Secondly, I'm not here to depress you, and I sure as heck am not going to make light of the suffering of anyone except myself. However... less than a week ago, I blogged about the Tama Zoo in Tokyo and how they ran a mock drill in case of an earthquake by dressing a guy up in a fake Siberian Tiger suit while some 70 zoo employees chased after him. Well... Tama Zoo employees... I sure hope that tiger didn't get loose in yesterday's earthquake - and I am sorry for having mocked you. I guess it really is good to be prepared. SORRY.
Let's talk about dragons also know in Japanese as ryu. Despite what you may have heard from playing crappy video games like Street Fighter on the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), ryu is not pronounced "rye-ooh". It's pronounced "re-yu" and is said quickly enough to make it one syllable.
Dragons are an important part of Asian cultures, like China and Japan. In both instances, a ryu looks like a gigantic snake with long claws and horns, and though it lacks wings, it slithers freely through the skies.
(Side note: My name: Andrew or An-do-ryu if spelled phonetically in Japanese katakana (a Japanese alphabet used for almost all foreign words) means "peaceful-leader-dragon"... and lucky old dragon that I am, I was born in 1964... not only the same year as the Tokyo Olympics, but also the Year Of The Dragon. Take that Bruce Lee! As well, due to the fact that whenever I travel in Japan it rained, I was known as the Ame Otoko or Rain Man).
The dragon is considered divine - godlike - and is supposed to have a connection to the waters and the heavens, as they were believed to have caused thunder and rain. As such, in the olden days, when people needed rain for crops, they prayed to the dragon gods. Nowadays, they pray to me. As well, the dragon (and its connection to water) was important to fishermen, as they prayed to the dragon gods for a good catch.
Turning back to the earthquake, you'll note that most of the damage and loss of life occurred from the tsunami - not the actual lifting and shaking of the earthquake (though it is, of course, entwined).
Somewhere, the dragon gods are angry,
An-do-ryu Joseph
Today's blog title is by Peter, Paul & Mary: PUFF
PS: The just taken photo above shows off a photo of a water cistern in a Kyoto temple, a meiji (business card) of mine with a small dragon image, a carved jade dragon and a cup with lid of a pair of writhing dragons.
