Now I want to refer to a definite difference between East and West. It’s about RYU…The Eastern dragon is a god of water, a god who brings rain. In contrast, the Western dragon is an incarnation of the devil, a frightening monster that attacks by breathing fire.
They(Western Dragon and Japanese RYU) have perfectly opposite traits, although it is hard to believe for Europeans. In Japan, RYU is in most cases the sacred creature saving people, the Water God, and the good flow of water and LUCK, (which might be) introduced from China… In Japan, most Japanese dragons(RYU) are water deities associated with bringing rainfall and bodies of water, for the good of humans, for raising crops..etc. Moreover, RYU will even cast away/sacrifice their lives to save/help the people in agony, being the shield in emergencies to help when we are in trouble…So they are so much loved by the Japanese.. They(RYUs) are ready to die for the good of human beings, so they are very kind and benevolent beings.. The only exceptional story in Japanese myth is that Ryu with many heads eats princesses one by one every year, so Susa no O (スサノオ 素戔嗚 King of Susa/Moses according to Uemori), killed this evil RYU..(Sadly, Susa no O is rather distorted, depicted as a cruel god in official history record…)
I surmise RYU is rather associated with an ancient sea god Tiamat/Nammu(mother of Earth??), a very kind god with watery creative force, who is also connected to the underworld.. Also, we often chant, 南無 (pronounced “nanmu” which means peace and happiness, thankfulness) when we pray in temples…In the Enûma Elish, the Babylonian epic of creation, Tiamat was cruelly killed by Marduk..but even after that, she helped people, giving birth to many good gods…etc, turning her disadvantage to our advantage.. I think she is so altruistic and brave…this trait is quite similar to that of the Japanese RYU..
The appearance of Japanese RYU is also much different from dragons in the Western world, because almost in many cases, RYU is with one head for one body, and has 3 claws, which might have turned into a trident, one of the traits of good guys…
Understanding the difference would be the most important and urgent thing to do… to avoid misunderstandings.. to build a bridge between countries on earth and for other stars in Nataru…and other star systems!!!
In that case, understanding the difference between eastern RYU and western Evil Dragon might be a nice bridge for all???