竜 tatsu Dragon

竜 is the same word as 龍, dragon, in its shorter form. A tornado is 竜巻 (tatsumaki). The Dragon King's palace under the sea, from the tale of Urashima Tarō, is 竜宮 (ryūgū).

龍 is a dragon, most of all the Chinese dragon. 龍 and 竜 are one word written two ways, and both are read ryū or tatsu. The zodiac's dragon uses another kanji, 辰, as in 辰年 (tatsudoshi), the Year of the Dragon.

Each design is Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase's hand-brushed calligraphy of the word or phrase on this page, delivered as a PDF you can print. Every PDF includes the line art, so a tattoo artist or a craftsperson can work from the outline as well as the brushed image.

Your purchase includes a personal-use license: use the design as a tattoo reference, frame it, engrave it, print it for yourself, or make it into a gift. For more information see Licensing, which also covers commercial-use options that may be purchased separately.

Your PDF is available for download the moment your order completes, and a copy is attached to your emailed receipt.

If you need your design again later, ask us for it and we will send it.