The Dragon: Deity of Water, Protector of the Capital

This waterfall enshrines the dragon worshipped
as the deity of the Kamo River headwaters.

The dragon - the deity of water.

After being introduced from China, faith in the dragon developed in diverse ways in Kyoto.

The deity is described as having the body of a snake, the mouth of a crocodile, and the claws of an eagle.

Originally an imaginary sacred beast, the dragon came to be worshipped in Buddhism as a guardian deity.

Dragons are protectors of Buddha and bring
the rains of Dharma, bestowing virtue on all.

I feel I was protected by the dragon
as I underwent my Buddhist training.

One particular dragon has made a grand comeback in a famous Kyoto festival after an absence of 150 years.

It was mine when creating it, but it transformed
into a deity as everyone worshipped it.

Core Kyoto unravels the significance of the beliefs in the dragon deity that pervade the ancient capital in various incarnations.

This is Kifune Jinja's inner shrine.

A large hole, or "dragon's den,"
is beneath the main shrine.

Believed to be the source of
cascading water and energy, the shrine was built
over the den.

The den of the water deity is said to overflow with feng shui energy.

Traces of this legend remain throughout Kyoto.

Since the 9th century, successive emperors have prayed at this Shinto shrine for rain to fall or subside.

Legend has it that when this main
shrine was being rebuilt in 1863, a carpenter accidentally dropped
his chisel into the dragon's den.

A gust of wind from the hole blew
the tool back up into his hand.

Sadly, the carpenter died
within a few days.

This bolstered the belief that direct
involvement with a dragon's den - incurs the deity's wrath and that
these spots should never be seen or touched.

Some 300 meters south of the inner shrine, water gushes forth at the main shrine, and the spot is revered as a precious water source for Kyoto.

Even now, people use the water to divine their fortunes.

One item embodying the deities of Kifune Jinja is stored here.

This woodblock print discovered about 30 years ago is believed to date back over 150 years.

It depicts the enshrined deity Princess Tamayori and the dragon deity who appears to protect her.

Kifune Jinja is said to have been established 1,600 years ago when Princess Tamayori, daughter of the sea dragon deity and mother of the first emperor, built a shrine here.

It is believed that prints like this were once enshrined in home altars, where they were worshipped as deities.

Takino-o Jinja is about 1,000 years old.

The main sanctuary originally served as Kifune Jinja's inner shrine.

The worship hall has an 8-meter-long carved dragon suspended from its ceiling.

It is said to have been dedicated in 1839 as a messenger of the deities and the guardian deity of the shrine.

The three-dimensional sculpture suggests
the dragon could emerge at any moment.

The worship hall was probably designed
to accommodate the dragon.

I believe it was created to
bring joy to worshippers.

Legend suggests that the dragon would slip out of the shrine every night to drink water from the river.

The Kamo River bisects the eastern part of the city, north-south.

One of its sources springs from Shimyou-in, located in the northern mountains.

The chief priest has a vital task every morning.

This daily early morning ritual
entails carrying holy water to - the main hall and offering it
to the deity, Fudo Myo-o.

Cascading down from the mountain, this waterfall is considered the temple's purest spot.

From this sacred Flying Dragon Waterfall,
the dragon deity morphed into - a messenger of the water deity
known as Gongen.

Belief in the dragon has continued
since this shrine was constructed.

Shimyou-in was rebuilt in 829 by Kuukai, the monk who introduced Shingon esoteric Buddhism to Japan.

Legend has it that Kuukai stood under the waterfall as part of his ascetic training.

Since then, the holy water has been offered in the main hall each morning by successive chief priests.

As a source of water to the capital, it is considered a blessing of heaven and earth.

The dragon is deeply revered by the imperial family for its role as the deity of water, and successive emperors have prayed here for peace and tranquility for all.

Kyoto's dragon folklore is found throughout the city.

A dragon den is said to be found under the main hall at Yasaka Jinja in the east, and another in the city center.

