First up on Dungeonspiration is The Dragon Palace:
The Dragon Palace is in the Japanese genre of ukiyo-e, a type of woodblock print focusing on a somewhat stylized or unreal subject matter, much like a modern day comic book. This particular piece was done by Okumura Masanobu in the 1740s.
The woodcut is probably a scene out of a story or myth. While my book on ukiyo-e calls the picture The Dragon Palace, an online gallery calls it Perspective Print of the Diving Woman Retrieving the Jewel from the Dragon Palace, which probably hearkens back to the story that inspired the artist. Whatever the original story is, I don't really care for this exercise. What do I make of the image?
Reading from upper right to left, in Japanese style, we see flotilla of boats. The people in these boats appear to be well dressed - upper class perhaps - all focusing on the man holding something in the water. Perhaps a rope? The rope leads to a wall in the direction of the palace in the water. Is that an anchor, or a diving line?
A naked woman swims in the water, sword in one hand, something pulled to her breast in the other hand. An angry dragon stares her down. She looks like she is heading towards a hole in the sea wall. What is the hole? Is it a aquatic dragon doggie door? A cadre of ugly warriors is making their way down the ramp, headed towards the woman. They appear upset. They have weapons.
I think we are looking at a classic D&D scene here. A thief is hauling ass from the scene of the crime after a heist. The thief is naked and alone with the goods while the rest of the party hauls up anchor and makes their escape. I sure hope she can swim fast.
Of course, there are lots of other ways to interpret the scene, but that is how it spark my imagination. And just look at those fellows with fish on their heads. I'm sure that hearkens back to some bit of mythology about Japanese fish spirits, but I'm in way over my head regarding Japanese culture to know. My favorite is Mister Octopus over there. Isn't he great?So click on the image to make it bigger and dive in. There are a lot of wonderful details all over the place. Where do you think the Jewel was stored? How do you think the thief snuck in? Are there two dragons, or is that one, and how are the two bits connected? And why does the woman have to do all the work? :)
Enjoy.
- Ark




















