Sasaki sadako paper cranes. The tragic fate of a girl from Hiroshima: How the Japanese legend of a thousand paper cranes made the whole world empathize with what happened next

Hello dear readers of Inventory! Due to the wide popularity origami crafts We decided to open the ““ section on the website. In it we will talk about this amazing Japanese art of creation, and also help you learn manufacture the most diverse origami crafts.

We will begin our acquaintance with origami with the legends thanks to which this type paper modeling became known throughout the world.

The Legend of the Origami Paper Crane

The most famous legend about this Japanese art that has come down to us is directly related to the origami figurine - paper crane. In Eastern culture, the crane symbolizes love, faith and hope. From the legend it follows that if you put together a thousand similar figurines and then give them to the people around you, your most cherished wish can come true. According to legend, a long time ago there lived on earth a poor master who devoted his entire life to origami. He was very kind to everyone and everything around him. His main occupation was folding various figures from sheets of paper, which he distributed to the children. One day he met a wandering monk on the way and gave him a figurine of a crane. This touched the monk, and he said: “Stack your figures further. The main thing is your belief in their importance. Even if there is war around, stay true to your art, and it will thank you by making you rich and famous.” After some time, the war actually began. The young went to fight in this long and bloody war. And the poor master stubbornly continued to collect his figures, which irritated the people around him. Angry, the neighbors decided to burn down his house, but once there, they were delighted with the variety and splendor of the figurines. Good master He gave each of the people who entered his house a figurine he liked. In front of the guests, the master made a crane out of a leaf, which came to life in his hands and flew away - he was a messenger of peace. People were inspired, believed in themselves, and soon won the war.

At the end of the Second World War, the crane became the personification of peace and freedom.

The Legend of the Origami Ball

Another ancient legend said that origami figures contain part of the soul of the person who made them. People believed that by folding the figures, a person puts a part of himself into them. They say that one day One rich man was thanked by presenting him with a large origami ball. But the rich man did not find a place for it in his house and gave it to his elderly mother, who lived nearby. One day her son fell ill, but the evil daughter-in-law did not allow her mother to visit. After his death, when the mother was told about what had happened, she already knew everything, because at the moment of her son’s death, the ball that he gave her fell and crumbled into pieces. According to the Japanese, if a master's gift suddenly deteriorates or breaks, then the master himself will fall ill. Believing in these signs, origamists ask to keep their gift as a talisman and rarely give the made figurines to strangers.

Origami crafts bring good luck

The Japanese believe in the success and good fortune that origami talismans bring. Therefore, they are often used as symbols. For example, the icon of the Mitsubishi automobile company is an origami figurine. If people believe in the good power of the figurine, it immediately becomes a talisman for good luck.

The Legend of Origami Flowers

This is reflected in another interesting legend. Once upon a time there lived a rich girl who did not want accept the advances of a poor young man. In turn, the persistent lover put a bouquet of flowers on her windowsill every day. When winter came and fresh flowers disappeared, he began to make them from paper, putting all his love into them. Usually the maid threw flowers from the windowsill, but one day she didn’t do this and the girl picked up a paper daffodil of extraordinary beauty, exuding a real, living aroma. Then she realized the power of the poor young man's love and accepted his advances.

Origami figures cure diseases

Origami figures created by human hands actually have a special energy. It has been proven that in rooms where origami is used as decoration, positive energy is many times greater than that in ordinary rooms. Therefore, they are even trying to use origami figures to cure diseases.

And for dessert, we suggest you see how to make a skeleton hand using origami technique.

Tsuru (on Japanese) means crane. A bird with a long neck in China and Japan was considered a symbol of good luck and long life. The Japanese have been folding cranes with love and care for at least two hundred years.

In Hiroshima, monuments have been erected to a little schoolgirl named Sadako Sasaki. She was not even two years old when Hiroshima was bombed by the atomic bomb. Sadako was then close to the explosion of an atomic bomb. It would seem that the girl did not suffer at all and grew up sweet, smart and healthy.

She ran the fastest in her class and was fond of sports. Her parents died from radiation exposure, and she lived with her uncle's family. And after 10 years, the girl began to get very sick, as she was irradiated by a nuclear explosion. Sadako was taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with Leukemia (blood cancer). In order to somehow distract the girl, the doctor told her about an ancient Japanese legend, which says that if a seriously ill person makes 1000 paper cranes, then any of his wishes will come true.

