Two years ago, this October, I was on a senior class trip to Hiroshima, Japan. My whole class was frantically trying to fold 1,000 paper cranes collectively. Why, you ask? Because the crane is a symbol of hope and peace in Japan.
Photo courtesy of Deviant Art
As many of us know, Hiroshima was hit by an atomic bomb in 1945. The bomb destroyed the whole city, with the radiation affecting the citizens for years afterwards. Despite this tragedy, the Japanese now use this event as a cry for world peace through the story of Sadako Sasaki.
Photo courtesy of readthespirit.com
Sadako Sasaki was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped. Although she survived the bomb, the radiation later had a devastating effect on her life. By the time she was twelve years old, Sadako developed leukemia, also known as the “atomic bomb disease.” To keep her hopes up, Sadako started to fold 1,000 paper cranes. According to Japanese legends, if one folds over 1,000 cranes they are granted one wish. Sadako’s wish was to live; however, her wish never came true.
Today, people all over Japan present 1,000 cranes to a statue of Sadako in Hiroshima Peace Park to honor her legacy. This statue, called the Children’s Peace Monument, was put in place to honor all the children who died of atomic bomb disease.
Photo courtesy of Flickr
Cranes are not only presented in Japan, but also in other places around the world. I have even seen cranes placed on top of a furnace in the crematorium at the concentration camp, Buchenwald. Sadako’s brother, Masahiro Sasako, has also donated a few of Sadako’s folded cranes to places such as the 9/11 memorial and the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Photo courtesy of Tori Duncan
Folding 1,000 cranes came to popularity over a horrific event; however, the meaning these cranes hold is something very beautiful.