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| Dragon |
In the Irosetsuden (a series of stories from Ryukyu folklore), dragons display powers like those of gods, and live in their own undersea kingdom. The traditional Ryukyuan conception of dragon is largely similar to that of Chinese legend.
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| Shisa |
At the Naha Port bay, the village of Madanbashi was often terrorized by a sea dragon that ate the villagers and destroyed their property.
One day, the king was visiting the village, and one of these attacks happened; all the people ran and hid. The local noro (priestess) had been told in a dream to instruct the king when he visited to stand on the beach and lift up his figurine towards the dragon; she sent the boy, Chiga, to tell him the message.
He faced the monster with the figurine held high, and immediately a giant roar sounded all through the village, a roar so deep and powerful that it even shook the dragon. A massive boulder then fell from heaven and crushed the dragon's tail. He couldn't move, and eventually died.
This boulder and the dragon's body became covered with plants and surrounded by trees, and can still be seen today. It is the "Gana-mui Woods" near Naha Ohashi bridge.
The townspeople built a large stone shisa to protect it from the dragon's spirit and other threats.
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| Stone Shisa - Built to protect Okinawa. |
Thanks for reading.
Derm
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Information Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shisa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryukyuan_religion
https://japanesemythology.wordpress.com/magical-creatures-of-okinawa/
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