The following
photograph-rich article is about the Dragon Gate Carp of the
Dragon Gate waterfall in China.
This article also features unique traditional popular culture
associated with the Dragon Gate Carp in China and Japan. In
addition, varieties of dragon fish and horned fish around
the world are featured here. Some of such freaks of nature
and/or gaffs (rogue taxidermy artworks) have been featured at
sideshows here in America for over a century. This manuscript
was produced by Dr. Eriko N. Bond, noted art critic and book
author in New York City, as told by Takeshi Yamada. Yamada is
one of the most active artists in New York City and has had over
400 fine art exhibitions internationally.
TAKESHI YAMADA
ON
DRAGON FISH & HORNED FISH
Part 4
Auspicious Dragon Carp
There are many
traditional Chinese paintings featuring a (normal) red carp
vigorously jumping up rapidly flowing water or a waterfall,
which in the five Chinese characters reads Li Yu Tiao Long Men.
It literally means “the carp jumps over the dragon gate”. In
China, a red carp symbolizes wealth and water stands for money
because both of them can flow. According to the legend, the
fish that was not only well prepared to master the jump over the
dragon gate but also manages the hardship of traveling upstream
to reach it, turns into a dragon. All fish that failed to clear
the gate lost their lives. For thousands of years, this legend
is part of the Chinese cultural heritage. By successfully
jumping from a lower level to a higher one, a fundamental
transformation takes place in the candidate that resides more in
the qualitative realm than in the quantitative one. For
example, when some student from a poor back country village
passes the national university examination, people talk about
the Li Yu Tiao Long Men.
Dragon and Carp
(modern glass vassel)
The auspicious
Dragon Carp is one of the most dramatic representations of this
heroic red carp at the Dragon Gate. More specifically, this
victorious carp has the head of a dragon on the body of a fish.
This animals’ unique appearance symbolizes that the carp has
successfully leaped up to the top of the waterfall and about to
become a dragon according to the Chinese mythology.
Dragon Gate in China and Japan
According to the
Chinese mythology, the original Dragon Gate is located on the
Yellow River at Hunan. It is said that if carp successfully
climb the cataract, they will transform into the dragon. Today,
many other waterfalls in China also have the name Dragon Gate
with almost identical local regions. Other famous Dragon Gates
are on the Wei River where it passes through the Lung Sheu
Mountains and at Tsin in Shanxi Province.
The name of this
Dragon Gate, is so famous that throughout China there was a
common saying that: 'a student facing his examinations is like a
carp attempting to leap the Dragon Gate.' This culture was
exported to Japan, and the word toryumon
is commonly used for the major hardship one must overcome to
achieve a great goal (such as passing the entrance examination
of a famous university for students or winning at the major
talent show of the TV program for singers).
In
Japan, there are many waterfalls (real and man-made) named after
the original Dragon Gate in
China. One of them
is located at Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto. Kinkakuji
is one of the most famous and popular Buddhist temples in Japan.
It is a Zen Temple formally known as Rokuonji. The Dragon Gate
Waterfall at Kinkakuji’s garden is 2.3 meters high. In the pool
are stones resembling carp (rigyoseki), in reference to
the ancient Chinese myth that when carp climb up waterfalls they
transform into dragons. The dragon itself is exemplified by the
diagonal larger rock seeming to rise up out of the water at the
base of this fall at the Kinkakuji.
Note: Yamada visited
Kinkakuji for one of the school trips when he was a young
student. Yamada visited Kinkakuji again in 1989 when he visited
Japan for the first time since he moved to America in 1983.
Ryumontaki (Dragon Gate Waterfall) and Kinkakuji (Golden
Pavilion) in Kyoto, Japan
The Dragon Gate by Nichiren Daishonin
The story of the
mythic horned carp at the Dragon Gate has been known in Japan
for many centuries. It was also mentioned in numerous writings
including one written by one of the most prominent historical
religious figures in Japan - Nichiren Daishonin. Following is an
entire English translation from “Ueno-dono Gohenji (lit.
a letter of reply to Ueno-dono)” which is a hand-written letter
from Nichiren Daishonin to Ueno-dono. The name of this
influential religious leader is in the history textbook used at
public and private schools in Japan. Nichiren Daishonin (1222 -
12282 AD) is the founder of the Nichiren Buddhism who lived in
Japan. Daishonin is considered as the true Buddha by followers.
Note: Takeshi Yamada
learned about this magnificent article by Daishonin when he
attended a Buddhist meeting in Ann Arbor, Michigan when he was a
graduate school student of University of Michigan in 1985.
Bronze statue of Nichiren Daishonin at Seichoji temple
http://www.univie.ac.at/rel_jap/bilder2/nichiren_seichoji.jpg
The Dragon
Gate
- Ueno-dono
Gohenji -
In China there
is a waterfall called the Dragon Gate. Its waters plunge a
hundred feet, more swiftly than an arrow shot by a strong
archer. It is said that thousands of carp gather in the
basin below, hoping to climb the falls, and that any which
succeed will turn into a dragon. However, not a single carp
out of a hundred, a thousand or even ten thousand can climb
the falls, not even after ten or twenty years. Some are
swept away by the strong currents, some fall prey to eagles,
hawks, kites and owls, and others are netted, scooped up, or
even shot with arrows by fishermen who line either bank of
the wide falls. Such is the difficulty of a carp becoming a
dragon.
There were once
two major warrior clans in Japan, the Minamoto and the Taira.
