Seattle’s Peace Park is a “vest pocket” park near the University of Washington. The centerpiece of the space is a bronze statue of Sadako Sasaki holding an origami crane aloft.
The story of Sadako is that she became ill with leukemia at the age of 12, having survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. While in the hospital, she began folding paper cranes. The Japanese legend is that if you fold a 1000 cranes, you will be granted a wish, such as a long life or the recovery from illness. Unfortunately, Sadako was unable to complete her cranes before passing away in October 1955. The story is that her friends completed the remaining cranes and all 1000 were buried with Sadoko.
The Children’s Peace Monument in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is a statue of Sadako holding a large crane over her head. The Peace Memorial Park is a part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
The Seattle statue of Sadoko was completed in 1990 by sculptor Daryl Smith. The inscription on the dedication plaque reads:
Sadako Sasaki
Peace Child
She gave us this paper crane
to symbolize our yearning for
peace in the world
A gift to the people of Seattle
From Fratelli’s Ice Cream.
Here is a pseudo-3D view of Sadako’s statue. Click in the white boxes or click or drag the arrows to move around the statue.
This is a panorama view of the Peace Park.
If you would like to visit the Peace Park, on each of these views, click the green leaf spiral in the upper corner and select “more about this synth. On the new page that opens, scroll down to the lower left corner of the page. There is a geotag that shows you the location of the park on an aerial view map.
If you do make the trip, don’t forget to fold a crane and leave it with Sadako. Click the video below to learn how.
This coming weekend, April 16-18, is the 2010 Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival at the Seattle Center. The event will be a rich array of exhibits that will delight all of your senses.
The 2010 festival theme, “After 150 Years: Youth, Skateboarding and Hapa Experience,” celebrates the official ratification of the U.S.-Japan amity treaty. Highlights include:
· Photographic exhibit, “Scenes of Childhood: Sixty Year of Postwar Japan”
· Skateboarding activities and demonstrations by Japan’s Pro-Teen Element team and star skateboarder Ryo Sejiri
· Forum, “Hapa Experience,” exploring the identities, cultural traditions and experiences of Japanese mixed-race, including many prominent local Hapa
· Performance by Nanda, filled with stage combat, juggling and ninja-like acrobatics
And of course, origami! PAPER will have a booth at the festival. We will be teaching visitors young in age and young at heart how to fold flapping cranes and jumping frogs, among other models. We will also have an exhibit of our best pieces on display for the weekend. Look for us in the Fisher Pavilion, next to the Center House.
The hours of the festival are 10:00 am – 6:00 pm Friday and Saturday and 10:00 am – 5:00 pm on Sunday.
Sakura-Con (pronounced ‘Sa-ku-ra-con) is a Japanese Animation(Anime), manga (comics), gaming, and Asian-culture convention. The convention is being held at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center for Pacific Northwest anime fans, also known as “Otaku”, where the emphasis is on FUN! Sakura-Con began in 1998 as a small, three-day event — a party for anime fans at the Double Tree Inn, in Tukwila Washington. The convention has grown dramatically in the past 5 years in terms of attendees, guest speakers, companies, and press attending the event. Operated by an all-volunteer staff, their main goal is for everyone to have a good time…from our guest speakers to our attendees. We are happy to say that this is one thing we excel at and that they are known for.
As in years past, PAPER will be participating at the festival with a booth to teach the visitors origami. We will be located in the Youth Matsuri, in Room 310. The hours of the festival are Friday 10am – 6pm; Saturday 10am – 6pm; Sunday 10am – 2pm. Come join us.
In addition to our general folding, Ray Takeuchi, of PAPER, will be hosting two workshops for more structured origami instruction. Participate in transforming a sheet of paper into an intriguing and beautiful model. Saturday 1:30-2:30pm and Sunday 1:00-2:00pm Room 206.
