Classical and Traditional Origami. Paper was first invented in China around 105 A.D., and was brought to Japan by monks in the sixth century. Handmade paper was a luxury item only available to a few, and paper folding in ancient Japan was strictly for ceremonial purposes, often religious in nature.
Stage 1: We started of with the butterfly which is the simplest to do.
I made a mobile out of origami butterflies.
Stage 2: We proceeded with the folding of cranes.
In Japan, the crane is a mystical creature and is believed to live for a thousand years. ... Traditionally, it was believed that if one folded 1000 origami cranes, one's wish would come true. It has also become a symbol of hope and healing during challenging times.
Thousand Origami Cranes (千羽鶴 Senbazuru) is a group of one thousand origamipaper cranes (折鶴 orizuru) held together by strings. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by the gods.
Sadako was a little girl who lived in the time of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. After being diagnosed with leukemia from the radiation, Sadako's friend told her to fold origami paper cranes (orizuru) in hope of making a thousand of them. She was inspired to do so by the Japanese legend that one who created a thousand origami cranes would be granted a wish. Her wish was simply to live.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum states that she did complete the 1,000 cranes and continued past that when her wish did not come true. There is a statue of Sadako holding a crane in Hiroshima Peace Park, and every year on Obon day, people leave cranes at the statue in memory of the departed spirits of their ancestors.
