<P> The early Chinese dragons can be depicted with two to five claws . Different countries that adopted the Chinese dragon have different preferences ; in Mongolia and Korea , the four - clawed dragons are used , while in Japanese dragon three - clawed dragons are common . By the Yuan dynasty , the five - clawed dragons became reserved for use by the emperor while the princes used four - clawed dragons . The usage of the dragon motif was codified during the Yuan dynasty , and phoenixes and five - clawed two - horned dragons may not be used on the robes of officials and other objects such as plates and vessels . It was further stipulated that for commoners , `` it is forbidden to wear any cloth with patterns of Qilin , Male Fenghuang ( Chinese phoenix ) , White rabbit , Lingzhi , Five - Toe Two - Horn Dragon , Eight Dragons , Nine Dragons , ' Ten thousand years ' , Fortune - longevity character and Golden Yellow etc . '' </P>
<P> The early Chinese dragons can be depicted with two to five claws . Different countries that adopted the Chinese dragon have different preferences ; in Mongolia and Korea , the four - clawed dragons are used , while in Japanese dragon three - clawed dragons are common . By the Yuan dynasty , the five - clawed dragons became reserved for use by the emperor while the princes used four - clawed dragons . The usage of the dragon motif was codified during the Yuan dynasty , and phoenixes and five - clawed two - horned dragons may not be used on the robes of officials and other objects such as plates and vessels . It was further stipulated that for commoners , `` it is forbidden to wear any cloth with patterns of Qilin , Male Fenghuang ( Chinese phoenix ) , White rabbit , Lingzhi , Five - Toe Two - Horn Dragon , Eight Dragons , Nine Dragons , ' Ten thousand years ' , Fortune - longevity character and Golden Yellow etc . '' </P>
how many toes does a japanese dragon have
how many toes does a japanese dragon have
three - clawed dragons are common
three - clawed dragons are common