Dragon Tattoos Japanese

Dragon tattoos Japanese is yet another type of Dragon tattoo design. A dragon tattoos Japanese draws upon the different symbols and meanings of the dragon within the context of traditional Japanese culture.

Dragon Tattoos Japanese offer a lot of similar meanings and symbolism as Chinese Dragon tattoos do. Within traditional Japanese culture, the image of the Dragon is also in fact a symbol that signifies power. The power that Dragon Tattoos Japanese symbolize is often implicitly imperial as well as spiritual and specifically divine in its nature.

The image of the Japanese Koi Dragon that is depicted in the Koi Dragon tattoo is based on the Koi fish /Koi dragon myth found in traditional Japanese folklore.  The traditional myth of the Koi fish and the Koi Dragon in Japanese culture is basically this:

The Koi fish is believed to have traveled upstream, against the current of a river, enduring various trials and hardships. The Koi fish must not only travel against only the current of the river itself but against the force of the waterfall at the river’s beginning as well. If the Koi fish successfully travels past the force of the river’s waterfall, it will be rewarded by being transformed into a beautiful, strong, and powerful Koi Dragon.

Because of this myth and its connection to the Koi Dragon—a dragon that symbolizes inner strength, personal achievement as well as personal growth—the Koi fish is a symbol of endurance and perseverance. The symbolism associated with the images in a Koi dragon tattoo within traditional Japanese culture is similar to the symbolism associated with the image of the mythical bird the Phoenix.

A main difference between Dragon Tattoos Japanese and Chinese Dragon tattoos is that Japanese Dragons look more like serpents than they do actual Dragons. Long, slender, and lean, the Dragons depicted in Dragon tattoos Japanese almost seem wind, coil, and almost slither along their owner’s skin.

More snake-like than the are Dragon-like, the Japanese Dragon depicted in Dragon tattoos Japanese seem a little bit more dangerous than do the Dragons depicted in Chinese Dragon tattoo designs. According to Japanese mythology, Dragons live in the water or near the water which is markedly different from the traditional Chinese Dragon culture’s perception of Dragons—even as mythological creatures.

While there are various similarities between the traditional Japanese cultural perception of the Dragon and traditional Chinese culture’s perception—such as the Dragon being a symbol of divinity as well as a symbol of royalty too—there is really no indication of the traditional Japanese dragon being indicative of good luck or good fortune like it is in traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, Dragon tattoos Japanese are better signifiers of power and prowess than are Chinese Dragon tattoos.

Also, Dragon tattoos Japanese and the Dragons depicted in them are often associated with both divinely appointed rulers as well as extremely valiant and dedicated warriors as well within traditional Japanese cultural perceptions. This is often why Dragon tattoos Japanese are designed with large knifes or swords held by their Dragons’ mouths.