Friends, colleagues and family will watch me make Japanese origami cranes and ask, why I make them all the time. This is why. At restaurants, my servers will always have a tiny origami crane made from the napkin paper added to their tip. After long meetings, cranes made from gum or candy wrappers will be found on the tables. During airplane rides, little kids will be playing with the cranes I give them to keep them occupied.
And when I just need a fidget activity, my hands will go to work creating origami cranes. This started my crane-making obsession after she taught me how to make the origami cranes. During that time, my Japanese friend and I went into an elementary school, taught over students how to make the cranes and briefly explained the story about when someone gives you an origami crane, it represents friendship, good health and world peace.
The school turned it into an opportunity of global education and service learning as the students gave their cranes to the Make a Wish Foundation to give to the children in the hospital to make wishes for good health. According to Japanese tradition, folding 1, paper cranes gives a person a chance to make one special wish come true. The crane is believed to live for 1, years and that is the meaning behind 1, an individual needs to fold.
It is here I found why the origami crane has become a symbol of peace and because of the young Japanese girl named Sadako Sasaki who died of leukemia from the atomic bomb. I learned the ceremonial process, made and placed a golden origami crane under her statue, and I continue sharing the story with whomever I meet. Her Japanese host sister had a certified origami crane that she made placed at the Peace Memorial for her Michigan sister. This shows how the event between two cultures continues to be shared in a peaceful way.
My crane-folding passion became stronger after I found out that a childhood best friend had cancer. According to the tradition, anyone with the patience and commitment to fold 1, paper cranes will be granted their most desired wish because they have presented the cranes' loyalty and refashioned their beauty.
Knowing this, I made my friend 1, origami cranes and my wish was for her good health and to beat the cancer. She had never stopped making cranes, even though her health condition had been worse. By the time she passed away, it is believed she made 1, to 1, cranes. Since then, Senba zuru has become widespread as a symbol of peace as you know. Today, paper cranes are being recognized as a symbol for praying for peace and overcoming difficulties. It makes us heartwarming that many people praying for peace and reconstruction will send paper cranes not only to the monument in Hiroshima but also to places damaged by natural disasters worldwide.
I visited the Pearl harbor national memorial in Hawaii, and I saw many paper cranes hoping for peace. There is no specific way on how to make a thousand paper cranes, it is common practice to pass 20 to paper cranes through a single thread and tie beads, buttons, or a small piece of plastic straw on the bottom as a stopper.
If you are concerned about space, it is better to keep it closed. Some people say making a head part folding a neck brings bad luck, but it seems not true. I highly recommend using Japanese-imported Origami paper , because the Japanese one is thinner than one made in other countries so it is easier to fold the details.
For Japanese people, a thousand crane symbolizes not only the symbol of peace but also a prayer for the recovery from the ill, or to carry good luck, or as the dedication to the sacred place. It is believed that Japanese origami began in the 6th century and because of the high costs of paper, origami was only used for religious ceremonial purposes.
In Japan, the crane is a mystical creature and is believed to live for a thousand years. As a result, in the Japanese, Chinese and Korean culture, the crane represents good fortune and longevity. The wings of the crane were believed to carry souls up to paradise.
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