Ryū Spirituality

Fusion of Water Deity Beliefs Across Shinto Buddhist and Taoist Traditions

Since ancient times in Japan, there has been a spiritual belief in “ryū” (龍, beings perceived as “dragons” in Western culture), divine beings believed to govern water and rain. Their image has long been closely linked with clouds and wind, becoming deeply embedded in Japanese spiritual practice. As illustrated by the ancient Chinese classic, the I Ching (易経), which states, “Clouds follow the ryū, wind follows the tiger,” it was traditionally believed that when a ryū ascends to the sky, clouds gather and blessed rain for agriculture will fall. Furthermore, ryū were thought to reside in bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and seas, and rituals praying to ryū for rain during droughts were frequently performed throughout history. Folklore across Japan consistently depicts ryū as guardian deities who calm floods and droughts, ensuring abundant rainfall.

However, the ryū belief in its contemporary form in Japan truly originated around the Yayoi period (around 300 BCE–300 CE), after ryū imagery was introduced from China. Prior to that, during the earlier Jōmon period (approx. 14,000–300 BCE), the foundation of ryū worship was nature-based reverence, specifically toward snakes. Snakes, creatures thriving in wetlands, were seen by the Jōmon people as emissaries or manifestations of water deities. Given that the Jōmon culture primarily engaged in hunting and gathering rather than widespread agriculture, snake worship was strongly associated with the sacredness of life-giving rivers and water sources. By the late Yayoi period, however, continental Chinese ryū imagery merged with these indigenous snake-based water deities. Thus, Japanese myths and legends often depict a unique fusion of ryū and serpent symbolism. Simplifying slightly, one could view this distinction as “Jōmon tradition = snake,” and “Yayoi tradition = ryū.” From the agriculturally thriving Yayoi era onward, the image of ryū as “spirits of water” became deeply rooted in Japanese spiritual and cultural life, becoming indispensable figures in religious belief.

For instance, in Shinto, ryū represent benevolent kami who bring life-giving water and rain, but simultaneously embody the terrifying power of nature manifested in floods and storms. A notable example from Japan’s earliest mythology is the eight-headed serpent known as “Yamata no Orochi (八岐大蛇)”, depicted in the Kojiki (Japan’s oldest written record from 712 CE). Generally, Yamata no Orochi is interpreted as the deification of a massive serpent (ryū) symbolizing frequent river flooding. Through my own continued research, however, I suggest the symbolism of Yamata no Orochi is complex and multilayered. While I intend to explore this deeper in future writings, it also appears to symbolize specific tribal groups. The Kojiki myth recounts how this serpent-deity was defeated by the heroic kami Susanoo (須佐之男命), a narrative often understood metaphorically as the implementation of flood control along troublesome rivers.