Origami cranes at the Children's Peace Monument in Hiroshima
Origami is the art of folding paper. Although it began in China, where paper was invented, it was the Japanese who developed it into an art form.
The crane is a popular origami shape that has a special meaning. In Japan, cranes have long been symbols of honor, loyalty, and long life. They are known as the "bird of happiness." An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds one thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish.
Origami cranes have also become symbols of the desire for world peace, through the true story of Sadako Sasaki. Sadako was a Japanese girl who lived in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped on it in World War II. Years after the bombing, she became sick with leukemia from the bomb's radiation. You can read about her story in the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr.
Today, people from all over the world send about 10 million origami cranes to Hiroshima each year, to be placed at the Children's Peace Memorial. To find out more about this, go the Kid's Peace Station website.
