Japanese Dragon

A Japanese dragon is a legendary creature with physical attributes and disposition similar to the Chinese and Korean dragons. There are a few major differences between the Japanese Dragon and those that are said to live in other parts of the world.

Welcome to our world of beautiful dragon figurine designs from the middle ages! The oldest culture in the world to utilize dragon decor in their mythology and beliefs are the Chinese. For them, the dragon figurine is a divine, mythical creature that brings good fortune, prosperity and bounty.

One major difference is that, unlike Korean and Chinese Dragons, a Japanese Dragon has three claws instead of four. This difference in the number of claws may be due to the fact that four is an unlucky number in Japanese because certain pronunciations of the number in Japanese are the same as Death. A Japanese Dragon is said to fly less than European Dragons, but unlike European Dragons, a Japanese Dragon is benevolent. Japanese Dragons do not always have wings, similar to Korean and Chinese Dragons.

Many are said to grant wishes, and such references have been used in popular series such as Dragon Ball. Many other references have been made to Japanese dragons in modern times, although references are rare in ancient writings. Some instances include the Pokémon series, in which dragons are the basis of many species such as Rayquaza and Dratini.

Dragons are also used in InuYasha as companions to the resurrected Kikyou. One ancient reference can be seen with Ryujin, who was the god of the sea in Japanese myths and is often seen as a dragon. Dragons of Japan are said to have many powers. Some of these powers include; healing, flight, transformation, among others. Some say that Japanese dragon stories may come from sightings of large fish, like the Oarfish, that were blown out of porportion. Although no skeletal remains have ever been found of Japanese dragons, the legends still continue into pop culture.