The legend and meaning of paper cranes

Senbazuru is a thousand origami cranes threaded together. It is a very common origami production.

There is an ancient Japanese legend that if someone folds a paper crane, the crane will grant one of his wishes, such as long life or recovery from a serious illness or injury. In Japan, cranes are sacred and mystical creatures similar to dragons and turtles, and are said to live up to a thousand years. In Asia, people cherish the wish that if they fold a thousand paper cranes, their wishes will come true, so the paper cranes have become a special occasion gift.

At weddings, paper cranes are also a traditional gift, expressing best wishes for the couple to be happy for a thousand years. Similarly, when blessing newborn babies, paper cranes also represent longevity and good luck. Paper cranes placed at home are believed to have the power to bring good luck and peace to the family. In Japan, paper cranes are believed to have the magical power of aging. When a girl reaches the age of 13, she often folds a thousand paper cranes and gives them to the boy she likes.

Sets of origami paper are very popular in Japan. The materials used to make the paper crane include more than 1,000 pieces of paper, thread and beads used at the ends of the thread to prevent the crane from slipping. Generally speaking, paper cranes are made into 25 strings with 40 paper cranes in each string. There is no requirement for the size of the paper used for the paper cranes, but considering the size and weight of a thousand paper cranes strung together, smaller paper would be better. The common size is 75*75mm. As a human being, there are also many people who cut square sheets of paper from readily available materials.

The paper craft paper used for paper cranes is usually a solid color, but patterned paper can also be used. Larger paper craft paper is usually 150*150mm, and often has traditional Japanese or flower designs on it, which are easily reminiscent of kimonos.

There is a man in Japan called Sadako A girl from Sasaki, who contracted leukemia due to the radiation from the atomic bomb in Hiroshima during World War II, had been folding origami cranes during her illness, hoping to fold a thousand origami cranes to fulfill her wish to survive, but she only folded 644. Her Her friends finished folding paper cranes for her and let her sleep with them. Because of this story, the paper crane was given the symbol of world peace. However, the original version of this story is recorded in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, in which she eventually folded a thousand paper cranes.

Her story was written in the book "Sadako and the Paper Cranes". In Tokyo and Hiroshima and other places, there are many temples that light everlasting lamps for peace. At the entrances of these temples, there are paper cranes hung by tourists praying for peace, just like the prayer flags in India and Tibet. These paper cranes are exposed to wind and sun day and night, and gradually become worn out, but they still carry people Blessings.

In Western countries, paper cranes are often given to cancer patients, and people also use paper cranes to express their condolences during funerals.