The Asian Dragon

One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji
Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849), painter , 1812–1878
Japon, Nagoya, Edo
BnF, département des Estampes et de la Photographie, RESERVE DD-652, vol. 5, fol. 23v-24
Photo © Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Similar dragons can be found in Vietnam, Korea or, as here, Japan (the ryū). The Asian dragon metamorphoses during a long cycle: after hatching its egg, it first becomes a sea serpent and then gradually acquires its legs, horns and other attributes. It takes a millennium to reach its final form. The dragon is a creature with a long timescale, linked to the immemorial past and the memory of the world. Robin Hobb draws on this cyclical pattern in her Royal Assassin and Liveship Traders trilogies.
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© BnF, Éditions multimédias, 2020