Remembering the message of the origami cranes [prayer cranes]

Targets

To use “prayer cranes” to communicate the message expressed in Hiroshima’s origami cranes

 

Initiative details

In Hiroshima, the site of the atomic bombing, various initiatives have been carried out for peace. One of the most famous of these is the use of origami cranes. As a printing company, we are also involved in peace activities using paper cranes by selling origami cranes given to Hiroshima in the form of “prayer cranes.” This initiative is designed to spread the message of the origami cranes and to convey the importance of peace and the tragedy of the atomic bombing to people in Japan and abroad.

The prayer cranes were made by Nagomi Project, a citizen’s activity group, using origami cranes donated by the city of Hiroshima. The paper cranes are burned by the Nagomi Project at the Daishoin Temple in Miyajima. The resulting ash is mixed with white sand and a special adhesive and then placed into a mold to create the prayer cranes. After that, we use our own printing technology to apply a pattern that reproduces a handwritten appearance. The completed prayer cranes are sold at the Peace Memorial Museum and the Orizuru Tower and can also be ordered online, conveying the message of peace to as many people as possible.

 

Visitors can also try their hand at painting the prayer cranes once they have been glued together. In the past, we had a painting workshop where many people could paint as they wished and take the cranes home with them. We hope that this experience will allow as many people as possible to feel, even if only a little, the sentiment behind the origami cranes.
Other products use glass made from ashes of the origami cranes in artisan-made bead bracelets and ring stands.
Our goal is to use these products and activities to expose people to the history behind the origami cranes given to Hiroshima and to make them aware of the importance of peace, the tragedy of war, and the inhumanity of nuclear weapons.

 

Key Points

We believe that it is difficult to cover all 17 of the SDGs in the course of company activities. Accordingly, we began to produce the prayer cranes by asking ourselves, “What can we do in our company?”, “What can we do to raise our corporate image and motivate our staff?”, and “How can we help first those close to us and then many others to live prosperous lives by working on the SDGs?” We could not have arrived at this project on our own. We would like to express our gratitude to the people who helped us in various stages of the production process, and we believe that that sentiment is reflected in the project.

 

Hirose Co., Ltd.

3-3-12 Nakahiro-machi, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima

+81-082-232-2238

https://www.hiroseprint.com/