Ryū is 龍, and tatsu is the same dragon said the native way. One animal, two readings, and a whole vocabulary built on them. This table holds 40 Japanese dragon names: the dragon words, the water gods, the temple and place lane, and the classical dragons. Kanji shown, reading shown, meaning glossed, source named.
40 real names, four lanes, one rule. The dragon-word lane is the vocabulary itself, both readings and their compounds. The water-god lane is the rain and sea register, and every row names its source, Kojiki or Nihon Shoki or shrine tradition, labeled legend where the story is a story. The temple lane holds the dragon as painted, carved and mapped. The classical lane cites the old books by name. Nothing on this page claims the folklore as fact. Each row keeps its label.
Grouped by lane. The reading column is the honesty column.
Japanese dragon names with kanji, readings, meanings and lanes
Name
Kanji
Reading
Meaning
Lane
Copy
The dragon words: the two readings and their compounds
Ryū
龍・竜
ryū
dragon; the Sino-Japanese reading
dragon word
Tatsu
竜
ta-tsu
dragon; the native reading
dragon word
Tatsu
辰
ta-tsu
the zodiac dragon; the fifth of the twelve branches
dragon word
Tatsumi
辰巳
ta-tsu-mi
the dragon-serpent quarter; the southeast
dragon word
Ryūō
龍王
ryū-ō
dragon king; the word, the title, the place name
dragon word
Ryūgū
龍宮
ryū-gū
the dragon palace under the sea
dragon word
Ryūtō
龍灯
ryū-tō
the dragon lamps sailors told of (folklore word)
dragon word
Tatsu-no-otoshigo
龍の落とし子
ta-tsu-no-o-to-shi-go
the dragon’s stray child; the seahorse (folklore word)
dragon word
Tatsu-no-koku
辰の刻
ta-tsu-no-ko-ku
the dragon hour; seven to nine in the morning
dragon word
Tatsu-doshi
辰年
ta-tsu-do-shi
the dragon year
dragon word
The water gods: rain and sea powers, sources named, legend labeled
Ryūjin
龍神
ryū-jin
the sea dragon god (legend)
water god
Watatsumi
海神
wa-ta-tsu-mi
the great sea spirit (Kojiki)
water god
Mizuchi
蛟
mi-zu-chi
the river dragon (Nihon Shoki)
water god
Kuraokami
闇龗
ku-ra-o-ka-mi
the hidden rain dragon (Kojiki)
water god
Kuzuryū
九頭龍
ku-za-ryū
the nine-headed dragon of the Hakone tradition (legend)
water god
Zennyo Ryūō
善女龍王
zen-nyo-ryū-ō
the rain dragon king of esoteric ritual (legend)
water god
Seiryū
青龍
sei-ryū
the azure dragon of the east; the four-symbols set
water god
Kōryū
黄龍
kō-ryū
the yellow dragon of the center; the fifth of the set
water god
Wani
鰐
wa-ni
the sea crocodile that ferries the sea god’s court (Kojiki)
water god
Suijin
水神
su-i-jin
the water god; snake or dragon at the well
water god
Shachihoko
鯱
sha-chi-ho-ko
the roof dragon-fish that guards the castle
water god
Temple, art and place: the dragon written on temples, screens and maps
Tenryū
天龍
ten-ryū
heaven dragon; the Kyoto temple and the river
temple and place
Ryūmon
龍門
ryū-mon
the dragon gate the carp climbs; the falls of the legend
temple and place
Garyū
臥龍
ga-ryū
the crouching dragon; strength waiting
temple and place
Unryū
雲龍
un-ryū
the cloud dragon of the screen paintings
temple and place
Shōryū to Genryū
昇龍・降龍
shō-ryū, gen-ryū
the rising and descending dragon pair of Zen painting
temple and place
Hiryū
飛龍
hi-ryū
the flying dragon motif
temple and place
Ryūzō
龍象
ryū-zō
dragon and elephant; the Buddhist word for great strength
temple and place
Ryūge
龍華
ryū-ge
the dragon-flower tree; the assembly to come under it
temple and place
Ryūsen
龍泉
ryū-sen
dragon spring; the celadon kiln name Japan borrowed
temple and place
Tatsuta
龍田
ta-tsu-ta
dragon field; the Nara river and its shrine
temple and place
Tatsuno
龍野
ta-tsu-no
dragon field; the Hyōgo castle town
temple and place
Ryūgasaki
龍ヶ崎
ryū-ga-sa-ki
dragon cape; the Ibaraki city
temple and place
The classical dragons: the old books, cited as literature or legend
Yamata-no-Orochi
八岐大蛇
ya-ma-ta-no-o-ro-chi
the eight-branched serpent (Kojiki)
classical dragon
Toyotama-hime
豊玉姫
to-yo-ta-ma-hi-me
the dragon princess whose true form was seen (Kojiki)
classical dragon
Hikohohodemi
彦火火出見
hi-ko-ho-ho-de-mi
the fisher prince who lived at the dragon palace (Kojiki)
classical dragon
Otohime
乙姫
o-to-hi-me
the dragon princess of the Urashima story (otogi-zōshi)
classical dragon
Urashima Tarō
浦島太郎
u-ra-shi-ma-ta-rō
the boy who opened the box from the dragon palace (otogi-zōshi)
classical dragon
Tamatori-hime
玉取姫
ta-ma-to-ri-hi-me
the pearl diver chased by the dragon court (legend)
classical dragon
Kiyohime
清姫
ki-yo-hi-me
the woman who became the serpent of Dōjōji (legend)
classical dragon
One dragon, two readings
The grammar of every name on this page. Japan took the dragon twice: ryū arrived with the written character, and tatsu was already the native word. The old script 龍 and the modern 竜 write the same animal. When the zodiac is meant, the character is 辰, the dragon of the twelve branches, and the calendar follows it: tatsu-doshi the dragon year, tatsu-no-koku the dragon hour of the morning.
