Sunday, January 02, 2011

Dragon Search: Japanese


To find any type of Japanese dragon, I had to go on a scavenger hunt.  These dragons are elusive to find.  I had to look through books and on the Internet to seek them out.

20 December 2010
From: “Sacred Geometry Cards for the Visionary Path” by Francine Hart. 
The card called “Garden of Delights” featured a long green dragon with red-ridged plates.  The dragon was hiding amongst the flowers.  This dragon was a karyu.

21 December 2010
From:  Dragons” by Steve Dobell.
The story “A Japanese Dragon Slayer” was illustrated with a tatsu.  This dragon was long and sinewy, and possessed three claws.  It also had a beard and two horns.

22 December 2010
From: a Japanese children’s story book: “Yamata no Orochi”.
This is the story of Susanoo who fought the dragon Yamata no Orochi, who plagued the town of Izumo.  This dragon had eight heads and tails.  This dragon was the Yamata.

23 December 2010
From a Japanese 5th Grade Advanced Reader: “Mokiyuu Uroshi”.
This particular story was illustrated with a three-toed dragon swimming in the sea.  This dragon with long whiskers was a tatsu.

24 December 2010
From “Dragonlore From Japan” by Mark  Schumacher, Onmark Productions http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/dragon.shtml
The dragon illustration for the story, “Urashima Taro” was another tatsu.  It had a beard, three toes and was long and sinewy.

25 December 2010
From “Japanese Dragon”, Wikipedia Entry, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_dragon
There were pictures of various dragons from Japanese woodcuts.  Most of these dragons were called “sea dragons”.  They looked like tatsu dragons.  However, one woodcut was called “Kiyohime”, who was the girl who became a dragon.

26 December 2010
From “Japanese Dragon”, Wikipedia Entry, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_dragon
A picture of a dragon shrine from Fujiyoshida is carved from white stone and has large scales.  I believe that this could be a representation of the Ukashima Dragon.

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