The Japanese Crane Tanchō: How Many Are Left and Why They Dance
The Japanese crane, tanchō, is a bird that was thought extinct in Japan in the early 20th century: in 1924, several dozen surviving birds were found in the Kushiro marshes of Hokkaido. Today about 1,900 live in Japan, mostly in eastern Hokkaido, and about 3,000 worldwide. Cranes do not dance only in mating season: the dance strengthens the pair bond and asserts territorial rights.
The Japanese crane has a rare history for a species: the bird was rediscovered where it had been thought extinct. Let's look at what lies behind the red crown and the apparently black tail, and how many cranes remain in Japan and worldwide. Why they dance year-round rather than only in spring, and what they are associated with in Japanese culture beyond a thousand paper cranes.
The Japanese Crane: What Kind of Bird Is It and Where Does It Live
Standing about one and a half meters tall with a wingspan of more than two meters, the tanchō, or Japanese crane, is one of the largest members of its family. Its plumage is mostly white, with black flight feathers on the wings and a distinctive scarlet patch on the crown. In Japan the species lives year-round in eastern Hokkaido, nesting and wintering at feeding stations around Kushiro and Nemuro. A separate mainland population nests in Russia and China and winters on the Korean Peninsula and in eastern China.
| Where | When | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Hokkaido, Kushiro and Nemuro area | year-round | The Japanese population nests and stays resident, wintering at feeding stations |
| Russia and northeastern China | spring and summer | A separate mainland population nests |
| Korean Peninsula and eastern China | winter | Wintering grounds of the mainland population |
The Red Crown Is Not Feathers, and the Black Is Not the Tail
An adult bird has almost no feathers on its crown: there the skin is bare with sparse black bristles, and the red color comes from a network of blood vessels showing through. Hence the name 丹頂 — 'scarlet crown.' The crane appears black at the rear, but its actual tail feathers are white: the black ones are the wing's flight feathers, which on a sitting bird fold over the tail and cover it.
丹頂鶴 — 'Scarlet Crown': Breaking Down the Kanji
丹 — значение: scarlet, cinnabar — онъёми: タン — кунъёми: に — 4 штрих(ов). 丹 means 'scarlet, cinnabar' — the first character in 丹頂鶴 and in 丹頂, 'scarlet crown.' The species was named for the bare red skin on its crown, not for its feathers.
| Japanese | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 丹頂鶴 | tanchōzuru · tanchōzuru | Japanese crane (full name) |
| 丹頂 | tanchō · tanchō | Scarlet crown — the species name in zoology |
| 鶴 | tsuru · tsuru | Crane (any) |
| 釧路 | Kushiro · Kushiro | Kushiro — the city and marshes where the species was rediscovered |
Why the Japanese Species Name Has No Word for 'Crane'
In zoology the species is called simply タンチョウ, without the word 'crane' at the end: the name describes the bird entirely through its main identifying feature. The word 鶴 is added when speaking of the bird in everyday language — that gives 丹頂鶴. In English the species is commonly called the Japanese crane, even though part of the population nests not in Japan but on the mainland — in Russia and China.
Write 丹 along the guides — just 4 strokes, the character for 'scarlet.'
How Many Cranes Are Left and What Kills Them
By the early 20th century, hunting had nearly wiped out the species in Japan, and it was considered extinct. In 1924, several dozen surviving birds were found deep in the Kushiro marshes of Hokkaido. In 1935 their habitat was designated a natural monument, and in 1952 a special natural monument. The winter count of that same year found only 33 birds. Around that time, in the village of Tsurui, elementary school children from Hororo brought grain to the cranes during a severe blizzard — this began regular feeding in Tsurui and neighboring Akan, which allowed the population to grow.
The winter count of 2024 tallied 1,927 birds in Japan — nearly sixty times more than in 1952. The global population was estimated at about 3,000 birds in 2018: the rest live on the mainland. Since 1993 the crane has been on Japan's list of rare species of wild animals and plants. And in March 2026, Japan's Ministry of the Environment removed it from the endangered species of the Red List for the first time in 35 years and moved it one step down — to the near threatened category. One of the notable causes of adult bird deaths today is collisions with power lines.
Why Cranes Dance
The dance strengthens the bond between partners in a pair: the birds jump, spread their wings, and bow to each other. Most often this behavior is seen in late winter, before nesting begins, but cranes do not dance only then and not only in pairs — young birds and those that have not yet formed a pair behave the same way. The duet call is also linked to the dance: the male first gives a long 'ko!', the female answers with a shorter, sharper 'kak-kak!' — the double sound can be heard from afar, and it simultaneously announces the pair to neighbors and strengthens the bond between partners.
The Crane in Japanese Culture: Banknote and Ainu Dance
- A symbol of longevity and the thousand paper cranes, sembazuru, are the most famous images associated with this bird in Japan.
- From 1984 to 2007, the tanchō was printed on the reverse of the 1,000-yen banknote — alongside the portrait of the writer Natsume Sōseki on the front.
- Among the Ainu of Hokkaido, the bird is revered as the marsh deity, Sarorun Kamuy, and they perform the 'crane dance,' sarorun chikap rimse, which imitates the bird's mating dance.
How the Tanchō Got on the Banknote
For the 1984-series 1,000-yen banknote, a photograph of a crane taken at the International Crane Center in Akan by Kushiro-born photographer Hayashita Tsuneo was used. The note with this image was issued until 2007, when it was replaced by a new-design banknote — a rare case where a specific Japanese bird, rather than an abstract pattern, entirely occupied the reverse of a monetary note.
FAQ
- How many Japanese cranes are there in the world?
- About 3,000 birds according to a 2018 estimate, of which 1,927 are in Japan — that is what the winter count of 2024 tallied, mainly in eastern Hokkaido. The rest belong to the mainland population, which nests in Russia and China and winters on the Korean Peninsula and in eastern China.
- Why do Japanese cranes dance?
- The dance strengthens the bond between partners in a pair and, together with the duet call, asserts territorial rights to neighbors. It is most often seen before nesting begins, but it is not only adult paired birds that dance — young cranes and those that have not yet found a partner behave the same way.
- What is the Japanese crane?
- One of the largest crane species: white plumage, black flight feathers on the wings, and bare red skin on the crown instead of feathers. The bird, thought extinct in Japan by the early 20th century, was rediscovered in 1924 in the Kushiro marshes of Hokkaido.
- What does the Japanese crane symbolize?
- In Japanese culture the crane is associated with longevity and the tradition of folding a thousand paper cranes, sembazuru. From 1984 to 2007 the bird was printed on the 1,000-yen banknote, and among the Ainu of Hokkaido a separate ritual dance is performed in its honor.
- Where does the Japanese crane live?
- Year-round in eastern Hokkaido, around Kushiro and Nemuro, where the species nests and stays in winter at feeding stations. A separate mainland population nests in Russia and northeastern China and winters on the Korean Peninsula and in eastern China.
- How is 'crane' written in Japanese?
- Any crane is 鶴, つる (tsuru). This species, 丹頂 (たんちょう), is called tanchō — 'scarlet crown' — or fully tanchōzuru, 丹頂鶴; in zoological texts the species name is usually written in katakana, タンチョウ, without the word 'crane' at the end.
Sources
Updated: 2026-09-22