Thursday word: senbazuru

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

senbazuru (sen-bah-zoo-roo) - n., one thousand origami cranes.


In Japan (as in most of East Asia) a crane represents longevity, because it was believed to live for a thousand years. Folding a thousand of them, one for each year, is supposed to grant one a wish for good health, or when given as a wedding present, a long and prosperous marriage. Or, thanks to the story of Sadako and the Thousand Folk Processes, a prayer for world peace. From Japanese 千葉鶴, being sen, thousand + ha, the counter for pieces of paper + tsuru, crane, with sound-changes from the concatenation, because that's the way Japanese rolls.

Instructions for folding a senbazuru available at http://www.monkey.org/~aidan/origami/crane/, and many other places around the internet.

---L.

Comments

[dagonell.livejournal.com]

Many years ago, the Special Olympics was held in my hometown, Buffalo NY. "Japan on Elmwood" wanted to give each competitor an origami crane necklace composed of 12 cranes separated by short lengths of soda straws. She recruited several classes of school children and a number of adults into making cranes for her. I made 2,500 cranes that year. I took longer to cut the paper to size than to fold it.

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

Once you fold a couple dozen, the folds get burned into muscle memory. Eventually, you get to the point you can fold them in your sleep (and often do, in dreams).

---L.

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

What a beautiful memory, thank you for sharing it!

[trellia-chan.livejournal.com]

I read the story of Sadako Sasaki in middle school, and I never forgot it. <3

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

Much like Anne Frank. For much the same reasons.

---L.