RAINMAKING IN EARLY JAPAN: THE DRAGON KING AND THE RITUAL CAREERS OF ESOTERIC MONKS

Originally, when the Thus-Come One [Buddha] came to Wu-ch'ang to proselytize, the dragon king [there] was angry and made a great wind and rain.... The dragon king resided in a pond to the west of the [body of] water [there]. At the edge of the pond was a temple with more than fifty monks. Every time the dragon king made wonders, the king [of the country] offered prayers with gold, jade and other treasures, throwing them into the pond; and when washed ashore, the monks took them. The temple relied on the dragon for [the necessities of life such as] food and clothing. People of the day called it Dragon King Temple. (YANG HSUANCHIH, Lo-yang ch'ieh-lan-chi [mid-sixth century])1