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Kuzuryu
 
 
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, or is a deity
Kami

is the Japanese language word for the spirits within objects in the Shinto faith. The oldest surviving record of their creation is in the Kojiki of 712....
 that appears in folklore
Folklore

Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, superstitions, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group ....
 and legend
Legend

A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude ....
s of various parts of Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, including, for example, Hakone (Kanagawa
Kanagawa Prefecture

is a prefectures of Japan located in the southern Kanto region of Honshu, Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area....
), Nagano Prefecture
Nagano Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Chubu region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Nagano, Nagano....
 and Fukui Prefecture
Fukui Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Chubu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Fukui, Fukui....
. In many cases, the Kuzuryu is associated with water.

ng the Nara period
Nara period

The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijo-kyo . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyo, in 784 before moving to Heian-kyo , or Kyoto, a decade lat...
, a legend arose that the Nine-headed Dragon had settled in Lake Ashi
Lake Ashi

, or Hakone Lake, Ashinoko Lake, is a scenic lake in the Hakone area of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, Japan. It is a crater lake that lies along the southwest wall of the caldera of Mount Hakone, a complex volcano....
 in Hakone, and that it demanded a sacrifice. To appease the dragon, the villagers agreed to select a house by shooting a white-feathered arrow and seeing where it landed, then sacrificing the daughter of the house.






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, or is a deity
Kami

is the Japanese language word for the spirits within objects in the Shinto faith. The oldest surviving record of their creation is in the Kojiki of 712....
 that appears in folklore
Folklore

Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, superstitions, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group ....
 and legend
Legend

A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude ....
s of various parts of Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, including, for example, Hakone (Kanagawa
Kanagawa Prefecture

is a prefectures of Japan located in the southern Kanto region of Honshu, Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area....
), Nagano Prefecture
Nagano Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Chubu region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Nagano, Nagano....
 and Fukui Prefecture
Fukui Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Chubu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Fukui, Fukui....
. In many cases, the Kuzuryu is associated with water.

Hakone Kuzuryu legend

During the Nara period
Nara period

The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijo-kyo . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyo, in 784 before moving to Heian-kyo , or Kyoto, a decade lat...
, a legend arose that the Nine-headed Dragon had settled in Lake Ashi
Lake Ashi

, or Hakone Lake, Ashinoko Lake, is a scenic lake in the Hakone area of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, Japan. It is a crater lake that lies along the southwest wall of the caldera of Mount Hakone, a complex volcano....
 in Hakone, and that it demanded a sacrifice. To appease the dragon, the villagers agreed to select a house by shooting a white-feathered arrow and seeing where it landed, then sacrificing the daughter of the house. A priest named Mankan cursed the dragon, and is said to have chained it to the Upside-down Cedar (an underwater rock formation). As a result of this legend, the dragon came to be worshipped as . The expression "send up a white-feathered arrow" has come to mean "choose by lot."

The legend continues, saying Mankan saw the dragon reform and change into a dragon king. He built a shrine to the dragon. The customary offering to the dragon changed from human sacrifice to steamed rice with red beans
Sekihan

Red Bean Rice is a Japanese traditional dish. It is sticky rice steamed with azuki beans, which give a reddish color to the rice, hence its name....
.

Other Kuzuryu legends


Kuzuryu in Togakushi, Fukui prefecture

Kuzuryu is said to have appeared in response to the echoing sound of a rock door to a cave torn off by another god, and flung down to earth. The thrown door became Mount Togakushi, and Kuzuryu became a nearby mountain of the same name. At the foot of Mount Togakushi resides Togakushi Shrine, where a small shrine dedicated to the Kuzuryu can be found.

Kuzuryu and Buddhism

The Kuzuryu
Kuzuryu

, or is a kami that appears in folklore and legends of various parts of Japan, including, for example, Hakone , Nagano Prefecture and Fukui Prefecture....
 derives from the Hindu figure Shesha
Shesha

In Hindu tradition, Shesha is the king of all Naga, one of the primal beings of creation, and according to the Bhagavata Purana, an avatar of the Supreme God known as Sankarshan....
, via Buddhism. Shesha is a Nagaraja
Nagaraja

Nagaraja is a Sanskrit word from Naga and raj meaning King of Snakes. It is applied to three main deities, Anantha, Vasuki & Takshak....
 that appears in an Indian myth, and it is 1 of 1000 that arose between Kashyapa
Kashyapa

Kashyapa was an ancient sage , who was one of the Saptarshi in the present Manvantara; with others being Atri, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, Bharadvaja ...
 and Kadru
Kadru

In the mythology of India, Kadru , is usually the daughter of Daksha, wife of Kashyapa, and the mother of the Naga s. This is according to the Mahabharata ....
 Naga
Naga

Naga may refer to:* Naga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology....
. It is assumed that Yama is defended. The appearance is made a huge snake that has 1000 heads, and another, earrings, the crown, and the corolla that is attached to each one of 1000 heads of the sign of the swastika are acquired.

When introduced into China because of the spread of Buddhism, the concept of nagas became dragon king
Dragon King

The four Dragon Kings are, in Chinese mythology, the divine rulers of the four seas . Although Dragon Kings appear in their true forms as Chinese dragon, they have the ability to shapeshift into human form....
s and then in turn developed into Kuzuryu in Japan. Dragon become gods the defense of the Buddhism and Shintoism. Dragon king is a belief of esoteric Buddhism. The dragon assumes the god who rules praying for rain in nine esoteric Buddhism from which the this world profit is strongly requested and the belief is completed.

In popular culture

A crazed villain in a Zatoichi
Zatoichi

is a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. The character, a blind masseur and swordmaster, was created by novelist ....
 movie refers to his pistol as "Kuzuryu".

In the popular manga series Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, formerly known as the who becomes a wanderer to protect the people of Japan....
, one of the techniques incorporated in the fabled Hiten Mitsurugi style is the Kuzu-ryusen (Nine-headed Dragon Strike).

In the anime and manga series InuYasha
InuYasha

, full title , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It premiered in Weekly Shonen Sunday on November 13, 1996 and concluded on June 18, 2008....
, there is a village in which an annual child sacrifice is offered up to a false water god. The sacrifice is chosen by a white arrow landing in the roof of the house. InuYasha and the rest of the group end up freeing the true water god, who afterwards defeats the imposter.

See also

  • Vasuki
    Vasuki

    Vasuki is a Sanskrit name for a naga , one of the serpents of Buddhist and Hindu mythology. He is a great monarch of the nagas and has a gem on his head....
  • Nagaraja
    Nagaraja

    Nagaraja is a Sanskrit word from Naga and raj meaning King of Snakes. It is applied to three main deities, Anantha, Vasuki & Takshak....
  • Shesha
    Shesha

    In Hindu tradition, Shesha is the king of all Naga, one of the primal beings of creation, and according to the Bhagavata Purana, an avatar of the Supreme God known as Sankarshan....
  • Lake Ashi
    Lake Ashi

    , or Hakone Lake, Ashinoko Lake, is a scenic lake in the Hakone area of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, Japan. It is a crater lake that lies along the southwest wall of the caldera of Mount Hakone, a complex volcano....
  • Lernaean Hydra
    Lernaean Hydra

    In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra The Hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna , noisome offspring of the earth goddess, Gaia. It was said to be the sibling of the Nemean Lion, the Stymphalian birds, the Chimera ,and Cerberus....


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