Gozuryu- Japanese DragonDragon"The Dragon of Koshigoe"
Also known as: 五頭龍 and Gozuryū
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Description
Five-headed dragon who terrorized the Sagami coast with floods and abductions until Benzaiten descended from heaven to Enoshima. Struck by her beauty and power, the dragon married her and transformed from a destructive force into a protective deity of the coast.
Mythology & Lore
The Terror
According to the Enoshima Engi, composed by the monk Kokō in 1047 CE, a five-headed dragon lived in a lake among the hills of Koshigoe near Kamakura. From that lake he sent floods against the coast and took children from the surrounding villages. The lake became a place no one approached.
Benzaiten's Descent
In 552 CE, thunder shook the heavens and clouds descended over the sea off Koshigoe. Benzaiten appeared above the water, and as she touched it, the island of Enoshima rose from the ocean floor to receive her.
The five-headed dragon saw her. He abandoned his violence, approached the goddess, and declared his love, pledging to renounce destruction. Benzaiten accepted. The dragon coiled his body beneath the hills behind the island, where the Enoshima Engi says his form became the ridgeline visible from the shore. The lake where he had lived dried up. The coast was free.
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