Photographer: Michael Yamashita

Title: "Red-Crowned Cranes"

Michael Yamashita: "Red-Crowned Cranes," Hokkaido, Japan, 2020

Red-crowned cranes perform a happy dance in Hokkaido, Japan-tancho tsuru in Japanese. The cranes are a "national treasure" and have been a beloved symbol of longevity, love, luck, happiness and fidelity for centuries. The couple will mate for life. Courtship displays and shrill crying are thought to strengthen their bond. The red-crowned cranes are popular icons in Japan. Cities and streets are named for them; they are used in metaphors; and folded into tiny paper birds that adorn temples and shrines. Though they are extremely rare birds, their images can be seen throughout Japan.

Michael Yamashita (American, b. 1949)

Michael Yamashita is an award-winning, 40-year veteran of National Geographic with a vast photographic portfolio, most notably in Asia. He has traipsed with camels across the Taklamakan Desert, scaled peaks in Tibet, and journeyed the length of the Great Wall. He has published more than 30 National Geographic magazine features, as well as 10 books, including "Mekong: A Journey on the Mother of Waters," "Marco Polo: A Photographer's Journey," and "The Great Wall: From Beginning to End." He has two documentary films to his credit, "Marco Polo: The China Mystery Revealed" and "Treasure Fleet: The Adventures of Zheng He." His most recent book, "Shangri-La: Along the Tea Road to Lhasa," took him to the far reaches of western China and the Himalayas to capture the fast-disappearing ancient culture of Tibet. Yamashita has taught at major photo workshops and art centers in the United States, as well as Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, and China.

Signed by photographer

Image size: 25.5 x 16 inches (landscape)

Approx. framed size: 33.5 x 24.5 inches