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"What else could it be, that Japan has a rich tapestry of folktales featuring all sorts of fantastical creatures?"
(lemmy.world)
this post was submitted on 30 Dec 2024
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The actual answer is because Japan has lots of reptile representation among their demons and yokai.
Japan has lizards and enjoys them as a culture to celebrate. The closest the West has is "salamander = fire".
There's some others, like sea serpents and the Western concept of dragons as giant flying lizards. A dragon is literally the symbol of Wales (okay, a wyvern if you want to be technical about it, but whatever).
Nah that's a dragon. They hadn't invented D&D yet.
For what it's worth, the word goes back to the 17th century. But Wikipedia also calls them a type of dragon, so 🤷.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyvern
There's also a Baltic cult of worshipping wood snakes. And a fairy tale about one being the king of the sea.