Japanese dragon
Japanese dragons (, "Nihon no ryū") are diverse legendary creatures in Japanese mythology and folklore. Japanese dragon myths amalgamate native legends with imported stories about dragons from China, Korea and the Indian subcontinent. The style of the dragon was heavily influenced by the Chinese dragon. Like these other East Asian dragons, most Japanese ones are water deities associated with rainfall and bodies of water, and are typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet. The modern Japanese language has numerous "dragon" words, including indigenous "tatsu" from Old Japanese "ta-tu", Sino-Japanese "ryū" or "ryō" from Chinese  , "nāga" ナーガ from Sanskrit "nāga", and "doragon" ドラゴン from English "" (the latter being used almost exclusively to refer to the European dragon and derived fictional creatures). Indigenous Japanese dragons. The c. 680 AD "Kojiki" 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: Chinese-Japanese dragons. Chinese dragon mythology is central to Japanese dragons. Japanese words for "dragon" are written with "kanji  (Chinese characters"), either simplified "shinjitai" 竜 or traditional "kyūjitai" 龍 from Chinese "long" 龍. These "kanji" can be read "tatsu" in native Japanese "kun'yomi" and "ryū" or "ryō" in Sino-Japanese "on'yomi". Many Japanese dragon names are loanwords from Chinese. For instance, the Japanese counterparts of the astrological Four Symbols are: Japanese "Shiryū" 四竜 "4 dragon [kings]" are the legendary Chinese "Longwang" 龍王 "Dragon Kings" who rule the four seas. Some authors differentiate Japanese "ryū" and Chinese "long" dragons by the number of claws on their feet. "In Japan," writes Gould (1896:248), "it 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." During World War II, the Japanese military named many armaments after Chinese dragons. The "Kōryū" 蛟竜 < "jiaolong" 蛟龍 "flood dragon" was a midget submarine and the "Shinryū" 神竜 < "shenlong" 神龍 "spirit dragon" was a rocket kamikaze 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 (龍陵), whose name means "Dragon's Tomb". Indo-Japanese dragons. When Buddhist monks from other parts of Asia  brought their faith to Japan they transmitted dragon and snake legends from Buddhist and Hindu mythology. The most notable examples are the "nāga" ナーガ or 龍 "Nāga; rain deity; protector of Buddhism" and the "nāgarāja" ナーガラージャ or 龍王 ”Nāgarāja; snake king; dragon king". de Visser (1913:179) notes that many Japanese nāga legends have Chinese features. "This is quite clear, for it was via China that all the Indian tales came to Japan. Moreover, many originally Japanese dragons, to which Chinese legends were applied, were afterwards identified with nāga, so that a blending of ideas was the result. Some additional examples  of Buddhistic Japanese dragons are: Dragon temples. Dragon lore is traditionally associated with Buddhist temples. Myths about dragons living in ponds and lakes near temples are widespread. De Visser lists accounts for Shitennō-ji in Osaka, Gogen Temple in Hakone, Kanagawa, and the shrine on Mount Haku where the "Genpei Jōsuiki" records that a Zen priest saw a 9-headed dragon transform into the goddess Kannon. In the present day, the Lake Saiko Dragon Shrine at Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi has an annual festival and fireworks show. Temple names, like Japanese toponyms, frequently involve dragons. For instance, the Rinzai sect has Tenryū -ji 天龍寺 "Heavenly Dragon Temple", Ryūtaku-ji 龍沢寺 "Dragon Swamp Temple", Ryōan-ji 竜安寺 "Dragon Peace Temple". According to legend, when the Hōkō-ji 法興寺 or Asuka-dera 飛鳥寺 Buddhist temple was dedicated at Nara 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 performed at Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple in Asakusa. 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 Kannon in the Sumida River, 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. Dragon shrines. Japanese dragons are mostly associated with Shinto shrines as well as some Buddhist temples. Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima or Itsukushima Island in Japan's Inland Sea was believed to be the abode of the sea-god  Ryūjin's daughter. According to the "Gukanshō" and "The Tale of Heike" (Heinrich 1997:74–75), the sea-dragon empowered Emperor Antoku to ascend the throne because his father Taira no Kiyomori 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 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. 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". It is connected with agricultural rituals, rain prayers, and the success of fisherman.