Folding Thousand Crane Amulets

This is a rather specialised technique of folding cranes from pieces of paper which are then subdivided into smaller squares. You make slits between the squares at predetermined points and then fold them into cranes.

The technique was developed by Gido Rokoan and showcased in the earliest origami book of all, Senbazuru Orikata, which was published in 1797. It's an amazing book. There are hints here and there of what it to come in origami; one of the later models in the book even uses a simplified version of the Rabbit Ear and the model Paradise Cranes has more than a suggestion of the Kawasaki Twist fold in it. If only Rokoan had realised what he missed! You can view the entire book online here. If you would like to know more about Rokoan and how to fold his works, please click here.

I learned to fold Rokoan's models after a visit to England by the Japanese master Mr P Nauta in the mid 90s. He turned up unexpectedly at an origami mini meeting in London one day, and had some of Rokoan's models with him that he had made. This was the first time I had seen the more complex pieces; he had the Fishing Boat with him, the Paradise Cranes and a variety of other works. He presented them to the British Origami Society at that time and they have since been shown occasionally at Conventions.

I obtained one of Kasahara's books (in Japanese, so I don't know the title) which gave diagrams for all of the models in Rokoan's book and learned to fold them over a number of years. I really cracked it when I obtained Masako Sakai and Michie Sahara's books Folding Rokoan Style, which is available from Heian Publishing.

Thanks to these authors, I mastered the Hundred Cranes and the Phoenix, the most difficult models in the book and folded most of the others.

I present here the many additional models I created in this style as well as, in the Gallery, some pictures of the now traditional works by Rokoan which I have made. I should warn you that most can only be made with certain kinds of paper as they are extremely delicate and tear easily at the corners. If you can't get washi papers easily or can't afford them, you could try using foil paper. I ended up using strong tissue paper for the Phoenix because the layers of paper became so thick. Tissue foil, made by laminating a piece of kitchen paper with tissue paper on one or both sides, would also work well.

I hope you enjoy folding them.