Japanese dragon
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A Japanese dragon, also known as ryū or tatsu (龍 or 竜?) is a legendary creature from Japan.
Like other creatures referred to as dragons, the Ryū is a large, fantastic, serpent-like being, and is closely related to other Oriental dragons such as the Chinese lóng and the Korean ryong. Along with these Oriental dragons, it is usually depicted as a wingless, heavily-scaled snake-like creature with small clawed legs and a horned or antlered reptilian head, and is associated with large bodies of water, clouds or the heavens. Japanese dragons tend to be much more slender and fly less frequently than the dragons of Vietnam, Korea, or China, which may cause the Japanese dragon to appear particularly serpentine.[citation needed]
Japanese dragons share a close connection with water. Their association is focused primarily on the sea. This is a reflection of Japan's geography, as Japan is surrounded by the ocean and is consequently less prone to drought than China.
[edit] Origin of ryū
The ryū in art can generally be distinguished from other East-Asian dragons in that it has only three toes, rather than the lóng's five or the ryong's four.
Ryū originated from China and is one of the four divine beasts of Japanese mythology (the other three being the crimson bird, black turtle and white tiger, popular adaptations of Chinese constellation symbols, see Four Symbols). It is frequently the emblem of the Emperor or the hero. The Japanese Emperor Hirohito traced his ancestry back 125 generations to Princess Fruitful Jewel, daughter of a Dragon King of the Sea.[citation needed]
[edit] History of dragons in Japan
Dragon shrines and altars can still be seen in many parts of the Far East. They are usually along seashores and riverbanks, because most Eastern Dragons live in water. The Isle of the Temple, in Japan's Inland Sea, has become a famous stopover for pilgrims who meditate and pray to dragons. Descendants of the dragon became great rulers.
Dragon sculptures are also used to decorate the exterior of temples for Buddhists and Taoists of China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan. They represent the obstacles humans face throughout life that must first be overcome, before enlightenment can be attained.
The Kinryū-no-Mai (Golden Dragon Dance), is held at the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa each spring. The dragon is taken through the grounds of the Sensoji in a parade and then into the temple. People throw money into a grate and touch the dragon for luck. After this the dragon is taken outside and there is a performance where the dragon twists and turns in front of the crowd.
This festival commemorates the discovery in 628 of the temple's gold Kannon, which is an image of the Goddess of Mercy, by two brothers who were fishing in the Sumida River. Legend says the discovery caused golden dragons to fly up to heaven. The dance is performed in celebration of this and to bring good fortune and prosperity.
[edit] Dragons in Japanese mythology
In Japanese mythology, one of the first dragon-like creatures is the Yamata-no-Orochi, an enormous girl-devouring serpent with eight heads and eight tails which was slain by Susanoo after Susanoo tricked the creature into becoming drunk on sake.
Dragons in later Japanese folklore were often much more benign, perhaps because of influence from Chinese culture. They appear in famous tales such as My Lord Bag of Rice, in which a hero must kill a giant centipede which is devouring the children of the dragon king of Lake Biwa. In Urashima Tarō, the title character rescues a turtle which turns out to be the daughter of Ryūjin, the dragon king of the ocean.
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