Paper cranes are almost all Japanese childhood memories. Paper cranes, also known as thousand feather cranes, are widely known in Japan. They symbolize peace, hope, longevity, health, and good luck, etc.

When encountering difficulties, the Japanese people are used to folding a string of thousand of cranes to pray for others and bring hope to themselves. Not long ago, in the World Cup, despite the defeat, the Japanese team still cleaned the locker room after the game and even folded 11 paper cranes to express their gratitude to the organizers.

Crane is the auspicious bird of longevity

The Japanese believe that cranes are auspicious birds for longevity, and traditional folk stories make people feel good about white cranes.

In Japan, cranes have a long history. There is a saying that when papermaking technology was introduced from China, the Japanese made washi, which is thin and strong. Washi paper was originally used by upper-class people to wrap gifts. Later, people took advantage of the "crease" feature of washi paper to come up with various folding methods.

In the Edo period, as the production of Japanese paper increased, cranes became popular among the common people. Later, as a game prop for children, paper cranes were born.

According to Japanese legend, if you fold 1,000 origami cranes, you will gain longevity or recover from a serious illness.

The little thousand paper cranes carry the folding person to pray for physical recovery, winning the championship in sports competitions, smooth reconstruction after the disaster, and the wish for world peace and equality.

As the name suggests, The Thousand Paper Cranes are made of 1,000 paper cranes, which are then hung up with thread for decoration. Although the Japanese are very familiar with paper cranes, it is not easy to fold 1,000 cranes.

Some netizens recalled the scene of making paper cranes in their childhood: "This work requires carefulness. If the corners are not folded right from the beginning, the front ends of the wings will not be aligned, and the mouth and tail will not look good. If you want to fold 1,000 pieces, that is a huge amount of work. We remember that our hands were almost tired at the time, and only 50 pieces were completed in the end.”

Etiquette to pay attention to when sending paper cranes

Of course, in actual operation, it is not necessary to fold all 1,000 paper cranes. "Thousands" is equivalent to "a lot". As for how much "a lot" is, there seems to be no hard and fast rule. The important thing is to be sincere.

There are also many origami sizes for origami cranes, and there is no requirement for the wings to be unfolded or folded. But before giving a thousand paper cranes, you must find out whether the other party likes it. Especially when making origami cranes for visiting patients, it is necessary to consider the feelings of the other party. Because some people don't like this gift, thinking that they tend to collect dust.

If you accidentally break the paper crane, it may also indicate that your condition is getting worse. Thousand paper cranes contain the heart of the producer, so naturally, they cannot be discarded as garbage.

Is an important source of artistic inspiration

In Japan, paper cranes are elements that often appear in life. Such as handbooks, notebooks, postcards, etc., where paper cranes can often be seen.

Manufacturers of clothing, parasols, backpacks, etc, often use paper cranes as design elements. On the Internet, if you search for the keyword "design of paper cranes", you will find a variety of products, such as paper crane T-shirts, crane canvas bags, crane hats, and crane handkerchiefs.

Paper cranes are also an important source of inspiration in the fields of film and television, music, literature, and art. There are many songs related to paper cranes in Japan, such as the song "Thousand Paper Cranes" which prays for world peace, and "The Love of Thousand Paper Cranes".

Writer Kawabata Yasunari is very fond of paper cranes, and his Nobel Prize-winning work "Thousand Cranes" is highly regarded. Since then, Japan has also filmed a film of the same name.

In Kawabata Yasunari's works, paper cranes symbolize peace and pure beauty. On the cover of the book "A Thousand Cranes", several paper cranes are flying.