For the Japanese, love between one another is not a kind of coincidence, but rather it is predestined from the moment the gods tie red threads on the little fingers of those who must teach each other. The legend of the red thread of destiny, more aesthetically sublime than the belief in soul mates, is the way in which Japanese culture views the impetuous connection between two people.
A connection that escapes understanding
According to legend, the two people connected by this thread will have an important history, without time, circumstances or place preventing the meeting. Those who are united in their little fingers by a red thread will find the paths to reunite with each other and will end up living a story that will change the way they see life.
For Japanese culture, the binding of the red thread is a kind of narrative to understand the encounters we develop throughout our lives. Although unlike other myths that explain the love of two people, the legend of the red thread is not limited to the love of a couple, but rather each intimate touch is linked to us through a red thread that was given to us from birth and that It predetermines to find all those with whom we will weave an important story. In that sense, the scarlet thread tied to everyone’s little fingers can stretch, tangle and contract in incomprehensible ways, but never break.
Although the legend brings together the most romantic and aesthetic elements to understand destiny, it is curiously clear from the fact that the ulnar artery connects the heart with the little finger. Hence, many other cultures also associated promises with the action of interlocking little fingers.
The origin of the legend of the red thread
The origin of the legend is not entirely clear, as it is an ancient belief that has been passed from generation to generation. But the narrative tells that the Grandfather of the Moon, a wise old man who lives on the Moon, goes out every night in search of those kindred souls to meet on Earth and who are destined to teach each other and when he finds them he unites them forever with a red thread
Every night the grandfather is in charge of tying hundreds of thousands of red threads to the little fingers of the newborns, so every time a baby is born, his soul is already connected with those with whom he will have a story that will change his life forever.