Natsume Sōseki (February 9, 1867 – December 9, 1916), born Natsume Kinnosuke, is widely considered to be the foremost Japanese novelist of the Meiji period (1868–1912). He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and composer of haiku, Chinese-style poetry, and fairy tales.
The Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis), also called the Japanese Crane or Manchurian Crane, is a large east Asian crane and among the rarest cranes in the world. In some parts of its range, it is known as a symbol of luck, longevity and fidelity. Adult Red-crowned Cranes are snow white with black to the wings (appears almost like a black tail when standing, but the real tail feathers are white), blackish to the head and neck, and a patch of red skin on the crown. This patch of skin becomes brighter red when the crane becomes angry or excited. This species is among the largest cranes, typically about 158 centimetres tall and weighing 7.7–10 kilograms. The maximum known weight of the Red-crowned Crane is 15 kilograms.
