Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative Names: Kirishitan Ryū, Christian Dragon
Category: Dragon
The Myth
The Kirishitan Ryū are two great dragons said to have lived inside enormous holes on Ikeshima, a small island between Nagaurajima and Maeshima in the Amakusa Islands. One was male and the other female, and each eventually became the master of one of the ancient holes on the island.
Their appearance in the world was connected to the Shimabara–Amakusa Rebellion of 1637–1638. As the rebellion reached its bloody end, the forces of the shogunate surrounded Hara Castle, where the Christian rebels had taken refuge. After fighting desperately with whatever weapons they could find, the rebels eventually ran out of ammunition and food. Their last hope was simply to kill as many of their enemies as possible before they themselves were destroyed.
Their sixteen-year-old commander, Amakusa Shirō, was said to possess miraculous powers. He could supposedly walk across the sea from Shimabara to Yushima and perform other supernatural feats, including breathing flames from his mouth.
Late on the night of February 27, after the main keep of Hara Castle had burned, Shirō remained inside one of the inner houses. He took out a dragon jewel and raised it toward heaven, praying, “Ah, God, bestow your blessing upon us.” He then threw the jewel toward the shogunate’s warships anchored offshore.
Suddenly the sky darkened. Black clouds descended over the sea, and from them appeared two enormous dragons. A tremendous storm erupted. Two pillars of water rose from the sea all the way into the black clouds, and the warships were caught up in a gigantic waterspout. The ships were hurled into the air, overturned, and sank beneath the waves.
But the miracle could not save the rebels. At the same time, the house where Shirō had been hiding caught fire, its flames illuminating the sky.
By noon the following day, the shogunate army had finally annihilated the remaining rebels. The two dragons, riding within the black clouds, had witnessed the fall of Hara Castle. They then plunged into the sea and swam rapidly eastward. They too were grievously wounded, and their blood turned the seawater red.
Eventually the dragons reached Ikeshima. They crawled up onto the island and searched among its hills until they discovered two enormous holes that had existed there since ancient times. Each dragon entered one of the holes and disappeared from sight. From then on, the two became the guardians of the caves: the one entered by the male dragon became known as the Male Dragon Hole, while the other became the Female Dragon Hole.
Amakusa Shirō was said to have died at Hara Castle, but another tradition preserves a darker mystery: the two dragons themselves were said to be manifestations of Shirō.
After the dragons made their homes on Ikeshima, they became guardians of the island and providers of rain. Whenever drought struck Amakusa, people gathered at Ikeshima to pray for rain. Black clouds would then descend from the heavens, and rain was said to follow.
Sources
Takahashi, Toshihiro. “キリシタン竜 [きりしたんりゅう] (Kirishitan Ryū).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). December 22, 2014. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1016421998.html
