![PaperCranes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/PaperCranes.jpg)
The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
and the
tortoise
Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...
) and is said to live for a thousand years: That is why cranes are made, one for each year. In some stories it is believed that the 1000 cranes must be completed within one year and they must all be made by the person (or group of people) who will make the wish at the end.
Cultural significance
In Japan cranes have been thought a symbol of long life. An old fix phrases says "cranes live a thousand years". Here "a thousand" is not necessary to designate the exact number, but a poetic expression of huge amounts. Historically well-wishers offered a picture of a crane to shrines and temples as well as paper cranes. Origami, specially crafted and pattern-printed paper was invented in Edo period, and in the late 17th century books referring not only to "paper cranes" but also to "one thousand cranes" were publish
Nowadays cranes are often given to a person who is seriously ill, to wish for their recovery. They are usually created by friends, classmates, or colleagues as a collective effort, offered to a shrine or a shrine on the person's behalf or directly gifted to. Another common use is for sport teams or athletes, wishing them victories. Nowadays cranes are also a symbol of peace, and are thus often seen at war memorialsm along with its original meaning for wishing good health.
Several temples, including some in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
and
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
, have eternal flames for world peace. At these temples, school groups or individuals often donate senbazuru to add to the prayer for peace. The cranes are left exposed to the elements, slowly becoming tattered and dissolving as symbolically, the wish is released. In this way, they are related to the
prayer flags
A Tibetan prayer flag is a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Prayer flags are believed to have originated withi ...
of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
.
The Japanese space agency
JAXA
The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...
used the folding of one thousand cranes as one of the tests for candidates of its astronaut program.
['' Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void'', by ]Mary Roach
Mary Roach (born March 20, 1959) is an American author specializing in popular science and humor. She has published six New York Times bestsellers: '' Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers'' (2003), '' Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife ...
File:Peace flame in Tokyo.jpg, Eternal flame of peace, with cranes, in Ueno Tōshō-gū
is a Tōshō-gū Shinto shrine located in the Taitō ward of Tokyo, Japan.
First established in 1627 by Tōdō Takatora and renovated in 1651 by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the shrine has remained mostly intact since that time, making it a great example o ...
shrine, Tokyo, Japan.
File:Grus japonensis and chick -San Diego Zoo-8a.jpg, The Japanese crane
The red-crowned crane (''Grus japonensis''), also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane (; the Chinese character '丹' means 'red', '頂/顶' means 'crown' and '鶴/鹤' means 'crane'), is a large East Asian crane among the rarest cran ...
(丹頂)
File:Cranes made by Origami paper.jpg, Traditional Japanese origami cranes
Sadako Sasaki
The one thousand origami cranes were originally popularized through the story of
Sadako Sasaki
was a Japanese girl who became a victim of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. She was two years of age when the bombs were dropped and was severely irradiated. She survived for another ten years, becoming one ...
, a Japanese girl who was two years old when she was exposed to
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
from the
atomic bombing of
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Sasaki soon developed
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
and, at age 12 after spending a significant amount of time in a hospital, began making origami cranes with the goal of making one thousand, inspired by the senbazuru legend. In a fictionalized version of the story as told in the book ''
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
''Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes'' is a children's historical novel written by Canadian-American author Eleanor Coerr and published in 1977. It is based on the story of Sadako Sasaki.
The book has been translated into many languages and ...
'', she folded only 644 before she became too weak to fold anymore, and died on 25 of October 1955. To honor her memory, her classmates agreed to fold the remaining 356 cranes for her. In the version of the story told by her family and classmates, the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is a museum located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in central Hiroshima, Japan, dedicated to documenting the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II.
The museum was established in August 1955 with the H ...
states that she did complete the 1,000 cranes and continued past that when her wish failed to come true. There is a statue of Sadako holding a crane in
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
is a memorial park in the center of Hiroshima, Japan. It is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear attack at the end of World War II, and to the memorie ...
, and every year on
Obon day, people leave cranes at the statue in memory of the departed spirits of their ancestors.
According to her family, and especially her older brother Masahiro Sasaki, who speaks on his sister's life at events, Sadako not only exceeded 644 cranes, she exceeded her goal of 1,000 and died having folded approximately 1,400 paper cranes. In his book, ''The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki'', co-written with
Sue DiCicco
Sue DiCicco (born April 28, 1959) is an American sculptor, children's book author and illustrator, and founder of Armed with the Arts and the Peace Crane Project.
Career
DiCicco was born in Southern California, and started in the film industry ...
, founder of the Peace Crane Project, Masahiro says Sadako exceeded her goal.
Materials
Sets of origami
paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...
are sold widely in Japan, with senbazuru sets including about one thousand sheets of paper, string, and beads to place at the end of each string to stop the cranes from slipping off.
Commonly, the cranes are assembled as 25 strings of 40 cranes each.
The size of the origami paper does not matter when assembling a thousand paper cranes, but smaller sheets consequently yield smaller and lighter strings of cranes. The most popular size for senbazuru is . Some people cut their own squares of paper from anything available, such as magazines, newspapers, notebooks, and printer paper.
Origami paper
Origami paper is used to fold ''origami'', the art of paper folding. The only real requirement of the folding medium is that it must be able to hold a crease, but should ideally also be thinner than regular paper for convenience when multiple fol ...
used for senbazuru is usually of a solid color, though patterned designs are available. Larger size origami paper, usually 6×6 inches, often has traditional Japanese or flower designs, reminiscent of
kimono
The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...
patterns.
See also
*
Children's Peace Monument
The is a monument for peace to commemorate Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of child victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. This monument is located in Hiroshima, Japan. Sadako Sasaki, a young girl, died of leukemia from radiation of the ato ...
*
Kunihiko Kasahara (See Vol. 3 of his listed publications)
*
Orizuru
The ''orizuru'' (折鶴 ''ori-'' "folded," ''tsuru'' "crane"), or paper crane, is a design that is considered to be the most classic of all Japanese origami.Jccc Origami Crane Project – Materials For Teachers & Students. MEANING OF THE ORIGAM ...
* ''
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
''Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes'' is a children's historical novel written by Canadian-American author Eleanor Coerr and published in 1977. It is based on the story of Sadako Sasaki.
The book has been translated into many languages and ...
''
*
Sadako Sasaki
was a Japanese girl who became a victim of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. She was two years of age when the bombs were dropped and was severely irradiated. She survived for another ten years, becoming one ...
Notes and references
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thousand Origami Cranes
1000 (number)
Japanese culture
Origami
Peace symbols