chidori 千鳥

Plovers or (rarely) sanderlings: small birds that live in flocks near water, a popular design motif either alone or combined with waves or sand beaches, suhama 州浜. The bird is an auspicious symbol associated with longevity because its cry, chiyo, is a homonym for chiyo 千代 meaning "1000 generations." The association of chidori with long life was mentioned in Kokin wakashū 古今和歌集 (early 10th century) and was especially popular in waka 和歌 during the Heian and Kamakura periods. The chidori motif appears in varied media such as textiles, lacquer, metalwork, and even paper design, from the 10th century onward. By the Momoyama and early Edo periods, the motif of chidori was often transformed into an almost abstract pictorial figure.