1000 Cranes Of Hope
By: Shannon Stephenson
Origins of the Paper Crane Tradition
A tradition in ancient japanese culture is if you fold a thousand paper cranes you will be granted one wish. These wishes can be health, love, and long life. Many groups of people join together to complete this task of love. This tradition became very popular during WWII because of bombings and people needed a source of hope.
The Bombings Of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
During WWII in 1945 America dropped atomic bombs in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These bombings killed 140,000 people and caused mass amounts of destruction. The bombs cause many after effects and deaths such as radiation illnesses, burns, and many other injuries. Japan surrendered soon after the bombings.
Sadako Sasaki & The Project
Sadako Sasaki was a japanese girl who remembered the story of the thousand paper cranes during the the atomic bombings. A friend of hers visited the hospital and folded a paper crane for her. Sadako completed 644 before she died. People all over the world were inspired and folded paper cranes too. The thousand cranes of hope created a project for it. The goal is to spread the word about the project and have people do the same.