Individual Strands from Half-Senbazuru #2

I folded 1,000 cranes over nine months in 2013, completing the final crane just before the new year and our flight to Japan. I wished for good health and a long life.

I strung the cranes and hung them in my home in 2015, where they have been on display ever since. I was and continue to be in good health since moving to Japan. Therefore, we can believe that the senbazuru granted my wish!

Once we decided it was time to return west again, I started folding another Senbazuru, which I completed in 2021.

Thus, I’m ready to part with these. This one has served its purpose, and now, in keeping with the Japanese traditions surrounding daruma dolls and temple charms, I will pass the luck on to others so they may also enjoy the magical item and perhaps use a bit of the luck for themselves.

This is a half-Senbazuru: it is 500 cranes, all lovingly folded by me and my MS hands as both a form of hand exercise and a practice in meditation. Hang these strands or the entire item in a room with an open window and watch the cranes turn on their strings in the breeze. It’s quite entrancing. It always receives comments, kids and cats love it, and it’s a perfect photo or video background.

Bamboo pole not included.

Individual strands average 29 cranes each, and measure approximately 5' (60", 152 cm) each. Strand length varies, but only slightly.

Cranes ship on their strings in a box via EMS from Derbyshire, UK.

Construction:

• 500 sheets of paper, chiyogami, and otherwise printed papers from the USA and Japan
• Cotton thread
• Irregular hematite beads to weight the strands
• Glue