What Do Origami Cranes Symbolize? Here's How to Fold Them and What They Mean
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When you think of origami, the Japanese art of folding paper into shapes, you may automatically associate the word with the image of a paper crane. It's a well-known origami shape because of the paper crane's meaning. This bird holds mythological significance in Japanese culture, representing good luck, longevity, and protection.
The paper crane also became a prominent symbol of peace in the years following World War II, tied to the story of Sadako Sasaki. Sadako was a young girl who survived the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, but she developed leukemia in the following years as a result of radiation poisoning. She was admitted to the hospital at age 12, and shortly after, she was inspired to start folding origami paper cranes after learning that they were a symbol of healing. Legend has it that a crane can live up to 1,000 years, so anyone who could fold 1,000 paper cranes could have a wish granted. Sadako first wished for her own health, then for the well-being of others, then for world peace.
Decades after her death, Sadako's wish for peace still lives on. In 1977, her story was popularized in the children's book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr. And visitors today at the Children's Peace Monument in Hiroshima, Japan and the Peace Park in Seattle, Washington continue to lay wreaths of 1,000 paper cranes at the foot of Sadako's memorial statues in tribute.
Whether you'd like to make your own wreath to amplify Sadako's wish for peace, a family of cranes to cheer up a friend, or a simple, single crane for yourself, here are the step-by-step instructions for how to make a paper crane.
How to Make a Paper Crane
Supplies:
Square piece of paper (ours was 7x7 inches)
Instructions:
Fold the paper in half crosswise so that it makes an X-shaped crease.
Open up the paper and flip it over. Fold it in half side-to-side so that the unfolded paper now has eight sections. Unfold the paper.
Angling the paper like a diamond and following the horizontal crease in the center, push the paper in along this crease and flatten. It should create a small square shape with two layers.
Positioning the “open” corner of this shape at the bottom, fold in the top layer of one side corner to line up in the middle.
Repeat on the opposite side and fold down the top corner on top.
Unfold the top corner and the two side folds. Open up the shape from the bottom while pressing the two sides in to create a slim diamond shape.
Flip the shape around to the back to repeat the same steps. Fold in the top layer of one side corner to line up in the middle, repeat on the opposite side, and fold down the top corner on top.
Unfold the top corner and the two side folds. Open up the shape from the bottom while pressing the two sides in to create a slim diamond shape.
Fold up the two lower halves of the diamond on top of the shape so they’re angled away from the center.
Unfold these sections. Then, open up one side of the diamond and fold one of the lower halves inside of it instead of on top. Repeat this on the other side.
Fold down both middle points to be the crane's wings.
Choose which end will be the head. Tuck in the end of the folded edge so it angles downward. Then, you're done!
Product Credits: Hallmark Modern Metallics Reversible Wrapping Paper
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