Description
– Available Options:
1. Yokai Tancho (Retro Green) Manchurian Japanese Crane – $25
2. Yokai Hoo (Tangerine Orange) Phoenix – $25
For Digital Nomads, Travel Bloggers, Influencers, Entrepreneurs, Jetsetters and frequent travelers, speed & convenience is most important. To set up mobile offices on the go, one USB Charger should be able to support multiple devices such as tablets, mobile phones, power banks and earpieces. At once.
Imagine propping up a mobile office in the airport lounge or a cafe, hammering out a quick post or email, charging your devices, and keeping it all neatly away again.
Having family over, out with friends, someone needs to charge their phone and they assume you don’t have a cable for their device? I just love whipping this out with a smirk, the cheap thrill of feeling technologically superior. Everyone is happy and I’ve just saved the day.
Benefits:
– 3in1 USB Charger with 3 different ends for triple usage
– Apple / Micro USB / Type C
– Supports all devices eg Apple, Android, Xiaomi, Huawei, Samsung, powerbanks, earpieces
– Lightning fast charge
– Smart & portable
– No tangled wires, easy to keep away neatly
– Noodle flat design for anti-winding & anti-twisting.
– Stress test passed 50,000 repeated pulls
– 5 different stretch lengths: 30cm, 50cm, 70cm, 90cm, to 120cm (12 inches to 47.5 inches)
– Optimal stretching for in car use, gaming, or a neat office setup
Tips on Usage:
– Pull on both ends at the same time to extend or keep away
– Auto retractable
Is the Japanese Crane Native to Japan?
The Japanese red-crowned crane is an endangered species native to the eastern regions of Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. It is estimated that only around 4,000 Japanese cranes can still be found all over the world.
Cranes in Traditional Japanese Culture
Cranes in Japanese traditional culture are considered a mystical figure, an animal close to the kamisama (Japan’s native Shinto deities). In traditional Confucianism, cranes are believed to live up to 1,000 years, and that is why they are also a symbol of longevity, success, and good fortune.
Cranes are believed to have the power to grant wishes and answer prayers, which is where the tradition of senzaburu – folding 1,000 cranes origami to make “wishes come true” – comes from.
Cranes in Japanese Folklore and Tales
Cranes are also closely related to the concept of returning favors and gratitude towards help from other people.
This concept has roots in traditional Japanese folklore, in one of the most famous Japanese traditional tales, “Tsuru no Ongaeshi” (The Grateful Crane).
This legend tells a story of a poor farmer who, one day, while in the fields, finds a badly injured crane and saves her and helps her to fly again. The crane comes then later back to his house in the form of a beautiful young woman proposing to him to become his wife and weaving beautiful cloth using her own (crane) feathers as a way to repay him for his kindness.
Cranes, Origami and the Second World II
When living or traveling to Japan, you maybe have stumbled upon colorful paper crane displays in shrines or temples. Origami, the art of folding paper, is one of the traditional Japanese art forms and is widely recognized abroad.
How Did Origami start?
Around 610, paper-making techniques were introduced to Japan from China, and the Japanese subsequently created thin, strong paper known as washi.
Washi was almost exclusively used by the upper class for religious rituals and to wrap offerings made to the gods, but eventually, people began to think of different ways to fold the paper, to make it look as beautiful as possible.
In the Edo period (1603-1867), the production of washi increased consistently, and the price dropped, making it more accessible to lower classes. It started to become popular among the general public, giving rise to the cultural practice of “noshi” (formal gift wrappers) and “tato” (envelopes/paper purses).
It is only after World War II, that the paper crane became so widely known abroad, growing as a symbol of peace and hope through the story of the young Sadako Sasaki and her thousand origami cranes.
Sadako was diagnosed with leukaemia at only 12 years old after being exposed to radiation after the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Sadako decided to fold 1,000 crane origami hoping for recovery, happiness and peace, after hearing the belief that folding 1,000 origami cranes can help wishes come true. Sadly, her wish was not granted, and she passed away. You can still find strings of paper cranes not only in Hiroshima and Nagasaki but all around Japan as a symbol of peace and hope and as a symbol to remember all the victims of World War II.
While senbazuru refers to folding a thousand paper cranes, the number does not have to be exact, and it is used to convey the sense of folding a great number of paper cranes. Cranes are then grouped together with strings and beads, most commonly in groups of 40.
The Japanese Crane as a Symbol of Luck and Longevity in Japan
Did you know senbazuru and that cranes are such an important symbol in Japan? Even the Japanese national airline JAL uses a red crown crane in its logo!
