One thousand origami cranes

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "One thousand origami cranes" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The crane is considered a mystical or holy creature (others include the dragon and the tortoise) in Japan and is said to live for a thousand years. That is why one thousand origami cranes (千羽鶴, senbazuru, lit. 'one thousand cranes') are made, one for each year. In some stories, it is believed that the cranes must be completed within one year and they must all be made by the person (or group of people) who will make the wish at the end.^{[citation needed]}