Good Luck Cranes ~ Superstitious Japan
That's a lot of cranes...
Most of you probably know that origami cranes (orizuru, 折鶴) are good luck in Japan. The fold is a very traditional one and relatively simple to do, making it something nearly everyone can make.
What you may not know is that folding 1000 of them is extremely lucky. Senbazuru (千羽鶴) is the name for this group. The idea comes from an old Japanese legend that states anyone who folds 1000 orizuru will get a wish from the gods. Some versions of the story say you get long life instead of a wish, others say general good health. Either way, the basic idea is that folding 1000 of these things will net you some kind of good fortune. The catch is that all the orizuru have to be folded by the same person and they must all be folded in a year.
Usually the 1000 orizuru are strung together and hung up. Due to the legend they are popular as gifts, such as from the father of the bride to the couple or to new babies. You can also often spot them hanging out at shrines, which is where I took the above photo.
Maybe the most famous place to see them is at the Hiroshima Peace Park. This is because of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who developed leukemia when she was 12 due to the atomic bomb and who attempted to fold 1000 orizuru to wish for good health. She only reached 644 before she died, but her memory is honored with many senbazuru at the park. It’s thought that her story is why they are so popular these days.
Have you ever tried to fold an origami crane? Have you ever tried to fold 1000 of them? Give it a shot!
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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
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Oh, shoot! This made me sad.
But a thousand pieces of that have a lot of hard work. 💕 Kudos to those who can finish it. May I ask how much time does one crane take?
Not long, maybe 30 seconds—a minute or two max. It's not a lot of folds, and once you do it a few times you can master the fold easily. The problem with folding 1000 of them isn't the time it takes, it's that doing the same thing 1000 times can get boring. But a few a day and you can do 1000 in a year easily!
Ahh, yes! I forgot that repetitive folding especially a thousand times can be so boring 😅 (for some people, which includes me, hehe). But, I bet it will be so much fun to do if you have great circles around you who are doing the same thing 😍
Would like to have one of these! Being in Japan would be a dream come true! Super thank you for sharing its great culture! (but somehow, with a sad story :<)
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I love Orizuru a lot. I did an origami workshop with elementary school in Canada before but it was a pretty challenging activity for them to make cranes as a first origami experience. They were surprised by the 1000 origami cranes story. Yes, it is a long process to make a 1000!
That's great that you did a workshop for teaching it. I bet they all enjoyed. I was first exposed to origami in second grade, so I suppose I was 7. I don't remember what we folded, but that experience made me love origami all through my childhood.
I guess I didn't consider the experience of kids when I said it was an easy fold. My son also can't do it well. His favorite origami is to make shuriken and hearts because they are so simple so he can do it easily. But when he tries to fold a crane he gives up.