Inspired by the story of a girl exposed to radiation in Hiroshima, about 60 students from Ke Kula ‘O Nawahiokalani‘opu‘u public charter school folded 1,000 origami cranes and strung them together in a beautiful “lei” as a prayer for world peace.
Inspired by the story of a girl exposed to radiation in Hiroshima, about 60 students from Ke Kula ‘O Nawahiokalani‘opu‘u public charter school folded 1,000 origami cranes and strung them together in a beautiful “lei” as a prayer for world peace.
This summer, during the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the school’s Japanese language teacher Kumu “Pilialoha” Kimiko Tomita Smith will present the lei to Hiroshima Peace Park.
A Japanese legend promises that if one folds 1,000 origami cranes, one’s wish would come true. Origami cranes also become a symbol of peace through the book “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes,” based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki, who was 2 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped Aug. 6, 1945, on Hiroshima.
Sadako survived the bombing, but in 1955 she was diagnosed with leukemia and told she had, at most, a year to live. While in a nursing home, she began folding cranes in the belief she would be healed if she folded a thousand. In the book, Sadako folds 644 cranes before she passes away.
The fourth- and fifth-graders in Smith’s Japanese classes at Nawahi undertook the 1,000 origami cranes project after watching a video about Sadako. They completed the project in less than a month.
“Making origami cranes is challenging, tedious and time consuming for my students, however, with patience, intent and concentration, they created this beautiful garland to show their strong commitment to make the world a more peaceful place!” Smith said.