Hope and paper cranes | Yohei K. | TEDxInstitutLeRosey
[Music] [Applause] [Music] wishing upon a shooting star and tossing a coin down the well these are both ancient yet common ways of wishing for things now in Japan what you do is you fold paper cranes legends say that if you fold a thousand origami cranes the gods up above will peer down to earth to heed your wish this task requires a lot of dedication patience and well spare time I know I know the amount of effort you put in seems inconvenient considering you just get one wish back origami cranes are after all simply paper folded several times to imitate the shape of a bird and a symbolic attempt to bring about what seems unachievable and too ambitious despite that this is a story of how one girl's origami cranes influence the world August 6 1945 this date may ring a bell which shed it remains as one of the most devastating moments in human history you guessed it the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima truly an unforgettable event an even more tragic for Sadako Sasaki she was just 2 years old when she was caught in the blast she did survive but 10 years later as a result to the exposure to radiation she was diagnosed with leukemia in her hospital bed despite the sorrow of her impending death she did not give up hope attempting to fold a thousand origami cranes she was anything from newspaper medicine wrappings even toilet paper to fight the cancer she never gave up and she could remain cheerful because she held on this one wish to live October 25th 1955 Sadako had passed away after managing to fold six hundred and forty four cranes her death reminds us of all the children who died in the atomic blast and her origami cranes are symbolic of how wishes can overcome despair following her death her story became famous worldwide in fact a children's book was written by an American author Eleanor Kerr it was translated into different languages and is now mainly read mainly read in primary schools for geese education furthermore a Children's Peace Memorial was built on Hiroshima in her honor it features a statue of Sadako holding up a large origami crane above her head it represents the hope hope that one day nuclear weapons will be abolished and that no children would ever die from a nuclear blast again it was built to carry the children's wish for world peace every August 6 you could see many children visiting the site covering the monument with origami cranes to stand for this wish today you could say that this action has influenced the world it is common to see a thousand origami cranes being sent to spread awareness whether it's a campaign for tsunami victims or cancer patients this message of hope is sent to support them through tough times I will write peace on your wings and it will fly around the world to carry this message wrote Sadako in her diary now she may have died tragically young but it seems like the gods did hear her message thank you very much you