The Red Thread of Fate, also referred to as the Red Thread of Marriage, the Red String of Destiny, and other variants is an East Asian belief that originated from Chinese mythology, usually thought of as an invisible red string around the fingers of those destined to meet one another eventually because they are their true love, that is, an invisible thread that connects lovers.
The symbology behind the red thread of fate permeates a lot of East Asian entertainment productions, such as the recent webtoon and K-Drama Tomorrow and the anime feature movie Your Name, and it can also explain major points and elements in Naruto and Hinata’s love story. That said, it is not an uncommon trope in anime.
The Red Scarf Is The Red Thread of Fate
Yué Xiá Lǎorén (月下老人, the Old Man Under the Moon), the old lunar matchmaker god, in the Chinese original version of the legend, tied the thread around both parties’ ankles. In the Japanese version, it is traditionally bound from a man’s thumb to a woman’s pinky finger; however, it became more common nowadays to show both parties with the read thread attached to their pinkies.
In Naruto, two points regarding Hinata and Naruto’s connection and relationship that the fandom could deem weird, inconsistent, or even absurd, actually make all sense by considering the culture and reality behind the anime, which was also confirmed in The Last: Naruto The Movie, when, after Naruto’s proposal to Hinata, her Tears of Joy turn into a nonphysical version of the red scarf she had been trying to give him all this time, symbolizing that her feelings finally reached his heart, putting the threads together.
Because of its symbolism, it is as though the red scarf itself is the main character in this movie, the most important character that, once and for all, brings together and ties these two lovers. Serving as a bridge and also tying in the story of the series at the time of its release and the anticipated final chapter of the manga, The Last: Naruto The Movie envelops the blossoming romance between Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga.
While most people state that it makes no sense at all when Naruto changes his red scarf for a green one, and Hinata seems to get jealous of it, it is not jealousy at all, but she might have seen it as a betrayal, a way of Naruto’s cutting their connection, which was established as a meant-to-be connection by the matchmaker God himself when they were tied though the red thread of fate, according to the legend.
Not Instantaneous Love, But Premonition Of Love
The red thread of fate also explains the apparent instantaneous love Hinata feels for Naruto, without barely knowing him or even speaking to him (and that is quite hard for her too, for a while, to have proper conversations with him). Since it connects two lovers, they can recognize each other in other lives, but sometimes only one of the partners does so.
Despite being widespread that Koreans tend to fall in love very fast, and Naruto is a Japanese animation, Japanese people, while known as more reserved, are not strangers to that. They even have the phrase "Hitomebore," which means "love at first sight," as well as “Koi No Yokan,” meaning “the premonition of love.”