They were like two faithful watchdogs at the gates of the
Imperial Palace. They were as eager to guard the emperor as
a woodcutter is to admire the harvest moon as it rises from
behind the mountains. They marveled at the elegant parties
of the court nobles and their ladies, just as monkeys in the
trees are enraptured by the light of the moon and stars
glittering in the sky. Though of low rank, they longed to
find some way to mingle in court circles. But even though
Sadamori of the Taira clan crushed the rebellion of Masakado,
he was still not admitted to court. Nor were any of his
descendants, including the famous Masamori. Not until the
time of Masamori’s son, Tadamori, were any of the Taira clan
granted permission to enter the court. The next in line,
Kiyomori, and his son Shigemori, not only enjoyed life among
court nobles but became directly related to the throne when
Kiyomori’s daughter married the emperor and bore him a
child.
Attaining
Buddhahood is no easier than for men of low status to enter
court circles or for carp to climb the Dragon Gate.
Shariputra, for example, practiced bodhisattva austerities
for sixty aeons in order to attain Buddhahood, but finally
surrendered to his obstacles and slipped back into the paths
of the two vehicles. Even some of those taught by Shakyamuni,
when he was the sixteenth son of Daitsu Buddha, sank into
the world of sufferings for the duration of
sanzen-jintengo. Some others taught by him in the even
more remote past when he first attained enlightenment
suffered for the length of gohyaku-jintengo. All
these people practiced the Lotus Sutra, but when persecuted
by the Devil of the Sixth Heaven in the form of their
sovereigns or other authorities, they forsook their faith
and thus wandered among the six paths for countless aeons.
Up until now
these events seemed to have no bearing on us, but now we
find ourselves facing the same kind of persecution. No
matter what, all my disciples must cherish the great desire
of attaining enlightenment. We are very fortunate to be
alive after the widespread epidemics which occurred last
year and the year before. But now with the impending Mongol
invasion it appears that few will survive. In the end, no
one can escape death. The sufferings at the time of invasion
will be no worse than those we are facing now. Since death
is the same in either case, you should be willing to offer
your life for the Lotus Sutra. Think of this offering as a
drop of dew rejoining the ocean or a speck of dust returning
to the earth. A passage from the seventh chapter of the
Lotus Sutra reads, “Our desire is to share this blessing
equally with all people, and we, together with them, will
attain Buddhahood.”
With my deep
respect,
Nichiren
The sixth day of
the eleventh month.
Postscript:
I
write this letter in deep gratitude for the encouragement
you are giving those involved in the Atsuhara Persecution.
Major
Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 249.
Tango no Sekku and Koinobori
In Japan, May 5th is
the fourth and last national holiday that makes up the Golden
Week Holiday called Kodomo no hi (Day of Children). It is
a day to celebrate children and to wish for their health,
happiness and success in life. It was originally know as
Tango no Sekku or Boy’s Festival (this culture is originated
in China) and is still considered more of a celebration for boys
instead of girls. (Girls have their own day on March 3rd, but
it’s not a national holiday.)
On the occasion the
Tango no sekku in Japan, many families raise Koinobori
which are carp-shaped windsocks. The carp signifies perseverance
because of its legendary valour in swimming against the current.
This symbolism has been widely known among Japanese and there
are many artworks of carp vigorously swimming against the
current or jumping up in the air from the water. (Unlike
Chinese, Japanese people do not produce dragon-shaped
windsocks.) The Koinobori which is identical to the ones shown
below are displayed at the house of Takeshi Yamada when he was a
little child in Japan.
Koi (carp) and
Nishiki-goi (brocaded carp or rainbow carp) are popular pets in
Japan, and Japan is the world’s center of breeding this
breathtakingly gorgeous creatures today. The house, which Yamada
was born and raised in Osaka, Japan has a small man-made pond in
the backyard, and there are many gorgeous nishiki-goi with vivid
colors. (For more information of koi and nishiki-goi, please
read articles entitled “Human-face Fish” by Takeshi Yamada.)
Fukinagashi and Koinobori
http://guzenmedia.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/400px-koinobori4797.jpg
Carp Dishes
Possibly, average
people in China consume more variety of foods than any nations
on this planet. They even eat many species of arthropods such as
grasshoppers and beetles as common snacks in China. They even
consume ground “dragon bone” at traditional Chinese pharmacies –
they are actually prehistoric animals’ fossilized bones.
This author could
not locate the recipe of Dragon Gate Carps in old Chinese
cooking books. This may simply due to the rarity of this
specific animal. Nevertheless, the common carp has been eaten as
stable diet in China for many centuries.
Note: In New York
city, common carps have been sold at grocery stores in China
Town. Common carps are also sold at a major Russian grocery
store in Coney Island according to Takeshi Yamada, who has been
living there since 2002. Unlike average Americans, Yamada eats
sea creatures more often than land animals every week.)
Among many carp
dishes, “Sweet and sour Yellow River carp” has been praised as
one of the top. Shandong. Other popular and traditional dishes
with the carp include “shuttle-like carp”, “fish with brown
sauce”, “fish in sour sauce” and “stewed sliced fish”, and so
on.
Sweet and Sour Carp dish
Unfortunately, these
carp dishes are not popular in Japan, where Yamada was born and
raised. As stated before, in Japan, carps are considered as pets
as if dogs are considered as pets in America. Japanese people
treat pet carp seriously. In addition, some of the carps have
the human-face and considered as a good-luck-charm. For more
information, read Yamada’s article entitled “Human-faced Fish”.
Continue to Part
5
Copyright by Takeshi Yamada, Museum of World Wonders in Coney
Island, Brooklyn, New York, April 2007. Revised in July 2008.
All Rights Reserved.
E-mail: yamada108@verizon.net
Special thanks to Dr. Eriko N. Bond, Lauren D. Travis, Maremi
Kakushina and Seara (Sea Rabbit)
Also
special thanks to Doug Higley (Senior Proofreader)
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http://www.horseshoecrab.org/poem/feature/takeshi.html
http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/events/exhibitions/other/worldwonders.jsp
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Takeshi Yamada
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