How to Fold an Origami Crane

Many children around the world grow up with the story of Sadako and the 1,000 paper cranes. During this time of uncertainty, let’s all bring a little extra kindness into the world and fold some "orizuru," the Japanese word for origami crane. A "tsuru" (crane) symbolizes peace, compassion, hope, and healing, and the act of folding a crane (or attempting to fold a crane!) has helped people come together in times of uncertainty.
This video tutorial was created to accompany the exhibition "Under a Mushroom Cloud: Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Atomic Bomb," an exhibition commemorating the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombs dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As part of the exhibition, we encouraged visitors to take or make a crane and thus pass on the message of peace and hope. Now it’s your turn! Start with a square piece of paper and follow along with the video to try your hand at making a paper crane.
ABOUT SADAKO SASAKI
Born in Hiroshima, Japan, Sadako Sasaki was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city. When she was twelve, she contracted leukemia and was hospitalized. One of her roommates at the hospital told her about the Japanese belief that anyone who folds one thousand cranes would be granted a wish, so Sadako began folding cranes with the hope of recovering from her disease. Sadly, although she folded 1,300 cranes, she died on October 25, 1955.
Children all over Japan were so moved by her struggle that they petitioned for and raised money to build the Children’s Peace Monument in her honor at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in 1958. Symbolizing a cry for world peace, the monument is constantly surrounded by arrangements of origami cranes sent as tributes by people from all over the world.
Today, thanks to Sadako and the children of Japan, the practice of folding cranes as a gesture of peace has become commonplace. Whenever a major disaster strikes anywhere in the world, cranes are folded and sent to victims as a symbol of hope and recovery.
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Japanese American National Museum
100 N. Central Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
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