CHAPTER II. 



THE CHINESE DRAGON. AND THE DRAGON-HORSE AS OMENS IN JAPAN. 



In China the dragon often and the dragon-horse always belong, 

 as we have stated above ', to the very good omens. The Japanese, 

 who have altogether embraced the opinions of the Chinese upon 

 the subject of forebodings, did not hesitate to believe in ihe 

 truth of their assertions also in regard to the appearance of 

 dragons. 



§ 1. IFlying dragon as horse of a ghost or a sien. 



The Chinese dragon^ flying through the air, is mentioned in 

 the Nihongi'^, where we read: *0n the first day of the fifth 

 month of the first year of the Empress Saimei's reign (655) there 

 appeared in the sky a man riding on a dragon. In shape he 

 resembled a Chinese, and he wore a blue (broad-rimmed bamboo) 

 hat (cevered with) oiled silk. Galloping from Katsuragi peak he 

 disappeared into the Ikoma mountains; at noon he galloped away 

 from the top of Sumi no e (Sumiyoshi, ^'^) 's Pine-tree Peak 

 in a western direction". 



The Fuso ryakki^ gives the same legend and adds: "The people 

 of that time said: 'It is the soul of Soga Toyora no 0-omi 

 Emishi". This was a famous minister who had died in A. D. 645, 

 son of Umako and grandson of Iname, the first protectors of 

 Buddhism; Iname had erected the first Buddhist temple, Kogenji 

 or Katsuragi-dera, which was destroyed in 645 at the fall of the 

 Soga family. Although it is not stated in the text of the Nihongi, 

 probably the appearance of this dragon, as _ horse of a sien *, in 

 the beginning of the Empress's reign was a very good omen, as 



1 Book I, Ch. II, pp. 43—59. 2 Ch. XXVI, p. 457. 

 3 jfi^ ^ 5^ gi^, written about- H50 by the Buddhist priest Kwo-en, ^ 

 1 _r *u_ r.,^ n„^„rv: . V ■v ir i7„i An « KAR nv. ^\r 



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