The Dragon in Japanese Art: Water Gods, Rainmaking Rituals and the Cloud Dragons of Zen Temples
A Sacred Beast Made of Nine Creatures: The "Nine Resemblances" and the East Asian Dragon
It soars freely across the sky, summons thunderclouds and brings life-giving rain to parched land: the dragon, called ryu or tatsu in Japanese, is the supreme sacred beast. In Japanese temple and shrine architecture, painting, sculpture, crafts and festivals, the dragon has an overwhelming presence across every field of traditional culture. In the West, dragons are often symbols of evil and chaos, monsters to be slain.
In East Asia, and especially in Japan, the dragon has been revered as a sacred embodiment of the divine that governs the movement of the cosmos and brings abundance and protection to people. Yet the dragon is not a real animal. What kind of imagination shaped this mythical beast, and why has it held such a deep place in the Japanese heart?
The standard key to understanding the dragon's body in East Asia is the idea of the "nine resemblances," recorded in ancient Chinese texts. It defines the dragon as a composite of the finest parts of nine real animals: 1. the head of a camel, 2. the antlers of a deer, 3. the eyes of a demon (or a bird of prey), 4. the ears of an ox, 5. the neck of a snake, 6. the belly of a giant clam or legendary sea creature, 7. the scales of a carp, 8. the claws of a tiger or hawk, and 9. the tail of a fish or snake.
Under its throat grows a single scale pointing the wrong way, called gekirin. If anyone touches it, the dragon flies into a rage and kills them instantly.
This anatomy of nine resemblances expresses the idea that the dragon is not just a strange monster but the ultimate synthesis of life, harmonizing the finest qualities of creatures of land, sea and sky. As in the legend of the carp that climbs a waterfall and becomes a dragon, the origin of the Japanese expression toryumon, "the gateway to success," the dragon also symbolized a great leap in life and unyielding self-improvement.
The image of the dragon that reached Japan faithfully inherited this detailed Chinese iconography, then blended with Japan's own climate and religious outlook to develop in its own way.
Ancient Water-God Worship and Buddhism: From the Eight Dragon Kings to Rainmaking Rites
The greatest foundation for the dragon's acceptance in Japan was suijin shinko, the worship of water gods closely tied to rice farming. Since ancient times, native water deities, often represented by snakes or giant fish, were enshrined at rivers that fed the rice paddies, at mountain springs, waterfalls and deep lakes. When the sophisticated idea of the dragon arrived from the continent, these snake gods were quickly overwritten by the more dignified and powerful ryujin, the dragon god.
With the arrival of Buddhism, the dragon became established as a powerful protector of the Buddha's teaching. The Lotus Sutra features the Eight Great Dragon Kings who guard the Dharma, and in the legend of the sage Nagarjuna bringing Mahayana scriptures back from the dragon palace, the dragon became a sacred guardian of Buddhist wisdom and precious jewels.
From the Heian period onward, as Esoteric Buddhism of the Tendai and Shingon schools took charge of rituals to protect the nation, the dragon god became extremely important as the main deity of rainmaking rites. A famous story tells how the monk Kukai, at the Shinsen-en garden in Kyoto, invited the dragon king Zennyo Ryuo from a sacred pond in India and brought down a blessed rain, defeating his rival Shubin.
In ancient and medieval society, where a long drought meant famine, praying to heaven and moving the dragon god to bring rain was a supreme duty of rulers. The dragon god drew the prayers of people as an absolute savior who literally held their lives in its claws.
Giant Ink Dragons on Zen Temple Ceilings: Rain of the Dharma and the Mind of Awakening
From the Kamakura through the Muromachi period, when Zen Buddhism arrived in earnest from Song and Yuan China, the dragon was elevated from a religious icon to the highest subject of ink painting. Inspired by the dynamic cloud-and-dragon paintings of the Southern Song painter Chen Rong, Japanese Zen monks and painter-monks used every shade, dry stroke and splash of ink to capture the force of a dragon suddenly appearing through dark clouds.
The pinnacle of this Zen painting tradition is the giant unryu-zu, "cloud dragon" paintings on the ceilings of the Dharma halls of great temples in Kyoto and Kamakura. Look up in the Dharma halls of famous Zen temples such as Kenninji (the twin dragons by Koizumi Junsaku), Myoshinji (the "dragon glaring in eight directions" by Kano Tan'yu), Tenryuji (by Kayama Matazo), Shokokuji and Daitokuji, and you will see massive dragons that seem ready to burst out of the ceiling and descend.
Why are dragons painted on the ceilings of Dharma halls? There are two important reasons. The first is protection from fire. For wooden temples, fire was the greatest threat, and placing the dragon god, ruler of water, on the ceiling was a prayer to suppress fire.
The second, deeper reason is doctrinal: the dragon "brings the rain of the Dharma." When the abbot ascends the altar to preach, it is said to be like a heavenly dragon pouring blessed rain on dry land, raining the teaching of truth down upon all beings who have lost their way.
Many of these ceiling paintings also use an advanced perspective technique called happo-nirami, "glaring in eight directions." Wherever you stand in the hall and look up, the dragon's piercing eyes seem to look straight back at you. The painting thus served as a spiritual mirror, strictly urging monks in training to keep examining their own inner selves.
From Early Modern Japan to Today: A Symbol of Good Fortune and Endless Creativity
From the Azuchi-Momoyama period into the Edo period, the dragon moved beyond the mysterious ink world of Zen temples into auspicious decorative art that brightened the living spaces of samurai and townspeople. Painters of the Kano school depicted majestic twin dragons on gold-leaf wall and screen paintings, displaying the authority and prosperity of warrior families.
Acoustic architecture also reached its peak, as with the Nakiryu, "the crying dragon," at Nikko Toshogu, where clapping wooden blocks beneath the ceiling painting makes an echo that sounds like a dragon's cry.
Dragon motifs were also favored in everyday items: sword guards and fittings, inro medicine cases and netsuke, yuzen-dyed kimono and the patterns of ceramics. The nyoi hoju, the wish-granting jewel held in the dragon's claw, was believed to fulfill every wish, and it became firmly rooted in folk belief as a charm for wealth and the fulfillment of great hopes.
Today, the dragon is still a familiar sight as the water spout at shrine purification basins, and it remains hugely popular as the strongest creature or guardian deity in anime, games and fantasy art.
Fearing the storms and floods of nature, yet finding in them the blessing of water, the source of life, the Japanese depicted the dragon as a god with the highest wisdom and dignity. To appreciate the beauty of the dragon is to retrace a historical journey in which people held nature's greatness in awe and gave deep thanks for its gifts.
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References
- Tsuji Nobuo, Kiso no Keifu, Chikuma Gakugei Bunko, 2004
- Yajima Arata, Nihon no Shinju Reiju no Zuzogaku, Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2014
- Nakano Genzo, Ryu no Bijutsu, Tankosha, 1993
- Yamaori Tetsuo, Kami to Hotoke no Nihonshi, Kodansha Gendai Shinsho, 2001
- Kano Tan'yu, Myoshinji Hatto Ceiling Painting: Unryu-zu (temple guide)
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