The year of the dragon, (tatsu, ryu or ryo in Japanese) is upon us — and now just hours before the New Year, I can see the dragon peeking out of his lair, counting down the seconds until he is allowed to take over the world for a year. As midnight approaches, he waits . . . 10, 9, 8, 7, ready to pounce . . . 6, 5, 4, breathing fire 3, 2, 1. . . . Happy New Year! We are engulfed in flames.
Japanese dragons are said to be benevolent but don't be fooled. They can still be very wrathful.
Take the legend of Burning Mountain, for example. Burning Mountain is in Shikoku, between temples 11 and 12 on the Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage. The name Burning Mountain comes from a legend that Kobo Daishi (774-835), the founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan, subdued a fiery dragon who lived there.