The Legend of 1000 Paper Cranes

Welcome to the DrumRoll Issue 116

4th September

Hi everyone and welcome to September.

This month our issue focuses on Peace.

Inner Peace. World Peace. Living in Peace.

Our header image features the origami paper crane which has become the established icon associated with the International Day of Peace – 21st September.

Founded in 2013, the IDoP adopted the Peace Crane in remembrance of

Sadako Sasaki .

Sasaki was only 2 when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. She survived the blast only to become one of the hibakusha – ‘Bomb-Affected Person’ . In 1954 the young girl developed Leukaemia and, knowing her illness was terminal, she embraced the legend of One Thousand Paper Cranes.

It is said that if a person folds 1000 paper cranes they are granted 1 wish.

Sasaki was determined to reach this goal and be granted her wish before she became too ill to fold the origami bird.

If you would like to read more about Sadako Sasaki and how her paper-folding inspired others to pursue Peace, scroll down and read more in our article below.

Photo of Sadako's Statue in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Photo: Emma Baker 2019

September is a month to assess your levels of Peace and look for solutions if they are not where you want them to be. And to look at peace in our world, and in our way of life.

Having a peaceful life is not about apathy or acceptance . One can still stand up and speak out for change – it is possible to raise awareness in a peaceful way .Don’t miss our video about Greta Thunberg who is speaking to the theme of "Climate Action for Peace" asking for change in the world in which she and her peers will live.

Check out the movement that Greta inspired. Supporters will conduct peaceful protest by implementing a strike-out on 20-27th September – check out the website (link is below our video section) and watch the individuals who will choose not go to school or work to raise awareness and discussion around this vital component for a happy life.

Happiness is an essential ingredient in a truly peaceful world.

On that note check out our Spotlight and an event which is all about Happiness.

Have a peaceful and happy September.

See you next month.

How Paper Cranes Became a Symbol of Healing then Peace.

Hiroshima, JAPAN— Origami, the Japanese art of folding paper, often conjures images of paper cranes, or orizuru in Japanese. Where does this fabled art form originate, and why are paper cranes regarded as a symbol of peace?

And why do people fold 1000 paper cranes?

Traditionally, it was believed that if one folded 1000 origami cranes ,

one’s wish would come true .

Paper folding was reserved for ceremonies around the 6 ^th century A.D., since the paper came from China and was expensive for commoners. Folded paper butterfly figures were first used in Japan to decorate sake cups at weddings, and paper was folded in Shinto shrines for good luck . Decorative figures of paper cranes began showing up on ceremonial kimonos as far back as the 16th century.

In Japan, the crane is a mystical creature and is believed to live for a thousand years . As a result, in the Japanese, Chinese and Korean culture, the crane represents good fortune and longevity. The Japanese refer to the crane as the “bird of happiness” . The wings of the crane were believed to carry souls up to paradise. Mothers who pray for the protection of the crane’s wings for their children will recite the prayer:

“O flock of heavenly cranes

cover my child with your wings.”

A famous story about senbazuru is that of Sadako Sasaki (see “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” by Eleanor Coerr [1977]). Sadako was a little girl who was exposed to radiation as an infant when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

Although she survived the bomb, she was diagnosed with leukemia by the age of 12 . She decided to fold 1000 cranes , believing that her wish would come true.

She completed the task then started a new goal of a 1000 more . Unfortunately, she was only able to fold a further 644 cranes before she passed away in 1955.

Her classmates then continued to fold cranes in her honour and she was buried with a wreath of 1000 cranes to honour her dream. There is now a statue of Sadako in Hiroshima Peace Park – a little girl standing with her hand outstretched, holding a paper crane. Every year, thousands of wreaths of senbazuru are draped over her statue .

Cranes hanging in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

“How did Sadako become the girl who folded 1,000 paper cranes?” Her brother, Masahiro Sasaki, lives in Fukuoka and is co-founder of the NPO Sadako Legacy, the organization that carries on the message of Sadako Sasaki .

“She let out both the pain of our parents and her own suffering with each crane . She hid her suffering and was very tolerant of the pain. She didn’t want anyone to worry. She didn’t complain to her friends or to us. Her spirit encouraged others around her to speak of her bravery,”Sasaki told me.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t have been able to stand the pain, but I’m not Sadako .”

Cranes that Sadako made rest in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum . Her family donated over a hundred of them to the museum, which has agreed to give them back to her family one crane at a time.

In 2007, Sadako Legacy began donating Sadako’s paper cranes around the world to places in need of healing .

They started with the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City. Twenty-four Japanese citizens were killed in the attack on the World Trade Center, and it got back to Sadako’s family that people were leaving paper cranes at the fence near Ground Zero .

Museum staff added the cranes to the memorial, including thousands donated by Japanese students. Moved by this, Sasaki decided to donate one of Sadako’s cranes , which was unveiled at the museum in 2010.

In attendance was Clifton Truman Daniel, the grandson of U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who ordered the 1945 atomic bombings.

Sasaki, carrying the last crane Sadako ever folded in a box, placed it in Daniel’s hand and asked him if he would help them send a message of peace.

In addition to the September 11 memorial,

Sadako Legacy has donated a crane to Pearl Harbor’s USS Arizona Memorial with the help of Daniel, The Peace Library at the Austrian Study Center for Peace, and the city of Okinawa .

This fall Sadako’s brother Masahiro and his son Yuji Sasaki will donate a crane to the city of São Paolo, Brazil , which has a community of more than a hundred atomic bomb survivors , and one to the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.

In 2011, tragedy hit Japan again: A devastating earthquake triggered an even more devastating tsunami , which caused a core meltdown at Fukushima Dai Ichi Nuclear Power Plant.

In 2012, the 9/11 family association donated to Japan a paper crane welded from World Trade Centre debris as a symbol of hope and resilience in the face of disaster . Consoled by Sadako’s crane, they dedicated their own crane, which now rests in the city of Koriyama, Fukushima, a town less than 50 miles (80 kilometres) away from the crippled nuclear power plant.

On August 21, 2015, Sadako’s nephew Yuji Sasaki brought the story full circle : He brought one of her cranes to Koriyama.

“Hiroshima and Fukushima have both had nuclear disasters, but at different speeds. In a way they are the same kind of disaster, and people of both city are affected by radiatio n,”he said at the ceremony.

“I hope that even [in] this hopeless situation, we never give up, together.”

www.jccc.on.ca

blog.nationalgeographic.org

Photos: Emma Baker 2019

EGGLESS BEETROOT CHOCOLATE CAKE

This plant-based beetroot and chocolate cake is always a favourite, especially in our house with Grant having an egg allergy. The virtually fool-proof recipe is easy to make and results in the most delicious, moist cake.

You can also make little cupcakes for the kid’s lunch boxes or for a decadent treat with a cup of tea.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1.5 cups sugar
6 Tbs cocoa
1 medium sized beetroot
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups water
¾ cups vegetable oil
2 Tbs vinegar
2 Tbs vanilla essence or extract.

CHOCOLATE ICING (VEGAN)

1/3 cup milk alternative (I use coconut)
2 Tbs plant based spread
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

Method:

Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Grate and mix in the beetroot.

Make a well and add the wet ingredients.

Mix until an even batter forms without lumps.

Bake for 40 minutes in a greased cake tin.

Let cake rest for 5–10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

www.wendyls.co.nz

FISHPOND Free delivery throughout New Zealand

Wangari Maathai

By Frank Prevot

Illustrated by Aurelia Fronty

Wangari Maathai lead women in a nonviolent struggle to bring peace & democracy to Africa through its reforestation. Her organization planted over thirty million trees in thirty years.