air Corps) was the aviation force of the Im ...

gave some of their aircraft dragon-related names, for example the

Kawasaki Ki-45 The Kawasaki Ki-45 ''Toryu'' (屠龍, "Dragonslayer") was a two-seat, twin-engine heavy fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. The army gave it the designation "Type 2 Two-Seat Fighter"; the Allied reporting name was "Nick". ...

twin-engine fighter was called ''Toryu'' (''Dragon Slayer''), the

Mitsubishi Ki-67 The Mitsubishi Ki-67 ''Hiryū'' (飛龍, "Flying Dragon"; Allied reporting name "Peggy") was a twin-engine heavy bomber produced by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company and used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and Imperial Japanese Navy Air Serv ...

bomber was called ''Hiryu'' (''Flying Dragon'') and the

Nakajima Ki-49 The Nakajima Ki-49 ''Donryu'' (呑龍, "Storm Dragon")Francillon, 1970, p.223 was a twin-engine Japanese World War II heavy bomber. It was designed to carry out day bombing, daylight bombing missions, without the protection of escort fighters. Con ...

bomber was called ''Donryu'' (''Storm Dragon''). * The

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

and later the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

named some of their ships after dragons. Notable examples are the

-era

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s '' Hiryu'' and '' Sōryū'' and the modern

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s of the ''Sōryū'' class. *The dragon is a popular figure in

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

art. *

Manda Manda may refer to: Places * Kafr Manda, Arab town in the Lower Galilee * Manda Upazila, an upazila in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh * Manda, Kale, a village in Burma * Manda, Guinea, a town in the Labé Region * Manda, Jammu, India, ...

, the kaiju film character appearing in films produced by

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

, is depicted as a Japanese dragon.

References

Bibliography

*Aston, William George, tr. 1896
''Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697''
2 vols. Kegan Paul. 1972 *Chamberlain, Basil H., tr. 1919

*Gould, Charles. 1896
''Mythical Monsters"
W. H. Allen & Co. *Heinrich, Amy Vladeck. 1997. ''Currents in Japanese Culture: Translations and Transformations''. Columbia University Press. *Ingersoll, Ernest. 1928.

, in ''Dragons and Dragon Lore'', Payson & Clarke. Also: Ingersoll, Ernest, et al., (2013). ''The Illustrated Book of Dragons and Dragon Lore''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN B00D959PJ0 *Smith, G. Elliot. 1919.
The Evolution of the Dragon
'. Longmans, Green & Co. * .

External links

The Circle of the Dragon

Dragonorama
Ryūjin shinkō
Encyclopedia of Shinto

Steve Renshaw and Saori Ihara

Japanese Architecture & Art Net User System

The Japanese dragon in tattoo art
Dragon Festival for rainmaking in Nio, Japan
HK(video) {{Portal bar, Society, Japan Buddhist folklore Japanese folklore Onmyōdō deities fr:Dragon japonais