Whether it’s cranes, elephants, swans or flowers, the Japanese practice of origami (折り紙, literally ‘fold paper’) has the capacity to take something as ordinary as paper and make it into something extraordinarily beautiful. Flourishing in the 1600s during Japan’s Edo period (when the country was shut off to the majority of the outside world), origami as we know it today played a role in both keeping people entertained with simple tools and helping bring court ceremonies and rituals to life with fantastic displays of art.
It has now evolved into a worldwide phenomenon, strongly associated with Japanese culture, and plays a strong symbolic role in places like Hiroshima. Traditionally, it is thought that if you were to fold 1000 paper cranes – a sacred animal believed to live for 1000 years – you would be granted a wish, or bestowed with health and good fortune. Nowadays, you can experience origami in person at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial through the moving story of one young girl’s wish for world peace in the aftermath of war, or at the Origami Kaikan in Tokyo which offers classes to visitors.
But the beauty of origami is also in its simplicity, making it an easy and rewarding way to while away hours spent at home.
Source: https://www.japan.travel/en/uk/inspiration/origami-how-to-beginners/
