, or is a deity

Kami

is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...

 that appears in folklore

Folklore

Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

 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 nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, 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 prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...

), Nagano Prefecture

Nagano Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano...

 and Fukui Prefecture

Fukui Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.- Prehistory :The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed...

. In many cases, the Kuzuryū is associated with water.

Hakone Kuzuryū 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 Heijō-kyō . 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-kyō, in 784...

, 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 Honshū, Japan. It is a crater lake that lies along the southwest wall of the caldera of Mount Hakone, a complex volcano. The lake is known for its views of Mt. Fuji and its numerous hot springs...

 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 (万巻上人) 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 then built a shrine to the dragon. After this the customary offering to the dragon changed from human sacrifice to steamed rice with red beans

Sekihan

Sekihan , literally red 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....

.

Kuzuryū in Togakushi, Fukui prefecture

Kuzuryū 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 Kuzuryū became a nearby mountain of the same name. At the foot of Mount Togakushi resides Togakushi Shrine, where a small shrine dedicated to the Kuzuryū can be found.

Kuzuryū and Buddhism

The Kuzuryū derives from the Hindu figure Shesha

Shesha

In Hindu tradition, Shesha or Sheshanaag is the king of all nagas, one of the primal beings of creation, and according to the Bhagavata Purana, an Avatar of the Supreme God known as Sankarshan. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the planets of the Universe on his hoods and to constantly...

, 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 , Takshak, and Vasuki. Anantha, Vasuki and Takshak are brothers, children of Kashyap and Kadru, who are the parents of all snakes...

 that appears in an Indian myth, and it is 1 of 1000 that arose between Kashyapa and Kadru

Kadru

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

 Nāga

Naga

Naga or NAGA may refer to:* Nāga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.-People:* Nayan / Nayar/Nair people of Kerala Society* Naga people, a diverse ethnic identity in Northeast India...

. The appearance is of a huge snake that has 1000 heads. The 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 dragons, they have the ability to shapeshift into human form...

s （竜王） and then in turn developed into Kuzuryū in Japan.

External links

• Hakone jinja, aka Kuzuryu jinja