The compounds split by reading. Ryū builds the borrowed set: Ryūgū the dragon palace, Ryūō the dragon king. Tatsu builds the native set: Tatsumi the dragon quarter of the southeast. One warning for the writer: tatsujin, the word for a master, is written with a different character entirely. It has no dragon in it, and the false friend has caught better namers than you. The full kanji-receipt method, element by element, lives on the japanese names meanings page.
The water gods, labeled lore
The Japanese dragon is a water creature first. The old books say it in their own words: the Kojiki names Watatsumi the great sea spirit and Kuraokami the hidden rain dragon; the Nihon Shoki names Mizuchi the river dragon. Shrine tradition adds Ryūjin the sea dragon king with his palace under the water, and the Hakone Kuzuryū, the nine-headed dragon still honored there. The rows keep the labels: legend is legend, and the book is named.
The four-symbols set rides the same water sky: Seiryū the azure dragon of the east, the set Chinese astronomy gave Japan, with Kōryū the yellow dragon of the center beside it. The tradition is cultural and the page says so. The culture names hub carries the rest of the Japanese block, including the kitsune generator, this block’s other mythic creature.
The Western dragon has its own generator
One word, two traditions, two lanes. The Western dragon of the hoard and the fire, the Smaug and Fafnir lane, is not this page’s animal. That tradition runs on titles and hoard-words, and it has its own home: the dragon name generator builds it, and the dragon names list tables its canon, where Yamata-no-Orochi and Ryūjin also stand as the Japanese entries. This page documents the Japanese receipts. The two lanes link each other, and neither borrows the other’s grammar.
Dragon kanji in human names
The dragon also lives in given names, and that lane has its own page.Tatsuya, to be a dragon. Ryūji, the second dragon. Ryūnosuke, the dragon’s helper. Their kanji receipts, readings and all, are documented on the japanese names meanings page, and the japanese name generator builds from the same roots. Even the weather kept the dragon: tatsumaki, the waterspout, is a dragon-roll, and that word rides the pet and horse lanes elsewhere on this site.
Which lane fits your dragon?
Match the job to the lane, then take the receipt. Eight worked examples:
Japanese dragon name spotlight
Name
Kanji
Meaning
Ryū
龍・竜
dragon; the Sino-Japanese reading
Tatsu
辰
the zodiac dragon, the fifth branch
Ryūjin
龍神
the sea dragon god (legend)
Mizuchi
蛟
the river dragon (Nihon Shoki)
Seiryū
青龍
the azure dragon of the east
Yamata-no-Orochi
八岐大蛇
the eight-branched serpent (Kojiki)
Toyotama-hime
豊玉姫
the dragon princess (Kojiki)
Urashima Tarō
浦島太郎
the boy at the dragon palace
A character or a boat takes the water-god lane. A place takes the temple lane. A story takes the classical lane, source cited. The kanji is the receipt, and every row above carries one.
Japanese dragon names questions, answered
What is the Japanese word for dragon?
Two words, one animal. Ryū is the Sino-Japanese reading, written 龍 in the old script and 竜 in the modern one. Tatsu is the native reading, written with the same 竜, and with 辰 when the zodiac dragon is meant. Pick a name from this table and the row tells you which reading it rides and what it means.
Are Japanese dragons the same as Western dragons?
No, and the difference is the receipt. The Japanese dragon is a water creature: serpentine, river-and-sea, rain-making, often benevolent. The Western dragon of the hoard-and-fire lane is a different tradition with its own name bank. The Western dragon has its own generator, and the dragon names list tables that canon. This page names the Japanese tradition only.
Is Tatsu a real Japanese name?
Yes, three times over. Tatsu is the dragon word, the zodiac dragon, and a living element in human names: Tatsuya, Ryūji, Ryūnosuke. The given-name lane with its kanji receipts is documented on the japanese names meanings page, and the japanese name generator builds from those same roots.
Where this data comes from.Readings and glosses follow standard Japanese dictionaries. The water-god rows follow the Kojiki, the Nihon Shoki and documented shrine tradition, with legend and folklore labeled in every such row; the classical rows cite the Kojiki, the otogi-zōshi and the Dōjōji legend by name. The four-symbols dragons are named as the Chinese-derived star set. Nothing on this page claims folklore as fact about the world. Where every name's receipt comes from →