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more fantastic Chinese and Indian gods of water and rain. The 

 " water-fathers" {mizucM), dragon-shaped river-gods who, just like 

 the Chinese dragons, hindered men when constructing embankments 

 but were pacified by human sacrifices instead of, as in China, 

 being driven away by iron, soon had to give way to the Rain- 

 masters and Dragon-kings of the West. Gradually foreign elements 

 were added to the ancient legends, and their original form became 

 hardly recognizable. 



The second chapter shows how all the Chinese conceptions in 

 regard to the appearance of dragons and dragon-horses as omens 

 were embraced by the Japanese, and preserved by them from 

 the ninth century down to the nineteenth. 



In the third chapter the dragon's main function is treated of, 

 i. e. the bestowing of rain upon mankind. Among the eighty five 

 Shinto shrines to which in times of drought messengers were 

 despatched by the Court, there were many dragon-shaped river- 

 deities. As to the offerings made to the Shinto river-gods for 

 obtaining rain or for causing them to stop a too abundant 

 supply of heavenly water, these were hemp and fibre, black, 

 white or red horses (the latter only for stopping rain). Yet, even 

 the Emperors of as early an age as the eighth century did no 

 longer sufiiciently believe in the power of these gods, for at the 

 same time Buddhist rites were performed in the three great 

 temples of Nara. In the ninth century, especially, the Buddhist 

 priests got more and more influence, also in this respect, and 

 the famous "Sacred Spring Park" in KyOto became their special 

 territory for praying for rain. Kobo Daishi declared the pond in 

 this park to be inhabited by an Indian dragon, and stitras were 

 recited on its banks by crowds of bonzes, sometimes to pray to 

 the Dragon-king, sometimes to threaten him with persecution 

 by his deadly enemy, the Garuda. If they had no success, however, 

 the ancient river-gods enjoyed a temporary triumph and were 

 elevated to higher ranks. But short was their glory, for soon 

 the mighty foreign invaders prevailed once more. Either the 

 Chinese dragon which had to be aroused by sounding bells and 

 drums, by singing and dancing on a dragon-boat on the pond 

 in the Sacred Spring Park (or by being deprived of his element, 

 the water), or the Indian Naga-king, were the gods from whom 

 the blessing of rain was expected by the Court. The clever monk 

 Kukai (Kobo Daishi) knew how to conquer his adversaries, not 

 only the Shintoists, but also his rivals among the Buddhist 

 priests. This was experienced by the mightiest of his colleagues, 

 Shubin, the abbot of the "Western Monastery". Besides prayers. 



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