Japanese Dragon - Sino-Japanese Dragons

Sino-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:

• Seiryū < Qinglong 青龍 "Azure Dragon"
• Suzaku < Zhuque 朱雀 "Vermilion Bird"
• Byakko < Baihu 白虎 "White Tiger"
• Genbu < Xuanwu 玄武 "Black Tortoise"

Japanese Shiryū 四竜 "4 dragon " are the legendary Chinese Longwang 龍王 "Dragon Kings" who rule the four seas.

• Gōkō < Aoguang 敖廣 "Dragon King of the East Sea"
• Gōkin < Aoqin 敖欽 "Dragon King of the South Sea"
• Gōjun < Aorun 敖閏 "Dragon King of the West Sea"
• Gōjun < Aoshun 敖順 "Dragon King of the North Sea"

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. Ironically, the Dragon Division was annihilated in the Chinese town of Longling (龍陵), whose name means "Dragon's Tomb".