Dragons of Fame

O Goncho

Type/Species: Eastern Dragon
Origin: Japanese Mythology

History: At the eastern part of Fu-si-mi-shi-ro-yama, there is a very large pond at Yama-shiro, near Kioto.² O Goncho lives this the pool, named Ukisima.¹ The pond is large enough that, in fine weather, little waves rise up on account of its size. The pond has turtles, and sometimes children will swim in the pond in the summertime. Yet none will venture too far from shore, and no one knows how deep the pond goes.³

The locals know that a white dragon lives in that pond. He can transform himself into a bird, which they call O-gon-cho, meaning golden bird. When he is a dragon, he is white, but as a bird, he has yellow-golden plumage.³

O Goncho is usually not in the form of a bird. In fact, he only transforms into a bird once every fifty years. Then he rises up out of the pond and cries out with the howl and screech of a wolf. In that year, tremendous famine spreads and many people die.³

The locals have made appeals to O Goncho to prevent him from crying out at each fiftieth year. Farmers claim that, in good weather, the white dragon can be seen floating on the water. As soon as he sees people, however, he sinks down beneath the surface.³

Symbolism: O Goncho seems to be both a guardian spirit and a form of pestilence. Although it is unclear if O Goncho causes famine or merely warns of it.

Physical Description: For the majority of the time, O Goncho is an enormous, winged dragon, white in color.¹

1. Rose [Monsters] 273
2. Gould 251 [Online Text]
3. Gould 252 [Online Text]

For more information about footnotes and references, please see the bibliography.