This summer I've had the luck to be introduced with Japanese culture. An interesting experience it was and still keeps on being since there are many aspects of their tradition to be explored. Some other time I'll write about zen, samurai, seppuku and much more, this time I just wanted to show the beauty of origami. I've learnt how to make different animals and things, but one is more special than the others.
The crane.
Here you have a wikipedia article explain it much better than I would:
"Throughout Asia, the crane is a symbol of happiness and eternal youth. In Japan, the crane is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and thetortoise) and symbolizes good fortune and longevity because of its fabled life span of a thousand years. The crane is a favourite subject of the tradition of origami or paper folding. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane. After World War II, the crane came to symbolize peace and the innocent victims of war through the story of schoolgirl Sadako Sasaki and her thousand origami cranes. Suffering from leukemia as a result of theatomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasakiand knowing she was dying, she undertook to make a thousand origami cranes before her death at the age of 12. After her death, she became internationally recognised as a symbol of the innocent victims of war and remains a heroine to many Japanese girls."
I like the symbolics behind it, so I decided to present my loving ones with it. Here are some pictures.
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