The Japanese Dragon Tattoo is a very beautiful and colourful tattoo design and very symbolic, with its origins in myths and folklore. It is also very mystical, adding to the appeal of the Japanese dragon tattoo. Over the ages, from Egyptian times the dragon has represented good and also represented evil. However, the attraction of the Japanese dragon, apart from its stunning beauty is that it represents good luck and the source of wealth. The Japanese dragon also represents the meaning of freedom and being fearless, both very attractive qualities.
In the Greek language, the dragon is sourced from draca, which means serpent.
Like the angel, the Japanese Dragon also has the meaning of guardianship, providing a protective force over those it was associated with. Other meanings associated with the Japanese dragon is strength and power. In Japanese culture, the dragon is associated with supernatural powers and amazing wisdom.
There are six forms of the Japanese Dragon
They are, Sui-Riu is the King Dragon and is in control of the rain. Therefore in this day and age of drought, he is all-powerful!
Han-Riu has many stripes on his body and is up to forty feet in length. One of the biggest dragons.
Ri-Riu dragon is a rare breed that is not well understood. However, it is known that they have amazing eyesight.
Ka-Riu is a brilliant red colour and a petite dragon in comparison with the others.
Fuku-Riu is a favourite dragon of many people as it is the dragon of luck.
Hai-Riyo is known as the dragon bird and the most advanced form of a dragon. It evolved out of Chinese mythology.
The colours of the dragons have special significance, which is based on their parents. For example, a dragon with a black colour means their parents are very old and wise. Green dragons are smaller than average but are representative of life and of the earth. Gold coloured dragons are special because they have many special attributes such as wisdom, kindness and the ability to face challenges head-on.
Yellow dragons represent the east. They are great companions when you need a hand, but can be self-absorbed at times. Blue dragons are from the west. They are forgiving and compassionate, but on the negative side can be lazy and uncaring when it suits them.
Finding the right Japanese Tattoo Design for you can be quite daunting. Check out all the free sites on the net to get as many ideas as you can. Just remember that many other people have done the same thing to get ideas. For example, last month, over 41,000 people searched for dragon tattoo designs on Yahoo. Apparently, roughly 8 times that amount check out Google for the same search term.
Then there is MSN and the other search engines. So a huge amount of people see the same free designs as you. If you want original Japanese Dragon tattoo designs, it is recommended that you check out books or other sources of tattoo designs that are not freely available. I have checked out three Japanese dragon tattoo galleries on the internet that have from 3,500 to 6000 different designs, so you will have no trouble finding what you want.