At Oi Shrine in Oimachi, Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture, pine branches in the shape of a dragon are displayed in accordance with this year's zodiac sign and Dragon. The tree is named ''Ryuboku'' and attracts the attention of worshipers who say ''it seems like it will bring divine blessings.''
Approximately 40 cm in length and 3 cm in diameter. It has two horns on its head, a long, undulating body, and two hands that look like they have spreading claws. When Chief Priest Takatsugu Inamoto, 50, was carrying miscellaneous trees brought by the parishioners for a bonfire on the third day of the New Year, ''I happened to pick up a branch that looked like a dragon,'' he said.
Since New Year's Eve, it has been placed in a wooden box lined with lily pads and displayed at the shrine of worship. It looked like it was flying around when it was hanging on a string, and people who visited the New Year's shrine were delighted, saying it looked like a dragon and calling it a dragon god. Leave it in this state for the time being.
It is said that the deity enshrined at Oi Shrine rode up the rapids of the Oi River on the back of a carp. Chief Priest Inamoto said, ''Just like in the story of Toryumon, the carp associated with the shrine may have transformed into a dragon.I hope it will be a good year, just like the rising dragon.''
