CHAPTER VII. 



THE CHINESE DRAGOn's EGGS IN JA.PAN. 

 § 1. The dragon-fetus remains in the egg for three thousand years. 



In the sixteenth century of our era a Japanese author ' spoke 

 of an old (certainly Chinese) tradition, according to which a dragon's 

 fetus lives during a thousand years in the sea, for a thousand 

 years in the mountains and, after having been among men ("in 

 a village", says the text) for the same long period, it finally is 

 born, becomes a dragon and ascends to the sky ^. During these 

 three thousand years the fetus lives as a very small snake within 

 a stone, the dragon's egg, which is first lying at the bottom of 

 the sea, then comes to the mountains (how it got there is not 

 explained), where after a thousand years it is picked up by 

 somebody who, carries it home and preserves it on account of 

 its beautiful colours, or uses it as an ink-stone (suzuri, ^). As 

 it invariably has the remarkable peculiarity of constantly pro- 

 ducing water (the dragon's element), it is a very convenient 

 ink-stone indeed '. But woe him who possesses such a stone at 

 the end of the millennial period which the fetus must pass 

 among mankind, for then the stone splits, and a small snake 

 creeps out of it, which in a few moments becomes larger and 

 larger, and with a terrible noise forces its way to the sky, 

 smashing the roof amid thunder and lightning, and ascending in 

 a dark cloud. The little reptile has become an enormous four- 

 legged dragon, which leaves the narrow abodes of men and frees 

 himself in this terrific way. 



1 Kii zodanshu (1532—1554) (cf. above, p. 208, note 2), Ch. Ill, p. 16. 



2 Cf. above, Book I, Ch. Ill, § 16, pp. 88 sqq. 



3 In the Hyakka selsurin (Vol. ^ ~fC Zl. P- 487) we find the following names 

 of ink-stones: Ryuringetsu-ken, ^ ^ ^ H' o"" "Dragon-scales-moon-inkstone", 

 and Ryuhi-ken, f| ^ ^i "Dragon's tail-inkstone". 



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