With weakening fingers, Sadako bent the pieces of paper, hoping that the almighty God would restore her health and allow her to return to her peers. She worked every free minute, making cranes from any paper, even from medicinal recipes. The story about the girl was written in newspapers in different countries. People from all over the world, having learned about Sadako, folded the cranes and sent them to Japan. On October 25, 1955, Sadako died. The 644th crane fell out of the girl’s hands, and she fell asleep forever.

Her classmates appealed to the authorities with a request to erect a monument to Sadako and all the children who died from the atomic bombing. In 1958, a monument depicting Sadako Sasaki holding a paper crane was erected in Hiroshima's Peace Park using private donations. On the pedestal it is written:

"This is our cry,

This is our prayer

World peace".

Every year people bring thousands of paper cranes to the monument.

Monuments have been erected to the courageous little girl Sadako Sasaki in many cities around the world. This statue is from the Sadako Peace Park in the American city of Seattle.

On October 26, 2000, the Student Association of the Municipal Youth High School Nobori-cho unveiled a monument to the paper crane.

So the paper crane became a symbol of peace, like a dove. And the whole world learned about origami.

The version reflected in the song that Sadako did not have time to make a thousand cranes, but only 644, and her friends added the missing ones after Sadako’s death, is a work of fiction. It originates in the novel by American writer Eleanor Koerr Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes." In reality, Sadako folded her thousand cranes, but this did not restore her health.

Nowadays, the legend that cranes made of paper can make a wish come true is known all over the world. But few remember the tragic circumstances under which this legend became publicly known. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945 affected tens of thousands of Japanese, including a little girl whose symptoms did not appear until 9 years later. The legend of a thousand paper cranes was her last hope - like many Japanese, she believed that they could fulfill her deepest desire...

And today, debate continues about how justified the US actions were in 1945. Many historians believe that the issue of Japan’s surrender was resolved, there was no military need to accelerate events, and the United States carried out bombings for the sole purpose of demonstrating its nuclear power . , do not let us forget about its consequences for all humanity.

A friend told me... yes, everyone has read this legend, but still...

In Japan, paper cranes are considered a symbol of good luck and longevity.

There is a tradition based on a beautiful legend: “If you fold a thousand paper cranes with love and care, give them to those around you, and receive a thousand smiles in return, all your wishes will come true.”

Japanese girl Sadako Sasaki (January 7, 1943 - October 25, 1955), irradiated during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Her house was located a mile from the explosion, yet outwardly she continued to grow up as a healthy child. Signs of the disease appeared in November 1954, on February 18, 1955 he was diagnosed with leukemia, and on February 21 he was admitted to the hospital. According to doctors' forecasts, she had no more than a year to live. August 3, 1955 her best friend Chizuko Hamamoto brought her a piece of golden paper and folded it into a crane, recalling the Japanese belief that the wish of a person who folds a thousand paper cranes will come true.

The legend influenced Sadako, and she began to fold cranes from any pieces of paper that fell into her hands. According to the legend from the book “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes”, she managed to make only 644 cranes. Her friends finished their work and Sadako was buried along with a thousand paper cranes.

A monument was built in memory of Sadako and all the other children who died from the atomic bombing. Young people from all over Japan raised funds for this project, and in 1958 a statue depicting Sadako holding a paper crane was erected in the Peace Park in Hiroshima. On the pedestal of the statue is written: “This is our cry. This is our prayer. World peace". The little courageous girl became a symbol of rejection of nuclear war, a symbol of protest against war.

In 1990, a monument to Sadako was erected in Peace Park in Seattle (USA), in 1995 - a Children's Peace Statue in Santa Fe (USA, New Mexico - the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was made in this state; the statue in Santa Fe - "sister" of the Hiroshima Children's Memorial), in the same year the Sadako Peace Garden was opened in Santa Barbara with a stone engraved with a crane. In 2000, a monument to a golden paper crane was erected near Sadako's school in Hiroshima.

It is believed that 10 thousand paper cranes will save one life.

