To mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, we invited guests at Japan House London to create ‘senbazuru‘ (one thousand paper cranes).
In Japan, senbazuru – strings of a thousand paper cranes – are often created to wish for good fortune, recovery from illness, long life and peace. Every year, people from around the world send senbazuru to the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park, which commemorates the child victims of the atomic bombing.
This practice was inspired by the story of Sasaki Sadako, who was two years old when she was exposed to radiation from the bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Years later she developed leukaemia and began folding one thousand paper cranes in the hope of recovering.
A gallery of 2 items.
Thanks to the generosity of Japan House London’s guests and several heartfelt personal donations, we completed two full senbazuru sets over summer 2025: a total of two thousand cranes.
One has now been dedicated to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, and the other to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, where they are on temporary display.
‘We were deeply moved by the beautifully crafted paper cranes, each filled with heartfelt wishes for peace,’ shared a staff member at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
We are deeply grateful to every participant who contributed their time, care and creativity to this meaningful endeavour. We hope these cranes continue to carry our collective wish for peace.
A gallery of 2 items.
