Every year, ten million folded paper cranes weighing a total of ten tons arrive from across Japan and the world at the Children’s Peace Memorial in the Peace Memorial Park.

Hiroshima City has reused the paper from the old paper cranes folded with hopes of peace to create postcards and wrapping paper and other items. At Daishō-in, they perform a sacred burning of old paper cranes as part of this ongoing process of transforming the cranes that arrive in Hiroshima.

The fire used in the sacred burning is the ‘Eternal Flame’ from the Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen that has been burning continuously for over 1,200 years. The ‘Eternal Flame’ was also used to light the ‘Flame of Peace’ in the Peace Memorial Park.

Kosai Yamane at Yamane Taigendo receives the ash from the sacred burning of the paper cranes to create a ceramic ash glaze, which he uses to make the incense burners.

Made with clay mixed with the holy sand from under Itsukushima Shrine and covered in the sacred ash glaze, these special ‘Prayer’ incense burners are created with careful consideration for the hopes of peace that permeated the original paper cranes.