Chinese mythology
The Chinese dragon is one of the most important mythical creatures in Chinese mythology, considered to be the most powerful and divine creature and the controller of all waters who could create clouds with their breath. The dragon symbolized great power and was very supportive of heroes and gods. The conventional dragon has a certain description, however there are other dragons or dragon-like beings that vary from this description. For example, the Chi of mythology lacks horns. Dragons often chase or play with a mystical or flaming pearl. A dragon-fenghuang pairing is a common motif in art, the fenghuang often being called a "phoenix".
Japanese dragon
When Buddhist monks from other parts of Asia brought their faith to Japan they transmitted dragon and snake legends from Buddhist and Hindu mythology. The most notable examples are the "nāga" ナーガ or 龍 "Nāga; rain deity; protector of Buddhism" and the "nāgarāja" ナーガラージャ or 龍王 ”Nāgaraja; snake king; dragon king". de Visser (1913:179) notes that many Japanese nāga legends have Chinese features. "This is quite clear, for it was via China that all the Indian tales came to Japan. Moreover, many originally Japanese dragons, to which Chinese legends were applied, were afterwards identified with nāga, so that a blending of ideas was the result." For instance, the undersea palace where nāga kings supposedly live is called Japanese ryūgū 龍宮 "dragon palace" from Chinese "longgong" 龍宮. Compare ryūgū-jō 龍宮城 "dragon palace castle", which was the sea-god Ryūjin's undersea residence. Japanese legends about the sea-god's tide jewels, which controlled the ebb and flow of tides, have parallels in Indian legends about the nāga's "nyoi-ju" 如意珠 "cintamani; wish-fulfilling jewels".