Mythology of the Japanese Dragon and the Dragon Tattoo

By Sarah McAuley

Dragon, by Hokusai.

The above image is typically what a Japanese dragon would look like.

Japanese dragon myths and folklore consists of native legends and stories some of which are borrowed and adapted from other cultures including China, India and Korean but the Japanese dragon has its own unique features. The Japanese dragon is a water god and as such they watch over and reside in large bodies of water. They are historically wingless creatures which are often described more like giant water snakes than dragons but they are still known to sore through the sky in small bursts due to magic “horns” located on their heads (although not often), they only have three claws on each foot, opposed to other Asian dragons which have four and even five claws on each foot. Japanese legend says that they originated in Japan and the further away they migrated, the more toes that they grew. According to legend dragons can shape shift into human form and breed with any human which was claimed by certain Japanese emperors or authorities who told stories of themselves being distant relatives with dragons. “The Japanese Emperor Hirohito traced his ancestry back 125 generations to Princess Fruitful Jewel, daughter of a Dragon King of the Sea”. The Japanese dragon was also thought to bring wealth and luck.

The Japanese dragon has a strong connection with water and they are thought to live in and watch over bodies of water and their surroundings. “The Shinto faith has a folk story about the great dragon king Ryo-Wo, who lived in a castle on the bottom of the ocean.” There are many stories and

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legends confirming how thoroughly embedded dragons are within the Japanese culture and religion. The Chinese and Korean dragons are very similar to the Japanese dragon in that they also have a strong connection with water, are considered water deities and they are also are wingless but they have more toes than the Japanese dragon, the Chinese dragon has five and the Korean has four. As previously stated Japanese legend says that the further away the dragons migrated from Japan the more toes they grew but Chinese and Korean legends say the opposite. They believe that the Dragon originated with them and lost toes as they migrated over to Japan or surrounding counties. The European dragon on the other hand is completely different from their Asian counterparts as they are said to be very large, winged, fire-breathing creatures who commonly live in underground caves. The European dragon symbolises strength and power but they are considered to be evil creatures whereas the Asian dragon is known as providing protection. Dragons were thought to have magical powers as they were gods and they were said to be able to control water, fire and earth.

The image pictured on the left is a Japanese Dragon shrine in Fujiyoshida. Dragons are a huge part of the Japanese culture and their religion. There are shrines, statues and artwork dedicated to dragons which are found all over Japan, there are even statues placed at many of the Japanese temples throughout Japan and many of the temples themselves incorporate dragons within their names. For example, the Rinzai sect has Tenryū-ji, which translates to "Heavenly Dragon Temple", Ryūtaku-ji translates to "Dragon Swamp Temple", and Ryōan-ji translates to "Dragon Peace Temple". According to legend, when the Asuka-dera 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". This goes to show how much dragon myths and

folklore are actually embedded within the Japanese culture.

Japanese dragon statues and shrines are placed near Buddhist temples especially ones close to large bodies of water as they are thought to bring wealth and luck along with providing protection to the temples and the believers. “They [statues] represented the obstacles humans face throughout life

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that must first be overcome before enlightenment could be attained”. To many people the dragon is a very spiritual creature. The temples themselves are often adorned with Dragon artwork and murals, sometimes found on the temple ceilings. The reason the image of the dragon is so widely used is because it symbolises strength, courage and great power and has become a massive part of Japan as a whole. As the image of the Japanese dragon became more and more popular in Japanese culture it was capitalised upon which ensured that you could see the image of the dragon where ever you go in Japan be it on artwork or statues etc. There is also a “dragon dance” where people get inside a large dragon costume and weave in and out like the was a dragon is thought to move, which is practiced every year in Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple in Asakusa. It is practiced mainly for entertainment purposes but there is always the symbolism aspect to the dance where it bring luck and prosperity.

Some famous Japanese dragons include:

Ryu Jin or Ryo Wo who is said to be the dragon king and guardian of an underwater kingdom of serpent people. People who have fallen into the sea are believed to live there. Ryu Jin is known for his infinite wisdom and he is also said to have a human body.

Sui Riu who controls the rain. The rain is said to turn red when Sui Riu is hurt or in pain. “Fuku Riu is the Japanese Dragon of Good Luck. Likely to be depicted as "ascending" since an

ascending dragon is a sign of good luck in Eastern culture.” The Blue-Green Dragon symbolises leadership and is thought to protect the zodiac. Toyo-tama is a dragon of the sea who is said to have married and had a son with a human

before returning to her life under the sea. Her child went on to marry Toyo-tama’s sister and give birth to the first emperor of Japan, a dragon descendant.

Yamata-no-Orochi is an eight-headed dragon who is always depicted as having a bloody stomach and moss along its back.

The above image is one of Yamata-no-Orochi, the eight headed dragon.

