, or is a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

that appears in folklore and legends of various parts of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, including, for example, Hakone ( Kanagawa),

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

and Fukui Prefecture. In many cases, the ''Kuzuryū'' is associated with water.

Hakone Kuzuryū legend

During the Nara period, a legend arose that the Nine-headed Dragon had settled in

Lake Ashi , also referred to as Hakone Lake or 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 that last ...

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 () 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.

Other Kuzuryū legends

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.

Indian influence

Kuzuryū's origins can be tracted to the Hindu deities Vāsuki and Śeṣa, Nāgarajas who guard Mount Meru. According to Hindu myth, Śeṣa was one of one thousand nāga offspring of

Kaśyapa Kashyapa ( sa, कश्यप}, ) is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism., Quote: "Kasyapa (Rudra),(Vedic Seer)..." He is one of the Saptarishis, the seven ancient sages of the ''Rigveda''. Kashyapa is the most ancient and venerated rishi, al ...

and Kadrū. His appearance is that of a giant snake with one thousand heads. The earrings, crown, and corolla attached to each one of one thousand heads depict are decorated with swastikas. When Buddhism was introduced to China, Vāsuki was recognized as one of the

Eight Great Nāga Kings 8 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 8 or eight may also refer to: Years * AD 8, the eighth year of the AD era * 8 BC, the eighth year before the AD era Art *The Eight (Ashcan School), a group of twentieth century painters associated with the ...

. In Japan, due to the influence of Shintō on Buddhism, Vāsuki became a guardian deity in both religions. The Eight Nāga Kings became influential in the esoteric tradition, which has a strong focus on obtaining worldly benefits. This was reflected in Kuzuryū's role as a rainmaker deity. Kuzuryū is sometimes referred to as ''Kuzuryū Gongen,'' which refers to his

identification Identification or identify may refer to: *Identity document, any document used to verify a person's identity Arts, entertainment and media * ''Identify'' (album) by Got7, 2014 * "Identify" (song), by Natalie Imbruglia, 1999 * Identification ( ...

with Vāsuki.

References

External links