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The Crane and The Butterfly
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At least 60,000 origami Peace cranes from around the world and local communities were hung by the children on the Children's Peace Statue. The folding of Peace cranes and the creation of the Children's Peace Statue was inspired by a true story of a Japanese girl, Sadako, who died 10 years after the bombing from leukemia which was known by the Japanese as "Atom Bomb Disease". She folded the first Peace crane. We are participating in a global initiative to fold a million cranes for Peace each year. Hiroshima survivor, Takashi Tanemori told his prophetic dream, The Crane and the Butterfly, of encountering the mythic crane, Senba-Zuru, on the night before the bombing when he was 8 years old. During the telling of his vision about meeting the crane, when Takashi described how the embers from the explosion became butterflies and flew heavenward, children in the audience released beautiful live Monarch butterflies to highlight of his story. The beauty of this act was nothing less than stunning, and the gasps were followed by silence as the crowd watched the colorful Monarchs dance and float like stained glass in the sunny breeze. This dream played a major role in Takashi's journey from revenge to forgiveness. He now directs the Silkworm Peace Institute for Forgiveness. A theater company of Japanese Elder Mothers, Soyokaze (meaning "Gentle Breeze"), shared traditional songs and dance. They came from Japan with readings to open the heart excerpted from testimony of mothers and children from Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The Divine-Wow Theater Troupe from Studio 848 - San Francisco performed a dance of forgiveness in honor of Takashi's story. Together with members from the Wise Fools Puppet Intervention they announced Peace Day to the community in street performance all around Santa Fe.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ My name is Takashi T. Tanemori and I am a hibakusha of the atom bomb attack on Hiroshima. I was eight years old and .7 of a mile from Ground Zero. My childhood was annihilated, my parents, grandparents, and two siblings killed, and my dignity crushed in the rubble of postwar Japan. The night before the bombing, in a community bomb shelter with my family, I had a transcendent vision. I was taken to meet the mythic white crane "Senba-zuru, as Mighty as a One Thousand Cranes". He spoke to me of loss, survival and transformation. I was shown many of the horrors to come and also told that the keys to survival were to remember who you are and to follow the light within. At the end of the vision, I was horrified to witness Senba-zuru sucked into a giant fireball. As I lay desolate, sobbing on the ground, the burned out embers from the fireball transformed into beautiful monarch butterflies and Senba-zuru returned to me as a white butterfly to remind me to follow my inner light. In the aftermath of the bombing, I forgot this vision for 40 years until August 5, 1985. While driving to give a speech about revenge at a Remembrance Rally in San Francisco, a strange mushroom shaped cloud formation in the distance brought the memory of that vision flooding back to me. A white butterfly flew into my car, gracefully landing on the dashboard. It stayed there momentarily, a fluttering pair of iridescent wings. When it flew out soaring freely into the blue sky, the weight of the past was lifted from my heart. I had arrived at the realization at that revenge only begets revenge. In my speech at the Rally I begged for forgiveness for my long term desire to avenge the death of my family as well as for the atrocities of war committed by the Japanese. I have personally experienced the anguish and suffering caused by the atomic bomb. Yet, I truly understand that it is NOT the atom bomb, but war created by fear, conflict and division in the human heart that is the root of the problems in the world. Although I would like to see all nuclear weapons abolished, focusing on them alone may divert our attention from our greatest enemy. It is the hatred and fear that divides our hearts and threatens to destroy our world. In 1987, I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentose (tunnel vision), believed to be a long-term consequence of exposure to the radiation. All my anger and embitterment against America and my childhood treatment in Japan resurfaced. As a 9 year old boy, a single blade of grass growing from the devastation on a riverbank in Hiroshima held my heart together and re-inspired me to live again. This recollection of that single blade of grass provided inspiration to again move forward. By loosing my sight I gained a new partner, my guide dog Michi, which means "the way" in Japanese. I was able to see that "the way" can only be found by going beyond our own pain and helping others. In 1994, I