The dragon tattoo most well known and most popular mythological creature depicted in tattoos is the Japanese dragon. It is more popular than any of the other mythical creatures, such as the
phoenix, mermaid or gryphon. This may be due to its shape because the long and flexible
dragon that descends from
Japanese tattoo background practically fits on every part of the
body – covering full backs, winding himself around arms or coiling up on the chest of the carrier.
The
Japanese dragon is usually depicted as a
wingless, heavily scaled
snake-like creature with small,
claw legs and a
camel shaped head with
horns. It is connected with sea, clouds or the heavens.
the dragon tattoo
It has body hair and a beard, and it is deaf. In the West we think of
dragons as terrifying beasts, but in Japan the dragon symbolizes wealth,
good fortune,
good luck,
kindness,
power and
freedom. The good luck stems from the fact that the Japanese dragon is a “
water symbol”, living either in the
clouds,
climbing down during thunderstorms, or in
rivers and
lakes. Water is an element of enormous importance for the cultivation of rice in both China and Japan so, because of its ability to bring down the rain, it was revered. Thus dragons are highly respected and admired in both China and Japan. In the Western Culture however, because of the association with the
snake, the
dragon symbolizes evil and they were routinely hunted down, fought and killed.
the dragon tattoo
It is imperative to keep the dragon happy because, after all, it could easily cause a seaquake or thunderstorm if annoyed. One of the most celebrated and most tattooed dragon legends, apart from the display of the Buddhist gods of wind and thunder (
Fu-jinn and Rai-jin) who are riding the
dragons, is the Amatory Home. According to legend, Japanese dragons are believed to take up the shape of humans and are even well thought-out capable of mating with
humans. The age-old enemy of the dragon is the
phoenix and every now and then a
bird-man creature called
Karrer. At birth to around five hundred years (or so) of the dragon’s life, they are a
“water snake“. They are not dragons in the sense that we think them to be. From five hundred (or so) to around one thousand (or so) they become Ciao, or scaled creatures. They are said to begin as a fish, and, at a significantly old age, turn into a scaled dragon.After the
Chico stage, from about one thousand years to one thousand five hundred years old, the dragon grows rapidly.
the dragon tattoo
This is when the dragon becomes a
Lung dragon. This takes place over the five hundred year period. Unlike some dragons, they are hornless and symbolize the scholar. These
dragons can gain horns, but only after about five hundred years. When the dragon is between the ages of one thousand five hundred and two thousand, he or she will become a
Horned Dragon. They will gain horns and thus look much wiser in the
process. After the dragon is two thousand years old, they become a Ying-Lung. They are winged dragons that are also
scale-less. They gain wings only after they have been around for about one thousand years, and they never have scales. The Japanese dragon (
referred to as Rug in Japanese mythology) has three toes whereas the Korean has four and the Chinese five. It is said in Chinese Mythology that all dragons originated from China and the ones that left lost their toes, but the Japanese background believes that all dragons came from Japan and when they left Japan they
gained toes.
