Thousand cranes
Kyushu, Japan
Paper-folding, or origami, is an ancient Japanese art. Almost every Japanese kids learns how to fold a crane -- the unofficial national bird of Japan. A thousand cranes folded in paper is a true blessing. This one hangs in a shrine, where people post their prayers and petitions.
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kanako onishi writes:
On a Japanese shrine's board, people put papers on which they wrote their wishes such as having an bouncing baby or success in a University exam. In this picture, somebody hung the string of a thousand Origami cranes called 'Senba-zuru'. People make a
thousand of cranes prayng something such as a victory of sports competetion, a recovery from illness, and so on.
Alexander writes:
The crane is also a traditional symbol of hope and peace.
Rachel writes:
16 years ago, when my husband was battling cancer, his mother was living in Japan. She told her friends and colleagues about his illness, and they responded by making him a beautiful, rainbow-colored mobile like the one in your picture. It hung over our bed and made us constantly aware of the blessings and good wishes of people far away. After he died I passed it along to someone else who was ill, and I hope it still circulates its good energy in the world.
Tessa writes:
When I was about twelve years old I started to make these little cranes, intent on making a thousand. I really can't say what made me want to do it, but I kept all that I made in bags in my room. A few years later when I was a sophomore in high school my classmates and I found out that the girl who sat next to me in homeroom was sick with leukemia. Our teacher suggested that we make a thousand cranes as a present and asked if anyone knew how to make them. I awkwardly raised my hand and replied that I had about 650 sitting in my bedroom. With those and the rest the class made we managed to give her the thousand by the end of the year. Two years later she is in full remission. I just find it a bit odd that for whatever reason one person starts something in their life, almost forgets about it and a few years later her life picks it up again as if it had been planned all along.