founded the Silkworm Peace Institute. For centuries the silkworm has been honored in Japan for producing the delicate fibers that are the result of its unique metamorphosis. This small creature helped to weave many of the early threads in fabric of commerce that first brought the East and West together, creating something of beauty into the tapestry of human life from its own sacrifice. Reconciliation with former enemies is very important to me. I was only four years old when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. I can only humbly beg for forgiveness for the atrocities of war committed by the Japanese military. We all must look closely at the lessons of the past and acknowledge and apologize for each of our roles in the creation of unrest and war so as to find the way to protect the welfare of all peoples of this Earth in the future. Those who have lost the most in war, are also the ones who have the most to gain by putting aside feelings of revenge, going beyond our own cocoon by learning to forgive and make peace with our painful past. I have worked with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in a "military peace conversion" project, made apologies to a local chapter of Pearl Harbor survivors, worked with "Children of the Manhattan Project", made sincere, but unsuccessful attempts to meet with and reconcile with the "father of atom bomb", Dr. Glenn T Seaborg before his passing. I have also met and embraced Dr. Robert Christy. In 1998 my stomach and spleen were removed due to cancer. This has redoubled my intention to dedicate the remainder of my life serving others. The Silkworm Peace Institute strives to promote peace, healing and cultural understanding both in the US and abroad through showcasing the experiences of individuals and groups on the path of transforming revenge and anger into peace and forgiveness. At the dawn of 21st century, we need to honor this passage through darkness. We must find courage to enter the darkness of our own hearts - again and again, emerging with the gift of new life. Healing comes through learning to forgive and making peace with our painful past." We will find the path to victory. Thank you for listening to my heart. Contact: Silkworm Peace Institute Phone: (925) 284-2201 ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* The "CRANES FOR PEACE" project was initiated to honor the Childrens' Peace Statue which was created by children in a school in Albuquerque, NM. Completed in 1994, this bronze sculpture was financially supported by $1 from 90,000 children from 63 countries and all 50 United States. It has 3000 little sculptures fashioned in wax and cast in bronze by children in 100 different countries. The children who were the creators of the statue desired for it to be permanently placed in a public park in Los Alamos, the birthplace of the Atomic Bomb. It was refused placement there by the Los Alamos County/City Council. Now it resides in Santa Fe. This is the first National Monument in the United States paid for and created by only children and it is the first International Children's Peace Statue in the world. This Statue was inspired by a true story of a child from Hiroshima, Sadako Sasaki. Ten years after the bombing she contracted leukemia, a disease which had commonly become known by the Japanese as "Atom Bomb Disease" - a disease for which there was no known cure. While hospitalized Sadako's closest friend reminded her of an ancient Japanese legend. If she folded a thousand origami cranes, the Gods might grant her wish to live. Her struggle for life and her belief in Peace inspired her classmates to erect a Peace Statue for all the children who were the victims of the atomic bombing of Japan. Their statue, completed in 1958, stands in Peace Park in Hiroshima. It is of a child holding an origami crane in outstretched arms with the inscription, "This is our cry. This is our prayer. To create Peace in the world." Ever since mountains of origami cranes have been sent to Hiroshima for Peace Day, August 6th, in affirmation of this prayer. We are empowering the intentions of the children who created and supported the First International Children's Peace Statue here in the US. On Hiroshima Day, August 6th, 2000, in unity with the first Peace Day ever observed in the world, children in Santa Fe (trans. City of Holy Faith) will decorate the Children's Peace Statue with the garlands of cranes. We welcome Peace cranes from all other communities from around the US and the world to intensify the prayers being gathered for this ceremony. We hope to find a way to open the hearts of those who live and work in Los Alamos so they will accept this beautiful, healing gift from the children of the world. Please do have a look at this gift from the hearts of children smothered in 39,000 prayers for Peace on our web site: www.networkearth.org The first section of this report can also be found on the |
