Probably one of the most famous origami in Japan is the crane. It is one of the classic pieces in the art of paper folding. Some even attempted to fold a thousand of these cranes in accordance to the legend that whoever folds a thousand of it will be granted one wish from the gods.
The popular legend became widespread when the story of Sadako Sasaki came out. Sadako was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima. Though she and her family were not extremely affected by the bomb, the radiation affected Sadako and ten years after the incident, she developed leukemia. She was hospitalized for a long time and it was then when she decided to fold a thousand paper cranes to grant her wish. Contrary to popular stories that she didn’t actually finish a thousand paper cranes, her family claims that she actually did. Sadako folded almost 1,400 paper cranes which her family kept. Her friends and classmates also folded 1000 cranes which was buried with her. To honor Sadako Sasaki’s death, every year during Obon, cranes are placed on her statue at the Hiroshima Peace Park.
The crane is one of Japan’s sacred animals and is said to live for a thousand years, thus folding a crane out of a thousand symbolizes a year in the crane’s life. In some versions of the legend, it is said that a person must be able to fold all 1000 cranes in a single year and make a wish at the end. The person must also keep all 1000 of them and pray to the gods to grant her wish.
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