Upcycling Project Idea – The Shinto Belief and Origami Cranes

While considering ideas for my upcycling project, I happened to come across some of my older journals from my earlier years as a freshman and sophomore in engineering. This gave me the idea to utilize some of these papers to create some sort of origami and the main idea that I am planning on doing right now is using cranes as they are an iconic piece of Japanese culture that has popularized its way into a respected art form. As such, I decided to go with a Shinto Japanese aesthetic which is a belief that revolves around the harmony and connection between nature and divinity. It includes the principles of kami which are gods that are believed to reside in everything including mountains and rivers. These kami are worshipped in shrines across Japan as this practice represents a sense of gratitude and respect for the natural world which is the foundation of the Shinto belief.

Shinto is the indigenous culture of Japan and is deeply ingrained into the culture and media of its home country as a result. The term Shinto is derived from a combination of two Chinese characters, “Shendao”, and means “Way of the Gods”. The term “Shen” represents “spirit” and “Dao” means “way”. This belief originated from early Japanese Buddhism but evolved to the modern day to signify the spiritual belief in the Kami at the end of the Edo period and surpassed the older Japanese state religion in the 20th century.

In Japan, the crane is symbolic of good fortune and longevity while being connected to the role that animals play in the Shinto belief. Within the realms of the Shinto belief, animals are seen as sacred messengers that act as intermediaries between humans and the divine which usually involves the Kami. The animalistic connection to the Shinto belief inspired me to incorporate some sort of animal into my upcycling project, but I was initially unsure about the animal nor the method to complete this project. As I was going to sleep for the night, I suddenly had an idea about using origami as the medium for this project and the crane as the form of the origami. It seemed like a perfect fit due to them originating from Japanese culture while still fitting the Shinto belief.

Another great influence on my upcycling project is the famous belief of the origami cranes that folding one thousand of these paper cranes can grant a wish or good fortune to the creator. This belief is known as Senbazuru and has deep roots in Japan as a symbol of hope. This belief gained popularity after a victim of the Hiroshima bombing, Sadako Sasaki, embarked on a journey to finish the set of one thousand cranes for a wish of better health after being diagnosed with Leukemia at a young age. She was unable to finish folding all one thousand origami cranes but her family continued to finish the rest of the cranes. Now, she stands as an inspiration for people around the world who come to visit her memorial and hang origami cranes. This story also very greatly inspired me to start my journey into making one thousand origami cranes. I will most likely be unable to finish one thousand origami cranes by the deadline of this project but this will remain a goal for the end of this summer due to its significance as my first summer free from my undergraduate status.

Sources:
1. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2056.html

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto#:~:text=A%20polytheistic%20and%20animistic%20religion,shrines%2C%20and%20jinja%20public%20shrines.

3. https://japanupclose.web-japan.org/techculture/c20230807_3.html

4. https://japan-avenue.com/blogs/japan/japanese-crane

Pictures:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto

2. https://japan-avenue.com/blogs/japan/japanese-crane

3. https://japanupclose.web-japan.org/techculture/c20230807_3.html

Thumbnail:

https://www.rememberingalife.com/pages/folding-a-paper-crane