Reify
To reify is to make real. The paper cranes in the watercolour painting on this card were inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, who folded more than 1000 paper cranes in the year before she died of leukaemia. Sadako was 12 years old when she died, having been 2 years old when she was exposed to radiation during the Hiroshima nuclear holocaust. Hearing the legend that she could be granted one wish if she folded 1000 cranes, Sadako set about folding, scrounging paper wherever she could, including asking people in the hospital for wrapping paper when they had received gifts. Sadako wished for a world without nuclear weapons. Although that wish is not yet realised, her paper cranes have become an international symbol for peace, and memorials have been built all over the world to commemorate Sadako and her cranes.