Senbazuru – Journey of a Thousand Cranes

Sadako Sasaki was a young girl, about two, when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima. Living a mile away from ground zero, she was at home when the bomb hit. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Her friend came to visit her in the hospital with a single sheet of golden paper and told Sadako of the legend of the thousand cranes. 

In Japan, it is said that the crane lives 1000 years and that if you fold 1000 origami cranes, you will be granted a wish. With this in mind, Sadako started folding cranes. Unfortunately, she died only having completed 644 cranes. Her friends and family are said to have finished the rest and buried them with her. 

To this day Sadako is memorialized in the book Sadako and The Thousand Paper Cranes and her memorial statue (shown below).

Senbazuru can be given as a wedding gift to wish the couple many years of happiness or a gift for a newborn baby for a long life. It is said that having a senbazuru in your home will bring prosperity and good luck as well.

The thousand cranes have become and international symbol of world peace.