竜
01
Where it comes from
The dragon is an imagined creature with two horns and a long, scaled body, said to live in water or deep in the earth and at times to fly through the sky. It was believed to stir up clouds and rain and to send down lightning, so it is often drawn with clouds and waves. The cloud dragon, unryū, rides the clouds as it climbs to the sky, and the rain dragon, amaryō, is a hornless kind said to bring rain, often stylized until it looks like a curl of cloud. In China the dragon was said to appear when a great ruler came, and it stands with the phoenix as one of the two great auspicious beasts.
02
On the cloth
On obi, a dragon may coil into a roundel above cresting waves, holding a jewel, or climb in long curves among clouds. In a story from the Edo period, an obi of black satin is woven with rain dragon roundels scattered across it.
03
To give
The dragon suits a new role, a promotion, or a challenge someone has chosen. It is a gift for someone you hope will climb high, carried by the clouds.
A word to keep
雲竜
unryū
Cloud dragon. A dragon drawn riding the clouds as it climbs to the sky.
Two questions
What does the Dragon (竜) pattern mean?
A wish to rise through the clouds, and keep climbing. The dragon suits a new role, a promotion, or a challenge someone has chosen.
Where does the 竜 pattern come from?
The dragon is an imagined creature with two horns and a long, scaled body, said to live in water or deep in the earth and at times to fly through the sky. It was believed to stir up clouds and rain and to send down lightning, so it is often drawn with clouds and waves.
