The Kinryū-no-Mai "Golden Dragon Dance" is an annual Japanese dragon dance performed at Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple in Asakusa. The dragon dancers twist and turn within the temple grounds and outside on the streets. According to legend, the Sensō Temple was founded in 628 after two fishermen found a gold statuette of Kannon in the Sumida River, at which time golden dragons purportedly ascended into heaven. The Golden Dragon Dance was produced to celebrate the reconstruction of the Main Hall of the temple in 1958 and is performed twice yearly. [10] Takenouchi no Sukune Meets the Dragon King of the Sea Images [ edit ]

Dragons inherit scale color from their parents the same way humans inherit hair color and texture. Scales can tell if a dragon is healthy or not. When a dragon is ill, the scales turn dull and muted. A healthy dragon has shiny scales. Anthropomorphic dragons, also known as draconids, dragonoides, and draconides are similar to their full-form cousins, but humanoid or bipedal in form. Fantasy characterizations of this style of the dragon may freely combine highly interpretive elements: From Tibetan and Himalayan Mythology, a Dragon of Thunder similar to Shenlong in China, this Orb holding serpentine creature lives in the remote areas of Mt. Everest and gives snow and rain to the Tibetan people. Some say they are protectors of Shangrila. Dragons have occasionally taken on a more humanistic sensibility in modern fiction. Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern saga is thought to be the beginning of the modern reconceptualization of the dragon. Particularly within comic books, anime, manga, and furry fandom, the dragon as a character or a personal avatar is often employed to add some draconic qualities onto a more human-oriented foundation. Dragon characters commonly take on a more benign, playful, and warm persona.a b c d e Bates, Roy (2007). All about Chinese dragons. Beijing: China History Press. ISBN 978-1-4357-0322-3. OCLC 680519778. Indigenous Japanese dragons [ edit ] Kiyohime Changes from a Dragon into a human woman, by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka The Dragon King's daughter, whose father the Dragon King lives at the bottom of the sea. By Utagawa Kuniyoshi Blust, Robert. "The Origin of Dragons." Anthropos 95, no. 2 (2000): 519–36. www.jstor.org/stable/40465957.

Non-anthropomorphic dragons are frequently direct allies of heroes and villains, and often serve as their protectors, companions, or partners. In the oriental context, a dragon is often seen as a messenger of divine powers or an enforcer of the law of the gods. Many Japanese dragon names are loanwords from Chinese. For instance, the Japanese counterparts of the astrological Four Symbols are: Teng, "a flying dragon", "flying-dragon snake", "soaring snake", is a flying dragon in Chinese mythology. The one most commonly associated with dragons, is a bright yellow eye with a serpent-like slit for a pupil, like the picture above.Teju Jagua from Guaraní mythology is described was a huge lizard with seven dog-like heads, entitled to a " fiery gaze", and being associated as the god of fruits, caves and (more common with the Dragons in Europe) as the protector of hidden treasures. In Welsh mythology, after a long battle (which the Welsh King Vortigern witnesses) a red dragon defeats a white dragon; Merlin explains to Vortigern that the red dragon symbolizes the Welsh, and the white dragon symbolizes the Saxons – thus foretelling the ultimate defeat of the English by the Welsh. The ddraig goch appears on the Welsh national flag. Zennyo Ryūō 善如龍王 "goodness-like dragon king" was a rain-god depicted either as a dragon with a snake on its head or as a human with a snake's tail. Nure-onna 濡女 "Wet Woman" was a dragon with a woman's head and a snake's body. She was typically seen while washing her hair on a riverbank and would sometimes kill humans when angered. If scare tactics fail, their scaly armor offers them protection. The dragon’s large body is covered in steel-hard scales, and works as an armor. Its softer, more sensitive body is protected. The scales can withstand potentially devastating damages, such as a direct sword-blow. ii. Scale Properties

Zirnitra, dragon-god in Wendish mythology. It was later used in the Royal Danish heraldry as a representation of Wendland In Portuguese mythology coca is a female dragon that fights with Saint George. She loses her strength when Saint George cuts off one of her ears. dragon Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about dragon". encyclopedia.com . Retrieved 2015-06-12.A hornless ocean dragon, sometimes equated with a sea serpent. Imoogi literally means, "Great Lizard". The legend of the Imoogi says that the sun god gave the Imoogi their power through a human girl, which would be transformed into the Imoogi on her 17th birthday. Legend also said that a dragon-shaped mark would be found on the shoulder of the girl, revealing that she was the Imoogi in human form. In her book The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times (2000), Adrienne Mayor argues that some stories of dragons may have been inspired by ancient discoveries of fossils belonging to dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. [19] She argues that the dragon lore of northern India may have been inspired by "observations of oversized, extraordinary bones in the fossilbeds of the Siwalik Hills below the Himalayas" [20] and that ancient Greek artistic depictions of the Monster of Troy may have been influenced by fossils of Samotherium, an extinct species of giraffe whose fossils are common in the Mediterranean region. [20] In China, a region where fossils of large prehistoric animals are common, these remains are frequently identified as "dragon bones" [21] and are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. [21] Mayor, however, is careful to point out that not all stories of dragons and giants are inspired by fossils [21] and notes that Scandinavia has many stories of dragons and sea monsters, but has long "been considered barren of large fossils." [21] In one of her later books, she states that, "Many dragon images around the world were based on folk knowledge or exaggerations of living reptiles, such as Komodo dragons, Gila monsters, iguanas, alligators, or, in California, alligator lizards, though this still fails to account for the Scandinavian legends, as no such animals (historical or otherwise) have ever been found in this region." [22] Usually a dragon will mate with other dragons of a similar color. But if a mating takes place between a gold and a green dragon, the result might be a bronze offspring. Manda, the kaiju film character appearing in films produced by Toho, is depicted as a Japanese dragon. Evans, A.; Destani, B.D. (2006). Ancient Illyria: An Archaeological Exploration. I. B. Tauris. p.18. ISBN 9781845111670 . Retrieved 2015-06-12.

Lagarfljótsormurinn, a lake monster or dragon living in the Lagarfljót, near Egilsstaðir, in Iceland.

The Name of a Female Dragon

The word "dragon" has come to be applied to the legendary creature in Chinese mythology, loong (traditional 龍, simplified 龙, Japanese simplified 竜, Pinyin lóng), which is associated with good fortune, and many East Asian deities and demigods have dragons as their personal mounts or companions. Dragons were also identified with the Emperor of China, who, during later Chinese imperial history, was the only one permitted to have dragons on his house, clothing, or personal articles.