Like these other East Asian dragons, most Japanese dragons are water deities or kami, associated with rainfall and bodies of water, and are typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet. The c. 680 AD Kojiki and the c. 720 AD Nihongi mytho-histories have the first Japanese textual references to dragons. “In the oldest annals the dragons are mentioned in various ways,” explains de Visser, “but mostly as water-gods, serpent- or dragon-shaped.”
First Appearance Kojiki (712 CE) and Nihon Shoki (720 CE)
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Appearance List Kojiki (712 CE) and Nihon Shoki (720 CE) – dragon-like beings appear, Yamata no Orochi (八岐大蛇) – the eight-headed serpent defeated by the god Susanoo, Carved and painted in Buddhist temple art (7th century), Motifs appear in illustrated scrolls (emaki) and temple paintings (794–1185), Famous dragon ceiling paintings were commissioned for Zen temples (1185–1573), Katsushika Hokusai’s dragon on the ceiling of a festival float (early 19th century).
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Description Like these other East Asian dragons, most Japanese dragons are water deities or kami, associated with rainfall and bodies of water, and are typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet. The c. 680 AD Kojiki and the c. 720 AD Nihongi mytho-histories have the first Japanese textual references to dragons. “In the oldest annals the dragons are mentioned in various ways,” explains de Visser, “but mostly as water-gods, serpent- or dragon-shaped.”
