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for a long life, that he might be able to thoroughly study 

 Buddha's doctrine. At last he learned by a divine revelation in 

 a dream that, if he went to a large, deep lake on Mount Koto- 

 wake, on the frontiers of Hitachi and Mutsu provinces, he would 

 become a dragon and have a very long life. Highly rejoiced at 

 the success of bis prayers he followed the god's advice and took 

 up his abode in a hole near the lake, where he spent his days 

 in reading sutras and leading a strictly ascetic life. But a female 

 dragon, who daily visited him in the shape of a beautiful woman, 

 in order to hear him reciting the sutras, fell in love with him 

 and invited him to go with her to the dragon-palace at the 

 bottom of the lake. He followed her, carrying eight sutra rolls, 

 and forthwith lived with the woman in the luxurious mansion, 

 where he changed into an eight-headed dragon (on account of 

 the eight sutra rolls). His voice is often heard, reciting the sutras 

 in the lake. About three ri from this spot there is another lake 

 on Nuka ga take, which formerly was inhabited by a nine-headed 

 male dragon. This was the above-mentioned dragon-woman's 

 husband, and when his place was taken by his eight-headed rival 

 (the transformed priest), he went to the other lake and had a 

 fight witk the obtruder, but was beaten and killed. For this 

 reason no longer a dragon lives in the lake of Nuka ga take. 



Finally, we may refer to a name, foi-merly given to the seastar 

 on account of its resemblance to the common spools for winding 

 thread on, i. e. Ryugu no itomahi, "spool of the Dragon-palace" '. 



§ 10. Dragons connected with Buddhist priests. 



The Genho Shakusho says that a blue dragon appeared to the 

 Tendai priest Eisai (^®), when he in 1168 ascended the 

 Chinese T'a^ ( ^ ) niountain, the holy ground of the Tendai sect 2. 



In the same work we read how the Dragon-king Kwo-taku 

 ( ^ yP ) announced in a dream to the Chinese teacher of Fang- 

 Ngau (3^^) and Enji (H ^, ie. the Japanese priest Ben-en, 

 ^ [H )> that these two pupils were now ready to become priests. 

 In consequence of this dream the master sent the latter back 

 to Japan, in order that he might preach the Law there ^. 



A third legend found in this work speaks of a daughter of 

 the Emperor Sujaku (930—946), who went mad and, clad in 



\ Intel zakko, ^ jg ^ #, ^h. IV, written by Kitamura Shinsetsu, 

 ^ j^^ ^ 1^ (1783—1856); Hyakka setsurin, ^ ~f^ — ' , P- 520. 

 2 Ch. II, K. T. K... Vol. XIV, p. 658. 3 Ch. VII, p. 747. 



Veih. Kon. Atad. v. Wetensch. (AM. Letterk.) N. R. Dl XIII, N". 2. 13 



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