Senbazuru: A Thousand Origami Cranes

In Japan the crane is regarded as a symbol of good fortune. it represents a long life, since its believed

that they live 1000 years, and of fidelity since Japanese cranes mate for life.  Senbazuru is a word that means 1000 cranes and was popularized by the a legend that says that whoever fold 1000 origami cranes will have a wish granted to them by, what else, a crane.  The legend sometimes says that besides the wish one is granted eternal good luck, a long life or recovery from illness.  Now a days though these thousand cranes are made and given to others as gift hoping that they will have a happy life.

The topic of Senbazuru would not be complete though if we didn't talk about the sad but beautiful story of Sadako Sasaki, because of her the Senbazuru is also a symbol of hope and peace.  Sadako was born during World War II  and was two years old when the bombs fell on Hiroshima even after this she grew up to become a healthy and happy girl.  In 6th grade she was the fastest runner in her school and dreamed of becoming a physical education teacher.  At the age of 11 though she was diagnosed with Leukemia which was caused by the radiation she was exposed to after the bombing.   While in the hospital she heard the story of Senbazuru. So she began making the cranes and hoped that by folding all the cranes she would get well again.  She died by the end of that year, there are some versions of the story that say that she did not finish making the thousand cranes while there are others that say that she did.   Never the less a statue was put up in Hiroshima after her death to honor her and all the children that died because of the bombing.  The statue depicts Sadako holding a paper crane and it reads "This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth."  The story of Sadako was also made into a book which tells the whole story of her life.