SEATTLE — Mr. Hisao Inagaki is Seattle's consul general, a most esteemed diplomatic appointee of the Japanese government. He is also an Instagram star.
The consul general began his term here at the height of COVID.
"When I arrived in Seattle," Inagaki said. "In (the) pandemic, there were a lot of people having hard times."
The diplomat wanted to reach out to his new American neighbors with a message of hope, so he picked up a sheet of paper and began to fold.
"In Japan, cranes symbolize longevity," Inagaki said. "For me, as a Japanese person, folding paper cranes is like a daily routine. I didn't start it with a particularly noble philosophy."
He folded one crane each day and shared it on social media. The greetings quickly fell into a pattern. Other than updating the count each day, the 10-second messages rarely vary.
"I have folded a 26th crane while praying for everyone's health and peace." Inagaki said on his 26th Instagram post.
His audience did not grow exponentially.
"One person in a day, or two persons in a day," Inagaki said.
But eventually, something about this humble man and his peaceful gesture just seemed to add up, and so did the "likes." Followers are attracted to his positive and unwaveringly consistent message.
Mr. Inagaki has never missed a day, even when he had eye surgery, although there was that one time when the upload was hobbled by an Instagram error.
"The next day I posted two cranes," Inagaki said.
He once injured his arm and had to display the cranes with the opposite hand.
"I changed from using my left hand to fold the crane to my right hand," Inagaki said.
He got comments.
"Right, yes," Inagaki said, "suddenly they noticed it."
This simple act of goodwill has gained the consul general new friends all around the world.
"Asia, Europe and even the Middle East," Inagaki said.
Hisao Inagaki will keep folding and praying for peace and healing. For you and me. For all of us.
"I would like to continue as long as I can," Inagaki said.
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