Cranes are a symbol of purity, happiness, honesty, and readiness for selfless help. The Japanese called cranes “people in feathers,” and called the bird “the Honorable Mr. Crane.” The Japanese crane is the hero of many fairy tales and legends. For the Japanese, the crane symbolizes longevity and prosperity. Strangely united into one hieroglyph with the tsurukame turtle, the crane became a wish for long life. The crane also symbolizes hope. It is believed that if you make a thousand sembazuru paper cranes, your wishes will come true and even a serious illness will recede.

Tsuru werewolf cranes in Japanese mythology, which quite rarely turn into people, in human form are very kind, sweet, beautiful creatures with an all-understanding look. They often take the form of wandering monks and travel in search of those in need of their help. They hate violence.

Everywhere in Japan there is a legend about a wounded crane that turned around. beautiful girl, who married the young man who saved her. The girl turned out to be an excellent weaver. In the form of a crane, she wove amazing fabrics from her feathers, closing herself off from everyone in the room. When her husband spied on her, she became a bird again and flew away.

It is believed that if cranes turn into people, they often take the form of wandering monks and travel in search of those who need their help.

When the explosion occurred and a giant nuclear mushroom grew in the sky over Hiroshima, Sadako was less than two kilometers from the explosion site. She was very young then, and hardly understood what had actually happened, but later, already in the 1950s, she probably understood what her diagnosis of leukemia meant. And then, struggling with death, the girl began to make cranes out of paper. She firmly believed that if she made a thousand paper cranes, she would certainly recover. There was only enough time for 644...

Sadako Sasaki is a Japanese girl, a resident of Hiroshima, who survived the atomic bombing. In 1955, 12-year-old Sadako died from the effects of radiation exposure.

Sadako Sasaki was born in 1943, at the height of World War II, in the Japanese city of Hiroshima (Hiroshima, Japan). When an atomic explosion thundered over the skies of Hiroshima in 1945, the Sasaki family lived less than two kilometers from the epicenter. Baby Sadako was then thrown out of the window by the blast wave, and when the mother, shaking with fear, ran out, no longer hoping to see her daughter alive, it turned out that the girl was scared, but was not hurt at all. However, as time has shown, by definition there could have been no casualties in that area.

Years passed, Sadako grew up as a cheerful and active girl, went to school, and sometimes her mother really began to believe that that terrible explosion was just a memory. But at the age of 12, Sadako’s first symptoms appeared - ominous tumors appeared on her neck and behind her ears. This was the beginning of the end, and all the adult residents who survived the explosion in Hiroshima understood this. Once lively and restless, Sadako began to tire quickly, and one day during a school relay race she fell and was unable to get up.

The girl ended up in the hospital on February 21, 1955 - the doctors gave her a year at most. The fact that the increasing incidence of childhood leukemia was a consequence of the atomic bomb became clear already in the early 1950s.

One day in August 1955, her best friend Chizuko Hamamoto came to Sadako’s hospital and brought origami paper with her. She showed Sadako how to fold a crane out of paper, and at the same time told a beautiful legend. Thus, the crane, which is highly revered in Japan, brings happiness and longevity. According to legend, a sick person will certainly get better if he folds a thousand cranes out of paper.

And Sadako got to work. At first she didn't know that she wouldn't have enough time, because she was still a child. She firmly believed in both the wonderful fairy tale and the possibility of her miraculous healing, which, as it seemed to her, was now completely in her hands.

The girl was sorely short of paper - she folded her cranes from all the paper she could find in the hospital. But over time, weakening, Sadako did less and less cranes - the illness made itself felt, she quickly got tired...

After her death, the girl’s relatives and friends all together completed her wonderful undertaking - a thousand paper cranes.

Be that as it may, the wonderful story of a brave girl who fought for life until the very end touched the hearts of millions of people around the world.

At Sadako's funeral, thousands of paper cranes flew in the sky, and the little Japanese girl became a symbol of rejection of atomic weapons.

In 1958, a statue of Sadako Sasaki appeared in Hiroshima; it was erected with money raised throughout Japan. The stone statue stands in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, depicting a girl holding a paper crane. At the foot of the monument there is a sign with the words “This is our cry. This is our prayer. For building peace in the world” (This is our cry. This is our prayer. For peace in the world).

Later, a similar monument to a Japanese girl appeared in Peace Park in Seattle, America.

Several books have been written about young Sadako, the most famous of which is Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, published in 1977 and written by Eleanor Coerr. The book has been translated into many languages ​​and a film has been made based on it.

The paper crane is today a symbol of world peace.