An oni with nine heads and a dragon's tail (Kuzuryu) is said to have lived on Mount Togakushi until an ascetic sealed it in a cave. Togakushi Shrine's Kuzuryu-sha is worshipped as a god of water and of teeth.
Legend Site
Togakushi (Kuzuryu Shrine)
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Positions on the map are a rough guide to the area where a legend or sighting is set. Most pins are placed at representative points of a municipality or prefecture (outside Japan, a city position rounded to about 10 km, or the country), not at the exact place.
Municipality points: Geolonia address data (CC BY 4.0), based on the Address Base Registry (Digital Agency of Japan) / Country points: Natural Earth
| Encyclopedia | Ryu (Japanese Dragon) |
|---|---|
| Location | Nagano Nagano |
| Type of place | Shrine or temple |
| Map position | Approximate position (Municipality), not the exact place |
A sacred creature with a long, snake-like body, horns and scales that governs water and rain. It came to Japan from China, where belief in the dragon god Ryujin, master of lakes, rivers and ponds, took deep root.