Shinsen-en is a Buddhist temple built in 794 as a garden exclusively for the emperor.

The once expansive temple precincts included a dragon den, but its legends still attest to the link between Buddhism and dragons.

Zennyo Ryuo, deity of rain and water,
is enshrined here.

Kukai is said to have prayed here
for rain during a drought, and invited the deity from
an area in presant-day Tibet.

and the capital was
blessed with heavy rains.

A dragon deity originating in China, Zennyo Ryuuou is a daughter of the dragon tribe who protects Buddhism.

In paintings found in Shinsen-en, the deity is depicted as a golden serpent riding on the head of a giant snake.

The deity reportedly still dwells in the garden pond.

It is believed that if Shinsen-en falls into disrepair,
the dragon deity will leave the pond, and the nation will
no longer be at peace.

We strive daily to keep the pond
and the entire site beautiful, so visitors will continue
to worship at Shinsen-en.

The belief in dragon deities, that came from China, likely derived from a blend of the ancient Hindu snake deity and the Chinese dragon water deity.

The dragon also symbolized universal power for Chinese emperors.

Myoushin-ji is Japan's largest Zen temple.

Dragon deity worship in Japan further developed from the 13th century with the spread of Zen Buddhism in Kyoto.

The ceiling of the monks' lecture hall is decorated with a giant painting of a dragon.

This circular dragon-and-cloud painting, measuring 12 meters in diameter, was created in the 17th century by Kanou Tanyuu, who was celebrated as a "genius painter."

The dragon's shape changes depending on the angle.

Seen from the east, it is ascending to the heavens.

From the west, it becomes an earthward-bound descending dragon.

The monks continue their daily spiritual training under the dragon's watchful eye.

Toufuku-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple built in the 13th century.

The dragon painting is now in its third iteration.

The dragon clutches a gem which is said to grant worshippers' wishes.

Dragon ceiling paintings in Japan are said to have evolved after ink painting came from China along with Zen Buddhism.

This temple's first dragon was painted about 600 years ago.

It was created by Kitsusan Minchou, an accomplished painter-monk who worked exclusively for Toufuku-ji.

Records describe his ink drawings of dragons as being affixed to the ceiling.

It is believed that this developed into the practice of directly painting them on temple ceilings.

The current dragon is 54 meters long and was painted in 1934 by Doumoto Inshou, who completed the work in a mere 17 days of concentrated effort.

Kennin-ji is Kyoto's oldest Zen temple.

It was founded in 1202 by Yousai, the founder of the Rinzai sect who was credited with introducing Zen Buddhism to Japan.

This temple's lecture hall also has a dragon ceiling painting, which depicts two intertwined creatures.

It was completed in 2002.

Dragons are protectors of Buddha and bring
the rains of Dharma, bestowing virtue on all.

Dragons also invoke the
clouds to produce rain, protecting this wooden
building from fires.

Monks carry out their solemn daily morning devotions in this lecture hall.

I believe that the dragon has
the kind of existence that allows us - to surrender our desires and worries,
and feel freshly reborn with a pure heart.

Eikandou Zenrin-ji was founded in 853.

The rear-facing Amida is the principal object of worship; its pose suggests salvation for all sentient beings.

Part of the Eikandou edifice is likened to the shape of a dragon.

The gently curving staircase corridor is reminiscent of a dragon's back.

Built up a carved-out mountainside, it suggests a dragon's ascent to heaven.

The beams were artificially bent, and the ceiling was built without nails, using interlocking carpentry techniques.

The roof too represents the back of a dragon, and walking inside is likened to stepping into a dragon's body.

Manpuku-ji located in Uji, southern Kyoto Prefecture, was founded in 1661 by Zen master Ingen, who was invited from China.

The buildings and Buddhist statues all reflect the Chinese style.

The temple has no dragon ceiling paintings as found in many of Kyoto's Zen temples.

However, dragons do dot the temple grounds.

For example, in the center of the pathway leading to the temple are square stones representing the scales on a dragon's back.

