Kyreece Origami Art: Folding for a Better World — 7

Today, I created an artwork to commemorate one year anniversary from the start of my Origami Crane Lei Project. During November of 2025, I had the honor to interview Tomiko Kawano, a survivor in Hiroshima who was a friend of Sadako Sasaki. Her voice is shared throughout the world, by her famous saying is “No Nukes, No War” and her story continues to tell at her statue in Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima, Japan. In my art, each origami crane symbolizes a different person, with the orange crane representing Tomiko Kawano, the yellow crane representing Sadako Sasaki, and the peach-colored crane in the center representing myself. The smaller origami cranes represent the people who were touched by Sadako Sasaki’s story and were inspired to share the story with others, like myself. The colors representing Tomiko Kawano and Sadako Sasaki are orange and yellow. These colors often symbolize warmth, happiness, and energy in art and culture. The color, orange, can be seen as bright, energetic color that can make people feel enthusiastic and excited, while yellow is often seen as joy and happiness. To celebrate the one year anniversary since the project started, I used orange and yellow to represent today’s art. By creating this artwork, I wanted to pay tribute to Tomiko Kawano for her support, kindness, and her energetic energy and Sadako Sasaki for sharing peace and hope worldwide by the symbol of origami cranes. I will continue to share their stories by creating origami crane artwork to spread peace and hope throughout this world.

Work Cited:

Cherry, Kendra. “How Does Yellow Influence Your Moods?” 10 Dec. 2024. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-color-psychology-of-yellow-2795823 Cherry, Kendra. “How Does Orange Influence Your Moods?” 10 Dec. 2024. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-color-psychology-of-orange-2795818 “Hiroshima Voices: ‘No Nukes, No War’ Tomiko Kawano, 80, A-Bomb Survivor, Naka Ward, Hiroshima.” 中国新聞ヒロシマ平和メディアセンター, 2023, https://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/?p=131745. Accessed 24 July 2026. “川野 Kawano登美子 Tomiko.” YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qaW7Ge_JabGa6CInKVJIw. Accessed 24 July 2026.