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Kiyo was originally a young woman who fell in love with a priest. Legend has it that when the priest lost interest in her she transformed into a vengeful dragon and killed him. Kiyo symbolises vengeance and desire.

In popular culture the Japanese dragon can be found anywhere from architecture to the Japanese Air Force. As afore mentioned there are many dragon shrines, statues and dragon artwork throughout Japan but the dragon can also be found in some unusual places. There are many video games and TV shows which are based around dragons such as “Dragon Quest” or “Dragon ball z”. The Imperial Japanese Army Air Force have named some of their aircraft after dragons, for example the Kawasaki Ki-45 twin-engine fighter was called Toryu which translates to “Dragon Slayer” and the Mitsubishi Ki-67 bomber was called Hiryu which translated to “Flying Dragon”, the Imperial Japanese Navy also names some of their vessels after dragons. Last but not least there is the Dragon tattoo which is a popular figure in modern Japanese and Yakuza tattoos.

The image shown on the left is a supposed Neolithic tattoo discovered in modern day Romania. Pre-Cucuteni Culture clay figure, 4900-4750 BC. “Tattooing has been a Eurasian practice at least since Neolithic times. Ötzi the Iceman, dating from the late 4th millennium BC, was found in the Ötz valley in the Alps and had some 57 carbon tattoos consisting of simple dots and lines on his lower spine, behind his left knee, and on his right ankle. These tattoos were thought to be a form of healing because of their placement, which resembles acupuncture.” Before the tattoo gun ancient people had to improvise by poking tiny holes into the skin and inserting dyes or rubbish ash into handmade cuts in the skin. It is also thought that

scarification was a widely used way of creating permanent tattoo-like marks on the body and scarification is actually still practiced today. Scarification is when words or designs are deliberately etched into the skin via it being scratched, burned or cut in to with a knife and often during the healing process the wound would be intentionally irritated to ensure it scarred more rather than scarred less but with this the desired end result may not always be achieved as if you irritated the would too much or if it gets infected the scaring may end up somewhere it wasn’t intended. There are aesthetic, religious, and social reasons for

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scarification and while it may not be considered “normal”, once upon a time getting a tattoo wasn’t considered “normal”.

Below is a tattoo on the right arm of a Scythian chieftain whose mummy was discovered at Pazyryk, Russia. The tattoo was made more than 2,500 years ago.

“Tattooing for spiritual and decorative purposes in Japan is thought to extend back to at least the Jōmon or Paleolithic period (approximately 10,000 BCE) and was widespread during various periods for both the Japanese and the native Ainu. Chinese visitors observed and remarked on the tattoos in Japan (300 BCE)”. After this period, Japanese tattoos began as a way for people to convey their social status among certain professions like manual workers, prostitutes and certain other professions and it was also believed that they would bring you protection but over time the tattoo became a symbol of crime and punishment. In the eighth century tattooing was a rather slow and very painful process and as such it was used as a form of punishment instead of incarceration, death and it even replaced punishments such as criminals having their nose or ears removed. While being tattooed might seem like a person was getting off easy it was a form of torture as they didn’t have the tattoo guns we have today and also having pride and respect in Japan was huge and so being seen with a tattoo would identify a person of having committed a crime and it would bring shame to them and to their family. You could sometimes tell what type of crime a person by the type of tattoo and where it was located on the body but often it was just a single ring around the arm for each crime committed. Common practice in ancient times would be to tattoo prisoners of war, criminals and slaves so that they would be instantly recognised as such but this was stopped due to the criminals finding ways to

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conceal, alter or get rid of their tattoos. Some people would even go as far as carving around the tattoo and removing it to regain some sort of personal pride and so that other people wouldn’t know that they had committed any crimes.

The image below shows the different types and placements of the tattoos that criminals adorned.

Tattoos in Japan weren’t always seen with bad connotation as the Samurai used to been seen with them and the Samurai were known as protectors in Japan. “Under a new emperor and new country the Samurai were forced to burn their armour, composed mainly of wood, in large gatherings shifting local tributes to the new emperor. The Samurai had served its people for many centuries spanning generations and were highly admired, almost being treated as royalty. Being stripped of their armour the Samurai adopted tattoo as a means of replacing the armour. In effect the samurai were forced into hiding, thusly forming the fraternal order of the Yakuza. The Yakuza was originally seen as an organization of high honour, not the image it has in modern times.” It’s almost as if the Yakuza were forced in to a life of organised crime as they were not seen as part of the mainstream society because of the visible tattoos they had and they were heavily frowned upon so they couldn’t actually get proper jobs or integrate in with the rest of society at the time, even if they had wanted to.