From religion and traditional tales to modern history and society, cranes will always have a special role and meaning in Japanese culture.
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PHOENIX
Origin = China
Chn. = Fèng Huáng, Feng Huang 鳳凰
Jp. = Hō-ō 鳳凰 or Hou-ou, Ho-o, Hoo-oo
Feng 鳳 represents male phoenix, yang, solar
Huang 凰 represents female phoenix, yin, lunar
Often depicted together with the Dragon,
either as mortal enemies or as blissful lovers.
One of Four Celestial Guardians of Four Directions
Considered equivalent to the Red Bird | Big Bird
Modern cartoon image of Asian Phoenix, Ho-o, Hoo-oo, Hou-ouIn Japan, as earlier in China, the mythical Phoenix was adopted as a symbol of the imperial household, particularily the empress. This mythical bird represents fire, the sun, justice, obedience, fidelity, and the southern star constellations.
According to legend (mostly from China), the Hō-ō appears very rarely, and only to mark the beginning of a new era — the birth of a virtuous ruler, for example. In other traditions, the Hō-ō appears only in peaceful and prosperous times (nesting, it is said, in paulownia trees), and hides itself when there is trouble. As the herald of a new age, the Hō-ō decends from heaven to earth to do good deeds, and then it returns to its celestial abode to await a new era. It is both a symbol of peace (when the bird appears) and a symbol of disharmony (when the bird disappears). In China, early artifacts show the Phoenix (female) as intimately associated with the Dragon (male) — the two are portrayed either as mortal enemies or as blissful lovers. When shown together, the two symbolize both conflict and wedded bliss, and are a common design motif even today in many parts of Asia.
鳳 = Fèng, Male Phoenix 凰 = Huáng, Female Phoenix
The Chinese compound term Fèng Huáng means Phoenix. The Feng Huang was believed to control the five tones of traditional Chinese music and to represent the Confucian virtues of loyalty, honesty, decorum and justice. Its image first appears on Shang artifacts of China’s Western Zhou Period (11th century BC to 771 BC).
The symbolism of the Chinese Phoenix (Fèng Huáng) is strikingly similar to the symbolism of the mythological Red Bird (Chn. = Zhū Qiǎo 朱雀 or Zhū Niǎo 朱鳥), also of Chinese lore. In Japan, the Red Bird is pronounced Suzaku (same Chinese characters). I believe the Red Bird is the same creature as the Phoenix, although I may be wrong. The Red Bird is one of four legendary Chinese creatures guarding the four cosmic directions (Red Bird – S, Dragon – E, Tortoise – N, and the Tiger – W). The four appear during China’s Warring States period (476 BC – 221 BC), and were frequently painted on the walls of early Chinese and Korean tombs to ward off evil spirits. For more details on Phoenix lore in China, please click here.
The Asian Phoenix should not be confused with the Phoenix found in Egypt and Greece — that is a bird of completely different feathers and traditions. The Arabian-Western Phoenix, if you recall, is a solidary creature — only one of its kind. When it dies, it dies in flames, and from the ashes is born the next phoenix. Click here for background on the Egyptian and Greek phoenix.
HISTORICAL NOTES ON THE PHOENIX IN JAPAN
A mythical Chinese bird, thought to have been introduced to Japan in the Asuka period (mid 6th to mid 7th century AD). The phoenix has a bird’s beak, a swallow’s jaw, and a snake’s neck; the front half of its body is thought to resemble a giraffe, the back half a deer. Its back resembles a tortoise, and its tail is like a fish. It is often shown in a paulownia tree (Chinese parasol tree, Jp. = Aogiri 梧桐), with bamboo in the background, or surrounded by Chinese arabesque foliage (Jp. = Karakusa 唐草).
It became a popular decorative motif in the Nara period (late 7-8c), and was used on a wide variety of items including textiles, mirrors, chests, and lacquerware. Outstanding early examples of phoenix designs can be seen on the ceiling of Hōryūji Kondō Nishi-no-ma 法隆寺金堂西の間 (late 7c). Hō-ō depicted on the back of mirrors were popular in the Heian period (9-12c). Some of these used a Chinese style, but others Japanized the Hō-ō motif, replacing arabesque foliage with Japanese wild grasses, and changing the bird to resemble a blue magpie (Jp. = Onagadori 尾長鳥), or a crane (Jp. = Tsuru 鶴).
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