Only the high-ranking abbot is permitted to walk on these stones.

The ceiling of the main hall's outer corridor is known as a "bellows ceiling" and represents a dragon's belly.

The temple remains largely unchanged from the time it was built.

The dragon is an object
of faith in China.

I am told that the temple was
designed in the shape of a dragon - to encourage many people to visit.

This hall is where ascetic monks live during rigorous training.

Beside the main statue of worship at the central altar stands the dragon deity, Zennyo Ryuuou, the daughter of the dragon tribe.

She is also a rain deity and was said to have been saved by the Gautama Buddha at the age of eight.

In 2022, the Lantern Festival at Manpuku-ji commemorated the 350th anniversary of the death of founder Ingen, with giant Chinese lanterns.

Hopes are for the temple to become a new venue for Sino-Japanese friendship.

Gion Matsuri has a history of about 1,100 years, and as many as 34 floats parade through the city.

One of these, Oofune-hoko, was destroyed by fire during the political upheaval of 1864, but was restored in 2014.

The float's name derives from its boat-like shape.

A carved wooden dragon rides astride its prow.

However, when the float was restored, the figurehead was missing due to the lack of reference materials.

The following year, an expert in sculpture inferred that the original figurehead was likely created by Kuyama Shinnojou, who was active around 1800.

Kuyama had carved the dragon at Takino-o Jinja, and it is possible that a dragon head of the same shape adorned Oofune-hoko.

He could have made
two dragon heads, one for the float and one to be attached
to a body and placed on the ceiling.

There were a lot of fires at that time,
and if one dragon head was lost, the other could be copied
or used as a replacement.

All we can do is imagine
what they were thinking.

Feeling a connection with the float, chief priest Sasaki offered to have an identical one made to donate to the Oofune-hoko preservation society.

After the restored Ofunehoko participated
for the first time in the festival, it was like a dream come true when the shrine
expressed a desire to donate a dragon head.

Open recruitment for a sculptor was held and wood sculptor Mori Tesso was entrusted with the task.

He had worked on Kyoto Buddhist altar adornments for many years and saw the creation of the figurehead as the culmination of his career.

The carving itself was not a problem,
but how to attach it was the real challenge.

I worried about how to make sure the dragon
would remain on the float and return intact.

Sasaki further investigated his shrine's dragon and found that the head employed parquetry and could be disassembled.

He immediately removed it and took it to Mori's workshop.

Further examination confirmed that there was a cavity in its head which could accommodate a shaft.

I had a hunch the dragon was used on
the float, or the heads were made as twins.

The dragon is the culmination
of Kyoto's culture.

Mori cooperated with his eldest son to create a series of prototypes.

As a sculptor, the hardest part is
creating the view from the front.

I was anxious about
whether we'd succeed.

A full-scale blueprint was made to reproduce the figurehead as it was about 200 years ago, viewed from the side to judge how best to attach it to the float.

The neck goes here on the bow,
and the head is mounted here.

The construction involved attaching a shaft to the float's prow and affixing the body and head of the dragon to it.

The Moris devoted almost a year to making the figurehead and completed it in 2016.

It stands about 2 meters tall and weighs 220 kilograms.

I handled the finishing touches.

But the most difficult part was
creating the rough carving.

My father said he couldn't sleep
nights just thinking about it.

I was amazed at
his great achievement.

Oofune-hoko has finally been restored to its original likeness for the first time since it was destroyed by fire in 1864.

Our main hope was for the dragon
to return unscathed.

It was mine
when creating it, but it transformed into a deity
as everyone in the streets worshipped it.

This is how the float's
dragon head looks now.

In 2021, the entire dragon was gilded.

I believe the float is a vehicle of
the deities, so I asked the sculptor - to create a dragon head
befitting the people's prayers.

I am grateful for the magnificent
dragon he created.

Since ancient times, people have felt an affinity to the dragon deities.

The invisible energy the dragon exudes still embraces the ancient capital and its residents today.