Red string of fate (akai ito)

It is said in the Japanese folklore that when a man and a woman marry, they are destined from the time of their birth as evidenced by an invisible "akai ito (red thread)" which tie them together.

The red string of fate (simplified Chinese:姻缘红線; traditional Chinese: 姻緣紅線;pinyin: Yīnyuán hóngxiàn), also referred to as the red string of marriage, and other variants, is an East Asian belief originating from Chinese legend and is also used inJapanese legend. According to this myth, the gods tie an invisible red cord around the ankles of those that are destined to meet one another in a certain situation or help each other in a certain way. Often, in Japanese culture, it is thought to be tied around the little finger. According to Chinese legend, the deity in charge of "the red thread" is believed to be Yue Xia Lao (月下老), often abbreviated to Yue Lao (月老), the old lunar matchmaker god, who is in charge of marriages.

The two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of place, time, or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break. This myth is similar to the Western concept of soulmate or a destined flame.

Folklore

One story featuring the red string of fate involves a young boy. Walking home one night, a young boy sees an old man (Yue Xia Lao) standing beneath the moonlight. The man explains to the boy that he is attached to his destined wife by a red thread. Yue Xia Lao shows the boy the young girl who is destined to be his wife. Being young and having no interest in having a wife, the young boy picks up a rock and throws it at the girl, running away. Many years later, when the boy has grown into a young man, his parents arrange a wedding for him. On the night of his wedding, his wife waits for him in their bedroom, with the traditional veil covering her face. Raising it, the man is delighted to find that his wife is one of the great beauties of his village. However, she wears an adornment on her eyebrow. He asks her why she wears it and she responds that when she was a young girl, a boy threw a rock at her that struck her, leaving a scar on her eyebrow. She self-consciously wears the adornment to cover it up. The woman is, in fact, the same young girl connected to the man by the red thread shown to him by Yue Xia Lao back in his childhood, showing that they were connected by the red string of fate.

credit and source: WIKIPEDIA