After World War II, the Emperor of Japan at the time made it illegal to get or have tattoos as he wanted to clean up Japans image which gave tattoos back their criminal element and the Yakuza, who are now the Japanese mafia and are connected to a lot of organised crime and gangs became known for sporting tattoos and other kinds of body art, which could actually be dated back to the 1700’s. In the 1700’s the Yakuza often administered tattoos using really sharp pieces of steel or bamboo. Getting tattooed became like an initiation for members of the Yakuza and as it was very painful, it showed that they were strong willed and dedicated to the cause. Each specific gang had their own unique tattoos to show which gang they belonged to and the bigger the tattoo and the more of the body it covered, the more dedicated the person was considered. When tattoos became

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illegal in Japan, tattooist went underground and were coveted by people from all over the world because the tattoos were so beautiful, which kept tattooing alive throughout Japan but they were still considered with bad connotations. Tattoos were legalised again in 1945 and have become more widely accepted in Japan although they are still viewed by some people as being connected with organised crime and gangs, even now, especially full back or whole body tattoos.

An early example of Irezumi or Yakuza tattoos, 1870s.

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Above is examples of what the tattooing implements might have looked like in Ancient Japan.

Dragon tattoos can symbolise a variety of different things. In parts of Europe, dragon tattoos were seen as symbolising destruction and danger. Some cultures would consider the dragon tattoo to symbolise strength and wisdom, like the Japanese whereas other Asian cultures would consider the dragon tattoo a bad omen. While the Asian dragon is among the most popular when it comes to tattoos, there are other variations of the dragon tattoo, some of which include:

The European dragon tattoo. The European dragon is often seen to be evil but it holds different meanings to different people. It can symbolise strength and power and while most dragon tattoos flow really well on the skin, the European dragon does less so than the Asian dragon because the wings are jagged with sharp corners.

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An image of what the European dragon might look like.

The Chinese dragon tattoo is one of the most sought after dragon tattoos after the Japanese dragon and they both have very similar meanings like strength and wisdom. They also both resemble each other apart from the toes. The Asian dragon tattoos have a really good fluidity to them and work well on any part of the body as they don’t have any corners so they flow well on the skin.

The Celtic dragon tattoos are very complex tattoos which symbolise great strength. “The Celtic societies also believed that dragons also have a connection with the Earth’s magnetism and healing powers. They even put up a sacred stone wherein they believed that the body of the dragon is still there.”

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Example of a Celtic dragon tattoo design. Tribal dragon tattoos are popular with people who wish to bring in meaning from a certain

culture (depending on the type of dragon) and combine that with something really spiritual and relatable to nature. It provides a really powerful image and can have a variety of meanings depending on the type of dragon depicted.

The sleeping dragon tattoo symbolises everything that the specific dragon represents like strength and wisdom but the eyes being closed symbolises their power lying dormant until it is needed.

The meaning of the dragon tattoo also changed depending on the colour. A black dragon symbolises wisdom, a green dragon symbolises life, blue is associated with compassion, yellow can mean self-cantered or helpful (which is a direct contradiction) and a gold dragon symbolises many great attributes like wisdom, kindness and helpfulness. Many people wouldn’t think to consider the colours of their dragon tattoo when getting it and they would just choose whatever based on what looks good but people in certain cultures put meaning in to everything.

A traditional Japanese Dragon tattoo.

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Since Japanese dragons are such an important part of the Japanese culture, it makes sense that the dragon tattoo is such a popular choice among not only the people of Japan and the Yakuza but people from all over the world. They are also insanely beautiful to look at and they flow with the contours of the body no matter where they are placed as they don’t have any hard edges. A dragon tattoo can vary in size from a little one on the shoulder blade or chest to one where the tail starts at the ankle and winds all the way up the body to be finished on the neck. Japanese dragon tattoos can mean various different things to different people but are more commonly thought to symbolise strength, power, wisdom, protection and of course, luck. Some people in Japan believed that if they had a dragon tattoo it would ingrain power and magic within them.

Japanese dragon tattoo on female.

Dragon tattoos have different meanings when they are on a male compared to when they are on a female. A dragon tattoo on a man often symbolises raw power and strength. Men are supposedly, like dragons, protectors of sacred things “such as women and objects of great wealth”. Dragon tattoos on men are also said to infuse wisdom within them and to infuse fear in others. A dragon tattoo on a woman represents grace and strength and also symbolises woman as “the beginning of life”. “Like the dragons of many mythologies, woman's true body form is that of life, the world and the universe. It is this superior form that allows her to be without equal”.

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Some studies have shown that women who have gotten dragon tattoos become more assertive and confident within themselves.

These days in Japan the dragon tattoo and tattoos in general are widely sought after and accepted but there are still people who associate them with organised crime and look down upon people who have them. There is always going to be someone who won’t accept certain ways of life, which is actually what tattoos can become to some people. It’s a life choice and it is really up to the person who is getting the tattoo but it is a big decision to make as tattoos are for life.

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