Japanese students fold cranes in hopes of peace

Students in the advanced Japanese language class are asking students to fold paper cranes to send to Hiroshima, Japan as a sign of peace. (Photo by Jennifer Miller)

With a square piece of paper, color side up, make a fold diagonally corner to corner.

When I first walked into the advanced Japanese language classroom, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Yet when the light poured into the movie-darkened room, five determined faces were looking at me with such intensity; I knew the project they had undertaken was more serious then I had imagined.

Repeat the diagonal fold in the opposite direction.

Juniors Kristen Barnes, Donald Ball, Jacob Ryan Norman and Edgar Frank, along with fifth-year senior George Mathis have begun what they hope will become a campus wide project, called Senbazuru.

Open the paper into a square once more, and fold the paper edge to edge in both directions.

The name “Senbazuru” means “thousand origami cranes” and that is precisely what the class has set out to do—fold 1,000 cranes.  With guidance from assistant professor of modern languages and cultures Bryan Bott, these five students hope to complete their goal and send these cranes to Hiroshima, Japan.

With the white side up, bring the side corners in while pulling the top corner down.

As I sit down at the table, I can not only feel their desire for the project to succeed, but also see it.  Throughout the entire interview, all five students are folding paper cranes, so methodically that they seem to not even notice they’re doing it while talking to me.

With the open side pointing to the left, fold one corner of the square so the edge lines up with the center line, repeating on the other side.

“It is said that if you fold a thousand cranes, you get a wish,” Barnes said, when discussing the reasons for the project.

The 1,000 cranes are a symbol of world peace, and with the completion of the project, this dedicated group will send them to the Hiroshima Peace Park as Adrian College’s own cry for world peace.  The idea of the 1,000 cranes is the cessation of arms throughout the world and the abandonment of the nuclear arms race.

Flip the paper over and repeat the folds.
The emotion for the project is palpable in the room as Barnes begins the story of the little girl in Japan who started the project after the bombing of Hiroshima during World War II.

Fold the top flap down and crease, flip the paper over and fold top flap down on opposite side.

Sadako Sasaki, just 2 years old when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima, developed leukemia at the age of nine.  Knowing of the legend of 1,000 cranes, she began to fold the cranes in an attempt to have her own wish fulfilled, to get better.

Open up one side and lay flat on the table, lift the top flap on the open end and fold upwards, bringing in the sides.

However, Sadako had finished only 644 cranes when she passed away on Oct. 25, 1955.  Her friends finished the cranes for her, and when she was buried, she was laid to rest with all 1,000 of the paper birds.

Flip the paper over and repeat. Position the paper so the open end is to the left.

After her death, a memorial was erected in the Hiroshima Peace Park for children, with Sadako on top holding a giant golden crane in her hands. This statue marks the place where AC’s 1,000 paper cranes will be displayed.

Fold in one flap so the edges line up with the center line. Fold in the other flap to meet the center line.

There are as many reasons to complete this project as there are cranes to fold.

“We are also doing it in the hope of breaking down the barriers between foreign countries and their different languages,” Norman said. “This is a single unifying task.”

Flip the paper over and repeat the folds. Fold over one side and lay flat.

With this in mind, the advanced Japanese language class is seeking volunteers to help complete the project.  Folding a paper crane is easy, and each of the students working with the project are more than willing to demonstrate.

“It doesn’t take long,” Mathis said.  “We’ll teach you how to fold it step-by-step.”

Fold up the top flap on the open end so the tip of the lower flap touches the tip of the upper flap. Fold two flaps over.

Even students who have never done origami before, and have a terrible time folding paper, like me, are encouraged to stop by the table the group has set up in Caine Student Center this week, and in Ritchie Marketplace next week to lend a hand.

“We want to make it a campus wide event,” Barnes said.

Not only has the class talked to different organizations and students groups on campus, but also has a trip planned to a local Adrian Elementary School, where the class will also participate in the project.  Alpha Sigma Alpha, Safe Place and the AC Art Club have already agreed to help fold cranes, though any and all organizations and students themselves are encouraged to help.

Repeat previous fold for the other lower flap. Fold one flap over and lay flat.

I agree to fold a paper crane to help the project.  Norman walks me through the steps, demonstrating with his own piece of paper.  I was awestruck when I witnessed the simple piece of paper take on the beautiful and complex shape of a crane.  I was even more surprised that, by the end of the process, my paper also resembled a crane.

To help with the Senbazuru, just drop by the table set-up in Caine on Friday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  The class will be in Ritchie Marketplace on Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting March 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m.

Fold the top flap down. Flip the paper over and repeat fold.

Part of what makes the project so special is not only sending wishes for world peace; everyone who participates also gets their name inscribed in a record book sent along with the cranes that will be kept at the Peace Park forever, and each individual who folds a crane is asked to sign their name on the inside of the paper.

“If every single person on this campus folds one paper crane, then we’d already have our thousand there,” Norman said.

If the project produces enough cranes, a second set of Senbazuru will be kept right here on AC’s campus, he said.

Fold one of the tips to form the head. Pull the other tip slight back to form the tail.

In just the first day, more than 100 cranes were folded.  Through the course of the interview, the class folded 27 cranes.  At the time of publication, more than 250 cranes had been folded.  With four days left in the project, everyone is encouraged to participate.

“We want as many people from campus to participate as possible,” Bott said.

Complete: one crane in a thousand.

Tags: Japanese, oragami, peace

This entry was posted on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 12:24 pm and is filed under Features, Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.