Japanese people have a custom of decorate gifts with strings called mizuhiki. Mizuhiki is a special string made by twisting a long and thin sheet of paper mixed with seaweed and white clay and hardened with paste. Kaga mizuhiki uses gold leaf and silver leaf abundantly, and it is knitted skillfully into shapes of pine, bamboo, and plum trees, cranes, or tortoises that are considered as bringers of good luck. Kaga mizuhiki is indispensable to auspicious occasions, such as ceremonial exchanges of betrothal gifts.