The most well known and most popular mythical creature depicted in tattoos is the Japanese dragon. It is more popular than any of the other mythical creatures, such as the phoenix, mermaid or gryphon. This may be due to its shape because the long and flexible dragon that descends from Japanese tattoo traditions practically fits on every part of the body - covering full backs, winding himself around arms or coiling up on the chest of the carrier.
The Japanese dragon is usually depicted as a wingless, heavily scaled snake-like creature with small, clawed legs and a camel shaped head with horns. It is associated with sea, clouds or the heavens. It has whiskers and a beard, and it is deaf. In the West we think of dragons as terrifying beasts, but in Japan the dragon symbolises wealth, good fortune, good luck, kindness, power and freedom.
The good luck stems from the fact that the Japanese dragon is a "water symbol", living either in the clouds, climbing down during thunderstorms, or in rivers and lakes. Water is an element of enormous importance for the cultivation of rice in both China and Japan so, because of its ability to bring down the rain, it was revered. Thus dragons are highly respected and admired in both China and Japan. In the Western Culture however, because of the association with the snake, the dragon symbolises evil and they were routinely hunted down, fought and killed.
It is important to keep the dragon happy because, after all, it could easily cause a seaquake or thunderstorm if annoyed. One of the most famous and most tattooed dragon legends, apart from the display of the Buddhist gods of wind and thunder (Fu-jin and Rai-jin) who are riding the dragons, is the Tamatori Hime. According to legend, Japanese dragons are believed to take up the shape of humans and are even considered capable of mating with humans. The age-old enemy of the dragon is the phoenix and sometimes a bird-man creature called Karura.
At birth to around five hundred years (or so) of the dragon's life, they are a "water snake". They are not dragons in the sense that we think them to be. From five hundred (or so) to around one thousand (or so) they become Chiao, or scaled creatures. They are said to begin as a fish, and, at a considerably old age, turn into a scaled dragon.
After the Chiao stage, from about one thousand years to one thousand five hundred years old, the dragon grows rapidly. This is when the dragon becomes a Lung dragon. This takes place over the five hundred year period. Unlike some dragons, they are hornless and symbolize the scholar. These dragons can gain horns, but only after about five hundred years.
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