Origami

Origami is an ancient Japanese craft of paper folding. Origami only uses a small number of different folds, but they can be combined in an infinite variety of ways to make extremely intricate designs. Origami has been practiced since the Meiji period (1860-1912).

One of the most famous Origami designs is the Japanese Crane. Legend says that anyone who folds one thousand paper cranes will have their heart's desire come true. The Origami Crane has become a symbol of peace because of this legend, and because of a young Japanese girl named Sadako. Sadako was exposed to the radiation of Hiroshima as an infant, and it took its inevitable toll on her health. By the time she was twelve in 1955, she was dying of leukaemia. Hearing the legend, she decided to fold 1,000 cranes so that she could live. Sadako also wrote a Haiku that read in part: "I shall write peace upon your wings, and you shall fly around the world so that children will no longer have to die this way." Sadako died before she could complete her task, and her classmates folded the remaining number so that she could be buried with One Thousand Cranes. There is a granite statue of Sadako in the Hiroshima Peace Park: a young girl standing with her hand outstretched, a paper crane flying from her fingertips.

Further Information on Origami: Joseph Wu's Origami Page - http://www.origami.vancouver.bc.ca/