Senbazuru have become strong symbols of world peace with the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died of leukemia following the bombing of Hiroshima. She was buried with the thousand paper cranes she folded while in the hospital. Today, senbazuru are left on temples with eternal flames for World Peace, along with a prayer for peace.
While folding one thousand paper cranes is a large undertaking, putting them together into a senbazuru is pretty easy! When you are done, you can hang it for good luck, or wish goodluck on someone else by giving it away.
Step 1
Cut a long length of thread--better to have too much than too little.
Step 2
Thread your sewing or dollmaking needle.
Step 3
Tie a bead (see "Things You'll Need" for other suggestions) at the bottom of the thread to ensure the cranes don't fall off.
Step 4
Push the needle up through the hole at the bottom of each crane.
Step 5
Repeat Step 4 until you have completed the strand.
Step 6
Tie a loop in the top of the strand and hang the strand from a hook, nail, chair, doorknob, or anyplace you can admire your progress and keep your cranes neat.
Step 7
After you have completed all of the strands, tie them together at the top to a ring so the entire senbazuru can hang freely.
Step 8
Congratulate yourself! You've made something beautiful and meaningful.
Tips
- Decide how long you want your strands to be before starting. Traditionally, the thousand cranes are divided so that the strands are even. You may want 50 strands of 20 cranes each, or 40 strands of 25 cranes, or even 20 strands of 50 cranes...you're the artist, you decide.
- Some people add one extra crane for extra good luck.
- Decide if you want a color scheme: rainbow effect, light to dark, smooth paper or textured paper. There are virtually endless possibilities.
- Instead of a craft ring, you can take a long piece of floral wire and twist it into a circle, rectangle, triangle, or whatever other shape you want to hang your strands from.
- Some schools pool their resources when a student or teacher is in the hospital, with each member of the school folding one or two cranes and then taking the finished senbazuru to the hospital.
Things You'll Need
- 1,000 paper cranes
- Sewing needle or dollmaking needle (if the cranes are large)
- Thread, dental floss, fishing line, or any similar product.
- Small beads, charms, small rolls of paper, or small sticks to finish the strands.
- A small ring or similar object to enable hanging the completed project.
- Optional: A few friends
