51

Bundle 51: Long-Lived

Though the Japanese live longer than anyone, they pray for even more longevity—for humans and deities alike. These four auspicious kanji are associated with longevity, which is a natural fit for 亀 and 鶴; as one proverb has it, turtles and cranes live thousands of years. Meanwhile, 寿 means "lifespan" and "longevity" in words for those concepts and appears in many terms for milestone birthdays. Finally, because the pine represents long life, thanks to its evergreen needles, images of that tree abound at weddings and on New Year's cards. Similarly, twin pines symbolize a long, happy marriage.
To view Joy o' Kanji essays, you must be logged in to Kanshudo. Please LOG IN (or REGISTER).
寿
longevity
JOK: 1351
See how to invoke a god's name while saying, "Granddad is fully smiling.” Discover a waterfall that prolongs life. Unpack the riddles inherent in terms for auspicious birthdays. Learn to say, "He lived to a ripe old age," "The human lifespan has become twice as long as before," "Here's to a long and happy life!" and “For eons humans have longed for perpetual youth and longevity.”
松
pine tree
JOK: 1394
See how pines connect to New Year's rituals, Noh plays, Basho, bamboo and ume (symbolically), and matsutake mushrooms. Discover a pine tree that matters in Buddhism and twin pines that represent marital happiness, as well as figurative uses of "pine needle." Learn about two sarin gas attacks and the sabotage of railroad lines. Also find out about cows that receive regular massages.
亀
turtle
JOK: 1985
People universally associate turtles with slowness. The Japanese do, too, but they've taken turtle symbolism quite a bit further. They also see these ponderous animals as representing luck, longevity, wisdom, experience, divisiveness, ugliness, and sexual attractiveness! Ugliness and sexual attractiveness?! Quite a range! As if all that weren't enough, 亀 is also a radical and a new addition to the Joyo set, as of 2010.
鶴
crane
JOK: 2072
Cranes once lived in large flocks in Japan but have since become scarce. By contrast, the image of the crane pops up everywhere. As a symbol of 'longevity' and 'good fortune,' this bird appears in proverbs, paintings, ceramics, poems, Noh dramas, songs, folktales, and even math problems! Find out about the significance of folded paper cranes and the true story of Sadako Sasaki.
Kanshudo is your AI Japanese tutor, and your constant companion on the road to mastery of the Japanese language. To get started learning Japanese, just follow the study recommendations on your Dashboard. You can use Quick search (accessible using the icon at the top of every page) to look up any Japanese word, kanji or grammar point, as well as to find anything on Kanshudo quickly. For an overview, take the tour.
×