龍 (ryuu) “dragon”

If you visit a shrine or temple in Japan, look up at the ceiling in the main room. Often it will be painted with the image of a dragon. One reason for this is that dragons represent the virtue of courage. However there is also a more superstitious reason: dragons are associated with the elementContinueContinue reading “龍 (ryuu) “dragon””

The Year of the Dragon… or the Year of the Loong?

When I was a kid my teacher read a Chinese folk tale about a boy who goes on an adventure with a dragon. Being young and rather blunt-minded I couldn’t help wondering why the dragon didn’t just breathe fire on the boy and eat him. That’s what dragons do, right? Except of course it wasn’tContinueContinue reading “The Year of the Dragon… or the Year of the Loong?”

龍 (ryū) “dragon”

If you visit a shrine or temple in Japan, look up at the ceiling of the main room. Often there will be a painting of a dragon. One reason is that dragons represent the virtue of courage. Another, more superstitious, reason is that dragons are associated with the element of water, and so are aContinueContinue reading “龍 (ryū) “dragon””